The 1973 Blaxploitation Thriller Tarantino Calls a Masterpiece

But even among the sea of grindhouse, revenge flicks, and VHS-era sleaze he's championed, there's one film he holds especially dear: Coffy, the 1973 Blaxploitation classic starring Pam Grier.

Tarantino has never been shy about his love for exploitation films, and Coffy is high on his list.

In his own words: "Coffy is one of my favourite movies."

The film's influence runs deep through Tarantino's filmography — most obviously in Jackie Brown, his 1997 homage to the Blaxploitation era, where he cast Grier in the lead role. But the obsession goes deeper than casting nostalgia. In a Guardian interview, Tarantino said:

"Pam is such an icon. To one degree or another, it is like casting John Wayne in a movie. You cast John Wayne in a western... For some audiences, that will be the case, but that is not where I am coming from."

He praised Grier's "womanness," her "power and strength," and the fact that she didn't need to dress like a man or act tough to seem dangerous.

For Tarantino, Coffy wasn't just a good movie — it was a blueprint. Directed by exploitation legend Jack Hill, the film follows a nurse-turned-vigilante who takes out drug dealers with a shotgun hidden in a wig. The budget was modest, the action was cheap, and the politics were loud. Naturally, Tarantino loved it.

As for Jack Hill, he returned the favor, calling Tarantino "an amazing talent" and describing his own work as filled with "funny scripts," a quality Tarantino has long admired. Tarantino once referred to Hill as "the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking."

Jackie Brown may have earned Tarantino serious critical praise — and helped reintroduce Pam Grier to a new generation — but the roots are all in Coffy.

Just look at these numbers:

• Coffy was made for just $500,000
• It pulled in $4 million at the box office in 1973 — a solid return for what was essentially drive-in fare
• Tarantino's Jackie Brown, influenced by Coffy, had a budget of $12 million and grossed $74.7 million worldwide

In short: Tarantino saw value in a $500K revenge flick long before the rest of Hollywood learned to pretend they loved grindhouse. And he still thinks Jack Hill, not Spielberg, is the real master.