Quentin Tarantino has picked his favourite “tense” scene across his entire filmography.
The director, who has expertly crafted scenes of knife-edge tension in films from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood to The Hateful 8 to Reservoir Dogs.
Speaking to Spanish publication El País, Tarantino was asked about his process for making tense scenes, and picked out a favourite example from his ouvre.
The scene in question comes at the start of the 2010 war film Inglourious Basterds, and sees Christoph Waltz’s nefarious Nazi Hans Landa visit a farmhouse he believes is harbouring Jews.
Asked to name his “favourite tense moment”, Tarantino replied: “In my movies? The one from the farm at the beginning of Inglourious Basterds. With the Nazi officer Hans Landa talking to the owner of the farm, who is hiding Jews in his cellar.”
The writer and filmmaker also spoke about the process of creating tension in such scenes, claiming: “I don’t know how to explain it. I have a talent for it.
“It’s easy for me to create those situations where the characters start talking and things fall into place and there’s a climax. You throw a ball to the actors and they catch it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tarantino also weighed in on the debate surrounding gun ownership, revealing that he personally owns a firearm.
Last month, reports suggested that Tarantino is on the verge of announcing his final film. Allegedly titled The Movie Critic, the film is said to be set in the Seventies and will feature a female lead.
The director has repeatedly said that he intends to retire after releasing 10 films, around the age of 60. In 2019, Tarantino, who is now 60, released his ninth film, the 60s-set drama Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood.
