Every film mentioned by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino in their Hot Fuzz commentary track

2008.01.14 — Entertainment | Movies | Movie Analysis | by Andrew Cole

Hot Fuzz is an amazing movie. It's easily one of the funniest films I've ever seen and also one of the cleverest. In the new 3-disk collector's edition), director Edgar Wright invites fellow director, friend, and fellow action movie buff Quentin Tarantino to do a commentary. What follows is a tour de force of movie and television geekery from both directors. In the course of their commentary—which almost never actually comments on the scenes they are watching—Wright and Tarantino mention close to 200 movies and television series.

It is, as far as I know, Tarantino's first commentary. As chatty as he is, he never does commentaries on his own movies. He lets loose on this one, tho, along with Wright, and they rattle off a continuous stream of productions and people that have inspired them—or sickened them—or which certain actors or directors have worked on—or which they've just heard of—or made up.

Strangely, they talk at some length about Peter Jackson doing a cameo for the film (he's the Santa Claus who stabs Nick Angel in the hand in the opening montage), but never mention any of his films.

Here is the list, with links to the Internet Movie Database so you can decide for yourself if you want to delve into the overlooked gems and weird schlock that inspired these two filmmakers. Thruout the list, EW is Edgar Wright; QT is Quentin Tarantino, of course; and I try to give the reason why they mention the film.

1. Hot Fuzz
   (EW's film; QT's favorite film of the year—"so far")
2. The Mechanic
   (directed by Michael Winner, who EW would like to have do a commentary for Hot Fuzz; starring Charles Bronson; EW's favorite Michael Winner film)
3. Lawman
   (directed by Michael Winner; starring Burt Lancaster)
4. Scorpio
   (directed by Michael Winner; starring Burt Lancaster; later discussed as featuring Alain Delon and Gayle Hunnicutt)
5. Firepower
   (mistakenly referred to as Flashpoint; directed by Michael Winner; featuring OJ Simpson and Sophia Loren)

6. The Nightcomers

   The Nightcomers
   (directed by Michael Winner; starring Marlon Brando)
7. Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
   (directed by Michael Winner)
8. James Bond films
   (filmed around the world "with Sony money" and therefore not "British" anymore; some starring Hot Fuzz's Timothy Dalton)
9. Death Wish 3
   (set in New York but filmed in the UK; directed by Michael Winner)
10. Full Metal Jacket
    (set in the US but filmed in the UK; directed by Stanley Kubrick)
11. Beyond Therapy
    (set in New York but filmed in Paris; directed by Robert Altman)
12. The Laughing Policeman
    (good old cop movie QT showed EW; starring Walter Mathau)
13. Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man
    (good Italian cop movie QT showed EW; QT: One of the greatest titles of all time, and it lives up to its name!)
14. The Rookie
    (similar plot to Hot Fuzz; starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen; written by Spiegel and Yakin)
15. Hostel
    (produced by QT and the writers of The Rookie)

16. That's My Boy

    That's My Boy
    (similar plot to Hot Fuzz; QT's favorite Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis movie)
17. 48 Hrs.
    (by allusion: "Nick Nolte is a cop. Eddie Murphy is a con.")
18. Dirty Harry
    (by allusion: "Dirty Danny"; later referenced directly)
19. Shaun of the Dead
    (directed by EW; starring Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg and Nick Frost; later when discussing editing cheats, EW mentions that he removed zombie blinking)
20. Hot Fuzz 2
    (imaginary sequel to Hot Fuzz which wouldn't work)
21. The Matrix
    (film that didn't need sequels, like Hot Fuzz)
22. The Matrix: Reloaded
    (the sequel, which was unnecessary and caused problems with the story)
23. The Matrix: Revolutions
    ("the third one")
24. Superman
    (referenced by the ending of The Matrix)
25. "Spaced"
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Julia Deacon; directed by EW and starring Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg and Nick Frost)
26. Naked
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Peter Wight; directed by Mike Leigh)
27. Vera Drake
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Peter Wight; directed by Mike Leigh)
28. The Bitch
    (starring Joan Collins and featuring Hot Fuzz's Peter Wight and Bill Nighy; QT mistakenly says it was directed by Quentin Masters but it was actually directed by Gerry O'Hara)
29. The Stud
    (starring Joan Collins; directed by Quentin Masters)

30. The Wicker Man

    The Wicker Man
    (starring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward; the by-word in the UK for creepy towns)
31. Deliverance
    (the by-word in the US for creepy towns)
32. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
    (similar creepy-town idea; by allusion: "We're in 'Texas Chainsaw' country.")
33. Callan
    (starring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward as a "badass lawman")
34. Reservoir Dogs
    (directed by QT; later, QT mentions an accidental moment left in, when he raises his finger to call cut but the other actors rise to leave, so he does too)
35. Enchanted April
    (what everyone thought British movies were in the 80s and 90s)
36. Sitting Target
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward as a "badass lawman"; directed by Douglas Hickox; starring Oliver Reed)
37. 'Breaker' Morant
    (starring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward, which QT quotes with a shout)
38. "The Equalizer"
    (starring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward as a "badass lawman", altho actually a private detective)
39. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
    (by allusion: "Gil Grissom"; featuring William Peterson as a "badass lawman", altho this is stretching both terms; QT directed an episode)
40. To Live and Die in LA
    (by allusion: "Richard Chance"; featuring William Peterson as a "badass lawman")
41. Manhunter
    (by allusion: "Will Graham"; featuring William Peterson as a "badass lawman")
42. Young Guns 2
    (featuring William Peterson as a "badass lawman")
43. "The Saint"
    (by allusion: "Simon Templar" who QT mistakenly calls "Temple"; starring Roger Moore as a "badass lawman", altho he's not really a lawman)
44. "The Persuaders!"
    (starring Roger Moore as a "badass lawman", altho he's not really a lawman)
45. Twisted Nerve
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Billie Whitelaw; one of QT's favorite films; directed by Roy Boulting; controversial for its treatment of Down Syndrome)
46. "Common as Muck"
    (starring Hot Fuzz's Edward Woodward)
47. Lawrence of Arabia
    (QT is friends with the daughter of editor Anne Coates, wife of Douglas Hickox)

48. Brannigan

    Brannigan
    (directed by Douglas Hickox; UK cop movie starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough; featuring Ralph Meeker, who QT quotes later with a shout; EW says later that Judy Geeson's character is "Carol Thatcher" but it's actually Jennifer; characters walk past the ITA theater)
49. Hot Doris
    (an imaginary film starring Hot Fuzz character PC Doris Thatcher)
50. Grindhouse
    (included a spoof trailer by EW; the double-feature of....)
51. Death Proof
    (directed by QT; referred to directly later, and...)
52. Planet Terror
    (directed by Robert Rodriguez; referred to again later, indirectly)
53. Maximum 'Tache
    (an imaginary film starring Hot Fuzz detectives Andy and Andy)
54. Coffy
    (includes a typical 1970s strip club scene for no reason)
55. "Budgie"
    (1970s British urban-streets TV show, starring Adam Faith)
56. "Minder"
    (1970s British urban-streets TV show)
57. The Man Who Haunted Himself
    (starring Roger Moore; directed by Basil Deardon)
58. Khartoum
    (directed by Basil Deardon)
59. Dead of Night
    (directed by Basic Deardon; QT: the greatest of all ventriloquist dummy movies)
60. Devil Doll
    (another good ventriloquist dummy movie; directed by Lindsay Shonteff; starring Bryant Haliday)
61. Magic
    (another ventriloquist dummy movie; QT: doesn't deliver at the end; directed by Richard Attenborough; featuring Ann-Margret)
62. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
    (mistakenly called "Death Wish 3: The Crackdown", but QT is right to bet that director J Lee Thompson is British)
63. The Passage
    (directed by J Lee Thompson, starring Malcolm McDowell, James Mason, and Anthony Quinn)

64. Fragment of Fear

    Fragment of Fear
    (starring Gayle Hunnicutt and David Hemmings; featuring Hot Fuzz's Ken Cranham)
65. Hammer films
    (UK horror films with some respect in the UK and abroad)
66. Don't Look Now
    (The Wicker Man was the B movie to it in the original double feature)
67. Flash Gordon
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Timothy Dalton)
68. No Escape
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson)
69. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
    (featuring Hot Fuzz's Ken Cranham)
70. 11 Harrowhouse
    (starring Candice Bergen; QT discussed it with her; featuring Charles Grodin and John Gielgud)

71. Silent Rage

    Silent Rage
    (DVD featured on-screen in Hot Fuzz; starring Chuck Norris and featuring Brian Libby, name-checked as a paperboy in Hot Fuzz)
72. Hero and the Terror
    (mistakenly called "Hero Versus Terror" at first; starring Chuck Norris; one of the worst of the genre)
73. Unbreakable
    (directed by M Knight Shamalamadingdong; QT "not super-screamingly obvious that this is a re-telling of the Superman story," which it is not, but he's close)
74. Halloween
    (by allusion: Silent Rage is "Chuck Norris versus Michael Myers"; later referenced directly)
75. The Shawshank Redemption
    (directed by Frank Darabont and featuring Brian Libby)
76. The Green Mile
    (directed by Frank Darabont and featuring Brian Libby)
77. The Mist
    (directed by Frank Darabont and featuring Brian Libby)

78. Raw Meat

    Raw Meat (AKA Death Line)
    (one of EW's favorite horror films)
79. North by Northwest
    (accidental moment that stayed in the movie: kid puts his fingers in his ears before the gunshot)
80. The Phantom Menace
    (did more than the recommended amount of "cheating" in the editing room)
81. Lady in the Water
    (directed by and featuring M Knight Shamalamadingdong with blinking in close-ups that could have been fixed in editing as done in Hot Fuzz)
82. Bullseye!
    (directed by Michael Winner and starring Michael Caine)
83. Candyman
    (like him, Michael Winner might show up if you say his name five times)
84. The Italian Job
    (Paramount film with UK cast and setting, altho Paramount was just the distributor for Oakhurst Productions)
85. Alfie
    (Paramount film with UK cast and setting, altho Paramount was just the distributor for Lewis Gilbert)
86. Hennessy
    (AIP film with UK cast and setting; starring Rod Steiger)
87. Carry On films
    (UK comedies that don't "travel" well)
88. The Exorcist
    (US horror film that killed off the Hammer horror films)
89. To the Devil a Daughter
    (US/German horror film that helped kill Hammer films)
90. The Satanic Rites of Dracula/Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride
    (UK horror film)
91. Dracula AD 1972
    (One of QT's favorites; starring Christopher Lee)
92. Chariots of Fire
    (1980s UK film that began to become the norm)
93. A Room With a View
    (1980s UK film that began to become the norm)
94. Four Weddings and a Funeral
    (1990s UK film that began to become the norm)
95. Hellraiser
    (1980s UK horror exception; directed by Clive Barker)
96. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom
    (QT: Hellraiser was this film as done by Hammer)

97. Villain

    Villain
    (UK film; starring Richard Burton, mistakenly referred to as The Villain by QT; directed by Michael Tuchner)
98. The Squeeze
    (UK cop film; directed by Michael Apted; starring Stacy Keech)
99. The Young Americans
    (UK film with Harvey Keitel; sort of a remake of Brannigan)
100. Copkiller
     (Italian film starring Harvey Keitel and featuring Johnny Rotten [as John Lydon])
101. Theater of Blood
     (directed by Douglas Hickox)
102. Frenzy
     (same stuntman as in Brannigan and Sean of the Dead; featuring Barry Foster)
103. McQ
     (Dirty Harry rip-off starring John Wayne; directed by John Sturges)
104. Death Wish 2
     (characters walk past the Paramount theater; directed by Michael Winner)
105. True Romance
     (characters walk past Vista theater; written by QT)
106. Point Break
     (one of EW's favorite films; great chase thru a back yard, but copies Raising Arizona; featuring Gary Busey and M Emmet Walsh)
107. Raising Arizona
     (EW's favorite film of all time; good chase thru a back yard, but copies Straight Time)
108. Ferris Beuller's Day Off
     (another good chase thru a back yard)
109. Straight Time
     (chase thru a back yard inspired Raising Arizona and Point Break; featuring Gary Busey and M Emmet Walsh)
110. Narc
     (good back yard chase)

111. Police Academy 5

     Police Academy
     (good back yard chase; starring Steve Guttenberg, who EW prefers over Matt McCoy)
112. Reno 911: Miami
     (EW: poster looks just like Police Academy 5 poster—but it doesn't)
113. Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach
     (EW: poster copied by Reno 911: Miami; starring Matt McCoy)
114. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
     (the one where they go Moscow; mistakenly called the eighth at first, but actually the seventh; featuring neither Guttenberg nor McCoy)

115. Reno 911: Miami

     Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
     (the second Police Academy movie; starring Steve Guttenberg)
116. Police Academy 3: Back in Training
     (the third Police Academy movie; it's poster actually does look a bit like the Reno 911: Miami poster; starring Steve Guttenberg)
117. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol
     (the fourth Police Academy movie; starring Steve Guttenberg)
118. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
     (the sixth Police Academy movie; one of the films EW projected; starring Matt McCoy)

119. Police Academy 3

     Lethal Weapon 2
     (EW saw the trailer dozens of times while a projectionist in 1989 and associates the music with 1980s action movies and used it in Hot Fuzz)
120. Die Hard
     (same music composer as Lethal Weapon 2; featuring Alan Rickman)
121. Batman
     (EW saw the trailer dozens of times while a projectionist in 1989)
122. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
     (EW saw the trailer dozens of times while a projectionist in 1989)
123. Without a Clue
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Paul Freeman; one of the films EW projected)
124. Prisoner of Rio
     (starring Hot Fuzz's Paul Freeman)
125. Raiders of the Lost Ark
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Paul Freeman)
126. Long Good Friday
     (starring Hot Fuzz's Paul Freeman and Pierce Brosnan)

127. The Sender

     The Sender
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Paul Freeman; directed by Roger Christian; QT's favorite movie of 1982; he created his own video version from the R-rated and TV versions)
128. Battlefield Earth
     (directed by Roger Christian)
129. Nostradamus
     (directed by Roger Christian; and EW's brother was a model maker)
130. The Evil Dead
     (EW created his own version)
131. Beaches
     (one of the films EW projected)
132. A Nightmare on Elmstreet 4
     (one of the films EW projected; which he accidentally showed with the reels in the wrong order, and no one complained; directed by Renny Harlin)

133. Can't Stop the Music

     Can't Stop the Music
     (EW: the high point of Steve Guttenberg's career)
134. The Boys from Brazil
     (EW: the other high point of Steve Guttenberg's career)
135. Still Crazy
     (starring Hot Fuzz's Bill Nighy; his breakout movie)
136. "The Strauss Family"
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson)
137. "I, Claudius"
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson)
138. The Road to Wellville
     (directed by Alan Parker, who was discussed more in a deleted bit of commentary)
139. The Rock
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson)
140. Enemy of the State
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson; directed by Tony Scott; EW thinks it's one of the most wasteful films of great actors, especially Ian Hart)
141. Lethal Weapon 3
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Stuart Wilson)
142. The Omen
     (by allusion: "Mrs. Baylock"; featuring Hot Fuzz's Billie Whitelaw)
143. The Krays
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Billie Whitelaw as the British thugs' "deah muvvuh")
144. Brazil
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Jim Broadbent)
145. "Coronation Street"
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Anne Reid)
146. "Victoria Wood"
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Anne Reid)
147. The Mother
     (starring Hot Fuzz's Anne Reid; directed by Roger Michell)
148. Matchpoint
     (directed by Woody Allen; wasteful of great actors)
149. Scoop
     (directed by Woody Allen; wasteful of great actors)
150. Psycho
     (directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who was derided for it but not as bad as the Boulting Brothers were for Twisted Nerve)

151. Peeping Tom

     Peeping Tom
     (directed by Michael Powell, who was derided for its sleeze)
152. Shaw Brothers films
     (HK action films that QT has on bootleg)
153. Supercop films
     (Hong Kong action films that EW has on bootleg)
154. Kill Bill
     (directed by QT; used music from Twisted Nerve)
155. Bad Boys 2
     (Musing on who wrote the line "Shit just got real", referenced in Hot Fuzz)
156. Permanent Midnight
     (writer also co-wrote Bad Boys 2)
157. Armageddon
     (had seven credited writers but no one noticed that there were two nearly identical lines about it being a nightmare a couple of minutes apart)
158. Past Midnight
     (QT did a dialog polish; a poor man's Jagged Edge)
159. Jagged Edge
     (compared to Past Midnight)
160. Crimson Tide
     (QT did a dialog polish; directed by Tony Scott, whom QT loves and can't say no to)
161. Doom
     (EW and Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg were asked to do a dialog polish, but didn't)
162. Pulp Fiction
     (directed by QT)
163. Plump Fiction
     (spoof version of Pulp Fiction)
164. Pulp Friction
     (porn version of Pulp Fiction)

165. Drill Bill

     Drill Bill
     (gay porn version of Kill Bill)
166. Thrill Bill
     (straight porn version of Kill Bill)
167. Death Poof
     (imaginary UK gay porn version of Death Proof, to be directed by EW)
168. Death Poo
     (imaginary scat-fetish version of Death Proof, with Scatman Mike)
169. Girls Gone Wild films
     (directed by Joe Francis, misidentified as "Joe Franklin")
170. Bad Boys 3
     (an imaginary third Bad Boys movie, which EW is willing to direct)
171. Marx Brothers films
     (QT and EW agree should not be seen more than one at a time)
172. Man on Fire
     (directed by Tony Scott and an inspiration for the final shootout camerawork)
173. Domino
     (directed by Tony Scott and an inspiration for the final shootout camerawork; one of both EW and QT's favorite films of the year)
174. "Q" series
     (Spike Milligan's television show, where they left wardrobe tags on the costumes, just as evidence tags are left on the guns used by the cops in in Hot Fuzz)
175. "Cannon"
     (1970s US cop show, starring William Conrad)
176. Mad Max
     (one of QT's favorite car chase scenes of all time; featuring the Night Rider)
177. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
     (not the big truck scene)

178. War of the Gargantuas

     War of the Gargantuas
     (directed by Ishirô Honda; Japanese monster movie QT would like to emulate and EW inadvertantly did emulate in the model village fight)
179. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
     (filmed next to the model village set; starring Hot Fuzz's Cate Blanchett; directed by Shekhar Kapur)
180. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
     (featuring Hot Fuzz's Bill Nighy)
181. Hope and Glory
     (the destroyed station house resembles it)
182. Children of Men
     (shot near by; borrowed its rubble for the destroyed station house scene)
183. Mary Poppins
     (by allusion: Dick Van Dyke's lousy Cockney accent)
184. Ocean's Eleven
     (by allusion: Don Cheadle's lousy Cockney accent)
185. "Hot Fuzz"
     (imaginary TV show that would have been based on Hot Fuzz if it were made in the 1980s)
186. Boom
     (starring Richard Burton and Liz Taylor; Burton speaks the title as dialog)

187. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

     The Perfect Storm
     (Christopher McDonald speaks the title as dialog; directed by Wolfgang Peterson)
188. The Mother of Tears
     (Asia Agento speaks the title as dialog; directed by Dario Argento)
189. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
     (example of a movie QT takes music from)
190. Extreme Prejudice
     (directed by Walter Hill; DVD cover used in Hot Fuzz)

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