9. The Wild Bunch (1969)
Sam Peckinpah is an obvious influence on Tarantino's work, if just for the fact that most of their movies showcase an uncompromising vision of violence. While Peckinpah's films
Straw Dogs and
The Getaway (both classics in their own right) usually get discussed more, it's his gritty western
The Wild Bunch that feels like his masterpiece. Set in 1913, the movie follows a group of ragged old outlaws who find that the world is changing and they are the last of the old West bandits. The film is littered with stellar performances, specifically from leading man William Holden, who makes us feel a nostalgiac twinge of sadness for the gangsters of yesteryear. If the opening heist doesn't hook you from the very start, maybe you're watching the wrong kind of movies.