Quentin Tarantino Admits One Movie Scene Is Too Perfect for Him to Beat

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Quentin Tarantino, a famously knowledgeable film director, recently shared his pick for the greatest movie scene ever. He believes the climactic gunfight in Sergio Leone’s 1966 Western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is simply unbeatable – a sequence he says he’ll never be able to surpass.

As a film buff, I was fascinated to hear Tarantino talk on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast about what he considers the absolute best in movie scenes. He pinpointed the ‘Sad Hill Cemetery’ showdown, but then went on to say that, for him, the final gunfight in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is a sequence he can’t picture anyone ever surpassing – it’s just that good. He really feels when scenes like that click, it’s something special.

Tarantino, even with all his experience, believes a particular scene is his best work. He stated, “I don’t think I’ll ever create something that good again.” He explained that the scene’s unique combination of images, music, and suspense makes it truly special.

He described the experience as completely captivating, saying it feels like you lose yourself and are transported to another world – something he doesn’t believe music, novels, or paintings can fully achieve. Tarantino also pointed out that seeing a film in a theater with an audience amplifies this feeling, creating a shared, intensely thrilling experience.

He told Empire magazine that the moment that impacts him the most is during the build-up to the gunfight, specifically when the music reaches its peak with the “Ecstasy of Gold” score. When asked about his favorite shot, he explained, “It’s easy.” He described how during the final three-way showdown in the bullring, as the music swells to a huge orchestral crescendo, a wide shot of the bullring appears with the first major explosion of the film’s theme.”

Tarantino praised the editing’s dramatic effect, specifically pointing to a shot where the camera moves from close-ups of participants preparing to a wide view of the bullring and surrounding graves. He called it not only his favorite shot in the film, but his favorite edit in cinematic history.

As a huge film buff, I always come back to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It’s really the defining Spaghetti Western, in my opinion. Clint Eastwood plays the stoic ‘Good,’ Lee Van Cleef is brilliantly menacing as ‘the Bad,’ and Eli Wallach steals every scene as ‘the Ugly.’ The movie follows these three guys as they race against each other to find a fortune in Confederate gold during the Civil War. It was the third film in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, and while reviews weren’t universally positive when it first came out, it’s now considered a total classic and a hugely influential film.

@cinemaman5413 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. | Final scene | #thegoodthebadandtheugly #clinteastwood #movie #standoff ♬ die (sped up) – lucidbeatz & key kelly

By 2026, Quentin Tarantino is reassessing his future plans. He’s put his tenth film, originally titled The Movie Critic and intended to star Brad Pitt, on hold and is now developing a new idea for what he says will be his last movie. He’s also been focusing more on writing books about the history of cinema.

The famous cemetery shootout clearly has a lasting impact, even on acclaimed directors like Tarantino. He admitted, “I can’t ever imagine doing anything that good,” highlighting just how iconic the scene is considered to be.

Let us know in the comments if you believe the cemetery scene is the best in movie history!

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2026-01-19 16:21