Quentin Tarantino names his 20 greatest films of the 21st Century: See complete list

He also discussed the long-noted parallels between Battle Royale and The Hunger Games series, pointing out that the two stories share a strikingly similar premise.

Quentin Tarantino recently revealed his list of what he considers the 20 greatest films of the 21st century during his appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. As the guest on the latest episode, the Oscar-winning filmmaker began unveiling his selections, starting with numbers 20 through 11.

His picks included:

20. Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story

19. Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever

18. Bennett Miller’s Moneyball

17.   Prachya Pinkaew’s Chocolate

16. Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects

15. Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ

14. Richard Linklater’s School of Rock

13. Jeff Tremaine’s Jackass: The Movie

12. Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s Big Bad Wolves

11. Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (#11).

During the conversation, Tarantino spoke highly of his #20 pick, praising Spielberg’s West Side Story as the film that “revitalized” the legendary director. He added, “This is the one where Steven shows he still has it. I don’t think Scorsese has made a film this exciting [this century].”

He also discussed the long-noted parallels between Battle Royale and The Hunger Games series, pointing out that the two stories share a strikingly similar premise. Tarantino expressed surprise that the creators of Battle Royale never pursued legal action against author Suzanne Collins.

His affection for Fukasaku’s 2000 dystopian thriller is well-known, as he has frequently included it in his lists of favorite films. Based on Koushun Takami’s novel, the movie follows junior high school students forced by a totalitarian Japanese government to fight to the death.

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Tarantino shared that he was among the first to see the film, having been invited to a private screening by director Kinji Fukasaku while he was in Japan doing early scout work for Kill Bill.

Tarantino, known for his influential and genre-defining body of work, has directed some of Hollywood’s most celebrated films, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).