Quentin Tarantino is a man who
needs no introduction. An accomplished director, screenwriter, sometimes actor,
and you can now add novelist and author to that list. In June 2021, he
published the novelization of his masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and it met my high expectations,
proving to be a well-written, insightful novel expanding on the film and giving
us an alternate ending to boot. I couldn’t wait for QT’s next book and to my
great delight, I didn’t have to wait long: on November 1st, 2022, he
gave us the second of his two-book deal with Harper, this time a much-anticipated
work of nonfiction.
Cinema
Speculation is a unique tome that delves deep into the movies
that helped shape Tarantino’s love of film. It focusses mainly on what he
considers the greatest decade of filmmaking, the 1970s, and discusses many of
his moviegoing experiences as a kid with his mom, going to see double bills,
travelling long distances just to catch a showing of a film, and shares his
thoughts on why the films he selected to talk about are so important in the
grand scheme of things. He goes to great lengths, explaining in detail why movies
like Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder, Rocky, and Dirty Harry, among
many others, are still relevant today. He shares some of the conversations he’s
had with John Milius, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, John Flynn, Paul
Schrader, and many more legendary Hollywood filmmakers, screenwriters, and
producers. Tarantino’s passion for film knows no bounds. If you’re a fan of his
and have seen even just a handful of interviews with him, you know how
passionate he is about the craft and storytelling—it’s like a religion to him.
This book illustrates that times ten! QT is a wealth of knowledge and it’s easy
to see that if he hadn’t made it as a director/screenwriter, he would’ve
assuredly landed a career as a movie critic or film historian.
Cinema
Speculation reads like an exhaustive collection of movie
reviews and essays, by way of being part film history, part personal history. Sure,
he sometimes comes off as elitist in his harsh views, but the man knows his
stuff and can defend any of his opinions brilliantly. The only downside with
the audiobook is that we only get Quentin narrating the first and last
chapters. This is such a missed opportunity of having him read the entire book.
The narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, does a terrific job, but once you start with
QT, it’s a hard act to follow and Ballerini can never rise to Tarantino’s
level—no one could. Still, don’t let that detract you from picking up the
audiobook; it’s one of the very best books on film I’ve ever read/heard. It’s
like signing up for a masterclass with Quentin Tarantino. What could be better
if you’re a film fan or Tarantino aficionado? I hope QT’s on a roll here and
treats us to another book—fiction or nonfiction—very soon. As his filmmaking
career winds down, it’d be pretty awesome to have him put out novels and books
every other year. He’s as good a writer as he is a filmmaker.
Rating: Five stars out of five
Get your copy on Audible
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