Inglourious Basterds (2009)

[Hurmoth]

What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our little foe has an instinct for survival and preservation second to none... And that Monsieur is what a Jew shares with a rat. -Col. Hans Landa

Inglourious Basterds is one of the best, boldest and most taxing World War II based films I’ve ever seen. As with Quentin Tarantino’s previous films, there isn’t a lot of action, so if you are easily distracted, you may want to pass on this film as it is an extremely taxing two and a half hours of mostly dialogue.

As with QT’s previous films, the story is broken down into chapters. The story, while more linear than that of Pulp Fiction, continues the trend of introducing multiple storylines and have them all meet for one cataclysmic finale.

“In the first chapter SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) visits the home of a French farmer and his three daughters he suspects of harboring Jews. Landa sits, invited, in the farmer’s house drinking milk, minding his manners and generally being the all round perfect guest (Waltz is staggeringly effective at the calm menace this part requires).

As Landa segues from one leading question to another he invokes moments of intermittent silence, waiting patiently for the farmer to answer. During these moments the thick leather of his full-length overcoat creaks and chafes; Landa has the farmer in a metaphorical thumbscrew, tightening it each time he speaks. Even puffing on a comically large Calabash pipe he still cuts an intimidating figure. Landa uses his uniform – the symbolic fear it evokes – to terrify those under integration into giving him what he wants. This nail biting, ultimately tragic opener is one of the best scenes in the movie.”

While the film has top-notch performances, Christopher Waltz’s performance outshines them all. I smell, at the very least, an Oscar nod for him, if not a win. While Brad Pitt’s performance was great, his little screen time left something to be desired.

While I wouldn’t say this is as good or even better as Pulp Fiction, I would say that Quentin Tarantino has made another fantastic film. If you enjoy character driven stories instead of mindless action, Inglourious Basterds is most definitely a film to put on your must see list.

As one critic put it, “In not just costume, but really in every possible way, Inglourious Basterds emerges as Quentin Tarantino’s most polished work to date. A trying, sometimes ground-breaking exploration into what it means to tell a story with no rules.”

Clothes on Film contributed to this review.

Edited August 22, 2009 by Hurmoth

[Unrealistic]

Two people shouted midway through the movie "This movie sucks!". I wanted to retort with "Maybe for an idiot. Oh wait, I live in America.", but I chose not to and enjoyed the movie.

It wasn't perfect, but it was great. 9/10.

[Pablo2008jedi]

Seen this last night as was what I expected from tarantino deffinately a 9/10 , nice gore, good laughs and great acting!

[Hurmoth]

Two people shouted midway through the movie "This movie sucks!". I wanted to retort with "Maybe for an idiot. Oh wait, I live in America.", but I chose not to and enjoyed the movie.

It wasn't perfect, but it was great. 9/10.

That's really to bad that people do that and the fact that they didn't understand and appreciate the film :(

I was shocked by my fellow moviegoers. I typically always go to the last showing where there isn't as large of a crowd, especially with such a long film. I was expecting my crowd to be similar to what you had, but I found out that the entire crowd loved the film. In fact, half way through Chapter Three, the power went out and people were thoroughly upset. The vast majority even gave a standing ovation at the end (including me).

[micro]

This was a great movie with extremely memorable scenes. Christoph Waltz's performance was amazing and i thought that Brad pits character added the perfect balance to the film. Quentin Tarantino did a fabulous job of creating tension with his long cut dialog scenes. I have much more to say about the film but i wont digress. This movie gets a 9/10 for me, the only thing i can say is that i think that the movie was originally planned to be longer than it was. I think there was a decent amount of editing. That being said i cant wait to watch it again on BluRay with the Directors cut.

[Veedems Veteran]

To me, it felt like one big Warner Brother's cartoon was being used to retell the story of the war to people in the late 40's. I loved it and it's one of the few films that have really hit me in that artistic sense.

[Mikee99]

I absolutely LOVED this film! Yet another masterpiece from QT!

Christoph Waltz was fantastic. He rightfully won the best actor award for this film at Cannes, and I really hope he gets an Academy, because he absolutely deserves it.

[Hurmoth]

So I just bought the soundtrack. Absolutely brilliant compilation of different themes, styles, and even David Bowie. It takes an extremely confident filmmaker to put David Bowie in a WWII based film. Completely out of place and yet so perfect for the scene it was in.

[watchthisspace]

I really loved this movie! :D Made me want to watch Pulp Fiction again!

[Tech Star]

I really want to watch the movie! :D I loved it in the commercials where Hitler was ****ed and went NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!

[NoLiMiT06]

Getting ready to go see this in a few hours, really looking forward to it :D

[what]

Saw it last Wednesday. One of my all-time favourite films. And yeah, Christoph Waltz was brilliant. Pity Brad Pitt was made the headline name in the film when he spent so little time onscreen.

Might go and see it again this week actually.

[NoLiMiT06]

The movie kicked ass, loved it! The QT movie in a while. I give it a 5/5 going to see it next weekend with a buddy of mine.

[HolyOne]

I thought it was a pretty damn decent movie. Brad Pitt was absolutely hilarious, and I also liked the character of Hans Landa. I was expecting a little more violence then there was, but there was still quite a bit of action.

Without giving anything away, did anyone else think the opening scene was absolutely amazing?

[NoLiMiT06]

I thought it was a pretty damn decent movie. Brad Pitt was absolutely hilarious, and I also liked the character of Hans Landa. I was expecting a little more violence then there was, but there was still quite a bit of action.

Without giving anything away, did anyone else think the opening scene was absolutely amazing?

Yea I was like DAMN!!!! WTF!!!! :D

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I was going to correct a typo in the thread title but the movie is spelled that way:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

One of Quinton's finest films to date! I went in with high expectations and they were totally fulfilled! I laughed, I felt remorse for the characters in the opening scene, I felt so deep into this film I was checking my watch to see how much more I was going to enjoy!

The story was absolutely terrific! I want to see this film again before the week is over. I will be one of the first to own a blu-ray copy of this film, just you watch!

9.5/10! (Y)(Y)(Y)

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I must say, it was a great movie. I enjoyed watching it more than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen put together. Honestly, some of the scenes were just down right hilarious. I've never been a fan of Quentin Tarantino's films only because I've never seen any of his films. And after having seen this movie, I plan on watching his films.

I give the movie a 4.5/5. It's not a perfect movie but it's certainly good. I'll definitely be picking it up on Blu-ray Disc.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

How much did Quentin Tarantino do for this film? I head that he was lending his name to a lot of projects that he has barely touched (sort of like Tim Burton in that way) because his name puts butts in the seats.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

How much did Quentin Tarantino do for this film? I head that he was lending his name to a lot of projects that he has barely touched (sort of like Tim Burton in that way) because his name puts butts in the seats.

I heard from G4TV in an interview with him, that he directed this entire film. Attack of the Show (on G4TV) said it took him almost a decade just to write the scene play for this film, trying to direct his masterpiece as he calls it, saying it was the character integration and interactions that took him the longest to get right.

Oh, I forgot to add, possibly one of the most hilarious, realistic, and best endings of ALL TIME. I always wanted to see a film that did just this exact thing and he actually did it :D

[Hurmoth]

How much did Quentin Tarantino do for this film? I head that he was lending his name to a lot of projects that he has barely touched (sort of like Tim Burton in that way) because his name puts butts in the seats.

I don't know where you heard that, but I am a HUGE QT fan and I don't see his name on a lot of stuff. He has produced films that he hasn't had his hands on, but what big director/writer hasn't done that?

As for Inglourious Basterds, this is 100% QT. He started talking about this film 10 years ago, between Jackie Brown and Kill Bill Vol. 1.

I remember reading about it when I was in high school. QT wrote and directed this film (Y)

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I heard from G4TV in an interview with him, that he directed this entire film. Attack of the Show (on G4TV) said it took him almost a decade just to write the scene play for this film, trying to direct his masterpiece as he calls it, saying it was the character integration and interactions that took him the longest to get right.

Oh, I forgot to add, possibly one of the most hilarious, realistic, and best endings of ALL TIME. I always wanted to see a film that did just this exact thing and he actually did it :D

Agreed! The ending made me laugh my ass off. I think I might have left it in the theatre seat. :rofl:

[Hurmoth]

... I've never seen any of his films. And after having seen this movie, I plan on watching his films.

See Pulp Fiction first. I think it is his best film.

Pulp Fuction > Inglourious Basterds > Reservoir Dogs > Kill Bill (both volumes equally good in their own right) > Death Proof > Jackie Brown

[Vice]

I saw this film today and I absolutely loved it. Definitely one to own on Bluray upon release. The ending was very fulfilling and not at all what I expected.

[Hurmoth]

For those interested you can download an interview of Tarantino on Charlie Rose by right-clicking here.

He talks about his process of writing this film and going onto it actually being made, plus a lot more, maybe even a preview into his next film.