Quentin Tarantino says the current Hollywood era is tied for the worst in history

Look, it’s no surprise that Quentin Tarantino is not a fan of the current state of the movie biz. He is among a group of cinema auteurs that are vocally anti-Marvel, and in fact has been highly critical of Disney’s monopoly on the movies as a whole. For Tarantino to say that we’re in one of the “worst” eras in Hollywood history is not breaking news, but perhaps you’ll be interested to see what other eras rank alongside it.

The filmmaker reveals his answer on a recent episode of The Video Archives Podcast. “Even though the ‘80s was the time that I probably saw more movies in my life than ever—at least as far as going out to the movies was concerned—I do feel that ‘80s cinema is, along with the ‘50s, the worst era in Hollywood history,” he shares. “Matched only by now, matched only by the current era!”

Yes, Tarantino famously “can’t wait for the day” that superhero movies loosen their “chokehold” on the industry, but there is always a bright side. “The good thing about being in a bad era of Hollywood cinema is, the ones that don’t conform, the ones that stand out from the pack,” he says on the podcast (in reference to the film Star 80).

So which films stand out from the pack today? Tarantino was recently effusive in his praise for two major releases: “I fucking love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters,” he said on the ReelBlend podcast. “That and [Steven] Spielberg’s West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I’d almost thought that I wasn’t going to see anymore. It was fantastic.” So cinema isn’t dead after all, even in the blockbuster arena. Perhaps there’s still hope!