Quentin Tarantino offers up Basterds; perhaps his best work since Pulp Fiction.
Inglourious Basterds
starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Mike Myers
directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino single handedly saved Hollywood and movies in general when he debuted his masterpiece Pulp Fiction at Cannes in 1994. He brought something original and genius to a movie scene that had grown stagnant. No one can deny that. However, since recovering from drug addiction, no one has really given the writer/director much hope of ever reclaiming his former glory. Sure, Kill Bill was a wonderfully fun romp, but it lacked the depth of its predecessors. And the Grindhouse flick Death Proof was a semi interesting story with way, way too much pointless dialogue. Thankfully, however, Tarantino has given the public the gift of Inglourious Basterds, and proven us all wrong.
The story is centered around a movie premier in Nazi-occupied France. Hitler and all the high command of the Gestapo and SS will be present in one location. Of course, this rare cirumstance has lead to plans to assassinate the heads of the Nazi German state and end the war in the favor of the Allies. On one side, you have the small covert group of American Jews lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt). The Nazis have come to refer to them as the ‘Basterds’ because of what they do; they kill anyone in a German uniform, and scalp them like Apaches. In effect, they are giving the Germans eye for an eye what they are doing to the Jews. The Basterds are the scourge of the Nazis in France, and through the help of a Nazi double agent, they get an opportunity to literally blow up the cinema and everyone inside. On the other hand is the owner of the cinema, Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent). Her family was murdered by the Nazis years before, and she has since gotten a new identity while successfully staying hidden from the Germans. She sees this as her only chance at revenge. On the other side of the table is the Nazi known as The Jew Hunter, Col. Hans Landa (Waltz). He is brutal in hunting Jews and protecting the German leadership in France, but he has plans all his own.
Tarantino beautifully guides us through this story of hatred, revenge, and brutality as one who knows how to make such ugly things appealing. The film is quite literally a story, right down to being told in chapters. There are few scenes, six or seven, but each are long and intriguing and full of on point dialogue and intuitive acting. There is no useless dialogue here; each and every word leads us to an important plot point. Each action leads to the finale, and no words are wasted. Plus, Tarantino has taken a step up in the visual perspective. Basterds is by far one of his most beautiful movies. Each scene is nothing but eye candy, from the awfully gory brutality to the French skyline on a farm. And not to worry; Quentin has not forgotten where he came from, either. There is plenty of that classic grindhouse flourish to go around. My favorite part is the introduction of Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Schweiger). Its classic and hilarious.
The acting is way, way above par. Diane Kruger is convincing as a popular German actress who is secretly helping the Basterds. Eli Roth is stunning as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, aka the Jew Bear. He’s nothing but a clown in his small cameos in Cabin Fever and Hostel II, but he dug deep and brought out a crazed rage in the Jewish Sgt. that actually startled me. Christoph Waltz is wonderfully slimey and slick as the Jew Hunter. You love him and hate him from beginning to end. Brad Pitt is typical Brad Pitt in the film, but you can tell he had a lot of fun with Aldo Raine’s sourthern country attitude and brutally smart ass mouth. He fit the role perfectly and had perhaps the best lines. The stand out for the entire film though, is Melanie Laurent. Not only is she a gorgeous woman, but she has some acting chops. With a single look, you can see and feel the simultaneous heartbreak, rage, and cool calculation of Shosanna Dreyfus. The young actress will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. She might even have a chance at an Oscar nod for her role.
There were a lot of complaints about the profanity and violence in this film, and I have two things to say about that. One, its Quentin Tarantino. You’ve got to expect these things going into one of his films. Two, I believe this film to have the least about of cursing in it as any of Tarantino’s previous films. By any standards, its decently clean. Also, there is some serious brutality, but not half as much as Kill Bill. There’s only three moments where is gets rough. Give the man some credit for keeping the reality in the film without going overboard. You can’t have a war film without blood and language.
Will this be at the Academy Awards? Who knows, really. Quentin has gotten ripped before when it comes to that. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t really matter. Who knew that in the age of sequels and remakes, a ‘has been’ like Tarantino can rise from the ashes and save Hollywood a second time? Inglourious Basterds is no Pulp Fiction, but it is an altogether different classic in its own right. Tarantino has proven once again that he is not done, and never has been a, well, ‘has been.’ I can’t wait to see what he does next.
The Inglourious Return of Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino offers up Basterds; perhaps his best work since Pulp Fiction.
Inglourious Basterds
starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Mike Myers
directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino single handedly saved Hollywood and movies in general when he debuted his masterpiece Pulp Fiction at Cannes in 1994. He brought something original and genius to a movie scene that had grown stagnant. No one can deny that. However, since recovering from drug addiction, no one has really given the writer/director much hope of ever reclaiming his former glory. Sure, Kill Bill was a wonderfully fun romp, but it lacked the depth of its predecessors. And the Grindhouse flick Death Proof was a semi interesting story with way, way too much pointless dialogue. Thankfully, however, Tarantino has given the public the gift of Inglourious Basterds, and proven us all wrong.
The story is centered around a movie premier in Nazi-occupied France. Hitler and all the high command of the Gestapo and SS will be present in one location. Of course, this rare cirumstance has lead to plans to assassinate the heads of the Nazi German state and end the war in the favor of the Allies. On one side, you have the small covert group of American Jews lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt). The Nazis have come to refer to them as the ‘Basterds’ because of what they do; they kill anyone in a German uniform, and scalp them like Apaches. In effect, they are giving the Germans eye for an eye what they are doing to the Jews. The Basterds are the scourge of the Nazis in France, and through the help of a Nazi double agent, they get an opportunity to literally blow up the cinema and everyone inside. On the other hand is the owner of the cinema, Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent). Her family was murdered by the Nazis years before, and she has since gotten a new identity while successfully staying hidden from the Germans. She sees this as her only chance at revenge. On the other side of the table is the Nazi known as The Jew Hunter, Col. Hans Landa (Waltz). He is brutal in hunting Jews and protecting the German leadership in France, but he has plans all his own.
Tarantino beautifully guides us through this story of hatred, revenge, and brutality as one who knows how to make such ugly things appealing. The film is quite literally a story, right down to being told in chapters. There are few scenes, six or seven, but each are long and intriguing and full of on point dialogue and intuitive acting. There is no useless dialogue here; each and every word leads us to an important plot point. Each action leads to the finale, and no words are wasted. Plus, Tarantino has taken a step up in the visual perspective. Basterds is by far one of his most beautiful movies. Each scene is nothing but eye candy, from the awfully gory brutality to the French skyline on a farm. And not to worry; Quentin has not forgotten where he came from, either. There is plenty of that classic grindhouse flourish to go around. My favorite part is the introduction of Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Schweiger). Its classic and hilarious.
The acting is way, way above par. Diane Kruger is convincing as a popular German actress who is secretly helping the Basterds. Eli Roth is stunning as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, aka the Jew Bear. He’s nothing but a clown in his small cameos in Cabin Fever and Hostel II, but he dug deep and brought out a crazed rage in the Jewish Sgt. that actually startled me. Christoph Waltz is wonderfully slimey and slick as the Jew Hunter. You love him and hate him from beginning to end. Brad Pitt is typical Brad Pitt in the film, but you can tell he had a lot of fun with Aldo Raine’s sourthern country attitude and brutally smart ass mouth. He fit the role perfectly and had perhaps the best lines. The stand out for the entire film though, is Melanie Laurent. Not only is she a gorgeous woman, but she has some acting chops. With a single look, you can see and feel the simultaneous heartbreak, rage, and cool calculation of Shosanna Dreyfus. The young actress will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. She might even have a chance at an Oscar nod for her role.
There were a lot of complaints about the profanity and violence in this film, and I have two things to say about that. One, its Quentin Tarantino. You’ve got to expect these things going into one of his films. Two, I believe this film to have the least about of cursing in it as any of Tarantino’s previous films. By any standards, its decently clean. Also, there is some serious brutality, but not half as much as Kill Bill. There’s only three moments where is gets rough. Give the man some credit for keeping the reality in the film without going overboard. You can’t have a war film without blood and language.
Will this be at the Academy Awards? Who knows, really. Quentin has gotten ripped before when it comes to that. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t really matter. Who knew that in the age of sequels and remakes, a ‘has been’ like Tarantino can rise from the ashes and save Hollywood a second time? Inglourious Basterds is no Pulp Fiction, but it is an altogether different classic in its own right. Tarantino has proven once again that he is not done, and never has been a, well, ‘has been.’ I can’t wait to see what he does next.