Directors: Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent
If anyone is interested in the exact visual account of the
death of Adolf Hitler… then this film is not for you. I almost feel embarrassed
to admit that for the majority of this film that I had heard very little about,
I had a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the events in the film were entirely
factual. I was very wrong.
The story is actually of the tale of a group of bloodthirsty Nazi-hunters who abundantly evoke nicknames for their friends and enemies. Each member has the gruesome mission to retrieve, for the captain, 100 Nazi scalps (and these scalpings are not visually shied away from (the first Nazi shown scalped is actually Tarantino himself)).
The film is broken down into five chapters that are distinct from one another. This distinction serves as an amplifier for memorability. There are moments and shots that particularly stand out in my mind. The entire first scene is stunningly tense as you try to decipher what each character actually knows about what the other is thinking and the situation at large. It’s about twenty minutes long but it is so gripping and cinematic, through its use of kinetic cinematography that it feels like five. The camera often flies in orbit around the characters very much emphasising the tension at that specific moment.
Christoph Waltz plays the unfortunately effective and efficient SS agent, Colonel Landa. Considering a lot of the film is made up of conversation, his performance allows for constant intrigue and a charisma that is so hard to pin down. It is impossible to tell whether he has no idea about the character he is talking to or if he is merely waiting for his moment to strike. He is so scarily polite when talking to people that his mystery invoking personality is oddly desirable (for the audience). His sense of humour is twisted. When he is hunting Jews, he takes a morbid pleasure in it that makes a highly detestable character.
‘The Basterds’ (as the Germans call them) contain some really great characters therein. Although I would have liked to have more of them explored, the ones that ingest the screen time are hilarious. There are characters that are Nazi-scarred (literally) or just want bash Nazi brains in with a baseball bat. Truly the most American aspiration to have ever existed. One character, who is the most clearly insane human to have been born, is often times seen at the edge of the frame just staring deep into a Nazi’s soul. Every time I saw him in the periphery, I was overcome with laughter because you can tell that at any point he could eaily snap and brutally murder someone with zero remorse. In each shot he is in, he looks more and more passively angry. The titular soldiers are all individually and memorably hilarious.
Any complaints that I have about the film are entirely pedantic. If I were to look at the film generally, I would briefly say that it is fantastic because of its tense and periodically hilarious moments. There are moments, however, when there are clear mistakes. During the first scene, (which is nevertheless incredible) one of the French characters says ‘oui’ and the subtitles used for translation also say ‘oui’. I am aware that everyone knows what ‘oui’ means but it really caught me off guard. This being said, it is a great thing when a film containing a large amount of non-English speech actually has subtitles that are white and encroach on the black bars that really should also not be there.
Tarantino clearly read some very inaccurate history textbooks before commencing this film and his skewed knowledge of actual events made an endlessly entertaining film (THIS IS A JOKE. I DO NOT THINK THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FACTUAL). It uses chapters to drive up memorability and a hilarious cast of characters keeps the pace rollicking along. Christoph Waltz’s chilling performance ties the bow on this bomb disguised as a present for the Nazi’s. Good show chaps!
Inglourious Basterds recieves ay: 8/10
The story is actually of the tale of a group of bloodthirsty Nazi-hunters who abundantly evoke nicknames for their friends and enemies. Each member has the gruesome mission to retrieve, for the captain, 100 Nazi scalps (and these scalpings are not visually shied away from (the first Nazi shown scalped is actually Tarantino himself)).
The film is broken down into five chapters that are distinct from one another. This distinction serves as an amplifier for memorability. There are moments and shots that particularly stand out in my mind. The entire first scene is stunningly tense as you try to decipher what each character actually knows about what the other is thinking and the situation at large. It’s about twenty minutes long but it is so gripping and cinematic, through its use of kinetic cinematography that it feels like five. The camera often flies in orbit around the characters very much emphasising the tension at that specific moment.
Christoph Waltz plays the unfortunately effective and efficient SS agent, Colonel Landa. Considering a lot of the film is made up of conversation, his performance allows for constant intrigue and a charisma that is so hard to pin down. It is impossible to tell whether he has no idea about the character he is talking to or if he is merely waiting for his moment to strike. He is so scarily polite when talking to people that his mystery invoking personality is oddly desirable (for the audience). His sense of humour is twisted. When he is hunting Jews, he takes a morbid pleasure in it that makes a highly detestable character.
‘The Basterds’ (as the Germans call them) contain some really great characters therein. Although I would have liked to have more of them explored, the ones that ingest the screen time are hilarious. There are characters that are Nazi-scarred (literally) or just want bash Nazi brains in with a baseball bat. Truly the most American aspiration to have ever existed. One character, who is the most clearly insane human to have been born, is often times seen at the edge of the frame just staring deep into a Nazi’s soul. Every time I saw him in the periphery, I was overcome with laughter because you can tell that at any point he could eaily snap and brutally murder someone with zero remorse. In each shot he is in, he looks more and more passively angry. The titular soldiers are all individually and memorably hilarious.
Any complaints that I have about the film are entirely pedantic. If I were to look at the film generally, I would briefly say that it is fantastic because of its tense and periodically hilarious moments. There are moments, however, when there are clear mistakes. During the first scene, (which is nevertheless incredible) one of the French characters says ‘oui’ and the subtitles used for translation also say ‘oui’. I am aware that everyone knows what ‘oui’ means but it really caught me off guard. This being said, it is a great thing when a film containing a large amount of non-English speech actually has subtitles that are white and encroach on the black bars that really should also not be there.
Tarantino clearly read some very inaccurate history textbooks before commencing this film and his skewed knowledge of actual events made an endlessly entertaining film (THIS IS A JOKE. I DO NOT THINK THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FACTUAL). It uses chapters to drive up memorability and a hilarious cast of characters keeps the pace rollicking along. Christoph Waltz’s chilling performance ties the bow on this bomb disguised as a present for the Nazi’s. Good show chaps!
Inglourious Basterds recieves ay: 8/10
