41 Years Later, Kevin Costner’s Debut Film Still Tops, Says Tarantino!

Long before creating Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino was profoundly impacted by a road movie released in 1985: “Fandango,” the original title of a film directed by Kevin Reynolds, featuring a young Kevin Costner at the beginning of his career.

The Film That Made Tarantino Yearn for the Desert

In a 1994 interview with Vanity Fair around the release of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino lavished praise on the filmmaker and his debut film. With his characteristic enthusiasm, he even predicted a remarkable future for Kevin Reynolds:

“Kevin Reynolds is going to be the Stanley Kubrick of his decade. Fandango is one of the best first films in the history of cinema. [After watching it], I wanted to wear a dirty tuxedo and sleep, pee, vomit, drink, and sweat in a car driving through the desert!”

This comparison is indeed prestigious, even though Reynolds’ career never quite reached the heights of Kubrick’s.

A Final Fling Before the Vietnam War

The plot of “Fandango” takes us back to 1971. Five young Americans, fresh out of college, hit the road from Texas to Mexico with a somewhat mysterious goal: to find “Dom,” mysteriously buried somewhere south of the border. Whether “Dom” is a person or an object remains unclear initially.

Behind what seems like a fun road trip among friends lies a much darker reality. The Vietnam War looms over these young men, who are likely to be drafted soon. Their journey becomes a last celebration of their youth and freedom before adulthood and the conflict irrevocably change their lives.

A Tumultuous Collaboration with Kevin Costner

After this notably successful debut praised by Tarantino, Kevin Reynolds continued to explore different genres. He directed “The Beast of War” in 1988, “Rapa Nui” in 1994, and the mini-series “Hatfields & McCoys” in 2012.

Following “Fandango,” Reynolds directed Kevin Costner in two more films, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Waterworld.” Their collaboration even extended beyond the films officially directed by Reynolds; he assisted in the filming of “Dances with Wolves,” directed by Costner, particularly in capturing the spectacular bison hunt scenes.

Later, Reynolds directed Henry Cavill in “The Count of Monte Cristo” in 2002, and “Tristan & Isolde” in 2006.

To explore “Fandango,” highly praised by Quentin Tarantino, one should look for the VOD or DVD editions.