*Update...sorry some of my picture links no longer work
Quentin Tarantino is my favorite filmmaker because he is plain and simply the greatest storyteller of all time. Unlike most films where you come into the theater for the two hours or what not and then you leave, Tarantino crafts a full universe around his fully developed characters whose entire life story you know Quentin knows and you feel more engaged in the story when you can see into these characters. If you ever have read a script that he has written, he delves into so much detail about every little thing, the character, the setting, the mood, how he is going to approach the scene. Every film he has made to date is a full on masterpiece and Inglourious Basterds is no exception. After getting out of the screening I debated if this was in fact Quentin’s finest film and I think that Pulp Fiction, due to its innovation and cult status has to be deemed his finest film, but Basterds is without a doubt his most mature film.
Before I delve into reviewing the film itself I want to talk for a moment about how(like Pulp Fiction) this film is just as well three stories about one story. The first three chapters of the film set up each set of characters, Chapter 1, introduces Shoshanna Dreyfus and her motives yes, but it belongs to Colonel Hans Landa “The Jew Hunter” who ultimately holds the film together as he is the glue that clings all the characters to each other. The opening chapter sets the tone for the film as well as establishing the character of Landa and setting up the motives for Shoshanna. Chapter 2, sets up the Basterds themselves and introduces us to the mythos behind their notoriety in this fable, much like Kill Bill Volume 1 set up the Hanzo and DiVAS mythos for us. The Basterds, who despite being the titular characters are actually the least important of the main characters in terms of actual plot. Chapter 3, shows us what happened to Shoshanna Dreyfus after she narrowly escaped from the clutches of Landa and sets up her side of the big final sequence. Chapter 4 sets up the Basterds plan for the big final sequence and it isn’t until chapter 5 that there is any plot to the film at all, the first 2 chapters set up the mythology, chapters 3 and 4 set up the plot and 5 is the actual plot itself.
Most filmmakers could never pull off something like that only about 30-45 minutes of a film being plot and everything else just setting it up, but QT uses that to his advantage you know so much about this whole world and characters that by the time you get to the big bang(literally and figuratively) it is 500% more impactful then if someone had done it differently, had this plot been taken and made by someone else, it would have been much more like a simple heist film, setting up the whole trap and then springing it and treating it much more like a thriller rather then doing it like Tarantino and making it into a fable that really draws you and gets you engaged for the characters, I’m all for heist films I love films like Ocean’s Eleven but how much do you really know about the characters? Nothing and it is a fantastically underrated film but it is just the pinnacle of a perfect cliché film, where Basterds is as unique of a film as Pulp Fiction and had it been made 10 years ago it would be praised 10 times more then Pulp had been. Now I will do a Chapter by Chapter analysis of the film as each chapter is a masterpiece better then any film of the last 10 years (albeit a few) on its own.
CHAPTER 1: ONCE UPON A TIME…IN NAZI OCCUPIED FRANCE
It still baffles me just how well Tarantino knows film, he effortlessly combines the genres of Spaghetti Western and French New Wave with Macaroni combat war iconography, the opening chapter in particular is just breathtaking to watch the amazing visual aspect of it, the tension building just like fast draw moments in Leone’s westerns but QT does not do this with shots of holsters and guns, but with words and eyes. Watch the shot/editing pattern of the opening scene in contrast with Waltz’ breathtaking Alan Rickmanesque performance.(the frighteningly evil yet charming at the same time) The opening sequence shows Colonel Landa interrogating a farmer who he suspects is hiding jews, Waltz is just such a delight to watch for the eyes and the ears, he has a handsome brashness about him but just listening to him effortlessly go from German to French to English back to French is just breathtaking, also keep in mind he has monologues in every language as well. His Jew to Rat monologue(which sadly they cut down a bit from the script) should go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. I think its pretty obvious how this scene ends but I won’t give it away for those super spoiler conscious folks out there, all I will say is I have a feeling there will be a lot of people who feel Landa’s motives at the end of the chapter are unrealistic and I have this to say, that is because they cut out his second monologue in this chapter that explains his motives.
CHAPTER 2: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
As most know the second chapter opens to Brad Pitt’s monologue in the teaser trailer (but the film version is about 3-4 minutes longer) Tarantino uses his trademark hold on one actor for a long period of time brilliantly in this sequence, there’s like a 2 minute shot just following Pitt as he delivers the best part of the monologue followed by a shot that holds on Eli Roth as the monologue finishes and his smile slowly widens as you see in the teaser. This Chapter definitely earns its R rating as we see several scalping, people being beaten, shot and stabbed to death among other things. Til Schweiger’s character’s introduction I have no doubt many people will hate it so much with Samuel L. Jackson narrating it and rock music playing during it but I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Eli Roth, who sadly doesn’t have all that much, to do but he makes up for it with being the most badass character to grace the screen since Die Hard. No doubt many will complain that his character is unnecessary and has no emotion but again that it because they cut his 5-10 minute origin story out which is an amazingly well written segment but it would have interfered with the tone of the Chapter so I am glad they cut it out. Sadly however, you have probably seen about 1/3 of this Chapter already just in clips and trailers its only about 20 minutes long but it received bursts of applause in my theater as Brad Pitt gives his final line in the Chapter and it fades to black.
CHAPTER 3: A GERMAN NIGHT IN PARIS
This Chapter while essential is probably the weakest aspect of the film as it suffers a bit having a totally different tone from the rest of the film, originally it was supposed to be in Black and White but that distracted even more away from the rest of the film(as it is styled like a Godard film). It is not by any means a weak Chapter simply in comparison to the other 4. Still better stand alone as any other film you will see this year. This chapter shows us what has become of Shoshanna Dreyfus after the opening scene and it sets up the first aspect of her masterplan which also happens to be the Basterd and Landa’s master plan as well, as the next chapter sets up that up. There is a simply heart pounding scene in a restaurant which (I don’t want to give away details as the way it unfolds is simply heart jumping to watch) which I will say most likely will raise possibly the biggest question of the film and you will know what I mean when you see the scene “Does Landa know?” that is all I will say about that.
CHAPTER 4: OPERATION KINO
The next Chapter starts with Mike Myer’s scene which I thought was brilliant, he and Michael Fassbender essentially play an older and a younger version of the same character have amazing chemistry together in this scene which essentially sets up the plot of the whole movie. The sequence that follows “La Louisiane” has been described as a mini Reservoir Dogs and I think will possibly be the most talked about scene in the film, it is thrilling, funny, informative and it ends with one of the most shocking and unique things I have ever seen on film that I couldn’t believe I just saw after I finished seeing it, this Chapter introduces the character of Bridget von Hammersmark(Diane Kruger) but the Chapter essentially belongs to Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox and while Landa gives the finest performance of the film, Fassbender has the best delivery of any line in the film, I got a giant shiver and felt a tear go down my cheek as he says it. Maybe you will have the same reaction to it as I got. As I said the 21 minute “La Louisiane” sequence is the best scene in the film(although it is close as there are about oh a million amazing scenes in the film) Sadly they cut a good portion of the vet scene out that deals with PFC’s Utivich and Hirschberg’s(Novak and Levine respectively) jobs in the final sequence.
CHAPTER 5: REVENGE OF THE GIANT FACE
For obvious reasons being the plot segment of the film I won’t go into too much detail here on the actual plot. Many were concerned about the selection of the David Bowie song here but it worked amazingly well as we see Shoshanna get ready for her big “premiere”. The best shot of the movie comes in very early in this chapter as the camera goes from looking at Shoshanna looking down at the red carpet to Landa looking down then it tracks with him to reveal the Basterds, each of these people with a master plan of their own, not knowing that the others all have a plan as well...simply a brilliant shot. The actual ending of the film is the same as it was in the script but how it happens was changed due to the leak of the script and wow am I glad they changed it, my theater gave a standing ovation to a…very violent…part of it that I think you will know it when you see it as the two characters involved and what goes down having their story end that way is just perfect, my theater cheered and clapped until our hands were raw. And afterwards in the final scene of the film, if you have been paying attention you will see whats about to happen coming and want to just stand up and cheer. Many will no doubt think the last line of the film is pretentious but I feel it is well deserved and the perfect way to end QT’s passion project for the past 9 years.
Pitt, Fassbender, Kruger, Laurent and Waltz all deserve Oscar nominations(for now but I’m sure at least 3 of them will still be there by years end) and this is the best script written since Memento, QT’s direction is just mind blowing especially if you consider the short 5 month shoot/edit before Cannes. I wish they would have put about 20-25 minutes back in making the film just under 3 hours but for obvious reasons (Weinstein’s cough) I doubt we will ever see Quentin’s Directors Cut of this masterpiece. If you have enjoyed QT’s other films as much as me, there is no reason this should be any different, it is just as unique, has the same(but better) type of dialog and perhaps the best characters he has ever written.
****/****
