Of the dozen or so great opening shots of 2015, the one that sticks with me the most is the first long pull-out that introduces Quentin Tarantino's gorgeous, gory The Hateful Eight. First focused tightly on a wooden depiction of Christ on the cross, Tarantino and DP Robert Richardson slowly reveal the lone cross in the middle of a vast landscape buried in the cold under frost and snow. It's a great emblem of the film's consideration of how any unity between mankind, Christian or otherwise, has been destroyed, frozen over by time, war, the land, and prejudice. And the shot wouldn't be halfway as striking if it weren't for Ennio Morricone's menacing, thunderous score looming behind it, alluding to the pain and ferocity that are about to come.

It's not surprising then that during a recent discussion with Deadline, Morricone admitted that he's already set to work with Tarantino again, though what exactly that film will be is still very up in the air. Here's what the famous composer had to say:


“Tarantino has already told me that there will be a next movie that we are going to make together...I told him that in the future I would like to have much more time. I would like to start working with him even long before in order to have the time to work, to think about the music, and also to exchange more ideas with him about what I am going to score for him. I never ask any director to work with me, but it was Tarantino who told me, ‘OK, there will be a next time.' ”

Morricone has been a longtime influence on Tarantino. Before pairing with him on The Hateful Eight, the director used pieces of his music from famous Spaghetti Westerns and action flicks like Hellbenders, Two Mules for Sister Sara, and The Family in Django Unchained. Beyond that, the Kill Bill films borrowed freely from Morricone's scores for Sergio Leone's mighty Man with No Name trilogy, as well as Sergio Corbucci's Navajo Joe and The Mercenary. This seems to be a collaboration built to last, despite the early rumors that Morricone was at odds with Tarantino after working with him for real.

You can watch seven minutes of live footage from Morricone's scoring of The Hateful Eight right below:


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Image via The Weinstein Company
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Image via The Weinstein Company