Inglorius Basterds

[The Amazing Psycho Per]

I can understand the frustration, since the "Basterds" were the main selling point of the movie add campaign, for finally not being given much space in the movie... But I still enjoyed it. I'm sorry but you guys have the stupidest reasons why the movie sucks.

I too have called him a thief in the past, but what did he steal now? The name of some old movie? Please...

That it has too much dialogue and it was fun with his first movies but now it's getting old? Come on, that it's style like many other witer/director, and this in not some cheap gimmick. The movie consists of set pieces where the tension is being build up by the dialogue involved. He takes time to establish the situation, the characters, build up the tension. That's cinema. If you can't enjoy that, then next time go watch a movie made by Michael Bay designed for people with attention deficit disorder. I'm not saying the movie is perfect by any stretch, but I think it surpasses some of Quentin's latest efforts. He does shoot in a lot of direction, but still, in the end, for a rare occasion, he might have something to say.

Oh and it doesn't contain enough action? When did Quentin made an action packed picture? Pulp Fiction? Reservoir Dogs? Heck the movie is about a heist that we never get to see... Give me some better reasons.

[AlbertV]

I went to an afternoon showing today and I have to admit, I liked it. I like to call this the film that shows World War II only how Tarentino can depict it despite its definitive historical accuracies, but still a fun film. Christoph Waltz was just great as Hans Landa, the SS general. Brad Pitt was not that bad as Lt. Aldo Raine, and Eli Roth's first action scene was just funny yet lunatic-like at the same time.

It is a love it or hate it film and I for one, loved it.

[doug maverick]

As a huge fan of QT I was counting the days til this arrived - and after seeing it, I honestly wish II had not bothered.

It's a mess, frankly, and riffs far too much on his older films - I don't believe for a second that he's been toiling over the script for close to ten years.

Some great moments and good performances (Christoph Waltz is truly a revelation) but overall, for me, a big let down.

first and formost this film was the shit, the shit, the shit, the shit, i had zero intention of seeing it, but got inviting to the new york screening of it. it was fucking good, so dont know what people are saying i guess its just a matter of opinion. as for qt working on this for ten years your right in a way he hasnt. the film tarrintino was working on the original script was well over a 500 pages long and he had been talking about making it into a miniseries, but after a discussion with french director/producer luc besson he opted out of that and just cut the script down to 180. would have liked to see the full version of it. this guy writes amazing dialogue. christoph waltz walks away with this movie in his back pocket and his dick in his hand. brad pitt and eli roth were truly funny. the original poster talked about the main plot being the sub plot, i didnt feel that way at all, i felt that shoshanna and landa were the main plot and the basterds were the sub plot. shit could even say they were the comic relief. good movie all around, yeah there were some kinks. but if christoph waltz doesnt win best supporting acting someone needs to get shot.

[kungfusamurai]

I finally got around to seeing this film. I waited until I could watch it in a less crowded theatre and for a cheaper price. I went into it expecting it to be crap, since a lot of the negative things people said about it were in line with why I disliked Kill Bill Vol.2 and Death Proof. Specifically, the wordiness of Tarantino's dialogue.

I have to say, that I really enjoyed Inglorious Basterds a lot. I wouldn't say it's his best film, but in this case, the talking isn't a liability. I wasn't expecting a lot of action anyway, and in that respect, I didn't feel cheated out of the typical Tarantino explosions of gore and violence.

I think with a bit more editing to tighten up the film, I think it would be perfect. I've read some complaints about certain scenes, like Mike Myer's cameo, but I think almost everything there works. Some characters don't deliver they way you expected them to, like Hugo Stiglitz, while others exceed expectations, like Brad Pitt's character. One thing there's not argument about, Christopher Waltz as Hans Landa was an incredibly well constructed character. I don't know if it was all Tarantino or if Waltz had any input, but the way he just built the suspense without giving away his intentions was really well acted.

SPOILERS

There were a few things I noticed about this film that people might not have picked up on. From what I read, the movie was meant to be some kind of revenge flick for the jewish people, hence the idea that the Basterds were a bunch of jewish scalping 'terrorists', as the Germans thought of them. My guess is that we as an audience were supposed to cheer them on as they eliminated German soldiers and Nazis one by one. To be quite honest, I felt the exact opposite. For example, when they interrogated that German commander who refused to give out his fellow soldier's positions and instead took the beat down from 'the Bear Jew', it was very sad. I felt that man was brave, almost samurai-like the way he didn't give in. I also felt sad for the people who were being slaughtered in the theatre. And I felt bad when some of the lesser characters, like Wilhelm and Zoller were killed unfairly...and that brings my to my next observation.

I noticed that the women in the film were not portrayed in a very good light. At least, not the two main female characters. While you feel bad for Shosanna Dreyfus and her desire to get revenge for her family, the way she shoot Zoller in the back made her death feel more justified, as if she deserved it. Not that I was exactly cheering when Zoller in his last actions pulled out a Luger and blew her away. I just didn't feel sad that she had died in light of what she did to Zoller. Yes, he came across as a jerk when he barged in on her out of anger, as she did throw an insult at him, but I felt sorry for the way he died, considering he had survived a siege and killed so many enemy soldiers, only to be shot in the back by a woman he had a crush on.

The other unsympathetic female character was Bridget Von Hammersmark. I didn't like her cockiness, the way she just seemed to invite trouble by being a little too friendly to the german soldiers and the nazi officer, not to mention having the meeting in the basement tavern. I could see why Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine was very annoyed with her because she cost him three men because of her inconsideration. But what really bothered me was how she killed that soldier Wilhelm in cold blood after he put his gun down to let her be taken away. It just seemed to me that Tarantino had crafted her to be an unlikable character so that her death later on, while tragic (maybe erotic to Tarantino, considering all the shots of her feet), wasn't all that sad. I also didn't like Hammersmark's dialogue, and it sounded like the actress Diane Kruger lost her accent a few times during that scene in the vets office.

Some parts of the film bothered me in the way they played out, which could have been plot holes. For one thing, when Hans Landa investigates the shootout at the Tavern, wouldn't the Basterds have cleared up all the evidence that they were there by not only removing the bodies of their men, but also not leaving behind traces of Bridget Von Hammersmark (i.e. her shoe)? And that autographed napkin, I can't recall if Wilhelm had put it away in his pocket or what. It seemed strange it was on the floor so easy to find.

The second plot hole was the pile of film behind the screen. I thought Hans Landa was in charge of security, or they would have swept the place for bombs and such to make sure it was secured for the heads of the Nazi regime's arrival. Wouldn't it have been suspicious for them to have found a pile of films like that behind the screen? And in addition to that, why weren't there german soldiers anywhere guarding the doors into the theatre? We only saw them at the opera box that Hitler was sitting in. But the place should have been crawling with soldiers as security. The lobby area was a bit too empty for my tastes.

Otherwise, the film was a great adventure. The final scene was probably the only truly satisfying act of cruelty displayed in the film.

KFS

[daisho2004]

OK I finally got to watch this film today and I have to say some of the reviews were really harsh on this film. I really enjoyed it a lot and I have to agree with everyone that Christopher Waltz as Hans Landa was Great. And KFS I have to agree with you on the German Sergeant who was Killed in the forest he stood his ground like a True Samurai would, that was a great part of the movie and was also a brutal part with him getting Killed with the baseball bat to his head. I also agree that I wish the movie dealt more with the Basterds instead of these little sub plots. But overall all I thought this was a very good film for QT!