Inglorious Basterds

Rating: 6/10 (31 August 2009)

With brilliant films like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill in his repertoire, I wasn't going to miss this good looking war film from Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated director Quentin Tarantino. Set in World War II, the film begins with Perrier LaPadite (Denis Menochet) trying to hide and protect a family of Jews, and he is being interrogated by Nazi "Jew hunter" Col. Hans Landa (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Christoph Waltz), and when LaPadite eventually gives in the Jews are killed horrifically with machine gun fire through the floor, with only Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) escaping. Then it moves to the story of the "Basterds", an army of eight men, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Cabin Fever director Eli Roth), who revel in the killing of Nazis, leaving only one survivor to spread to fear to Adolf Hitler (Martin Wuttke) and his armies. Three years on, Shosanna, under a new identity, has found safety repairing a small Paris cinema, with German sniper Pvt. Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) and friends nosing about. She, with the help of the Basterds have devised a way to get many Nazi officers, as well as the key Nazi leaders, including Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth), and of course Hitler, at a premiere for a new film. With everything set it all looks good to go, one or two glitches occur during the night, but the mission goes completely to plan - of course this is not historical fact, so don't be surprised to see Hitler mashed to death by gunfire. Also starring Diane Kruger as Bridget Von Hammersmark, Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox, Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz, B.J. Novak as Pfc. Smithson Utivich, Samm Levine as PFC Gerold Hirschberg, Julie Dreyfus as Francesca Mondino, guest stars Mike Myers as General Ed Fenech and The Birds' Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill, and look and listen out for appearances by David Bowie, Harvey Keitel and Samuel L. Jackson (of course). It may be lengthy, and reading subtitles for the German dialogue is a little annoying, but with some very good performances, particularly a cool and determined Pitt, and a brilliantly charming but very sinister Waltz, plenty of nasty violence, a little amusing pop-culture like reference, and eye-catching wartime and explosive scenes, not much to complain about, it is a most worthwhile Second World War action adventure. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Motion Picture of the Year, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Original Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay. Good!