Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The One With those Bad-Ass, Legendary, Inglourious Basterds!

if you need heroes, send in the basterds!
I can now die happy! I have finally seen Inglourious Basterds! I was supposed to see this film in the cinema but sadly, I never actually got around to it. It was worth the wait to finally see it on DVD. Quentin Tarantino himself said that it would be a "big fucking night at the movies". Unfortunately, I missed that. Watching it in my own home was mind-blowing, I could only imagine what it would have been like in the cinema.
Nonetheless, I am completely in love with this film.

WARNING: This blog contains SPOILERS. I'm sorry, but I just have to comment on the brilliant events that take place in this film. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it.

Written & Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

The story begins in Nazi-occupied France where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses her whole family being massacred by Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) and his men. She only just escapes and flees to Paris where she changes her name and is the owner of a cinema.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) puts together a group of Jewish-American soldiers, known to the enemy as "The Basterds", to brutally kill all Nazis. The Basterds then join German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) in taking down the leaders of the Third Reich. Fates merge when the Basterds plan their revenge on the Nazis meanwhile Shosanna has a plan to do the same thing...in the same place...

Tarantino has absolutely out-done himself in terms of his characters. They are all so interesting & important.

Mélanie Laurent is Shosanna Dreyfus
Her best lines:
1. "Because, Marcel, my sweet, we're going to make a film. Just for the Nazis."
2. "My name is Shosanna Dreyfus and THIS is the face... of Jewish vengeance!"
3. "And I want you to look deep into the face of the Jew who's going to do it!"

Shosanna is brilliant. As stated in the plot outline, she witnesses her entire family being murdered by Nazis. She is scared out of her mind when she flees to Paris covered in her family's blood. She is an amazingly strong character also, especially when we see her with Col. Hans Landa four years later under her new French identity holding back her terrible feelings towards him.
Shosanna is truly a hero and her ultimate revenge plan was perfect. Seeing the cinema go up in flames and all those Nazis getting burnt was awesome!
It was such a shame that she got shot though. She really deserved to live to see her revenge plan in action.
Laurent was outstanding in this role. I would really love to see her in more films. She is such a great talent.

Til Schweiger is Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz
His best lines:

1. "Say "auf Wiedersehen" to your Nazi balls."
2. "And at this range, I'm a real Frederick Zoller."

Hugo Stiglitz hates Nazis. He used to kill them himself and eventually was sent to jail for that. The Basterds, who are fans of his, set him free and Stiglitz joins them on their mission to kill Nazis.
I think Stiglitz was super cool. I love how before he was apart of the Basterds, he took matters in his own hands and killed all of those Nazis. What a legend!

Daniel Brühl is Pvt. Fredrick Zoller
His best line:
- [In the film 'Nation's Pride'] "Who wants to send a message to Germany?"

He is somewhat of a likable German, but I was suspicious of him all along. We learn that he is a propaganda hero and killed hundreds of American soldiers. That makes him an asshole in my book. Also, he is the one that shoots Shosanna and I'm so glad that she shot him first! He deserved it, big time.
For me to hate Zoller so much proves that Brühl is a good actor. His character really got to me and I was happy when he died. Nice, Brühl!

Diane Kruger is Bridget Von Hammersmark
Her best line:
- [all the dialogue during the celebrity heads game]

Bridget Von Hammersmark is a German actress but she's also a double agent. Unlike any of the cast so far, she is not out to kill. As Kruger herself as stated, "She's actually quite vulnerable", which I have got to say is quite true.
I have heard of Kruger but I have not seen her in anything else. I thought she was fantastic in her role. It was a shame that Bridget died, and just as she joined the Basterds too. The dialogue between her and Col. Hans Landa during her death scene is great! We also see her feet in that scene; which is a Tarantino trademark.

Christoph Waltz is Col. Hans Landa
His best lines:

1. "Attendez la crème!"
2. "That's a bingo!"
3. "I love rumours!"
4. "Before I go, could I have another glass of your delicious milk?"

The Jew Hunter. That says it all, doesn't it?
Now, as many people know, I possess strong feelings about the holocaust and think of it as the most horrible time in history, so of course; I loathed this guy. From the moment that he started comparing Jewish people to rats and saying that they are repulsive, I couldn't wait for this guy to get hurt. The end [where Lt. Aldo Raine carves the swastika into his forehead] was brilliant, simply genius! I actually think I enjoyed that a little too much :) I hated him, but I loved watching him to see what he was up to next!
Waltz was so amazing in this role and really deserves the golden globe for best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture! If he doesn't get it, I'll eat my hat!

Michael Fassbender is Lt. Archibald Hicox
His Best Line:

- "Why do you have a Luger pointed at my testicles?"

Lt. Archibald Hicox is a British solider, a Basterd. He's smart and like a movie star. He's basically George Sanders. He's not so important to the plot but he's equally as enjoyable.
The scene with General Ed Fenech (Mike Myers) was very good, jolly good.

Brad Pitt is Lt. Aldo Raine
His Best Lines:

1. "You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, Business is a-boomin'."
2. "We got a German here who wants to die for his country! Oblige him!"
3. "Arriverderci."
4. "I'm gonna give you a little somethin' you can't take off."
5. "They're the footsoldiers of a Jew-hatin', mass-murderin' maniac, and they need to be dee-stroyed."

Lt. Aldo Raine is from Tennessee. He's the head of the guerrilla outfit in Nazi-occupied France that is out to seek ultimate revenge on the Nazis.
I loved Aldo Raine! He was hilarious. I have no idea why people say that Pitt over-acted or any of that, I thought he was amazing. When he said "Arriverderci", I just cracked up laughing! He's so laid-back and cool, Aldo definitely knows what he's doing.

Eli Roth is Sgt. Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz!
His Best Lines/Gesture:

1. "Teddy fuckin' Williams knocks it out of the park! Fenway Park on its feet for Teddy! Fuckin' ballgame! He went yardo on that one, on to fuckin' Lansdowne Street!"
2. "We punch those goons out, take their machine guns, and burst in there blasting!"
3. "You know, Lieutenant, you're getting pretty good at that."
4. "After I kill that guy, you have 30 feet to get to that guy. Can you do it?"
5. "Get the fuck up! You're on deck!"
6. [AND THAT ITALIAN HAND GESTURE, oh, that hand gesture!]

Obviously, I have saved the best 'till last. Donny, also known as 'the Bear Jew', is a Jewish guy from Boston. He is a baseball fan and beats Nazis to death with his baseball bat.
The Bear Jew is the greatest character I think I have ever seen in a film. The scene where he comes out of that cave gives me chills! When he beats Sgt. Werner Rachtman; a Nazi that refuses to give Raine information, to death with his baseball bat is brilliant.
This guy is a legend! Wanna know why? HE KILLS HITLER! He kills him with an MP-40, true Tony Montana style! That scene is truly one of the best I've seen in a film.
Roth is scary, hilarious and intense as the Bear Jew. He ought to be commended on his amazing, unforgettable performance. It was just top-notch! Sgt. Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz is my favourite character by far and I was so upset when he died.
Roth should definitely consider being in more films with bigger roles because he was so amazing in this film, as well as Death Proof; which is also by Tarantino. I mean, why shouldn't he be in more films? He's all kinds of talented and very dedicated [he put on 40 pounds of muscle for his role as the Bear Jew] and obviously, he's gorgeous!

Note: The Nation's Pride[the film-within-a-film], Goebbels's propaganda film starring Pvt. Fredrick Zoller as himself, is actually directed by Eli Roth. I have yet to see this, and it is on the special features of the DVD so I will definitely get around to watching that soon :)


The violence in this film is the best. We see scalping, we see swastikas getting carved into foreheads, strangulation, and, of course, Hitler getting blown apart by Donny with an MP-40. I love to see violence in a film. Tarantino did not hold back at all and I appreciated that.
Notably, we also see Lt. Aldo Raine stick his finger into Bridget Von Hammersmark's bullet wound. That would make audience's wince, but I thought it was really cool.
The suspense in the film is set up so well. Tarantino is a master of suspense as we all know, like Hitchcock. The scene where we are waiting for the Bear Jew to come out of that cave had me in so much suspense. My eyes were actually wide & I was completely still for the entire time! That scene is incredible. Also, the tavern scene & The Dreyfus family under the floorboards in the beginning. All of these scenes actually had me holding my breath. Tarantino knows exactly how long a scene should last.

Tarantino has selected great pieces of music to include in this film, which is always the case. David Bowie's 'Cat People (Putting Out The Fire)' is brilliant and was placed in the right scene, setting it up perfectly.

This film is also full of intelligence. Although it is obviously not based on true events, however some historical aspects of the film are correct, I really wish it was. Tarantino has re-written history. This story is better than the actual events that took place in reality during WWII! The story is fantastic!
I had high expectations for this long-awaited film and Tarantino delivered, baby! Quentin Tarantino deserves the golden globe & Oscar for best director. I say that as whole-heartedly as possible. I have never been so affected by a film before, this film deserves all the awards that it is nominated for, which is pretty much every category relevant to the film.

Originally, Tarantino was going to make Inglourious Basterds a mini-series. That certainly would have been interesting, but I love it as a film and I want to see it win all the Golden Globes and Oscars in 2010!

Inglourious Basterds received an 11 minute standing ovation after its first screening at Cannes. And that standing ovation was absolutely well deserved. Everything about this film is astounding. Bravo to an amazing cast and Mr. Tarantino!

I give it 4 out of 4 stars!
I enjoyed every single minute.
I will watch this film again and again.
I know I probably sound like a gushing Tarantino fangirl but I don't care. This film deserves such gushing! There are no words to describe this film in terms of doing it justice. 'I loved it' and 'this film is brilliant' just don't cut it. It deserves so much more. It is by far the best film of 2009, if not, the decade. Inglourious Basterds deserves all of the Oscars it's nominated for, and it will definitely be nominated for many.

The trailer of Inglourious Basterds is the most amazing trailer I've ever seen. It's got great music and the feel of it is extraordinary! It actually gives me goosebumps.
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQhTVz5IjQ

Rating: R
Runtime: 153 mins.

Arriverderci, basterds.

Taysha. x

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