Inglourious Basterds (2009)

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.

Directors:

Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth (uncredited)

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth

Top Rated Movies #94 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 129 wins & 165 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Lt. Aldo Raine
Mélanie Laurent	...	Shosanna
Christoph Waltz	...	Col. Hans Landa
Eli Roth	...	Sgt. Donny Donowitz
Michael Fassbender	...	Lt. Archie Hicox
Diane Kruger	...	Bridget von Hammersmark
Daniel Brühl	...	Fredrick Zoller
Til Schweiger	...	Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz
Gedeon Burkhard	...	Cpl. Wilhelm Wicki
Jacky Ido	...	Marcel
B.J. Novak	...	Pfc. Smithson Utivich
Omar Doom	...	Pfc. Omar Ulmer
August Diehl	...	Major Hellstrom
Denis Ménochet	...	Perrier LaPadite
Sylvester Groth	...	Joseph Goebbels

Storyline

In German-occupied France, young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the slaughter of her family by Colonel Hans Landa. Narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when German war hero Fredrick Zoller takes a rapid interest in her and arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs. With the promise of every major Nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the "Basterds", a group of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by the ruthless Lt. Aldo Raine. As the relentless executioners advance and the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | racism | world war two | nazi | jewish resistance | 

---

Taglines:

"Can you Americans speak any other language than English?"

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Russia]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English German French Italian

Release Date:

21 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inglorious Bastards

Filming Locations:

Brasserie La Renaissance, 112 rue Championnet, Paris 18, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$38,054,676, 21 August 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$120,540,719, 17 December 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$313,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,The Weinstein Company,A Band Apart

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Quentin Tarantino: [victim's viewpoint] Tarantino's trademark shot of actors from a trunk or engine compartment is replaced by shots from the viewpoint of post swastika-scarred victims.

---

Goofs

Just before the basement shootout, Major Hellstrom says that it is a pity that "little Max will grow up an orphan", but little Max's mother would still be living (not being anywhere near the basement shootout at the time), so little Max wouldn't be an orphan after all.

---

Quotes

Fredrick Zoller: [to Shosanna] It's been a pleasure chatting with a fellow cinema lover.

---

Crazy Credits

Both the opening and closing credits change fonts numerous times, displaying typefaces seen in a variety of earlier and subsequent Tarantino films.

---

Alternate Versions

In Russia, two versions of the movie exist. One for the general showings, which has all dialogs dubbed into Russian except for French and Italian; and another, so-called "director's cut" where only the English passages are dubbed into Russian and the rest is subtitled.

---

Connections

References Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)

---

Soundtracks

ZULUS
(1979)
Written by Elmer Bernstein
Performed by Elmer Bernstein conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of Cerberus Records/Cerberus Productions

User Reviews

No Matter How You Spell It

..."Inglorious" as our local theater decided to display its title on their marquee, minus the second word. It is terrific cinema.

I don't hesitate to recommend this film to all but the over-squeamish. Let them never know what they're missing.

I did hesitate to give it ten stars because of my experience of Tarantino's previous films. In every case, save "Reservoir Dogs," they have improved with additional watching.

So although I gave it ten stars, I did so reluctantly. It leaves me no "up" to go to.

Yes Christoph Waltz is the Nazi we've all imagined the worst to be. He is cultured, sophisticated, suave and most sadistic, the kind of man who can make a glass of milk a threat and who puts out his cigarette abruptly in a strudel, grinding it into the whipped cream as if he were grinding his heel into a victim.

To understand Tarantino's films, you need only have a sense of dialogue, color and pacing. The colors are as bright as necessary and when necessary, brighter yet. In the French farmhouse of the opening scene, they are muted and dark, but excessively so. Outside a brilliant sun is shining, but in the one room of the house, everything is bathed in shadows and black.

It is a brilliant setting for an interrogation by Waltz, as the "Jew Hunter" of the SS, who dangles his host French farmer over the precipice of revealing what he cannot reveal numerous times, then pulls him back with obsequious lines of friendship and understanding.

A second sadistic German, well-played by August Diehl, later functions as important actor in the final plot twist. Diehl's Nazi Major, who has an ear for German accents, is almost as good as Waltz....almost.

Film classes will study much from this movie. They should look lovingly at the superb pacing. Tarantino knows just how long to draw out a scene, building suspense in the manner of Hitchcock, then at just the breaking point, suddenly coming to a resolution.

For color, look for a final shot at a French Theater, where its secretly Jewish proprietor is staging a surprise for the upper reaches of Nazi leadership.

We see her, played by Melanie Laurent, awaiting the hated German dignataries who will arrive for a film preview of the latest Deutsch film masterpiece, a propaganda piece about a German hero and his dubious accomplishments.

Laurent is framed on a balcony, reflected in the glass mirrors of the gorgeous theater, her red lips and low cut dress reflecting everywhere the intensity of her designs on her guests. It is a single shot that would be worth an entire film.

There are thankfully many more such images, many more paced scenes of exquisite dialog and suspense.

In short, see it. I'm sure you'll see it again and again.