Inglourious Basterds (2009) – Film Review

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth
Certificate: 18
By Sarah Morgan
No, no, it’s definitely not swearing if you don’t spell the word properly, so you’re quite alright to mention this war film’s title to your grandmother. Whether she’ll want to watch it with you, however, is a different matter altogether…
Quentin Tarantino’s movies are always packed full of homages to other productions, and his sixth film as a director is no exception. For a start, the title comes from Enzo G Castellari’s 1978 tale of the same name (although the second word is spelled correctly in that instance), while Brad Pitt’s character, Aldo Raine, is clearly inspired by actor Aldo Ray, a tough guy star of the 1950s who has a chapter devoted to him in Tarantino’s novel version of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
I could go on, but this review would end up the length of a book!
“Wants revenge”
Like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inglorious Basterds offers an alternate take on history, this time following two plots to blow up leading members of the Third Reich, including Hitler, during a film premiere at a Paris cinema.
The first has been masterminded by the British and involves the titular group of Jewish-American guerrilla fighters, led by Raine; they are notorious for scalping the victims they kill and leaving a swastika carved into the foreheads of those they don’t.
The second is rather more personal. In the early part of the war, Shoshana Dreyfus witnessed the murder of her family by troops operating under the orders of SS Colonel Hans Landa, and now she wants revenge.
Tarantino has described the film as his ‘men on a mission’ movie, inspired by his love of the likes of The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes. The latter is a personal favourite of mine, but the film-maker’s take on the genre lacks its charm somehow.
“Conniving villain”
That’s not to say it isn’t entertaining – there are so many cameos and brief roles for a variety of stars (Michael Fassbender is under-used, Mike Myers pops up with a terrible English accent and, yes, that really is Rod Taylor as Churchill) that there’s always something to keep viewers occupied.
But while Pitt and his cohorts are fine, the real star is Chrisoph Waltz in his breakthrough role as the ever-smiling and conniving villain Landa; no wonder he won the Best Supporting Actor for his performance – whenever he’s offscreen, we’re just waiting for him to pop up again.
So, to sum up, it’s not Quentin’s best, but even Tarantino having an off day is well worth a look.
There’s a wealth of special features to savour too, including archive interviews with the director and Brad Pitt, as well as new chats from editor Fred Raskin, actor Oliver Doom and more.
2 DISC 4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited edition ‘Operation Kino’ packaging with new art by Dare Creative
- 60-page ‘Films & Filmmakers’ collector’s book with writing by film critics Dennis Cozzalio and Bill Ryan
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Replica Nation’s Pride Premiere programme booklet
- La Louisianne beermat
- 3 postcard sized double-sided art cards
- Strudel recipe card
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
DISC 1 – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray™ presentation in High Dynamic Range
- Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by film critic and author Tim Lucas
DISC 2 – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- What Would Sally Do?, a new interview with editor Fred Raskin
- Blood Fiction, a new interview with special make-up effects supervisor Greg Nicotero
- Doomstruck, a new interview with actor Omar Doom
- Making it Right, a new visual essay by film critic Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film
- Film History on Fire, a new visual essay by film scholar Pamela Hutchinson, author of BFI Film Classics Pandora’s Box
- Filmmaking in Occupied France, a new interview with film scholar Christine Leteux, author of Continental Films: French Cinema Under German Control
- Extended and alternate scenes
- Nation’s Pride
- The Making of Nation’s Pride, an archival featurette
- Roundtable Discussion, an archival interview with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and Elvis Mitchell
- The Original Inglorious Bastards, archival featurette
- A Conversation with Rod Taylor, archival featurette
- Rod Taylor on Victoria Bitter, archival featurette
- Quentin Tarantino’s Camera Angel, archival featurette
- Hi Sallys, archival featurette
- Film Poster Gallery Tour with Elvis Mitchell, archival featurette
- Trailers
Inglourious Basterds is released on Limited Edition 4K UHD by Arrow