Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is among the auteur's most well-reviewed movies. The story of faded TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his loyal stunt-double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) navigating their way through the ever-changing Hollywood landscape in 1969 currently boasts an 85% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, 83/100 Metascore, and 7.6/10 IMDB-rating.
As per usual, Tarantino draws on a well of cinematic influences in the film, and pays homage to several beloved TV shows he watched as a child. Prior to making the picture, Tarantino subjected his cast and crew to a "Swinging Sixties" movie marathon, consisting of ten films from the era that served as an inspiration and mood board for his revisionist Hollywood tale. In chronological order, here are 10 movies that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Gunman's Walk (1958)
Less of a '60s sex comedy and more of the kind of B-grade Western Rick Dalton once starred in, Gunman's Walk stars Tab Hunter as an unruly son whose father struggles to keep him out of trouble.
Lee Hackett (Van Heflin) is a single father trying to raise his sons, Ed (Hunter) and Davy (James Darren), following the death of his wife. Ed is particularly difficult to tame and discipline, especially when he falls for a woman who prefers his brother Davy. In the end, Ed becomes a gunfighter unafraid to face off with his own father.
Battle Of The Coral Sea (1959)
One of the more curious entries into Tarantino's Swinging Sixties movie marathon is Battle of the Coral Sea, a 1959 war film from director Paul Wendkos. Notably, it's the only straightforward war movie on this list and not something made with the '60s counter culture in mind.
Set in 1942, the film follows Jeff Conway (Cliff Robertson), a high-ranking submarine commander tasked with surreptitiously photographing Japanese aircraft carriers in the Coral Sea. When Conway's vessel is partially destroyed, he has no choice but to surrender. Once jailed, Conway and his fellow inmates concoct a daring prison escape.
Arizona Raiders (1965)
In William Whitney's Arizona Raiders, Aude Murphy, and Ben Cooper star as a pair of gang members who are released from prison under the condition they help capture the remaining members. Upon their release from prison, Clint (Murphy) and Willie (Cooper) become deputized as Arizona Rangers.
They set out for the border to arrest the outstanding Quantrell gang. When they find the men holed up an Indian reservation, they feign interest in rejoining the gang. Alas, the ruse fails and Willie is nearly beaten to death.
The Wrecking Crew (1968)
Dean Martin's sexy 007-knockoff Matt Helm is directly referenced in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The fourth and final film in the spy-character series, The Wrecking Crew is the movie that Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) goes to the theater to watch in Tarantino's latest.
Also starring Tate, The Wrecking Crew finds super-spy Matt Helm on the hunt for billion-dollar gold bullion stolen from a Danish train. Matt's solo mission is interrupted by the bumbling British mole Freya Carlson (Tate), sent by the British government to thwart Helm's plans.
Hammerhead (1968)
David Miller's British spy film Hammerhead fuses the swinging sixties sex vibe with the cunning espionage of a James Bond outing.
Charles Hood (Vince Edwards) is a dashing young American agent operating in the most dangerous areas in London. When a nefarious criminal nicknamed Hammerhead (Peter Vaughan) threatens to steal sensitive NATO secrets, the British government recruits Hood to find him and bring him down ASAP. Hood's mission takes him to the coast of Portugal where he confronts Hammerhead and fends off the lusty advances of sexpot Sue Trenton (Judy Geeson).
Easy Rider (1969)
Easy Rider is a seminal movie that defined an entire generation of filmmakers, particularly the ones who came in the generation that would be known as New Hollywood. It's not only one of the most important movies ever made for the way it shifted the economic model in mainstream Hollywood, but it also directly influenced movies such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Directed by and starring Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider is a spiritual road-movie among two biker pals (Hopper and Peter Fonda) who sojourn from Los Angeles to New Orleans while meeting an assortment of colorful characters along the way.
Cactus Flower (1969)
A year after Gene Saks directed Walter Matthau in the classic comedy The Odd Couple, the two reunited for the charming 1969 sex-farce Cactus Flower. For her "introductory" performance, Goldie Hawn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
The film concerns Julian Winston (Matthau), a dentist who fools his girlfriend Toni (Hawn) into believing he has a wife and kids and therefore cannot marry her. To keep the ruse going, Julian asks his dental assistant Stephanie (Ingrid Bergman) to pretend to be his spouse so that Toni will stop pressuring him.
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
Paul Mazursky's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is the definitive swinging-sixties sex-comedy. Made during the height of the free love movement, the film concerns four friends who convene to explore their sexuality, monogamy, future relationships, and the like.
Bob Sanders (Robert Culp) is a documentary filmmaker married to Carol (Natalie Wood). Following a group therapy meeting, Bob and Carol invite their friends Ted (Elliot Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon) over for a night of debauchery, enlightenment, honesty, and sexual awakening.
Model Shop (1969)
Jacques Demy's Model Shop inspired the visual aesthetic of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in a major way, particularly the scenes involving Cliff Booth driving around Los Angeles.
The film follows George (Gary Lockwood), a broke out-of-work architect with big dreams. When George's car is recalled due to a lack of payments, he accidentally crosses paths with a ravishing French model named Lola (Anouk Amiee). Gary begins following Lola until he conjures the courage to converse with her, setting off a chain of life-defining events in the week before George is drafted into the Vietnam War.
Getting Straight (1970)
In Richard Rush's dramatic rom-com Getting Straight, Elliot Gould stars as a Vietnam War veteran who returns home and struggles with the dilemma of either becoming a teacher or joining the student protests that challenges the status quo.
Based on the Ken Kolb novel, Harry Bailey's (Gould) decision is made harder when his girlfriend Jan (Candice Bergen) expresses her desires to settle down, get married, and move to the suburbs. With his options looming large on his psyche, Harry explodes during a presentation for his master's degree.