5 stars despite…

I’ll give this five stars despite Quentin not reading the whole thing. Don’t know why he won’t commit. He did the same thing with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Jennifer Jason Lee does a fine job, as does Edoardo Ballerini; but we’re paying to hear QT!!
That being said the books great; especially when QT admits he loved Rocky and was a big fan of early Sly!

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I loved it!

I have always valued Quentin Tarantino's storytelling and attention to detail when producing any form of content. In this book, I love how he talks about his childhood and how the content he watched in cinemas while growing up has shaped his film style. I thought I knew a lot about cinema, but compared to Quentin Tarantino, I don't know a damn thing😅. I look forward to the next Quentin Tarantino novel.

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QT's First Nonfiction Book

Quentin Tarantino is a man who needs no introduction. An accomplished director, screenwriter, sometimes actor, and you can now add novelist and author to that list. In June 2021, he published the novelization of his masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and it met my high expectations, proving to be a well-written, insightful novel expanding on the film and giving us an alternate ending to boot. I couldn’t wait for QT’s next book and to my great delight, I didn’t have to wait long: on November 1st, 2022, he gave us the second of his two-book deal with Harper, this time a much-anticipated work of nonfiction.

Cinema Speculation is a unique tome that delves deep into the movies that helped shape Tarantino’s love of film. It focusses mainly on what he considers the greatest decade of filmmaking, the 1970s, and discusses many of his moviegoing experiences as a kid with his mom, going to see double bills, travelling long distances just to catch a showing of a film, and shares his thoughts on why the films he selected to talk about are so important in the grand scheme of things. He goes to great lengths, explaining in detail why movies like Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder, Rocky, and Dirty Harry, among many others, are still relevant today. He shares some of the conversations he’s had with John Milius, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, John Flynn, Paul Schrader, and many more legendary Hollywood filmmakers, screenwriters, and producers. Tarantino’s passion for film knows no bounds. If you’re a fan of his and have seen even just a handful of interviews with him, you know how passionate he is about the craft and storytelling—it’s like a religion to him. This book illustrates that times ten! QT is a wealth of knowledge and it’s easy to see that if he hadn’t made it as a director/screenwriter, he would’ve assuredly landed a career as a movie critic or film historian.

Cinema Speculation reads like an exhaustive collection of movie reviews and essays, by way of being part film history, part personal history. Sure, he sometimes comes off as elitist in his harsh views, but the man knows his stuff and can defend any of his opinions brilliantly. The only downside with the audiobook is that we only get Quentin narrating the first and last chapters. This is such a missed opportunity of having him read the entire book. The narrator, Edoardo Ballerini, does a terrific job, but once you start with QT, it’s a hard act to follow and Ballerini can never rise to Tarantino’s level—no one could. Still, don’t let that detract you from picking up the audiobook; it’s one of the very best books on film I’ve ever read/heard. It’s like signing up for a masterclass with Quentin Tarantino. What could be better if you’re a film fan or Tarantino aficionado? I hope QT’s on a roll here and treats us to another book—fiction or nonfiction—very soon. As his filmmaking career winds down, it’d be pretty awesome to have him put out novels and books every other year. He’s as good a writer as he is a filmmaker.

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It’s basically a collection of reviews of Tarantino early cinematic influences

If you are a cinema nerd, you will love this book.
Every chapter analyzes and reviews, one specific movie or a small group of related movies.
The selection of movies dissected in this book are the earliest influences of Quentin Tarantino, childhood to teenage years.
I found it very interesting, it made me want to rewatch some 70s Classics, and discover some that I have missed .

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I really enjoyed this book.

I really really enjoyed this book. Great knowledge and insight from one of my favorite writer directors. The production of the audio book is also great!
I cannot recommend this enough.

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Great listen

This book is full of the kind of Tarantinoisms I was hoping for. Interesting insights from a passionate and intelligent filmmaker. The primary narrator handles all but the first and last chapter and does a job of communicating Tarantino’s enthusiasm for the subject matter.

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What a gem!

If you are a film lover, this is for you!

To get a piece of the mind of Quentin, part narrated by himself, is priceless!

Very interesting!

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Just the first chapter...

is narrated by Tarantino. Q's bravado is lost in the reading by the other narrator.

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Enjoyed Quentin reading it…when he did

The book is a chance to hear an influential Director’s opinion and experience when viewing other influential Directors’ work. It’s like a great song writer dissecting other songs. I have several new movies on my “to watch” list now!
The one issue is that Quentin only reads the intro. It doesn’t take away from the story telling, but it was fun to hear Quentin tell it as he was the one who experienced it.

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Real Eye Opener

Who better than the modern master of film to write about his favourite subject. Informative and entertaining I enjoyed this book beginning to end. The reason for the 4 stars
on performance? Tarantino opens and closes the book and the narrator is very good - I just think it could have been that much better if the author did all the talking - a small thing overall in a great book.

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