Inglourious Basterds Reviews

Tarantino pays another hommage to cinema. This time not only by abusing of the pastiche, so common in his films, but also by giving cinema an ironic proeminence in the fall of the Nazi regime. Chris Waltz gives, what I think, the best performance of the film. The film itself is fun, above everything, but hardly Tarantino's best, for those who believed so, even himself.

If you haven't seen this movie, you need too, its great. The acting is very good, the way it was filmed and of course it was directed by Tarantino so at least watch it once! I really enjoyed this movie, although it was alittle graphic at times it was really good.

I can't imagine a director whose thirst for blood and violence is greater than Quentin Tarantino's. (At least in his films) Inglourious Basterds is no different. We all know Tarantino, the guy who exploded on the scene in the early 90s with cult classics, such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Since, he has been a disappointment for some. Well, I am relieved to say, Tarantino has not lost his touch. He brings us his best since Pulp Fiction and thankfully so.

We know the story, a WWII tale told only as Tarantino can. (Fictional of course) A war film hasn't been done like this before. Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine leads the Basterds in Nazi occupied France. Their goal - killin' Nazi's. Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa plays a similar role on the other side. He's know as the "Jew Hunter" and goes about his business as ruthless as no other. The third sub story consists of a young Jewish refugee, Shosanna Dreyfus, who witnesses the slaughter of her family. And she, of course, wishes to plot revenge on the Germans for her devastating lose. There actually is three stories here intertwining and connecting with each other. If you know anything about Tarantino or his films, this is nothing new for him.

War has never been been so fun. The Basterds, are haunting, but at the same time, very funny, at times even hilarious. The dark comedy aspect play a big aspect in this as in many other Tarantino films. The entertainment and hilarity is led by Brad Pitt. I found him extremely funny and entertaining. I couldn't wait to see him on screen again. Even with his crazy accent, he works in this type of film. Also making great impressions were Mélanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz, who were tremendous. The film was filled with noteworthy performances.

The story itself, has so many historical inaccuracies to even count, but so what? It isn't meant to be a documentary. Tarantino wanted to have fun with, as should we. The cinematography department deserves big props with beautiful vibrant colors highlighting the film. You've really got to love the last line in the film... but Pulp Fiction remains his masterpiece.

Quentin Tarantino among all other things, is an entertainer. WWII, is one of the most tragic events in history, but Tarantino some how manages to make it fun. Inglourious Basterds is a fun film, it's tremendously entertaining, shocking, dramatic, suspenseful, and funny at the same time. Jam packed with everything you look for in a movie, done with that certain Tarantino style, it's worth being checked out. It's time to experience for yourself what war is like through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino.

Before I saw this, I wasn't entirely sure of what to expect out of Inglourious Basterds with no official plot synopsis revealed and the filming was pretty rushed (think it was about 3-4 months which isn't that long for a feature film) but the fact it involved Brad Pitt in the leading role and directed and written by Quentin Tarantino, expectations were high. Admittedly, there was no open plot in the trailers so I guess that the plot unveiled itself as the audience watches it (Pulp Fiction was like that as well. Well, it was for me but don't know about anyone else). I absolutely loved it when I watched it and there were flawless moments for me and it was something that was just so cool which isn't naturally normal for a film set during World War II when it is taken seriously.


There is usually lots of violence in war films but Quentin Tarantino uses his own old-school violence like the scalping of the Nazis, a guy getting beaten to death with a baseball bat and carving the Nazi sign onto a person's forehead so in some ways the violence is quite unnecessary but it makes the film even cooler and it suits the director's style. I think the main thing that surprised me about Inglourious Basterds was the fact that there was so much suspense! It is like Tarantino stretched the suspense and then it all exploded and then stopped quite quickly onto either another scene or just carried on and builds the suspense again (such as the opening scene in the dairy farm house and in the bar in Paris).


A group of hardened Nazi killers stalk their prey in Nazi-occupied France as a Jewish cinema owner plots to take down top-ranking SS officers during the official premiere of a high-profile German propaganda film. As far as Lt. Aldo Raine aka "Aldo the Apache" is concerned, the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. Raine's mission is to strike fear into the heart of Adolf Hitler by brutally murdering as many goose-steppers as possible, or die trying. In order to accomplish that goal, Lt. Raine recruits a ruthless team of cold-blooded killers known as "The Basterds" which includes baseball-bat-wielding Bostonian Sgt. Donny Donowitz aka "The Bear Jew" and steely psychopath Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz among others. When the Basterds' secret rendezvous with turncoat German actress Bridget von Hammersmark goes awry, they learn that the Nazis will be staging the French premiere of "The Nation's Pride," a rousing propaganda film based on the exploits of German hero Fredrick Zoller, at a modest theatre owned by Jewish cinephile Shoshanna Dreyfuss, posing as a Gentile after the brutal murder of her family by the ruthless Col. Hans Landa aka "The Jew Hunter". As the Basterds hatch an explosive plan to take out as many Nazis as possible at the premiere, they remain completely oblivious to the fact that Shoshanna, too, longs to bring the Third Reich to its knees, and that she's willing to sacrifice her beloved theatre in the process.


Brad Pitt already was already in my good books at the time with his amazing performance in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button but his performance as Lieutenant Aldo Raine was absolutely fantastic! I think he could have possibly been the only actor to have portrayed a character like that. Despite Raine is the leader of the group known as the Basterds, he literally is a bastard towards the Nazis and those around him despite that the Nazis deserved all that they got in this film. Raine does have his moments of slight comedy even though he does sometimes literally mean it like it is something rather serious and his awful act as an Italian with the awful accent was quite funny and how merciless he really is towards pretty much everyone in the German Reich. Christoph Waltz blew me away as Colonel Hans Landa! He proves that he is his own character by receiving lots of awards for his performance including the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award which he rightly deserved and was easily going to win anyway. Landa is quite a penetrating character especially around those insecure characters like Monsieur LaPadite at the beginning, Shosanna/Emmanuelle in the restaurant and Bridget Von Hammersmark at the premiere. It was like he was the main leader of the Nazis more than Hitler was despite Hitler has involved within the film but he is more of a supporting character. Mélanie Laurent did a fantastic job as Shosanna Dreyfuss/Emmanuelle Mimeux. She demonstrates the heartbreak, the courage and bravery and the vengeance of how a Jew must have felt during World War II. She was robbed of an Oscar nomination as was Diane Kruger despite her appearance in Inglourious Basterds wasn't as big as Laurent's appearance was. I liked Mike Myers's cameo appearance and Samuel L. Jackson's narration during the film.


Quentin Tarantino has been planning on filming this ever since 1998 after the release of Jackie Brown. The reason why he didn't film it back then was because the story that he came up with would have been more like a mini-series than a film and came up with a new story after the releases of Kill Bill and Death Proof. I really admire how short the filming of Inglourious Basterds really was and yet how amazingly filmed it was with solid acting and incredible settings. Tarantino goes old school with the violence and the 'cool' script and storylines that are spread out but then start to merge together as the film progresses (Pulp Fiction he did the exact same thing for) but he goes somewhere totally different more than anyone has ever done before. What I mean by this is that he uses the real-life event that was World War II and the war between the Jews and Nazis and visualises it as his own way of ending World War II and because the film was such a huge success, I think that it is absolute genius! It is also like Tarantino's version of revenge from the Jews to the Nazis. I couldn't get over the script. Not only is it one of the best screenplays I have ever listened to and read but I couldn't get over how Quentin managed to write the entire film all by himself. It is a Pulp Fiction kind of style screenplay with its cool, stretching suspense, quite funny and babbling bullshit segments. How The Hurt Locker won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar over Quentin Tarantino and Inglourious Basterds, I have no idea! That is a massive flaw from the Academy.


Overall, Inglourious Basterds is an almost flawless piece of cinema that shows how one individual person can become such an iconic filmmaker and shows Tarantino is a genius once again. To me, this was totally robbed of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards by The Hurt Locker but at least Tarantino and the film itself were nominated. If there is going to be a prequel of Inglourious Basterds whether it is before or after Kill Bill: Vol. 3, I am going to be there at the cinema seeing it on the day it comes out. Tarantino, you legend!

Bastardos Inglórios - 2ª Guerra Mundial. A França está ocupada pelos nazistas. O tenente Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) é o encarregado de reunir um pelotão de soldados de origem judaica, com o objetivo de realizar uma missão suicida contra os alemães. O objetivo é matar o maior número possível de nazistas, da forma mais cruel possível. Paralelamente Shosanna Dreyfuss (Mélanie Laurent) assiste a execução de sua família pelas mãos do coronel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), o que faz com que fuja para Paris. Lá ela se disfarça como operadora e dona de um cinema local, enquanto planeja um meio de se vingar.

We (at least, the decent Tarantino fans) heard about this awesome project that Quentin Tarantino was working on for many years, some kind of WWII Dirty dozen style war flick. When I heard that he was finally making it happen, I thought it was a great idea and I was pretty sure that it would be a total riot. Apparently, after 'Grindhouse' flopped, Tarantino decided to finally take on this project because he knew it was pure gold. Eventually, when it was released, it was a huge critical success, his biggest hit at the box-office so far and, once again, an instant classic. However, what did I think personally of this flick ? Unfortunately, once gain, after 'Kill Bill 1 & 2', this was just another so-called Tarantino classic... Indeed, in my opinion, Quentin Tarantino dwells much too long on some parts while some characters (like the ones played by Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger) were barely developed. Furthermore, I think that the whole thing was not really well written. I mean, some scenes were great but some others didn't add much to the whole thing and all those sub-plots were pretty much half-baked in my opinion. The best example is the bar scene. It is in fact a great scene, the actors, the dialogs, the directing, everything was quite awesome but after spending at least 30 minutes biting your nails wondering how it will all end, eventually it all ends up in some huge bloodbath... How underwhelming... It gives the feeling that Tarantino seriously doesn't know how to conclude such situations and the only thing he can think off is to let the characters shoot each other. But don't misunderstand me, I actually liked this movie. Indeed, there was a terrific cast, Tarantino remains a great director but I just think that the whole thing could have been much better than this. To conclude, it is a nice and entertaining film but not great at all. Still, it is worth a look though, especially if you enjoyed Tarantino's previous efforts but it must be one of the most overrated movies ever made, at least, that's my opinion.

Inglorious basterds was awesome great movie 8 out of 10, really great dialogue, and awesome brutal scenes, very interesting story

"The German will be sickened by us, the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us."

If there's one consistency in Quentin Tarantino's cinematic oeuvre, it's that he never delivers exactly what you'd expect. 2009's Inglourious Basterds is no exemption to this. The fact that the title of Tarantino's revisionist World War II fantasy is intentionally misspelled can perhaps be best perceived as a subtle hint that the movie itself is nothing like most imagined it to be. Neither the sweeping war movie nor the orgy of ultra-violence its title and marketing suggests, Inglourious Basterds is a talky drama that centres on a variety of coincidentally-connected characters during WWII. Unfortunately, too, this isn't the masterpiece one would have expected either. Clocking in at approximately 150 minutes, this is an unforgivably leisurely, almost glacial feature that loses its way in the thickets of alternative history and dialogue. Most importantly, this is not a movie about history or war, or anything of substance or meaning - it's a movie about movies & influences. For all its visual bravura and sporadic bursts of brilliance, it simply feels trivial.

Inglourious Basterds is divided into a number of titled chapters, with the main narrative focus split into three. One of the plot strands focuses on the Basterds; a group of bloodthirsty Jewish-American GIs under the command of Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) who spread fear throughout the Third Reich by brutally killing Nazis. Another focal point of the plotline is a fugitive Jewish woman (Laurent) who lives incognito in Paris and owns a movie theatre. The story also concerns a German SS Officer known as "The Jew Hunter", Col. Hans Landa (Waltz).

Nominally, Inglourious Basterds is about the titular troupe of commandos conducting raids throughout occupied France. But in actuality, the movie is a self-indulgent compilation of Tarantino's inspirations. In fact the Basterds themselves hardly appear in the film since Tarantino instead continues to obsess over wronged females seeking bloody vengeance (a trend he started with Jackie Brown, then exhausted with Kill Bill and Death Proof). The short screen-time of the Basterds would be more forgivable if they were replaced with interesting characters. Alas, the film spends more time with a bunch of boring, cardboard characters as a substitute. By the time all the multiple plot strands interlace for the finale, it's tough to care about what happens to any of the characters.

Tarantino has never been one to be succinct when he can masturbate through endless pages of self-indulgent, referential dialogue. The basic formula for a chapter is simple: a pointlessly long conversation takes place that acts as a precursor to a short burst of violence. The problem with this formula is that the dialogue rarely offers any effective characterisation...it's all gratuitous filler without any relevance to the story instead. (At one stage, characters converse for at least 40 minutes before they're all gunned down. And the point of that was...?) Each segment drags on for far too long until you no longer care about who's in danger or what's at stake. The necessity of such excessive chatting is especially questionable when the outcome is predictable.

Inglourious Basterds is just a radically undisciplined movie since Tarantino wanted the film his way and can never bear to cut a frame. He's unable to understand relationships in the movie industry too; in fact his most profound relationship is with himself. This is primarily reflected in the fact that he never hires a composer because he doesn't want another person to have that much influence on his work. The soundtrack for Inglourious Basterds is therefore pilfered from various sources, and the result is often jarring. Spaghetti-western music (ala Ennio Morricone) is used for an establishing shot of a French farmhouse, and a 1980s David Bowie song plays over a scene happening in 1940s Paris.

Sly winks pervade the movie as well. At the premiere for the latest Nazi propaganda movie, Hitler tells Goebbels "This is your finest film yet". The last line of the movie is perhaps the most significant wink - "I think this might just be my masterpiece", Aldo quips.

Moments of brilliance are contained within Inglourious Basterds which remind a viewer just how excellent Tarantino can be as a writer and director. Take for instance the brilliantly executed opening sequence in which Col. Landa interrogates a French dairy farmer about the whereabouts of his Jewish neighbours. At around half an hour in length, this dialogue sequence is sustained by the relentless tension Tarantino manages to conjure up. Also noteworthy is the movie's surreal inferno of a climax which rewrites history with such operatic verve that it's difficult not to get swept up in its ludicrous exhilaration. Other excellent segments can be found here and there as well (such as the hilarious Mike Myers cameo). In essence, the film is about 50 minutes of magnificence that's tragically squandered by the 100 minutes of boring, pointless filler surrounding it.

As for the cast... Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa is an excellent find. His performance itself (which earned him an award at Cannes) is effortlessly charming, while the character is one of the film's only three-dimensional creations (though his sudden change of heart in the final 15 minutes feels contrived and at the convenience of the plot). The role called for an actor with the linguistic ability to speak French, German, English and Italian, and Waltz delivers with aplomb.
Unfortunately, none of the Basterds are badasses; they're plain, unremarkable caricatures. Brad Pitt underwhelms as Aldo Raine, while scenes featuring Eli Roth's minor character unfold like outtakes from Hostel. Diane Kruger is note-worthy as an undercover German actress who helps the Basterds.
Mélanie Laurent is worth a mention; she submits a top-notch, immaculately nuanced performance as a beautiful young Jewish fugitive. Meanwhile Der Führer and Joseph Goebbels, played by Martin Wuttke and Sylvester Groth (respectively), are portrayed as cartoonish buffoons.

Somewhere in the midst of the overstuffed Inglourious Basterds lies two very enjoyable movies - an enjoyable, 89-minute slice of exploitation cinema and a potent war drama. When merged together, the result is two main stories connected by contrivances. All things considered, Inglourious Basterds is one of Tarantino's least-focused films to date. The director has paid so much attention to the film's peripherals that he has neglected to provide a centre worth embracing. While one can appreciate and (to an extent) enjoy what Tarantino has achieved here, one must wonder if a more Dirty Dozen-style action film (tailored for Arnie and Sly, as originally intended) would have yielded a better overall experience.

5.4/10

Quentin Tarantino returns for yet another fun and crazy ride in Inglorious Basterds. A world war 2 film set in Nazi-occupied France, the film focuses on one Jewish Survivor Shosanah Dreyfuss(Melanie Laurent) who escaped Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), Who found her hiding place. Then there is the Basterds commanded by LT. Aldo Raine(Brad Pitt in his best role since Fight Club) hell bent on killing every nazi possible. Til Schwieger plays Hugo Stigllitz a very funny and to the point man who has killed thirteen Nazi commanders and then joins the basterds.What happens in this film is extraordinary and very memorable, and what would have been nice to see happen in world war 2. The acting in is the film is superb as well as it's soundtrack which features David Bowie's "cat people (putting out the fire)" in what could a Miami Vice opening title sequence , In which Soshanah sets out to get revenge.Inglorious Basterds includes cameos from Mike Myers as the english General Edward Fenech and Samuel L. Jackson as the narrator. Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds is one of this year's best films "and believe me cousin, in business of killing Nazis ,business is a boomin'"-Lt. Aldo Raine

''The German will be sickened by us, the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us.''

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

Brad Pitt: Lt. Aldo Raine

Lt. Aldo Raine: So you're "The Jew Hunter."
Col. Hans Landa: [giddy] That's a bingo!
[Lt. Aldo and PFC. Utivich stare at him in confusion]
Col. Hans Landa: Is that the way you say it: "That's a bingo?"
Lt. Aldo Raine: You just say "Bingo."

Inglorious Basterds shows us Quentin Tarantino's vision of a Nazi infested France rife with chaos and anarchy. It simply is the most warped, crazy roller coaster rides of WW2 proportions to come out in decades. Cleverly the soundtrack is a modern web of guitar, Bowie, 80s music, spaghetti Western styled whistling and all of QT's previous works mixed into a mix worthy of Tarantino. Literally the music combines with the visuals effortlessly well, we feel glued to the screen because of the assault on our senses.



''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.''

Needless to say, the cast of Inglorious Basterds is deliciously flawless and a gathering of some impressive players. The role I adored most was that of detective nemesis, ''Jew Hunter'', dastardly Col. Hans Landa played by Christoph Waltz. He has some of the killer lines and phrases in the movie, and he speaks German, French, English, Italian...He literally puts the yanks, Pitt and the other Allie chaps to shame. Nazi's were well educated, arrogant, pig headed brutes who weren't afraid to let everyone else know it, and Christoph effortlessly makes us aware of this. I was also in hysterics over the portrayal of Hitler, Winston Churchill, and a Mike Myers playing some General who looked like he had just waltzed off Austin Powers. This was one of the best cameos I've seen to date. Brad Pitt was abit annoying with his accent, Eli Roth hilarious, and the rest of the basterds not really on screen for long at all.

''You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, Business is a-boomin'.''

I really must mention Quentin Tarantino loves his dialogue and Inglorious Basterds is full of talking and discussions you really need to pay attention to. These are deep topics here, and it isn't all over blown action and violence, although when there is boy does it hit home. This is a deep intellectual stab at history, a stab at history that doesn't have to be necessarily accurate. I mean Hitler gets a fucking whooping in a French cinema for god sake, this is over blown carnage with slick romance and chaos served side by side. The characters are thrown around like dolls and more than likely, QT kills them off without a thought as to what will come next.

Overall, Inglorious Basterds is abit of fun rather than a serious depiction of history, hence the ''Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France...'' slogan. This QT doing a Kill Bill flavoured 1940s Nazi congregation of sick comedic proportions. Hell he even rips the piss out of us English, with our accents and stiff upper lip stereotypicalised supposed mannerisms. Inglorious Basterds will finish you off with an exploding cinema, a carved Nazi swastika symbol upon your synapses, and will blow you away with those crazy ass tunes on the credits. Enjoy!

''...The Germans will be sicken by us, the Germans will talk about us and the Germans will fear us. Nazis ain't got no humanity! They need to be destroyed. Each and every man under my command owns me one hundred Nazi scalps... and I want my scalps!''