The Rough Cut
Written by Kevin Terpstra
Review of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds
Before Inglourious Basterds Quentin Tarantino only had two masterpieces under his belt: Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill duology. After Inglourious Basterds he has three. The film contains all of the elements required for it to be entertaining cinema: great acting (and subsequently a great cast), a fantastic story, and intelligent dialogue. Whether or not the dialogue progresses the story is irrelevant. Most films contain plot irrelevant dialogue that is trite and rather dumb. Tarantino’s irrelevant dialogue is a godsend that keeps viewers immersed in the film while simultaneously pulling them out. What makes the dialogue even better is the fact that a majority of the film (roughly two-thirds) is spoken in a foreign language, either French or German. The dialogue wouldn’t have been half as entertaining without the master cast brought together by the ‘King of Cool’. Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Snatch) and Cristoph Waltz, a German actor of immense talent, star in the film. The German thespian manages to play the enigmatic evil Colonel Hans Landa of the S.S., and also has the strongest presence of anyone on screen. His evil nature is veiled by a witty (and slightly sardonic) attitude. Brad Pitt is nothing spectacular but he manages to successfully helm the Jewish-American strike team, dubbed the Basterds by the Germans. Another note of interest is the musical selections. Every other film set in the past contains music from that era. Tarantino breaks from tradition and amazingly succeeds in having the music (most of it from the seventies) match the level of the scenes. The story of the film is quite possibly Tarantino’s most original. Broken into five chapters, the film contains the most intense (and possibly graphic) scenes of any movie presented this year. Without spoiling anything I will say that this film re-writes history, and it does so magnificently! This version of history is one that viewers will wish would have actually happened, simply for the fact that it is much cooler than what actually did happen. Inglourious Basterds, without doubt, is one of the best films of the year. With Oscar season getting closer, and the Best Picture category getting a re-vamp increasing the category to ten total nominations, Quentin Tarantino will no doubt pick up a few. A nod for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture are well within range. Cristoph Waltz will no doubt get nominated in the Best Actor category and has a better chance than most at winning. Based on a five star scale, I am awarding Inglourious Basterds five stars.
Official Rough Cut Review
Inglourious Basterds – 5/5/ stars
