Cool Videos: Quentin Tarantino’s first film, My Best Friend’s Birthday

Back in 1984, Quentin Tarantino began filming his very first movie while working at Video Archives in Manhattan Beach, CA. The movie, called MY BEST FRIEND’S BIRTHDAY, was created by him and a group of his fellow video store co-workers (including Roger Avary, who photographed the film) and classmates from his drama school on a budget of about $5,000. Shooting was finally completed in 1987.

Eventually, a 70-minute rough cut would come into existence, though sadly a fire at the processing lab where the print was being housed destroyed all but 36 minutes of the film.

Those 36 minutes are embedded below. And as you’ll soon see, My BEST FRIEND’S BIRTHDAY is in many ways almost a precursor to the 1993 Tony Scott film TRUE ROMANCE which QT wrote. Even from the onset, the filmmaker’s style, signature, and energy were clearly evident.

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