1. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)Â
Tarantino’s favorite movie ever, and the motion picture he also considers to be “the best directed movie of all-time”, there’s absolutely no doubting that The Good, the Bad And the Ugly will play a huge part in the make-up of Django Unchained. Set during the American Civil War, Sergio Leone’s masterpiece follows three treasure hunters, each played to perfection by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef, whose rivalry eventually brings them to the greatest mexican stand-off ever conceived in cinema.
It’s impossible to list all of the influences that this spaghetti western has had on Tarantino’s body of work, but details such as music, camera work, lines of dialogue, and even sense of humor have all been drawn from this seminal film. Simply put, you wouldn’t have Quentin Tarantino as we know him today without The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Not only is this the best western ever made, it’s a worthwhile candidate for best movie of all-time, too. Flawless in every sense of the word… and we’re bound to get a whole bunch more nods to it when Django Unchained hits theatres on Christmas Day.
Honorable Mentions: Skin Game (1971), Charley One-Eye (1973), Drum (1976), The Great Silence (1968), The Big Gundown (1967), A Day of Anger (1967), The Return of Ringo (1965)
