Inglourious Basterds Review
Quentin Tarantino is something of a carnivore in the film world. He famously once said "I didn't go to film school. I went to films." For a man who didn't go to college (hell, he barely finished grammar school) Tarantino's films are smart, self-conscious, and (most important to film critics) aware of the history of cinema. Don't expect references to Fellini or Godard, himself a director who wears his influences like a badge of honor -- no, Tarantino cannibalizes the dirtiest of cinema history's B-list, from Abbott and Costello to Melvin Van Peebles and Gordon Parks, Jr..
Inglourious Basterds Movie
The Inglourious Basterds movie doesn't break from this tradition. Yes, it is a war film (Tarantino's first) and yes it is something of a period piece (again a first for the normally contemporary obsessed Tarantino) but it very accurately apes its many influences. From the 1978 film of a similar though correctly spelled name (Inglorious Bastards) to a classic Spaghetti Western (the opening scene is almost identical to a scene from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) Tarantino is not shy about his "beg borrow and steal" approach to film making. Here it is in Quentin's own words, from an interview with the LA Times -- "I love having influences because I want people to get excited when they see something in the film or hear me talking about it and then actually go see the movie that inspired me in the first place." Right on.
Inglourious Basterds Film Influences
A list of the "World War Two movies" that influenced Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds film would be difficult to make, but the director name-checks everything from the obscure (Hangmen Also Die, Reunion in France, O.S.S., and To Be or Not to Be) tot he obvious, like The Good Shepherd or Operation Amsterdam. I don't want to go on and on about the fact that Tarantino chewed up and regurgitated basically every great war movie ever made when he made this (his most recent flick), but it must be mentioned.
Most Successful Tarantino Film
Inglourious Basterds is not just the most successful Tarantino film (earning hundreds of millions of dollars at home and abroad) it is likely the most popular across the widest spectrum of fans. As a war movie, it appeals to an older crowd. As a movie about Jewish revenge on the Nazis, it appeals to a specific segment of the religious population. As a period piece (and a well made one at that) it appeals to fans of history and cinema alike. You could make the argument that this is Tarantino's first "feminist" film -- the female characters are well-drawn, bodacious, brilliant, and you just cheer them on and on throughout the movie. Tarantino writing positive roles for women? You betcha. Between badass female spies and over-the-top characterizations of officers and soldiers on both sides, you can't find a more entertaining or appealing set of characters in any of Tarantino's films.
Audience Acceptance
Critics and fans agree with me. Tarantino had his first number one position at the box office on opening weekend, outperforming the much hyped District 9, and Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of American critics reviewed the film favorably, making the reaction to Inglourious easily the best critical response to a Quentin Tarantino movie. Interestingly enough, the initial reaction to Basterds when it premiered at Cannes was mixed at best. One influential French paper accuses Tarantino of "getting lost in a fictional World War Two" -- to which many fans would suggest that getting lost and fictionalizing the war is kind of the point. Roger Ebert, not necessarily known for his effusive praise, gave Basterds one of its best reviews, a four star write-up that called the movie "big, bold, and audacious".
Don't watch Inglourious Basterds expecting the same kind of hip and witty dialogue found in, say, Reservoir Dogs, or the tragic "realism" of Pulp Fiction -- this is a dream, a fantasy, an imaginary romp through an idealized vision of what World War Two could have been. Having said that, the script is solid (and it should be, having been worked on for almost a decade) and there are plenty of Tarantino stereotypes to please the Quentin fan. Cartoonish and brutal violence cut with humor, a star-studded cast (Brad Pitt and Eli Roth support a cast with lots of neat cameos like Samuel L. Jackson and even Harvey Keitel), and the re-imagining of a specific era through Tarantino's own outlandish vision. No, Basterds will not disappoint the fan of Tarantino films, but nor will it bore or enrage audiences who find Tarantino's films detestable. There's something for everyone here.
Lt. Aldo Raine
Lt. Aldo Raine, played by Brad Pitt, breaks down the plot and appeal of Basterds perfectly when he says: "You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, Business is a-boomin'." There are so many in roads to Tarantino's most recent film it is hard to imagine a fan of movies that wouldn't find something to love in this movie. At once romantic, smart, brutal, revisionist, postmodern, and full of homage, Basterds is the next logical step in the career of Quentin Tarantino.