Inglourious Basterds — He said, She said — movie review — screener!
She Said
It is no secret that I am not a Tarantino fan. I only sat through Kill Bill because it was a free screener invitation, and Death Proof sealed his cinematic coffin for me. But because the original 1978 Inglorious Bastards was full of campy fun, I decided to brave it. And I’m so glad I did.
Inglourious Basterds combines Tarantino’s strength: a mishmash of misfits who become heroes and their overlapping storylines. But then strengths I didn’t know he had, like witty writing, surfaced. The shot compositions and gorgeous lighting were nearly poetic, which helped soften the drama and enforce the throwback to old Italian war films, or rather, older films in general. Also akin to older films, and a point Tarantino is quite proud of, is that the film slowly, deftly unfolds, with hidden pockets of information that are only revealed at the apex.
It’s two and a half hours long, but you’d never know it. And why is that? Inglourious Basterds is filled with dialogue. And it is fresh, fast, relevant dialogue that deftly rolls off the tongue rather than chokes its characters silly (as in Death Proof). And credit must also be shared by the incredible cast.
I’m also not a Brad Pitt fan, but he does crazy well, and his Lieutenant Aldo Raine, leader of the Inglourious Basterds, is plenty nuts. Impatient and rebellious, you wonder how he even managed to be promoted to Lieutenant, other than the fact that he loves to not only kill Nazis, but scalp them as well, due to his part-Apache heritage (Chris believes to be akin to Tarantino’s Cherokee ancestry).
Switching back and forth from several languages fluidly, Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa is an absolute gem. Landa is a hedonist in every respect: in every scene, he is partaking in sweet fresh milk, crisp pastry, multiple puffs on his exaggerated pipe, all slightly over-the-top, slightly Steve Carell in that his ego is endearing and his sculpted facial features shriek testosterone, even through the slightly foppish and comical airs. You know you should hate him, definitely fear him, for there is no evidence of a soul in Landa, he lives only for himself and his own pleasure, and because he is hailed as the “Jew Hunter”.
Shoshanna Dreyfus (newcomer Melanie Laurent, pictured above) knows Landa’s skills as a “Jew Hunter” firsthand; she was the only survivor after Landa discovered her family’s hiding spot. Thinking the worst is over, she runs a small boutique theatre (this is the backstory Chris believes was chopped from the film with scenes with Maggie Cheung, which Tarantino asked for her permission to include in the DVD release) where she meets a most persistent young man Friedrich Zoller (Daniel Brühl), who turns out to be the star in a propaganda film based on his reality, as a sharpshooter who singlehandedly killed hundreds of jewish civilians in a small town. He possesses a slight warmth, due to his youth: his temper tantrums and his irrational pursuit of Shosanna. He killed many men with tremendous accuracy, yet love obscures his actions and eludes him. There is also hints that he regrets his part in the war, even though thoroughly enjoying the attention it garners him. When Shoshanna refuses him for the, I dunno, third time, he proposes his film premiere at her theatre, with not only Landa, but the Führer himself in attendance. You can be sure that Shoshanna will take advantage of this rare opportunity, which includes wonderful shots of her applying makeup like warpaint in preparation for the big night, and David Bowie’s “David Bowie Cat People (Putting out Fire)”, which is jarring at first, but the pumped-up volume and presence makes up for it.
By the way, the propaganda film is called Nation’s Pride and Eli Roth shot most of it.
Diane Kruger is gorgeous, as always, and shines as a double agent starlet who has her own plans to thwart the Nazis at the big premiere. The Basterds are sent to help her mission. There are scenes with Col. Landa where her facial tics reveal and supply the tension; this is also where Tarantino got his foot fetish shots in.
And I have to say that the way Mike Myers (yes, Mike Myers) is introduced into the film is genius. We find him standing in maybe 1/8th the size of the entire frame, removed from us, behind a massive moustache and overwhelming epaulettes. You (or at least I) only recognize that voice, that familiar mocking thick British accent, and are almost gently eased into the fact that Austin Powers is in a Tarantino film! This just proves that Inglourious Basterds is not only slick and powerful, but will tickle you at just the right moments.
The soundtrack is mostly comprised of Ennio Morricone (one of Chris’ favorites), which lends perfect, driving atmosphere to the established tension in the air.
Kudos for including Downfall-esque sequences, the movie clip that spoofing youTubers made famous, where Hitler broguely berates his senior officers, and bonus narrative “cameos” by Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel.
And you’re probably wondering if it’s bloody and if your girlfriend will hate you for insisting it’s a “date movie”. Even though KNB effects is a top notch team, I would have to say that the gore was minimal, compared to what the trailer “enticed” you all with. But then again, I’ve assisted in surgeries and grew up loving horror films, so I’m not as sensitive as most girls.
So perhaps all these years I’ve been too harsh on Tarantino. Perhaps he just needs time to ferment in order to hone his craft… Inglourious Basterds took nearly a decade to perfect.
I just have one blinding err… after the ruckus, where the heck did Samm Levine go?
He Said
After Kill Bill 1, 2, and Death Proof, I really wasn’t expecting anything from Inglourious Basterds. Over the course of the past 10 years, Tarantino had seemingly lost his touch, his narratives reduced to endless streams of homages to better films, sewn together by half-baked, inane dialogues – a pale shadow of his once quotable work. Each picture became increasingly tiresome, self indulgent, and overlong. So, given Inglourious Basterds‘ trailer’s promise of Hostel-style WWII thrills by way of a re-imagining of an amusing if somewhat forgettable 70’s WWII film, you could say I wasn’t expecting much in the way of quality.
Boy was I wrong.
Inglourious Basterds is easily Quentin Tarantino’s best film since Pulp Fiction. It’s snappy, fresh, fun, irreverent, and wholly tongue in cheek. Now, you can read any other synopsis on any other site, so I’ll just say that the film is not at all what the trailer makes it out to be. Sure, the Basterds are on a mission to collect Nazi scalps, but that’s only a small portion of the overall storyline. Inglourious Basterds is also the tale of a young Jewish girl on the run from Nazi executioners, of a Nazi detective tasked with her discovery, of double agents and star-crossed lovers, and of Hitler’s heretofore untold demise through artsy propoganda films.
Those of you who’ve seen the original Inglorious Bastards will probably understand here that Tarantino’s Basterds is not a remake or even a reimagining of that film. Rather it’s his love letter to the “men on a mission” genre (In an interview on the Bastards DVD Tarantino admitted that he loved the original Bastards so much he referred to the whole Men on a Mission genre as “Inglorious Bastards films”), yet unlike his previous confessions of lust, this picture is made entirely his own. In this World War II period piece there are elements of Spaghetti westerns, glam-rock music videos (complete with Bowie soundtrack), French New Wave, spy films, comedy pictures, and of course, 70’s exploitation films, complete with Blaxploitation-style splash-titles. Action sequences are spaced sparingly throughout the film, but when they hit, they hit hard – exceptionally so. The picture even has one of the most entertaining Mexican standoffs I’ve seen in a long time, and the best theater-massacre this side of Umberto Lenzi’s Demons.
Being a Tarantino film, dialog plays as much a part as the splashy visuals and associated pop-culture nods. Discussions abound regarding French and German cinema, there’s tough guy posturing that would make Dirty Harry grin, and ear-reddening discussions of colorful topics. But, unlike his past three films, the dialogs are actually entertaining, punchy, and decently memorable. There are a few portions that delve into Esmerelda the Cab Driver class drudgery, but for the most part I was completely entertained.
Of course, helping the dialog are some truly outstanding performances. I was a little worried about the casting of Brad Pitt (he ruined Troy, after all), but for the most part his Aldo Raine was completely engaging. Newcomer Melanie Laurent does an outstanding job as Shosanna Dreyfus, the Jewish girl who thwarts her Nazi oppressors. She’s strong, determined, and cool under pressure. In fact, she reminded me of Battlestar Galactica’s Starbuck could have been if she was actually female and legitimately attractive. Similarly, Diane Kreuger does a surprisingly decent job as actress/allied spy Bridget von Hammersmark. But top honors have to go to Christoph Waltz as the Nazi detective Hans Waltz. He’s endlessly magnetic, threatening, funny, and fascinating. Frankly, his performance makes the entire film. Rounding out the cast are a decent number of cameos, including a wonderfully funny turn by Mike Meyers. Tarantino fans would do well to keep their ears open for voice cameos by veterans Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel. Maggie Chung, unfortunately, has had her scenes relegated to the cutting room floor (Sad, yes, but apparently they will be on the DVD). Samm Levine is in there, but mysteriously disappears in the third act, so I’m expecting some extra sequences there as well.
Alas, it looks as if my short review has gotten away from me. Suffice it to say, Inglourious Basterds surprised me completely. It’s easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year, and one of Tarantino’s best of all time. I’m not quite sure it’s his masterpiece, but it’s getting there. I fully intend to watch it again. Bravo.
*** Read the Q&A highlights from the private screening in SF that we were super lucky to be invited to!
Inglourious Basterds opens in theatres August 21st.
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