Review of CINEMA SPECULATION
Quentin Tarantino’s moviegoing experience
tl;dr – Unless you’re a huge movie buff and/or a huge Tarantino fan (likely a lot of overlap there), the book will probably be quite uninteresting. Also, I wouldn’t recommend the audio version of the book if you do read it.
Quentin Tarantino is one of the most celebrated and iconic filmmakers of our time. I’m not even a huge movie buff but I thoroughly enjoy his films. They have a very particular style and quality to them that has contributed to him being one of the most successful and influential men in the business.
When I saw that he was finally publishing a nonfiction book I was quite excited and bought it right away at the bookstore. The book, Cinema Speculation, is as unique as his films, and distinctly his. It’s part memoir, part film criticism specifically about his moviegoing experience throughout the 1970s – his formative years of experiencing and understanding films.
Tarantino had an interesting childhood with regard to movies. As a young boy born in 1963, he was watching films that most parents would be unlikely to allow a child of about 10 years old to watch in theaters. In other words, these were not kids movies he was watching. Instead, he got a fascinating experience in the theater. Not only was he watching the film, he was observing the adults in the theater reacting to the film, learning what was funny, inappropriate, engaging.
Each chapter of the book is focused on a particular film and Tarantino’s experience of that film – his experience watching it, his thoughts about it. It’s a fascinating approach to a book. But unless you’re familiar with many of these movies that were in theaters in the 1970’s – like me – you’ll likely not be very engaged with the book. Overall, I appreciate the book for what it is and am sure there are many, many people out there who will love this book as much as they love films, and Tarantino’s films in particular.
I’m just not that person.
My expectations for the book were off the mark. And after reading the book jacket summary again, it’s totally my fault as the summary very accurately details what the book is about. If this book does sound like your kind of thing, I’d recommend reading the physical book and not doing the audio version like I did. The first chapter is amazing to listen to because Tarantino is reading his book – his book, with his distinct voice, swearing and all. It was highly entertaining. But then the rest of the book is by a standard audio book performer, and it just sounds… stupid listening to Tarantino’s words read by a ‘professional’. Honestly, I hated it.
Published: November 2022
Publisher: Harper
Format: Audio
If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these great reads:
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2020) | Read my review
How To Build A Car by Adrian Newey (2017) | Read my review
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Helpful review, always good to know what’s not up your alley but might be just the thing for someone else.