Inglourious Basterds gave Quentin Tarantino a good excuse to kill nazis. With what became his most critically acclaimed film since Pulp Fiction. At least in terms of awards attention. After the more experimental Death Proof, the next Tarantino flick was something so aesthetically different then anything he’s done up to this point. I was certainly thrown off by Inglourious Basterds being a period war picture. Half the time it feels like a foreign film. But all the classic Tarantinoisms are there. From lengthy casual conversations to era appropriate pop culture references. Even a few foot shots make it in.
The profane (possibly misspelled) Inglourious Basterds refers to a group of manly Jewish-American nazi hunting soldiers. Brad Pitt plays their leader Lt. Aldo Raine, who wants nothing more than to brutalise every last nazi and take their scalps. Horror director Eli Roth is one of his top soldiers. On the English side is Michael Fassbender as an undercover Lt, Diane Kruger as undercover German actress Bridget von Hammersmark, and an out of nowhere Mike Myers cameo. But the real star of the film is Christoph Waltz as the charming yet despicable SS Colonel Hans Landa. Waltz was so magnetic that he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Landa is a “Jew hunter” capable of seeing through deception, but his biggest mistake was sparing one of their lives after a disturbing house raid. That lone survivor is French Jewish theater owner Shosanna Dreyfus. She’s not the biggest name, but Mélanie Laurent is still the person you want to follow the most. With all the pieces in place, the Basterds and Dreyfus both simultaneously plot to end World War II. After nazis plan to premiere a propaganda film at Shosanna’s theater. History skews completely when the theater is burned to the ground and all the top nazis, including Hitler himself, are viciously killed in a sea of blood & fire. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t satisfying. There’s still plenty of black comedy, but a Best Picture nomination proved Inglourious Basterds was a more sophisticated step in the right direction for Tarantino.
Colonel Hans Landa negotiates
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