Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discussion

[davejames]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Re: Landa letting Shosanna go...

... In the script there's a scene right after that where Herrman asks Landa why he let her go, and he responds that no one else in town will be foolish enough to house her after learning what happened to her family, and that she has no money, nowhere to go, but joked that maybe she'll die, or maybe she'll escape to America and eventually become President of the United States. So my take on it? Landa figured she was dead anyway, and thought it would be more "fun" to have her escape knowing her predicament.

Which is kind of a reason that whole section of the movie doesn't work. How exactly does a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France come to have a movie theater and a new identity that can't be traced by the authorities?

I'm sure if the Nazis dug a little, they'd find her out, but it appears they must have been content with the questioning Landa did of her. He was their number 1 guy after all.

And she already lived in France, so it's not like she couldn't blend in easily.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

so incredibly well-acted by Christoph Waltz, who steals the entire movie giving the best villain performance since Heath Ledger.

It reminded me of Ledger's performance too, even though the characters were nothing alike. But here's a thought for the sake of it - what about casting Waltz as The Riddler for the next Batman movie? It would add genuine menace to the character and he's probably one of the few actors capable of giving a performance that could fill Heath's boots. And he's hardly a Gorshin/ Carrey clone (though not a bad physical likeness for the former), so it would follow in Nolan's tradition of doing something a little different with his Batvillains.

Interesting. However, I think Nolan likes to cast actors against type. Ledger prior to The Joker had never done a villainous role before. I think casting Waltz in another villainous role would be too safe, too typical for Nolan. However at this point I'm really interested in seeing Waltz in his previous roles. I bet we're gonna start seeing him in a bunch of others after the success of his performance in Inglourious Basterds.

 

[davejames]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Yeah I wouldn't want Waltz for the Riddler either, but I do think a similar kind of articulate and sophisticated gentleman-type WOULD be a good way to approach the character.

Instead of just a guy who cackles a lot like in the TV series and movies.

 

[Crewman6]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Which is kind of a reason that whole section of the movie doesn't work. How exactly does a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France come to have a movie theater and a new identity that can't be traced by the authorities?

Traced how, exactly? It's not like she was leaving a trail of credit card purchases. Everything was on paper. If she managed to get her hands on good forged documents (which she had), then she could hide in plain sight, as she did.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Which is kind of a reason that whole section of the movie doesn't work. How exactly does a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France come to have a movie theater and a new identity that can't be traced by the authorities?

Traced how, exactly? It's not like she was leaving a trail of credit card purchases. Everything was on paper. If she managed to get her hands on good forged documents (which she had), then she could hide in plain sight, as she did.

But how does a blood soaked French farm girl find her way into the big city, hide out, get forged documents, earn a living, get a movie house, and manage to evade the Germans? If it was that easy for Jews to hide their identity you'd think less of them would have had to move into those camps.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

But how does a blood soaked French farm girl find her way into the big city, hide out, get forged documents, earn a living, get a movie house, and manage to evade the Germans? If it was that easy for Jews to hide their identity you'd think less of them would have had to move into those camps.

Short answer: Relax, kid, it's only a movie.

In regards to Landa knowing who she was...based on a years old memory of seeing the back of her head running a hundred yards away? Is he that good?

Of course, if he was...again, it's only a movie.

 

[Ward Fowler]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I just saw the movie a couple of hours ago. I have to say that it wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still excellent. It was a tad self-indulgent, but Tarantino has once again proven himself to be a fantastic writer/director. Heck, he even managed to pull a really good performance out of Brad Pitt, who tends to be a bit uneven, to say the least.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I think this is definitely Brad Pitt's most engrossing and memorable performance since 1999's Fight Club. He's been in a few clunkers (The Mexican, Troy) and some decent but self-indulgent films (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Besides the Ocean's films, it seems like he was really having fun with Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds.

 

[firehawk12]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I'm sure the cut Maggie Cheung bits would explain how she gets the theatre... well, assuming that it's about that and not something else entirely.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I saw it yesterday.

I was disappointed. Better then Death Proof, but not nearly as good as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and even Jackie Brown.

I felt scenes went on to long, they didn't build tension, they killed it. The dialogue wasn't nearly as sharp and as interesting as previous films.

The characters for the most part weren't that interesting--that's why for me, I could careless about that scene in the basement--didn't really know or care about those characters. It's like Tarantino can only write for quirky characters--if they aren't quirky, they are flat and boring.

I kinda just didn't care, I kept thinking: get on with it will you? It's about as self-indulgent as Death Proof really.

I DID really like Brad Putt and Christoph Waltz--they were great. The others...meh. I didn't really care about them, didn't know them, at least of the other Basterds.

One of the things that I thought about was Brad Pitt's comment in the paper:

"The Second World War could still deliver more stories and films, but I believe that Quentin [Tarantino, "Basterds" director] put a cover on that pot. With ‘Basterds,' everything that can be said to this genre has been said. The film destroys every symbol. The work is done, end of story."

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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...n_kick_tom_cruises_world_war_ii_movies_b.html
​

...and I kept thinking...no...not really. I think this movie is going to fade in a few years. It's not Tarantino doing his finest work. It's going to fade.

 

[Kelso]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Have you seen the film

No, I just posted what I thought about a film I haven't seen just for the hell of it. There's people who don't agree with you. Welcome to reality.

To be fair, your post does read like the review of someone who had not seen Inglourious Basterds (or The Dirty Dozen, for that matter). Having said that, though, I fully believe that you have seen this movie. Your opinion here seems fairly consistent with others from you that I have seen.

Anyway, I just got back from seeing Inglourious Basterds and absolutely loved it!

 

[davejames]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I saw it yesterday.

I was disappointed. Better then Death Proof, but not nearly as good as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and even Jackie Brown.

I felt scenes went on to long, they didn't build tension, they killed it. The dialogue wasn't nearly as sharp and as interesting as previous films.

The characters for the most part weren't that interesting--that's why for me, I could careless about that scene in the basement--didn't really know or care about those characters. It's like Tarantino can only write for quirky characters--if they aren't quirky, they are flat and boring.

I kinda just didn't care, I kept thinking: get on with it will you? It's about as self-indulgent as Death Proof really.

I DID really like Brad Putt and Christoph Waltz--they were great. The others...meh. I didn't really care about them, didn't know them, at least of the other Basterds.

Well even with those other movies, I don't know if I would call those characters terribly complex or interesting in and of themselves (the exception maybe being Jackie Brown).

For most of Tarantino's movies, it's really more about the direction and style and dialogue ITSELF than any specific character. That's just one of those things you have to accept from the start when you see one of his films.

Which isn't to say that the direction and dialogue doesn't allow us important insights into those characters. I mean, even though we didn't learn much about her, the combination of great acting and dialogue made Shoshanna feel palpably real to me.

And I don't know, for me just the mere presence of the Nazis created more than enough tension to keep me riveted to the screen, and to every word that was said. The dialogue felt VERY economical to me, and nothing like the pointless and random dialogue of Death Proof.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I honestly had a hard time empathizing with Shoshanna. We really didn't get any insight into her character. I mean, we assume the loss of her family meant something to her, but we don't see it. That's why I thought it was very on-the-surface characterization. However like davejames said, you kind of have to let that go when you watch a Tarantino movie -- his movies are about style, not substance. Which is fine, because his style is pretty good and most importantly very entertaining.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

I kept thinking: get on with it will you? It's about as self-indulgent as Death Proof really.

I DID like Brad Putt and Christoph Waltz--they were great.

I felt a lot like this too. Sometimes Tarantino's love for dialog is the best thing and the worst thing about his movies at the same time. Overall, I'm glad I saw the movie and thought the opening and closing sequences alone made it worth watching since they were so awesome, but there were times when I got really annoyed with how long the conversations would drag. Especially in the bar scene (the impromptu 'King Kong essay' about slaves and whipping flashback were about the only highlights until the shooting started).

There were times when Tarantino's stretching out of dialog did succeed in raising the tension and making my heart pound, but there were also times when it just killed the momentum too much. And I love a good foreign movie, but the amount of subtitles in this movie made it a bit of a chore sometimes. Nonetheless, all the scenes of violence thrilled me immensely and I left the movie really revved up, so was really stoked about the movie in the end.

People calling this one of Brad Pitt's best performances confuse me. I thought he was marvelously entertaining, but come on...he was just like a cartoon/caricature. Especially next to Waltz, who was playing the most complex, layered, masterfully conceived villain Tarantino has ever written.

I didn't think the movie flowed as smoothly or succeeded as an epic as nicely as "Kill Bill" did, but one advantage it had over that movie was a better villain - and I thought Bill was the best villain ever after I'd seen Vol. 2 for the first time.

But Raine and Landa...it was like Adam West's Batman vs. Heath Ledger's Joker. Those two characters were on totally different levels, because that's how they were written. Landa clearly outclassed Raine in intelligence, eloquence, and maturity, and naturally, the actors played them that way. Pitt was just goofing off and having fun, while Waltz was giving it his all.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Actually, if I had to compare Pitt's performance to any other one of his, it would be The Mexican, where he was clearly slumming with all his over-the-top body language and manic line readings. And I liked that campiness in both cases.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Sometimes just being goofy and entertaining merits something just as equally as being serious and complex. A comedic performance -- a good comedic performance -- deserves the same kudos and accolades a serious performance receives. That's why I loved that Robert Downey Jr. received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Tropic Thunder. While Pitt doesn't quite reach Kirk Lazarus heights, it was still a fantastically witty and memorable performance.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

You knew it was coming, but Hitler is not pleased with Inglourious Basterds.

 

[firehawk12]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Ah, Downfall... will you ever cease to provide amusement?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

This is the first one I've seen that incorporates references to other videos (apart from the one that was Hitler ranting about all the Downfall parodies because it had turned him into a joke).

 

[firehawk12]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

You know, I'm surprised no one made a Valkyrie one. "Tom Cruise tries to kill me... Tom FUCKING Cruise. The asshole who believes in fucking Xenu thinks he's better than me!"

 

[T'Baio]

Re: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt) Grading/Discus

Does anyone know the first time it was done?