Did you enjoy Quentin Tarantino‘s “Cinema Speculation” two years ago? Well, good news ahead: The Film Stage reports that the director confirmed on a new episode of “Pure Cinema Podcast” that he has a new book of film analysis on the way, and also hinted at a couple of the movies that he’ll tackle within it.
So what films will Tarantino write about in “Cinema Speculation Vol. 2”? Unfortunately, QT’s next book isn’t all about ’80s cinema, but more idiosyncratic takes on ’70s films. But Tarantino will touch upon two genre juggernauts in the new volume: “Peter Bogdanovich‘s 1972 comedy “What’s Up, Doc?” and Robert Altman‘s “McCabe & Mrs. Miller.” Readers will remember that QT tackled Bogdanovich’s 1974 film adaptation of “Daily Miller” in “Cinema Speculation,” but he didn’t cover any Altman films. So it’s nice to hear that the writer-director will branch out beyond the likes of Peckinpah, Siegel, Scorsese, and De Palma, as beloved as those American auteurs are.
Tarantino dished out limited takes on “What’s Up, Doc?” and “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” on the latest episode of “Pure Cinema Podcast”; here’s a little taste of what he said. “When I do “Cinema Speculation Volume 2,” I’ve got a piece on “What’s Up Doc?” I mean, I don’t want to spoil it, but… I’m a particularly huge fan of Ryan O’Neal as Robert Bannister; it’s one of the great straight-man comedy roles,” said Tarantino. “As much as I love [Howard Hawks‘] “Bringing Up Baby,” I think Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand are better.”
As for QT’s take on “McCabe & Mrs. Miller,” prepare for your mouth to go agape. “I have an interesting relationship with this movie, because I think the first reel of the movie is the worst-mixed reel in the history of Hollywood cinema,” continued Tarantino. “It’s so badly… there’s a level of incompetence to the mix that Hollywood never really goes below. Hollywood maybe doesn’t reach its heights every single solitary time, but it doesn’t reach the lows. There is a strong level of mediocrity that it never goes that further down. It’s terrible. [Altman] is a fucking pothead who doesn’t know any fucking better.”
These are strong words from Tarantino, but should readers of “Cinema Speculation” be surprised? It’s great to hear that another volume of QT’s criticism is on the way, and let’s hope he’ll have a steady supply of it published after he films his tenth and final film “The Movie Critic” later this year.