Cinema Speculation

Instant New York Times bestseller

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino.

In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films. Now, with Cinema Speculation, the time has come, and the results are everything his passionate fans—and all movie lovers—could have hoped for. Organized around key American films from the New Hollywood era of the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time, this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining. At once film criticism, film theory, a feat of reporting, and wonderful personal history, it is all written in the singular voice recognizable immediately as QT’s and with the rare perspective about cinema possible only from one of the greatest practitioners of the artform ever.

Part memoir, part film history, Tarantino’s sharp-witted analysis of 70s cinema covers:

• Film Criticism Reimagined: In-depth, outrageously entertaining essays on pivotal films of the 1970s like Dirty Harry, Taxi Driver, and Deliverance, viewed through the eyes of a master filmmaker.
• Untold Hollywood History: A mix of sharp reporting and personal history, exploring the movies, the stars, and the directors that defined a cinematic era.
• What-If Scenarios: Tarantino’s signature "cinema speculation" in action, exploring alternate histories like what would have happened if Brian De Palma had directed Taxi Driver.
• A Masterclass in Filmmaking: Learn how one of cinema’s greatest practitioners thinks about the artform, with insights only QT could deliver.