In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
Brad Pitt
LT. Aldo Raine
Mélanie Laurent
Shosanna
Christoph Waltz
COL. Hans Landa
Eli Roth
SGT. Donny Donowitz
Michael Fassbender
LT. Archie Hicox
Diane Kruger
Bridget von Hammersmark
Daniel Brühl
Fredrick Zoller
Til Schweiger
SGT. Hugo Stiglitz
Gedeon Burkhard
CPL. Wilhelm Wicki
Jacky Ido
Marcel
B.J. Novak
PFC. Smithson Utivich
Omar Doom
PFC. Omar Ulmer
August Diehl
Major Hellstrom
Denis Ménochet
Perrier LaPadite
Sylvester Groth
Joseph Goebbels
Martin Wuttke
Hitler
Mike Myers
General Ed Fenech
Julie Dreyfus
Francesca Mondino
Richard Sammel
SGT. Rachtman
Alexander Fehling
Master SGT. Wilhelm / Pola Negri
Rod Taylor
Winston Churchill
Sönke Möhring
PVT. Butz / Walter Frazer
Samm Levine
PFC. Hirschberg
Paul Rust
PFC. Andy Kagan
Michael Bacall
PFC. Michael Zimmerman
Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey
German Soldier / Winnetou
Petra Hartung
German Female Soldier / Beethoven
Volker Michalowski
German Soldier / Edgar Wallace
Ken Duken
German Soldier / Mata Hari
Christian Berkel
Proprietor Eric
Anne-Sophie Franck
Mathilda
Léa Seydoux
Charlotte LaPadite
Tina Rodriguez
Julie LaPadite
Lena Friedrich
Suzanne LaPadite
Ludger Pistor
CPT. Wolfgang
Jana Pallaske
Babette
Wolfgang Lindner
Herrman #1
Michael Kranz
Herrman #3
Rainer Bock
General Schonherr
André Penvern
Old French Veterinarian
Sebastian Hülk
Hellstrom's Driver / Nazi Usher #1
Buddy Joe Hooker
Gaspar
Carlos Fidel
PFC. Simon Sakowitz
Christian Brückner
Kliest Voice (voice)
Hilmar Eichhorn
Emil Jannings
Patrick Elias
Jakob Dreyfus
Eva Löbau
Miriam Dreyfus
Salvadore Brandt
Bob Dreyfus
Jasper Linnewedel
Amos Dreyfus
Wilfried Hochholdinger
German Company SGT.
Olivier Girard
Maxim's Waiter
Michael Scheel
General Frank
Leo Plank
Motorcycle Rider #1
Andreas Tietz
Motorcycle Rider #2
Bo Svenson
American Colonel
Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari
Samuel L. Jackson
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Bela B.
Usher #2 (uncredited)
Noemi Besedes
German Movie Star (uncredited)
Hélène Cardona
German Official (voice) (uncredited)
Jake Garber
German Soldier (uncredited)
Sabrina Rattey
German Civilian (uncredited)
Alex Boden
Military Attaché (uncredited)
Guido Föhrweißer
SS Major (uncredited)
Harvey Keitel
OSS Commander Who Agrees to Deal (voice) (uncredited)
Andrew Napier
Nazi Theatre Attendee (uncredited)
Greg Nicotero
Gestapo Major (uncredited)
Quentin Tarantino
First Scalped Nazi / American Soldier in 'Pride of Nation' (uncredited)
Vitus Wieser
French Waiter (uncredited)
Bea-Marie Rück
German Female Soldier (uncredited)
Daniela Schwerdt
Cinema Guest (uncredited)
Director, Writer
Quentin Tarantino
July 26, 2018
8
**_Refreshingly different alternative WW2 drama/adventure_**
RELEASED IN 2009 and directed by Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" takes place during the German occupation of France in WW2 and revolves around a ruthless “Jew Hunter” Nazi (Christoph Waltz), a beautiful young theater owner dripping with vengeance, a German war hero who pesters her and a brutal team of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine.
This was my first taste of the popular director's eccentric repertoire, although I've since seen all of his movies. The first time I tried to watch "Basterds" I gave up around the 50-minute mark. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue-driven opening sequence is great but the film seemed to bog down with its focus on a French theater during the German occupation and the accompanying interminable dialogue (mostly in subtitles). I just wasn't ready for this because I was expecting a Dirty Dozen-styled WW2 film with lots of action and all that goes with it. What I got instead was a plot that focused on the aforementioned theater accompanied by long sessions of generally subtitled dialogue.
I eventually gave it a second chance with the understanding that this wasn't some typical war flick. Strangely, the "interminable dialogue" pulled me in and I slowly became engrossed in the story, which isn't hard to follow. The drama is only occasionally interrupted by flashes of extreme violence. Until the end, that is, where all hell literally breaks loose.
There ARE elements that bring to mind "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), including a group of anti-heroes intent on mercilessly obliterating as many Germans as possible and the fact that the real action doesn't kick-in until the final act, but "Basterds" is hardly a Dirty Dozen clone. It may borrow a bit from notable films of the past but it absolutely possesses its own refreshing originality.
All effective films have quality characters and "Basterds" has several: The stunning Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna, the cinema proprietor who quietly seethes with retribution; Christoph Waltz as SS Col. Hans Landa, an articulate and suave love-to-hate villain who mercilessly hunts down Jews; Brad Pitt as the almost-comical, but no-nonsense leader of the brutal Basterds; super-sharp Diane Kruger as a German actress & British spy; and Daniel Brühl as a genial German hero with the hots for the beautiful Shosanna.
Like Tarantino’s other great movies (“Pulp Fiction,” “Django Unchained” and “Jackie Brown”), "Basterds" pulsates with confidence, style, quirkiness and a sense of the unexpected from beginning to end, the perfect antidote to the idiotic "blockbuster" syndrome that plagues modern cinema with its predictability and overKILL action & CGI, etc. Most movies seem like they’re in a rush and shy away from extended dialogues because they fear losing the viewer’s limited attention whereas Tarantino makes them a highlight because it’s an area where he excels. Instead of pedestrian verbiage that merely advances the plot or conveys the obvious, his interchanges are rich with amusement and mindfood.
THE FILM RUNS 153 minutes and was shot in France and Germany.
GRADE: A-
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$70,000,000.00
Revenue:
$321,457,747.00