Food is one of the most versatile things on the planet. It’s one of the rare examples of something that people literally need to consume in order to continue living, but whose opinions and feelings towards can vary wildly. Depending on who you are asking, food can be a treat or reward. A chore or a punishment. A vice or a crutch. A hobby or passion. An addiction or a phobia. And no matter what your feelings on it are, it’s something you are going to have to face every day.

Given the wide ranging nature of something as broad as “food” is, it’s not surprising that it has been depicted throughout film history in many different ways. You can view the banquet scene in The Great Gatsby as a lively and lush party that makes you want to get a drink at the bar right next to DiCaprio and relish in its grandeur. Or you can bite your lip with tension and dread when Ofelia steals a grape from the Pale Man’s feast in Pan’s Labyrinth. Maybe you’ve shared the same aggravation over how tough it can be to order at a diner like Jack Nicholson does in Five Easy Pieces. Or maybe you’ve felt just as full and decimated as Paul Newman was after he downed fifty hardboiled eggs in Cool Hand Luke. Well, I hope not. But maybe you have.

The relationship between food and film is in a word: complicated. And sometimes a film can push your boundaries to the point of making you lose your appetite completely by stripping off the showy veneer of subtle decadence and showing you just how nauseating excess or raunch can really be. Not many, because theaters are still predicated on a business of selling you weird chicken fingers and popcorn to enjoy while watching them, after all, but a rare few certainly did dare to buck the trend.

10. Jackass 3 (2010)

If you’re familiar with the crew behind MTV’s early 2000’s TV series of the same name in any way, you know they’ve made a career on being shamelessly, self-aware morons. Walking face first into terrible idea after terrible idea, all in the name of fun and amusement. For film number three in the series, cast member Steve-O came up with the charming sketch concept of The Sweatsuit Cocktail. Where we find fellow Jackass alum Preston Lacy working out on an elliptical while wearing a suit made of saran wrap. The idea being for Preston to work up enough of a sweat to wring out into a cup for Steve-O to enjoy.

Cheers to sobriety, eh Steve? In concept, it worked great. In execution: Steve-O immediately lost his lunch all over the floor and even caused one of the film’s cameramen to quite literally fall over in disgust. Shocking, yes. Funny. I’d say so. But it doesn’t exactly make you want to go get your free refill of Sprite at the fountain anytime soon.

9. Nothing But Trouble (1991)

Despite looking like your typical fish out of water, screwball comedy film and boasting an all-star cast featuring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd and John Candy, Nothing But Trouble is much more of a secret madcap horror/mystery film. Featuring bizarre mutant characters and Aykroyd himself immersed in grotesque, old-man makeup cackling and snarling through his scenes like a man possessed.

One of the more memorable scenes is a dinner of hog dogs served up by Aykroyd’s Judge Valkenheiser, which have more in common with the xenomorph that burst out of Kane’s chest in Alien than they do with any sausage you’ve ever seen. The slimy, gray, misshapen wieners get doused in sloppy condiments and shoved into the Judge’s gnarled, bloated, disfigured mouth, all in a nice tight closeup shot. When you rationalize it, it’s just a hot dog being eaten. But at the moment it’s pure nightmare fuel.

8. Super Size Me (2004)

Super Size Me takes a more serious and genuinely inquisitive view on fast food culture by interspersing a documentary about the marketing and production of what drives the industry nestled in-between director Morgan Spurlock’s unadvised personal experiment of eating nothing but McDonald’s food morning, noon and night for 30 days straight. While the behind the scenes details are as disenchanting and troubling as you might expect them to be, watching the previously healthy Spurlock struggle to breathe going up a small flight of stairs, sweat and ache seemingly at will, and even suddenly need to vomit uncontrollably after only a few weeks of his planned diet just makes your heart sink into your chest.

It’s easy to say “Yeah, of course you shouldn’t eat that food EVERY DAY” but the reality is that lots of people do in fact eat it, every day without noticing or caring what it is doing to them physically because of the low cost and high convenience it offers. While not outright telling you to “not ” eat there, Spurlock was happy to act a living, (heavy) breathing billboard for choosing to eat at home instead.

7. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5 (1989)

The fifth chapter in a horror series about a razor clawed killer stalking you in your dreams isn’t exactly the kind of film you’d look towards for moral guidance, but for reasons unknown screenwriter Leslie Bohem and director Stephen Hopkins crafted their NOES installment around death scenes with social messages attached to them. Touching on abortion, adoption, bulimia, anorexia, rape and drinking and driving. Perhaps a noble concept to try and show punk kids who snuck into it the HORRORS of real life? Maybe not the best approach when the guy murdering them is a cruel clown himself.

So while the cultural impact may have missed its mark, the infamous “second helping” death scene in the film is certainly memorable. As modeling student Greta is pinned to her chair by Freddy himself and force fed random chunks of meat and a….baby…doll?…until her face swells wide full of disgusting mush to the point of her choking to death on it. It’s an oddly humorous take on a sad, personal topic that I guess is supposed to scare you into not having an eating disorder? Is that how people really thought things worked back then? Regardless, the scene is indeed disgusting. Originally earning an X rating and having the “Greta is force fed her own intestines” bit taken out. It was probably for the best.

6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones is a larger than life character in all the best ways. Smart, cunning, fearless (snakes don’t count) and dependable. Making the fantastical events and situations he finds himself tangled in still feel plausible and tense. While on a mission to retrieve the sacred stone of Mayapore, Indy and the gang attend the Guardian of Tradition dinner in Pankot Palace to a delicious feast of eyeball soup and desert of chilled monkey brains, much to the dismay of Indy’s main squeeze Willie, who fainted watching the merchants crack the seal.

While the idea of eating chilled brains may not be the most terrifying thing you can think of, seeing another man pop open a monkey’s severed head like a can of tuna and scooping out slimy, pink fluff into his baited lips is quite another thing altogether. I guess you can take some solace that the brains are at least chilled. It probably doesn’t make you want to grab frozen yogurt on the way home, though.

The saying goes: “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Or so says 18th century Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean on his deathbed at least. But it is noteworthy that his quote is transcendent enough to still apply 188 years later. And it certainly does when you’re talking about the general lack of respect comedy gets compared to more “serious” fare in the art world.

Time and time again, comedy is treated as inferior to drama by both critics and even casual fans with the general perception being that to be successful, something must bother you emotionally to prove effective or meaningful. Too many times, laughter and joy are relegated as unimportant or superfluous and films that aim for that reaction are labeled derogatory terms such as “cheap” or “easy.” But just ask any actor who is worth one’s salt and they will tell you that the effort and skill in creating a character that is endearing and genuinely funny is exceedingly difficult. Those not in the know seem to have the common thought that a master thespian should be able to just flip a switch in their brain and all of a sudden be charming, endearing, clever and witty. That is just simply not the case.

But just because it is difficult, doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done. There have been several instances where actors have worked against type and have turned in great comedic performances, changing their perception in the process. Whether it is a proven action star relaxing their muscles and showing their softer side, a squirrely character actor revealing their depth when the spotlight is upon them, or anyone with a stoic presence reminding you that, yes, they too can be silly; here are ten great comedic performances from certified non-comedians.

1. Anthony Hopkins – The Road To Wellville (1994)

Anthony Hopkins is undeniably one of the greatest actors to have ever lived. With a resume that includes seven decades in the film industry, over fifty acting awards and eighty six combined nominations, nobody would ever accuse him of being unqualified for any role you can think of. But it was a bit surprising to see Hopkins take on the role of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in the 1994 film The Road To Wellville. Despite being based on the true story of the real life wellness enthusiast, the film is more or less a slapstick comedy that focuses heavily on Kellogg’s quest to run a clean-living asylum in Michigan that became known as the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

While Kellogg notably engaged in plenty of controversial and shocking activities throughout his life, including sterilization, castration and mandatory eugenics, Hopkins plays the role like a bombastic Foghorn Leghorn cosplayer, bug-eyed, sneering and smirking through scenes with maniacal energy and lunkheaded wonder. He is clearly having a blast being able to shed his menacing image and instead strap on a pair of comically large buck teeth and a goofy mustache and really seems to revel in the absurdity and fart jokes that the film paints Kellogg around.

2. Jeff Daniels – Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Coming off of co-starring roles in the prestigous historical drama Gettysburg and the action thriller Speed, Daniels was an unlikely choice to pair alongside Jim Carrey for 1994’s Dumb and Dumber. However, Daniels rose to the challenge by matching Carrey’s boundless energy and over the top performance while adding a loveable innocence and hilarious naivety to his character, proving as a perfect counterpart to Carrey in the Farrelly Brothers classic tale of idiocy.

In the years since, Daniels has continued to shift effortlessly back and forth between both comedic and dramatic roles; winning the lead actor in a dramatic series primetime Emmy award back in 2013 for his work on the HBO series The Newsroom and scoring a Golden Globe nomination for 2005’s The Squid and the Whale. But despite his many accolades, many will forever remember him for having the most noteworthy explosive diarrhea scene in film history.

3. Kathy Bates – The Waterboy (1998)

After her career defining role in the 1991 horror film Misery, which netted her a best actress Oscar, Kathy Bates became one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood, with roles in a wide range of films such as Fried Green Tomatoes, Dolores Claiborne, The Late Shift and Titanic, specializing heavily in deeply layered character studies. So it surprised more than a few people back in 1998 when Bates was cast as Adam Sandler’s mother Mama Boucher in the cult comedy The Waterboy.

Given a fairly generic, one-dimensional trait of “be overprotective” with the script, Bates still found a way to have fun with the role, with her charm and distinctive volatile personality adding a lot of intangible depth, much needed gravitas and heart to a character who would be completely forgettable if played by a lesser actor. Bates is one of Hollywood’s rare stars who can do literally everything well and she has continued to deliver wonderful roles, both comedic and serious in the years since.

4. Meryl Streep – Death Becomes Her (1992)

Without question, Meryl Streep is one of, if not the most, respected actor of her generation. Compiling a mind boggling THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT combined award nominations over her nearly 50 year career. Bow down, all hail, Queen Streep. She has certainly earned the right to choose any role she is interested in taking, but it was definitely unexpected when she starred alongside Goldie Hawn in the 1992 comedy fantasy Death Becomes Her. It’s a comical tale about dueling rivals who both end up drinking a magical potion that promises to give them eternal youth but instead finds them turning into the walking dead.

Despite it being a technical marvel of a film, DBH relies heavily on the characterization between Hawn and Streep to make their feud feel important enough to escalate to the wild and violent state it deteriorates into. Streep brings everything she has to the role and delivers a clever, catty play on the general fear of aging and narcissism as a whole. Streep’s fury and fire really help sell the idea and her comedic timing matches up with Hawn’s perfectly. It’s also just a fun novelty to see the world’s greatest living actor starring in an over the top, violent, screwball comedy.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Consistently good in consistently good films, Leonardo DiCaprio is often regarded as one of the most under-rated actors of all time. In a career that spans historical dramas, political war thrillers, neo-noir psychological thrillers and science fiction action epics, just to name a few, DiCaprio turned in a truly inspired comedic performance for the ages back in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Proving that reality is much stranger than fiction, it is the true story of wall street magnate Jordan Belfort, who lied and schemed his way to fame and fortune throughout the 1990s.

The film takes the approach of showing you how toxic excessive living can be and DiCaprio plays the oblivious Belfort perfectly as he falls down rung after rung of the commercial and emotional ladder. With his character truly believing he can drive perfectly fine when he’s blackout drunk or that ludes give him strength such as spinach does for Popeye. WOWS is ultimately a sad story of manipulation and greed in hindsight, but DiCaprio is truly hysterical in his blissfully ignorant performance.

When you look at a guy like Quentin Tarantino you just kind of know that he’s a horror movie afficinato. You don’t have to be particular with his films on an intimate level. You don’t have to know his backstory or his credentials. Just by casually listening to any conversation the guy has or any of his blurbs that come out about films, it’s obvious the man knows his stuff. A living, breathing encyclopedia of film and television with an insatiable thirst for content.

A full-time filmmaker who somehow, someway, has found out how to absorb more media in his lifetime than you or I ever could, even if we watched everything at 120x speed. He has dumbfounded actors by knowing their performances and nuances somehow deeper and better then they themselves even remember, sometimes down to the most particular detail in a performance that deeply matters to him. And when he explains it, he’s able to put it all into words that perfectly expound on that tip of the tongue, partial recall, vague explanation as to why you think something is good. A contextualizing machine that rivals your finest teachers and Forrest Gump’s mother combined.

Despite looking, acting and not so subtly BEING a horror film connousiour and expert, it’s worth pointing out that he’s never actually made a true horror film. Or, more accurately, he’s never made a film that lies too heavily in any one genre. But if you get out your magnifying glass and examine his work a little closer you’d see tons of your favorite horror film earmarks throughout his catalogue. Shady characters. Heists gone wrong. Swift, brutal revenge. Obscure 60’s music. Sudden, frantic, grisly violence. An over the top evil, cantankerous, vile, blowhard villain who you can’t wait to see be beaten, victimized and conquered. Samuel L. Jackson either screaming in someone’s face or intricately describing something vile he’s recently done with the same cadence and temperament he uses when calling in a prescription at Walgreens.

All things that have become synonymous with Tarantino’s films. Cultivated over a nearly 20 year career of homaging his heroes and serving up some scathing recreations of traumatic and shameful moments in human history, but presented with a sweet, thin candy shell of quirky and off-kilter snark and subterfuge. The heartworm pill in the piece of cheese, so you’re getting your medicine and you don’t even know it.

Never has there been a better poster child for someone who has given himself an education from films themselves. Whether it’s obscure 50’s westerns, or rot gut Italian horror video nasties, and sometimes old episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: he’s always listening and wanting to expand his palette. He has dipped his toes into the exploitation-horror genre before by crafting his own version of a slasher film with 2007’s Death Proof, penning the script (and co-starring in) the 1996 vampire flick From Dusk Till Dawn, and more recently claimed that his 10th, and rumored, final directorial effort could easily be his first all out horror film.

The internet even briefly freaked out back in 2005 when rumor had it that he’d be directing “The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie” but negotiations broke down and we were robbed of a potential film where a suit and tie wearing Jason gets real philosophical with Tommy Jarvis before carving him like a turkey while Joe Cocker’s cover of With a Little Help From My Friends blares in the background.

But if you’re truly dying to see just how twisted the vision of Quentin Tarantino can be, why not fall down the rabbit hole of some of the man’s favorites of the genre. From the expected to the obscure, you’d need a pen and probably a few weeks to compile them all, so let’s just just sample ten for now.

1. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Called “the greatest movie that has ever been made and that ever possibly will be made” by Tarantino…when he was five…Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was what the writer/director described as “the perfect blend of my most two favorite things at the time: horror films and classic, screwball comedies.” Granted, most five year old children don’t have favorite actors and actresses or are able to make genre distinctions quite like Tarantino can and did, but AACMF is undoubtedly a perfect gateway horror film that can appeal to both classic horror fans and more casual observers as its horror scenes are very clearly faithful to the mission statement of “Be Scary”, while its comedy element never really takes away from its core and mythos.

It only places heroes with infantile, bumbling naivety inside the Universal horror monster world and ends up being both a love letter to those franchises while also an easy to follow road map for people who can empathize with Lou Costello as he stumbles clumsily into danger. Influential and iconic, it definitely appealed to Tarantino’s freethinking scope.

2. Carrie (1976)

Regularly cited as QT’s favorite horror film of all time and made by one of his true filmmaking heroes: Brian DePalma, is 1976’s Carrie: an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel following a beleaguered young girl who has the power…to move you. In a time when demonic horror themed pictures were predominately portraying its protagonists as borderline dangerous and potential liars and con artists, De Palma dared to make you want to root for the bad guy (girl) more than before by putting you in the shoes of young Carrie, who is just mercilessly tormented at the hands of a group of scumbag high schoolers to the point where, yeah, you want to see her get her just desserts.

More character driven than many horror films of the era and focusing heavily on the plight of the victim, Carrie was a direct inspiration for Tarantino’s own Bride character of Kill Bill fame and he has cited star Sissy Spacek’s performance as his “favorite ever in a horror movie.” It clearly holds a special place in the man’s heart, as it will anyone who is bothered by just how cruel random strangers can be.

3. The Omen (1976)

If you only know The Omen as a reference point for other films, or have already had it explained to you in two sentences, it’s easy to want to dismiss it as a soft or tame film. Especially with its rather classy cast featuring big Hollywood stars like Gregory Peck. Or its quiet and only slightly foreboding trailer.

Tarantino himself recalled seeing it and thinking it would be “a nice horror film for older audiences” but was then blindsided on just how visceral and surprisingly gory the film was. “The interesting thing about it is that it’s a mystery. There’s an investigation going on there and you don’t really know if can trust it until maybe halfway through..” He was quick to also praise it as being particularly influential from a business standpoint, as it was the first of its kind to cast a star of the 50s in the lead to lure older audiences in. A practice that was repeated with stars like Charleton Heson in The Awakening, George C. Scott in The Changeling and Kirk Dougles in The Fury.

Tarantino was generally impressed at the film’s ability to portray itself so objectively and make you as a viewer come to grips with the reality of its true plotline. A nice treat for audiences who THINK they can surmise the film based on its age and their own firsthand knowledge of the plot, but who may be surprised with a present day watch.

4. The Night Stalker (1972)

One particular subgenre of horror that Tarantino has an affinity for is the Made For TV horror films of the 70’s, which many will forget, were pretty big deals to premiere at the time. Quentin has said he feels they “hold up better than most of the exploitation horror of the era — they have better actors..and they had really good stories!” QT’s particular favorite of the bunch is the ABC Movie of the Week from January in 1972: The Night Stalker. Adapted by horror fiction legend Richard Matheson and John Moxley (the TV veteran, not the AEW World Champion), The Night Stalker is a chilling story told from the POV of a man who MAY be a ruthless, hedonistic vampire pounding the streets for blood at night. Or maybe he’s just a regular guy who is having some problematic delusions and is suffering from a seriously bad night.

Tarantino praised its narrative and pacing, saying “the adrenaline drive of this thing just doesn’t stop!” and remembered fondly how well received it was at school the next day and how everyone was buzzing about what they had just seen. The film was a huge success at the time for ABC. Gathering the highest ratings of any of their made for TV films to that point. It even spawned its own sequel and spinoff weekly series.

5. The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

A lesser known horror film that Tarantino wishes more people knew about is 1971’s The Mephisto Waltz. Which stars Alan Alda, Curd Jurgens, and Jacqueline Bisset. Referring to it as “kind of Rosemary’s Baby in reverse,” it’s the story of a failed concert pianist turned journalist and how his chance encounter with Jurgens’ Duncan Ely character leads to him being able to live out his dreams of stardom and prestige. Which will appeal to fans of the horror possession genre.

But what Tarantino warns is how “you will not be prepared for the final 20 minutes” and heaps praise on how it veers off confidently in its own direction, while still being able to genuinely surprise him with how well the story wraps up.

Can you believe that we are nearly a full generation removed from Reservoir Dogs? It has been eighteen, long years since Quentin Tarantino burst onto the scene with his mishmesh gulash of characters in suits arguing about pop music and casual dismemberment. It was a grimy, visceral little bastard of a film that was a controversial alternative to that years more conventional, popular films like Beethoven, Newsies, or Sister Act, and its unstructured, controlled chaos approach was something cinema fans were craving.

To the current crop of film fans, who may have only experienced Reservoir Dogs as a wikipedia article, an Itchy and Scratchy parody, poorly received Playstation 2 game or BEST BITS montage on youtube, it would be easy to judge the film on age and circumstance. Remember that an entire generation of artists raised on and inspired by Tarantino films are now making films of their own, daring to go bigger and bolder with each subsequent gunfight or explosion, causing big daddy RD to be considered a big nothing by comparison. Just an angsty response to kidsy fluff now relegated to the Wednesday, 2pm time slot on VH1.

But unlike many of his constituants, Tarantino’s debut had a certain authenticity and energy behind it that appealed to both hardcore genre fans and casual people just looking for a cool movie; both at the same time. Because he was armed with the zen like knowledge of 100 years of filmmaking before him, and he was gifted with convenient access to the first wave of something the kids were calling “home video” he became the poster boy for a generation of VCR filmmakers. A shining example of a man who got to grow up in an unprecedented age of film preservation, archiving, and distribution. As he’s said before: “he didn’t go to film school — he went to films”

Despite all of his awards and fanfare, Quentin Tarantino’s greatest achievement is undoubtedly in being the greatest video store customer service representative of all time. A former clerk at the now defunct Video Archives in Manhattan Beach, California, you can bet ‘ol QT won his share of daily bundle awards and up-salesman of the week honors just by having an insatiable love of film. You can just picture his eyes lighting up when someone would plunk down a VHS of Hard to Kill on the counter and he’d immediately vault into his “OH HAVE YOU SEEN JACKIE CHAN’S POLICE STORY…” monologue as he takes someones hand down the genre film yellow brick road. Your own personal hyperactive, friendly enough narrator who more assuredly knew more than you but who was so excited to share his knowledge on hundreds and hundreds of genre films in the hopes you’d join his band of cinemaniacs. In the interest of saving you time, I paired it down to ten.

1. Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Nestled in between more heralded “men on a mission” classics The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen is Where Eagles Dare. A 1968 Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood picture that finds them as a couple of GI regular Joes who parachute behind enemy lines as part of a rescue mission in Nazi Germany and end up embroiled knee deep in layers of espionage and deception.

It’s easy to see why Tarantino would love an intimate, dialogue meaty film like this full of characters secretly plotting a secret plot TO COUNTERACT the secret plot that they’ve been plotting all along. Add in that it also stars Eastwood fresh off of the Leone westerns and was scripted by Alistair MacLean, famous for another Tarantino favorite The Guns of Navarone. Back in 1992, Tarantino was quoted as saying “if I was going to make a war movie where a bunch of guys get blown up by a Nazi gun, that would be my Where Eagles Dare” showing it to be his go-to prototype in the years where he was fordging what would become Inglourious Basterds.

2. Enter the Void (2009)

Gaspar Noe’s 2010 psychedelic float through a night of semi-consciousness begins with an unapologetic full-frontal assault on your eyes and ears with a 2 minute and 26 second bombardment of technical credits pieced together in more fonts and styles than a kidnapper’s ransom note while a cruel mashup of EDM and metal machine music makes you question if your equipment is working properly. Say what you will about Noe and his divisive film, but he certainly knows how to get your attention. It got Tarantino’s, as he said in his Best of 2010 list: “Hands down best credit scene of the year … Maybe best credit scene of the decade. One of the greatest in cinema history.”

3. Fort Apache The Bronx (1981)

Controversial and considered outdated in tone and in its depiction of both Hispanic and African-American individuals, FATB isn’t considered a particularly moving picture by Tarantino, but rather an acting showcase for one of his all time favorite actors: Pam Grier. And listening to Pam document her process while promoting her book, Foxy, getting into character by purposely staying awake for 48 hours, existing on a diet solely of coffee and cherry pie, and showing up at her audition in full haggard, desperate costume; it’s hard not to fall in love with her effort and willingness to show vulnerability. Her role in the film is indeed minor, but it’s a graphic turnaround from catchphrase spouting asskicker to a desperate, circumstantial killer. A great showcase of her range and a lesson in appreciating the many layers of Pam Grier.

4. They Call Her One Eye AKA Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)

Touted by Tarantino as “the roughest revenge picture ever made” (and you’d have to think he’s seen some rough and tumble work) They Call Her One Eye is a Sweedish revenge thriller that is a direct inspiration to his Kill Bill villainess Elle Driver: outfit matching eyepatch and all. In hindsight, it adds quite a bit of depth to the Elle character if you imagine her untold backstory to be as fueled by abuse and torment as Christina Lindberg’s titular heroine is, and she becomes tenfold more of a sympathetic character caught in cruel handler Bill’s clutches as opposed to just another miniboss for The Bride to take out on her quest. In the vacuum of the They Call Her One Eye-iverse, it’s impossible for your heart not to go out to One Eye here as her constant mistreatment and belittlement simultaneously makes you sad and bloodthirsty at the same time.

5. The Sell Out (1976)

Not so much of a specific film recommendation by Tarantino, but more of a happy accident and an experiment you can try at home. He reminisced about watching a low quality print of this Richard Widmark/Oliver Reed film years ago and realized it was missing a rather large chunk of the movie in the middle. Once he figured out the foible, QT said: “I like having to figure it out. Widmark has this girl, and you can’t tell if Oliver Reed had sex with her in the missing reel or not. Maybe he did, and that’s why they’re all mad at each other. I don’t even want to know what happens in the missing reel. I’ve come to like it that way.”

While the idea made its way into his 2007 flick Death Proof, the concept is something uniquely Tarantino where you are tasked with the idea of coming to your own conclusions and choosing which characters you see as the villian or the hero. A kind of choose your own adventure when it comes to an otherwise upfront and straightforward film. So while this one takes a little work from you, the viewer, to facilitate looking beyond the surface and into the subtext, it’s a neat trick that can breathe new life into otherwise underdeveloped films. Looking at you: Freddy Got Fingered.