Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France....

A beloved filmmaker (Quentin Tarantino) directed his first epic period piece just LOOSELY (very loosely) based upon true events....meaning World War II.  We follow several different characters all within France at the time including Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) a Jewish movie theater owner, Lt. Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt), the leader of a small roving grope of Allied soldiers known as "The Basterds," Archie Hickock (Michael Fassbender) a sharp British soldier on a very dangerous spy mission, and the evil Colonel Hans Landa who is hunting for all of them.  Landa is played by Christoph Walz in a breakout performance which would win him the first of two Oscars.  (He would win his other for a supporting performance in the next Tarantino film.)  As their stories converge, we witness plenty of treachery, deceit, and a generous share of Nazi scalps along the way. :o This film came out fifteen years ago this month, was a box office smash, and was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture.

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009)           

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Jacky Ido, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, August Diehl, Denis Menochet, Sylvester Groth, Samm Levine, Martin Wuttke, Julie Dreyfus, and Mike Myers

Genre: Fictionalized War Comedy/Drama (Audio clip)

After recently rewatching Valkyrie, I suddenly had the urge to revisit the comic book version of that story. :) I really enjoy this film quite a bit, always have....but something has always nagged at me about it….which I’ll get to in just a bit. There are several standout scenes of tension and humor, along with some FANTASTIC performances from Waltz (of course) in is Oscar-winning performance playing the venal Nazi Hans Landa, Fassbender in what’s probably his breakout performance portraying Archie Hickock a very smooth British spy, and Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna Lowenstein who is the closest this movie has to a main protagonist…..she’s a Jewish woman who narrowly escaped the slaughter of the rest of her family ordered by Hans Landa at the end of a very tense opening sequence.  Now she’s running a movie theater in Nazi-occupied France…..and that theater has been approached to play a special screening of a Nazi propaganda film…..they’re unaware of Shoshanna’s true identity of course.  

Beyond that you have scene-stealing turns from Diane Krueger as Bridget von Hammersmark the popular German actress who’s actually a spy for the Allies….Daniel Bruhl in probably HIS breakout role as Nazi soldier phenom Frederick Zoller who is a sharp shooter but apparently has a soft side?....and even a passable performance from Eli Roth as The Bear Jew. (His facial expressions during that final sequence are actually pretty effective)  So many more too….it’s kind of nuts and admittedly impressive how many well-drawn characters are featured in this movie AND how adeptly the narrative weaves in and out of their interlocking stories despite various different languages being used at different points….mainly German, English, Italian, and French.

Overall it’s just an ambitious story well-told and this would also mark the first of a small series of Tarantino joints where he LITERALLY re-writes history to tell an allegedly more positive version of a very treacherous point in human history…..which is not to say that this movie doesn’t get dark OR violent but it’s all played and/or portrayed somewhat over-the -top.   It’s not only the violence which gets heightened but also the THREATS of violence.  There’s very little subtlety on the menu here EXCEPT mainly for Shoshanna and Laurent’s performance – she’s playing some one undergoing a long-term deception living and working amongst Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, always trying to maintain her standing while always concealing her secret.  She is THE heart of this story and despite the fantastical nature of both her character’s AND this story’s conclusion, I would say that I still find it VERY satisfying.  I just wish that as a filmmaker, Tarantino knew when to end it….when to quit while he was ahead. 

The movie has a nasty, smarmy and violent coda which I have to say I have always found to be a bit unnecessary.  And sadly, this would not be the first time QT ended a movie like this or the last….it would just get worse with his films to come, all featuring protracted violent endings which lay things on a BIT thick.  Still of all of the silly conclusions we have seen from this filmmaker during the 21st Century, this one is the briefest and there is just SO much dazzling storytelling proceeding it for more than two hours, it doesn’t take away from the fact that I consider this to Tarantino’s LAST true masterpiece.  

Best Needle-drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

And of course, QT's streak of inspired needle-drops continued with just a pitch-perfect use of David Bowie's "Cat People" at the beginning of the final act....as we watch Laurent's Shoshanna VERY effectively vamp in her preparations for the big night. So funny as now having finally seen the actual 1982 film with the same title recently....it's actually used better in THIS movie more than two decades later. ;) (Same with the placement of "Across 110th Street" in Jackie Brown....though the original movie is still pretty great.) (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

I think I couldn’t quite pinpoint what truly bugged me about this movie until a recent rewatch….bottom line, I am NOT a fan of Brad Pitt’s performance in this movie sorry.  Yeah I get what he (and Tarantino) are going for with this character. He's a Southern Fried homage to The Dirty Dozen and having now finally seen TDD for the first time recently (and really enjoying it), it makes even more sense. But that doesn't prevent me from just finding his Aldo "The Apache" Rain to be distractingly cartoonish for most of his screentime. :/ 

And nothing against Pitt as an actor, even as a comedic actor which he has shown a gift for....he's likely delivering what was on the page, I just don't think his character works. He's a one-joke character with a laughable accent and zero depth - any time he's on screen, any built-up tension or suspense just dissipates which is a real shame. Because there are some TENSE sequences in this deal!  This is still overall a damn entertaining movie with some fierce anger behind it - it just might have been served better with more Archie and less Aldo.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

And speaking of Archie….yes my personal choice for this category has to be HIS signature scene, a true acting showcase for Fassbender.  I’m referring to the extended 15 minute sequence in the basement of that French bar.  It occurs about 70 minutes into the movie and still remains the standout for me....watching the slow burn of Fassbender's Lt. Archie Hicox as it gradually begins to dawn on him that he's just not getting out of that bar alive.. .and the demented callousness of Diehl's Major Hellstrom as he just CAN'T leave well enough alone! Such a writing and acting showcase, all the more impressive for just how well Tarantino (and editor Sally Menke....for the last time, RIP :(  constructed it. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

This is simply a no-brainer.  Despite having a cast which REALLY shines and adept editing which helps weave these stories together quite well, this is still QT’s achievement at the end of the day.  Even as I feel like the overall quality of his output has dipped a bit in recent years – I liked but did not love both Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Django Unchained, I did NOT like The Hateful Eight – he remains one of our most uniquely talented filmmakers at crafting original stories on-screen.  

Seriously tackling a World War II epic in the vein of a Kelly’s Heroes or A Bridge Too Far is difficult enough….having seen a lot of these types of films, they are VERY difficult to pull as World War II is just very well-tread territory from just about any angle at this point….as it already was by 2009 mind you.  Hell Valkyrie had come out just six months prior to this!  What he pulls off here with his OWN fresh, twisted, meta spin on all of it….well it’s no wonder that he was justifiably nominated this year for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.  For delivering what I believe is his BEST film of the 21st Century…..so far…..Quentin Tarantino is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Happy Fifteenth Anniversary to THE World War II epic which is UNLIKE any other World War II epic that you’re ever likely to see.  

Now Available to Buy or Rent on All Major Online Platforms

And that ends another DREI GLASER review!