Jason KingInglourious Basterds ($16.50)
August 16th 2009 06:31
:
WRITTEN BY SEAN AND DAVE
Category: No Category
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS ($16.50)
I had the misfortune of missing this, or rather I refused to pay to buy a ticket to a premiere, but Sean and Dave did and they got to enjoy the spectacle of the Australian Premiere of Inglourious Basterds. So here is both their take on the night and the film. Nice work guys - and thanks for the articles.
SEAN'S THOUGHTS:
A Basterds work is never done. The Basterd Mr Brown's Inglorious return to the Fiction that made the Dog the cult favourite amongst Pulp lovers worldwide. He is Proof that Death can Kill any doubts that the studio's have, giving him the top Bill in the world of film and film making.
This is, Inglorious Basterds - Worth $16.00
As darkness fell upon the Eastern Seaboard of Australia, Market Street lit up the State Theatre to welcome Mr Brown to town. The Dog himself, in all his Fiction, walked his way down the red carpet to the screening of his latest film, Inglorious Basterds - WWII film about a group of Jewish-American soldiers, some evil Nazis, a French projectionist and a German film star, all fighting to keep their dream alive, and their scalps on their heads.
Two thousand cinema-lovers packed into the State Theatre to watch the film, but they all (myself included) all lifted the roof when Quentin Tarantino stepped on stage, opening with 'this is a fucking-bloody awesome theatre".
And then he introduced two of his stars: the beautiful Diane Kruger (Troy, National Treasure 1 & 2) and Christoph Waltz (some Austrian actor in a bunch of German films (and winner of the 2009 Cannes Best Actor Award)). Taratino then turned to the audience saying;
"When I was last here to premiere Kill Bill I dedicated the night to, er... my favourite auteur, Mr Brian Trenchard-Smith" (Cheers from me) "Turkey Shoot! But tonight, I want to dedicate this to Jasmine. An Aussie who showed me..." Cheers blurred the rest, but we all knew what he meant.
Mr Brown rounded up the speech, and screamed to the audience; "Let's start the BASTERDS" And he took his seat, front row, in between two very lucky fans, as the lights went down and the film started.
"Chapter One: Once Upon A Time... In Nazi Occupied France." That's how it began. The best film of the year. Probably one of, if not, Tarantino's best film. And for the next 153 minutes, we laughed. We cheered. We gasped. We cringed. We yelled. And we appreciated the brilliance that is Quentin Tarantino.
I suppose about now you would want to know what the film is about. Well, here it is.
In German-occupied France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds" Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own... - Thanks to Universal
Right. Now the boring part is out of the way, it's time for some trivia.
* Quentin Tarantino started writing this movie before Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) but could not decide on a good ending and decide to put it on hold to do Kill Bill with Uma Thurman, a project he had been mentally preparing since Pulp Fiction (1994).
* Quentin Tarantino has said that he intends for this to be as much a war film as a spaghetti western, and has said he considered titling the movie "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France". He gave that title instead to one of the chapters of the film.
* Quentin Tarantino worked on the script for almost a decade.
* British actor Simon Pegg was originally set to play Lt. Archie Hicox but was forced to pull out of the project because of scheduling conflicts. Michael Fassbender replaced him.
* Tarantino approached Adam Sandler to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz. But Sandler had to turn it down because the schedule conflicted with the filming of Funny People (2009).
* The role of Francesca Mondino was written especially for Julie Dreyfus, who played a similar character in Quentin's previous movie, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).
* Eli Roth's character, Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, is part of the Tarantino-verse, sharing the last name of the film producer character, Lee Donowitz, in the Tarantino-written True Romance (1993). The Lee Donowitz character also produced a war film "Comin' Home in a Body Bag".
* Producer Lawrence Bender recalls the first time he heard Tarantino read him pieces of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: "It was at least ten years ago that he was in my office, reading scenes that just blew me away. I thought, "We've got to make this." Bender would have to wait. The script went through many incarnations over the next decade. As the years passed, the title remained the same, but plot lines came and went, and Tarantino tinkered with the idea of presenting the project as a television mini-series or writing it as a novel.
Thanks to IMDb.com and the Inglorious Basterds website.
The film itself though, is a true masterpiece. Tarantino has this natural ability to throw anything at an audience and make them love it. Someone near me said, "Quentin could make a film called "Shit" and people would love it.' It's hard to describe in words how spectacular this film really is. The script is second only to Pulp Fiction. The action craps all over his other films. The characters, I believe, trump those of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, Jackie Brown and Max Cherry, The Bride and Bill, Mr Orange and Mr White and all the others.
I'm no fan of Brad Pitt, but as "Aldo the Apache", Lt. Aldo Raine, a homage towards actor Aldo Ray who was also a WWII veteran, he was excellent. Eli Roth as "The Bear Jew", Sgt. Donny Donowitz was evil and hilarious. Mike Myers is General Ed Fenech, a 1944, 60 year old Austin Powers. Samuel L. Jackson even makes an appearance.
But while the all star cast is great, it's the plot, and the shots that really make this film what it is. I really want to tell you more, but I don't want to end up in a Mexican Standoff between Tarantino, Big Eddie and Myself.
Just watch this movie. For the love of god and all things film. Watch it! It's great. $16.00.
Sean.
P.S. Some of you may have read in the papers of a young girl named Hannah Taylor who died in a skiing accident a couple of weeks ago. Hannah was a friend of mine from back home. So as Quentin dedicated his film to Jasmine, I'd like to dedicate this review to Hannah.
Rest peacefully Hannah Montana. You will be missed.
DAVE'S THOUGHTS
Chapter one:
14 years in the making.
This is a Quentin Tarantino movie.
This could very well be THE Tarantino movie.
This is perhaps the most idiosyncratic the filmmaker will ever be. Every film he has made; every development in style, casting, soundtrack and all else that he has made as culminated in this picture.
There is a line that a character speaks in the film:
"In fact, I think this may be my masterpiece"
It is almost a certainty that Quentin Tarantino has made "Inglourious Basterds" with that as his aim; and I believe he has succeeded.
Whilst it may be difficult to claim any of his films as the best of his career, this film would never be of the quality it is without the films he had made prior.
Tarantino began the script when working in a video store in his youth. His fascination with spaghetti westerns resulted in the kernel of an idea for 'Basterds' forming. This idea originated when he saw a film entitled "Inglorious Bastards" on television in a hotel room in Los Angeles.
It concerned it self with a group of convicts fleeing for the Swiss border from the Nazis in the midst of World War 2. The film instigated his interest in WW2 and he begun crafting his own Spaghetti western/war flick in his head. A staple of Spaghetti westerns is the "Mexican Stand Off" in which several characters point a gun at each other and talk. It's almost in every Tarantino film, this and all sorts of other things from soundtrack choices, camera angles and even casting throughout his films showcases this love of the spaghetti western. It's no doubt he would eventually make one. The one he made just so happens to be set in World War 2. End of story. Not quite.
He thought about it for a long time, "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction" came and went. Then "Jackie Brown", throughout his career he constantly thought about 'Basterds' and in 1998 he begun writing it.
He researched WW2 to the point that he ended up with 300 pages of text. His unique writing style consisted of writing freehand in a notebook, not wishing to be bogged down by format, leaving the re-write for the typewrite when he would condense it down. (He never really learned to type, even to this day he still types with only one finger, and only does this when he is ready for the final draft). He wrote in prose; which resulted in what Tarantino calls a "a near novel".
Throughout the years with this novelistic approach many plots emerged, at one point the film focused on a group of African American soldiers, a plot that over time condensed into a sub plot, then ultimately was removed from the script.
So much work was done that Tarantino reportedly wishes to make a series of films on the subject if 'Basterds' is a success. The storyline in "Inglorious Bastards", the film Tarantino saw, does not resemble the film you will watch at all. Look at the 'e' in the title; Tarantino was never going to remake the original film, he just liked the title so much that he used it. The 'e' signifies that it is his own take on the subject matter, and it should only been seen as an inspiration. Ed's note: So does the Inglourious!
'Basterds' was talked about constantly over the years, and was always considered the opus that Tarantino would never get around to. He would announce it as his next project and then the next second later:
Writers block would hit.
The beast was becoming uncontrollable at the point around the early 2000's.
Running into Uma Thurman at a party, they discussed upcoming projects, she reminded him of a story they wrote called "The Bride", this would become "Kill Bill" which therefore distracted Tarantino for a few years. He has said that he wrote "Kill Bill" as a way to get away from the Basterds so he could come back to it fresh. The only problem was "Kill Bill" grew out of hand because of his writing habits.
"Bill" comes and goes so, back to the Basterds. "Sin City", one off television episodes of "ER" and "CSI" and "Death Proof" were other similar cases of this escape.
At one point in the 14-year odyssey of writing he considered turning it into a cable mini series. In discussion he was asked why? His response of not being able to condense the story was met with a query:
You are a world-renowned filmmaker. People go to your movies for a reason. You offer a gift to cinema, why would you make Television. This convinced Tarantino, and in 2008 after the disastrous audience reaction to the admittedly excellent "Grindhouse" Tarantino cracked the story of 'Basterds' and knew exactly what he needed to do.
For six months he collated the material into a screenplay, that revolved around a Jewish girl named Shoshanna and a Lieutenant named Aldo Raine.
Chapter two
Destined to be miss-understood.
With a great deal of writing and preparation done, it was expected that this would be his masterpiece. And after viewing the film it really is.
It is not necessarily a war film. It is an art film, and decisions made by Tarantino and the characters will annoy people a great deal I imagine.
You see, this film is eclectic in it's references, it's music and casting choices, it's narrative etc. The point is that this is not the film that people will expect, and when you fuck with expectation, all you get is negativity.
If I told you the majority of this film is subtitled, would you believe me? If I told you that a Jewish woman whose entire family had been killed by the Nazis when she was a child is the main character, would you believe me? If I told you that entire scenes consist of people talking in a bar for 35 minutes straight, would you believe it?
More importantly if I told you that the entire film is about cinema itself would you believe me?
Well this is the case, and astonishingly it is exactly what people will expect from him, but at the same time different. Tarantino is a movie nerd of the highest level, a living breathing movie encyclopedia that could rival IMDB. This extreme passion for film permeates through every scene in the film, and the references to cinema are countless, it's at that point that you can tell something is a reference without knowing what of.
The screenplay is so masterful in the way it plays with your expectations and knowledge of cinema that if it does not at least receive an academy award nomination... it would be an injustice. Part of the fun is to see this movie entirely fresh with no idea, if you do have the film spoiled I feel sorry for you, you will know why when you do see it... I'll say now that people will talk about this film for decades, and its screenplay will be studied in schools.
It is a love letter to film. And unfortunately that is all I can say because I refuse to spoil the film, but you will understand in due time. And probably thank me for not spoiling it for you.
What essentially makes 'Basterds' so brilliant is how powerful it is. It will get any lover of cinema. And as you ultimately need to be a lover of cinema to fully appreciate it the picture is destined to be miss- understood. It is gory and brutal. It is suspenseful, but it so meaningful this time around. It doesn't hurt that technically it is amazing and gorgeous to look at, but at the end of the day we don't really go the movies because it's pretty do we? Ed's note: - I do - I like cinematogrpahy and it has sold me many films to view
Chapter three
The heartbeat of the world.
I am aware this will be a hard idea to get across without spoiling the movie, but i'll try. Tarantino truly understands what cinema can do that no other medium can do.
Fair enough that the acting is amazing (including Brad Pitt who is phenomenal in the film, even though the trailer made people worry- including myself), fair enough the screenplay is astounding. The use of the camera to accentuate a point is outstanding. Conclusively though, it is the plot itself and its characters that demonstrate literally and figuratively the power of the medium.
It is that film is the heartbeat of the world. It symbolizes better than no other medium what it is that we as humans know. Film symbolizes all the stories told and untold that history itself can never record. Humanity lives on through film and it will fill the gap in history that people will never know, because no body would be alive in the future to tell anyone about it. It will be that. It's why the term 'classic cinema' exists. The human experience as best as we can recreate it. Film will live on. Film will allow mankind to live on. This is what I gathered from the "Inglorurious Basterds". It's incredibly multi- layered and of course discusses more sociological and political issues. But this is the heart of the film, and what I think made it work so incredibly.
Tarnatino brings this idea across so wonderfully and so beautifully and spectacularly that I could not classify the film as anything but a love letter to cinema.
I can picture many of you readers shaking your head, and looking at me funny, but because of marketing and expectation you don't really know what this film is. It''s so very clear to you when you watch it so don't worry. And it does have action and suspense and what not, but in the end it was not the movie I imagined, and to me that was a truly magical thing, and to others it was not- so there you go.
But even a dummy can appreciate how rich and detailed the world Tarantino has created is.
There are tiny flaws of course. They would be:
1) Mike Myers. Miscast. I thought he was amazing in the film though, but because of the baggage of Austin Powers it was impossible to take him seriously. Shame because he was great. Just takes you out of the experience.
2) A moment involving a smoking pipe. Even though it was in character it momentarily messed up the tension of an amazing scene. It was very funny, and might be something that would work on a second viewing.
3) A music choice near the end was unusual. It really worked for me I think. But I don't really know if it should be there.
4) All these are nitpicks. And are only negative because they interrupted the flow, even though they worked in a way. And when I watch it again I may love these moments. Break a few eggs for an omelet I suppose.
Chapter four:
My silly titles
Why chapters in a review? Well Tarantino structures the film in chapters. I waited till now in my review to state this just so I could illustrate how difficult it is to explain the brilliance of 'Basterds' without ruining the picture. At the start of the review you don't get it. But maybe a third into it, it becomes understandable. And then it's clear when you get near the end. That's my experience of "Inglourious Basterds".
A twisted amazingly detailed romp through cinema.
At the end of the day it doesn't really matter that the film is well shot and acted and all the technical jazz (it's pretty damn amazing by the way), all that matters is the themes and characters. And in true Tarantino fashion - it will hopefully blow you away!
Earlier on I discussed the incredibly interesting writing of the film and then I discussed the reception of it, and somewhere along the way I talked about Tarantino being told that he has a gift to give to cinema.....
In the end it's very clear to me. He heard he could give a gift to cinema. And in the end he wrote cinema the best possible love letter that he could.
And by doing that he gave us something greater.
Go and see the movie. It's a classic.
"Inglourious Basterds" is worth $17-
Combine Prices equal $16.50- Thanks So much guys - great to read and can't wait to see it......Out this Thursday..........JK
I had the misfortune of missing this, or rather I refused to pay to buy a ticket to a premiere, but Sean and Dave did and they got to enjoy the spectacle of the Australian Premiere of Inglourious Basterds. So here is both their take on the night and the film. Nice work guys - and thanks for the articles.
SEAN'S THOUGHTS:
A Basterds work is never done. The Basterd Mr Brown's Inglorious return to the Fiction that made the Dog the cult favourite amongst Pulp lovers worldwide. He is Proof that Death can Kill any doubts that the studio's have, giving him the top Bill in the world of film and film making.
This is, Inglorious Basterds - Worth $16.00
As darkness fell upon the Eastern Seaboard of Australia, Market Street lit up the State Theatre to welcome Mr Brown to town. The Dog himself, in all his Fiction, walked his way down the red carpet to the screening of his latest film, Inglorious Basterds - WWII film about a group of Jewish-American soldiers, some evil Nazis, a French projectionist and a German film star, all fighting to keep their dream alive, and their scalps on their heads.
Two thousand cinema-lovers packed into the State Theatre to watch the film, but they all (myself included) all lifted the roof when Quentin Tarantino stepped on stage, opening with 'this is a fucking-bloody awesome theatre".
And then he introduced two of his stars: the beautiful Diane Kruger (Troy, National Treasure 1 & 2) and Christoph Waltz (some Austrian actor in a bunch of German films (and winner of the 2009 Cannes Best Actor Award)). Taratino then turned to the audience saying;
"When I was last here to premiere Kill Bill I dedicated the night to, er... my favourite auteur, Mr Brian Trenchard-Smith" (Cheers from me) "Turkey Shoot! But tonight, I want to dedicate this to Jasmine. An Aussie who showed me..." Cheers blurred the rest, but we all knew what he meant.
Mr Brown rounded up the speech, and screamed to the audience; "Let's start the BASTERDS" And he took his seat, front row, in between two very lucky fans, as the lights went down and the film started.
"Chapter One: Once Upon A Time... In Nazi Occupied France." That's how it began. The best film of the year. Probably one of, if not, Tarantino's best film. And for the next 153 minutes, we laughed. We cheered. We gasped. We cringed. We yelled. And we appreciated the brilliance that is Quentin Tarantino.
I suppose about now you would want to know what the film is about. Well, here it is.
In German-occupied France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds" Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own... - Thanks to Universal
Right. Now the boring part is out of the way, it's time for some trivia.
* Quentin Tarantino started writing this movie before Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) but could not decide on a good ending and decide to put it on hold to do Kill Bill with Uma Thurman, a project he had been mentally preparing since Pulp Fiction (1994).
* Quentin Tarantino has said that he intends for this to be as much a war film as a spaghetti western, and has said he considered titling the movie "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France". He gave that title instead to one of the chapters of the film.
* Quentin Tarantino worked on the script for almost a decade.
* British actor Simon Pegg was originally set to play Lt. Archie Hicox but was forced to pull out of the project because of scheduling conflicts. Michael Fassbender replaced him.
* Tarantino approached Adam Sandler to play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz. But Sandler had to turn it down because the schedule conflicted with the filming of Funny People (2009).
* The role of Francesca Mondino was written especially for Julie Dreyfus, who played a similar character in Quentin's previous movie, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).
* Eli Roth's character, Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, is part of the Tarantino-verse, sharing the last name of the film producer character, Lee Donowitz, in the Tarantino-written True Romance (1993). The Lee Donowitz character also produced a war film "Comin' Home in a Body Bag".
* Producer Lawrence Bender recalls the first time he heard Tarantino read him pieces of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: "It was at least ten years ago that he was in my office, reading scenes that just blew me away. I thought, "We've got to make this." Bender would have to wait. The script went through many incarnations over the next decade. As the years passed, the title remained the same, but plot lines came and went, and Tarantino tinkered with the idea of presenting the project as a television mini-series or writing it as a novel.
Thanks to IMDb.com and the Inglorious Basterds website.
The film itself though, is a true masterpiece. Tarantino has this natural ability to throw anything at an audience and make them love it. Someone near me said, "Quentin could make a film called "Shit" and people would love it.' It's hard to describe in words how spectacular this film really is. The script is second only to Pulp Fiction. The action craps all over his other films. The characters, I believe, trump those of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, Jackie Brown and Max Cherry, The Bride and Bill, Mr Orange and Mr White and all the others.
I'm no fan of Brad Pitt, but as "Aldo the Apache", Lt. Aldo Raine, a homage towards actor Aldo Ray who was also a WWII veteran, he was excellent. Eli Roth as "The Bear Jew", Sgt. Donny Donowitz was evil and hilarious. Mike Myers is General Ed Fenech, a 1944, 60 year old Austin Powers. Samuel L. Jackson even makes an appearance.
But while the all star cast is great, it's the plot, and the shots that really make this film what it is. I really want to tell you more, but I don't want to end up in a Mexican Standoff between Tarantino, Big Eddie and Myself.
Just watch this movie. For the love of god and all things film. Watch it! It's great. $16.00.
Sean.
P.S. Some of you may have read in the papers of a young girl named Hannah Taylor who died in a skiing accident a couple of weeks ago. Hannah was a friend of mine from back home. So as Quentin dedicated his film to Jasmine, I'd like to dedicate this review to Hannah.
Rest peacefully Hannah Montana. You will be missed.
DAVE'S THOUGHTS
Chapter one:
14 years in the making.
This is a Quentin Tarantino movie.
This could very well be THE Tarantino movie.
This is perhaps the most idiosyncratic the filmmaker will ever be. Every film he has made; every development in style, casting, soundtrack and all else that he has made as culminated in this picture.
There is a line that a character speaks in the film:
"In fact, I think this may be my masterpiece"
It is almost a certainty that Quentin Tarantino has made "Inglourious Basterds" with that as his aim; and I believe he has succeeded.
Whilst it may be difficult to claim any of his films as the best of his career, this film would never be of the quality it is without the films he had made prior.
Tarantino began the script when working in a video store in his youth. His fascination with spaghetti westerns resulted in the kernel of an idea for 'Basterds' forming. This idea originated when he saw a film entitled "Inglorious Bastards" on television in a hotel room in Los Angeles.
It concerned it self with a group of convicts fleeing for the Swiss border from the Nazis in the midst of World War 2. The film instigated his interest in WW2 and he begun crafting his own Spaghetti western/war flick in his head. A staple of Spaghetti westerns is the "Mexican Stand Off" in which several characters point a gun at each other and talk. It's almost in every Tarantino film, this and all sorts of other things from soundtrack choices, camera angles and even casting throughout his films showcases this love of the spaghetti western. It's no doubt he would eventually make one. The one he made just so happens to be set in World War 2. End of story. Not quite.
He thought about it for a long time, "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction" came and went. Then "Jackie Brown", throughout his career he constantly thought about 'Basterds' and in 1998 he begun writing it.
He researched WW2 to the point that he ended up with 300 pages of text. His unique writing style consisted of writing freehand in a notebook, not wishing to be bogged down by format, leaving the re-write for the typewrite when he would condense it down. (He never really learned to type, even to this day he still types with only one finger, and only does this when he is ready for the final draft). He wrote in prose; which resulted in what Tarantino calls a "a near novel".
Throughout the years with this novelistic approach many plots emerged, at one point the film focused on a group of African American soldiers, a plot that over time condensed into a sub plot, then ultimately was removed from the script.
So much work was done that Tarantino reportedly wishes to make a series of films on the subject if 'Basterds' is a success. The storyline in "Inglorious Bastards", the film Tarantino saw, does not resemble the film you will watch at all. Look at the 'e' in the title; Tarantino was never going to remake the original film, he just liked the title so much that he used it. The 'e' signifies that it is his own take on the subject matter, and it should only been seen as an inspiration. Ed's note: So does the Inglourious!
'Basterds' was talked about constantly over the years, and was always considered the opus that Tarantino would never get around to. He would announce it as his next project and then the next second later:
Writers block would hit.
The beast was becoming uncontrollable at the point around the early 2000's.
Running into Uma Thurman at a party, they discussed upcoming projects, she reminded him of a story they wrote called "The Bride", this would become "Kill Bill" which therefore distracted Tarantino for a few years. He has said that he wrote "Kill Bill" as a way to get away from the Basterds so he could come back to it fresh. The only problem was "Kill Bill" grew out of hand because of his writing habits.
"Bill" comes and goes so, back to the Basterds. "Sin City", one off television episodes of "ER" and "CSI" and "Death Proof" were other similar cases of this escape.
At one point in the 14-year odyssey of writing he considered turning it into a cable mini series. In discussion he was asked why? His response of not being able to condense the story was met with a query:
You are a world-renowned filmmaker. People go to your movies for a reason. You offer a gift to cinema, why would you make Television. This convinced Tarantino, and in 2008 after the disastrous audience reaction to the admittedly excellent "Grindhouse" Tarantino cracked the story of 'Basterds' and knew exactly what he needed to do.
For six months he collated the material into a screenplay, that revolved around a Jewish girl named Shoshanna and a Lieutenant named Aldo Raine.
Chapter two
Destined to be miss-understood.
With a great deal of writing and preparation done, it was expected that this would be his masterpiece. And after viewing the film it really is.
It is not necessarily a war film. It is an art film, and decisions made by Tarantino and the characters will annoy people a great deal I imagine.
You see, this film is eclectic in it's references, it's music and casting choices, it's narrative etc. The point is that this is not the film that people will expect, and when you fuck with expectation, all you get is negativity.
If I told you the majority of this film is subtitled, would you believe me? If I told you that a Jewish woman whose entire family had been killed by the Nazis when she was a child is the main character, would you believe me? If I told you that entire scenes consist of people talking in a bar for 35 minutes straight, would you believe it?
More importantly if I told you that the entire film is about cinema itself would you believe me?
Well this is the case, and astonishingly it is exactly what people will expect from him, but at the same time different. Tarantino is a movie nerd of the highest level, a living breathing movie encyclopedia that could rival IMDB. This extreme passion for film permeates through every scene in the film, and the references to cinema are countless, it's at that point that you can tell something is a reference without knowing what of.
The screenplay is so masterful in the way it plays with your expectations and knowledge of cinema that if it does not at least receive an academy award nomination... it would be an injustice. Part of the fun is to see this movie entirely fresh with no idea, if you do have the film spoiled I feel sorry for you, you will know why when you do see it... I'll say now that people will talk about this film for decades, and its screenplay will be studied in schools.
It is a love letter to film. And unfortunately that is all I can say because I refuse to spoil the film, but you will understand in due time. And probably thank me for not spoiling it for you.
What essentially makes 'Basterds' so brilliant is how powerful it is. It will get any lover of cinema. And as you ultimately need to be a lover of cinema to fully appreciate it the picture is destined to be miss- understood. It is gory and brutal. It is suspenseful, but it so meaningful this time around. It doesn't hurt that technically it is amazing and gorgeous to look at, but at the end of the day we don't really go the movies because it's pretty do we? Ed's note: - I do - I like cinematogrpahy and it has sold me many films to view
Chapter three
The heartbeat of the world.
I am aware this will be a hard idea to get across without spoiling the movie, but i'll try. Tarantino truly understands what cinema can do that no other medium can do.
Fair enough that the acting is amazing (including Brad Pitt who is phenomenal in the film, even though the trailer made people worry- including myself), fair enough the screenplay is astounding. The use of the camera to accentuate a point is outstanding. Conclusively though, it is the plot itself and its characters that demonstrate literally and figuratively the power of the medium.
It is that film is the heartbeat of the world. It symbolizes better than no other medium what it is that we as humans know. Film symbolizes all the stories told and untold that history itself can never record. Humanity lives on through film and it will fill the gap in history that people will never know, because no body would be alive in the future to tell anyone about it. It will be that. It's why the term 'classic cinema' exists. The human experience as best as we can recreate it. Film will live on. Film will allow mankind to live on. This is what I gathered from the "Inglorurious Basterds". It's incredibly multi- layered and of course discusses more sociological and political issues. But this is the heart of the film, and what I think made it work so incredibly.
Tarnatino brings this idea across so wonderfully and so beautifully and spectacularly that I could not classify the film as anything but a love letter to cinema.
I can picture many of you readers shaking your head, and looking at me funny, but because of marketing and expectation you don't really know what this film is. It''s so very clear to you when you watch it so don't worry. And it does have action and suspense and what not, but in the end it was not the movie I imagined, and to me that was a truly magical thing, and to others it was not- so there you go.
But even a dummy can appreciate how rich and detailed the world Tarantino has created is.
There are tiny flaws of course. They would be:
1) Mike Myers. Miscast. I thought he was amazing in the film though, but because of the baggage of Austin Powers it was impossible to take him seriously. Shame because he was great. Just takes you out of the experience.
2) A moment involving a smoking pipe. Even though it was in character it momentarily messed up the tension of an amazing scene. It was very funny, and might be something that would work on a second viewing.
3) A music choice near the end was unusual. It really worked for me I think. But I don't really know if it should be there.
4) All these are nitpicks. And are only negative because they interrupted the flow, even though they worked in a way. And when I watch it again I may love these moments. Break a few eggs for an omelet I suppose.
Chapter four:
My silly titles
Why chapters in a review? Well Tarantino structures the film in chapters. I waited till now in my review to state this just so I could illustrate how difficult it is to explain the brilliance of 'Basterds' without ruining the picture. At the start of the review you don't get it. But maybe a third into it, it becomes understandable. And then it's clear when you get near the end. That's my experience of "Inglourious Basterds".
A twisted amazingly detailed romp through cinema.
At the end of the day it doesn't really matter that the film is well shot and acted and all the technical jazz (it's pretty damn amazing by the way), all that matters is the themes and characters. And in true Tarantino fashion - it will hopefully blow you away!
Earlier on I discussed the incredibly interesting writing of the film and then I discussed the reception of it, and somewhere along the way I talked about Tarantino being told that he has a gift to give to cinema.....
In the end it's very clear to me. He heard he could give a gift to cinema. And in the end he wrote cinema the best possible love letter that he could.
And by doing that he gave us something greater.
Go and see the movie. It's a classic.
"Inglourious Basterds" is worth $17-
Combine Prices equal $16.50- Thanks So much guys - great to read and can't wait to see it......Out this Thursday..........JK
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Movie Train
what did he mean? who is Jasmine?
Comment by Jason King
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Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Jason King
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Total Randomness
Comment by RubySoho
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Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
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I think Pulp Fiction is his masterpiece (Reservoir Dogs comes close), who knows he may one day top that but Basterds doesn't. Still a great film though.
Comment by Cinema Rat
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-CR.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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thats interesting, i had not noticed, but now that you point it out i think you may be on to something
he did date Mira Sorvino for a long time, but on the whole i dont consider him to be a sexually-motivated person
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
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I'd forgotten about his relationship with Mira Sorvino. I'm not suggesting he doesn't have sex or date, just that sex probably does not occupy his mind as much as it does others. I also think he is probably very nervous around girls.
Comment by Jason King
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I spoke to a friend Jack who also went to the premiere and Jasmine is the lady who first brought Tarantino to Australia and showed him everything and commenced his love of the place. Whether or not they were romantically involved I will leave to your imagination. Haha
Ruby/ Morgan - I do love how he likes women as strong leads in his films and what he did with Uma was amazing. I did read that Kruger wanted this role so bad and Tarantino was not going to give it to her because he did not believe she was German. Although being born and raised there this eventually led him to change his mind. Either that or women scare him like you or Morgan said and she threatened him for the part - haha.
To me Reservoir Dog was his masterpiece and then Kill Bill. Pulp Fiction I loved the first time but fell asleep the second time and have fallen asleep every other time I have tried to watch it. Odd
I cannot imagine him dating anyone!
Rat - cool you got to see him at the Ozploitation - you should love this I would think.