Inglourious Basterds
Overview
Inglourious Basterds is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, featuring an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, and Eli Roth. The film is an alternate history of World War II, depicting a plot by a group of Jewish-American soldiers to assassinate the leadership of Nazi Germany at a movie premiere in Paris. The film is divided into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the villain: Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), the "Jew Hunter," a cunning, multilingual SS officer who takes sadistic pleasure in hunting down Jews hiding in occupied France. He interrogates a French farmer, Monsieur LaPadite (Denis Ménochet), who is hiding a Jewish family under his floorboards. Landa knows, and he has the family killed, except for one young woman, Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), who escapes. The second chapter introduces the "Basterds," a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who are dropped into France to kill and scalp Nazis. They are brutal, effective, and they strike fear into the hearts of German soldiers. The third chapter introduces Shosanna, now living in Paris under a false identity as the owner of a small cinema. She catches the attention of a German war hero, Private Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), who is starring in a propaganda film about his own heroism. Zoller arranges for the premiere of the film to be held at Shosanna's cinema, and the entire Nazi high command, including Hitler (Martin Wuttke) and Goebbels, will attend. Shosanna sees her chance for revenge: she will burn down the cinema with all the Nazis inside. The Basterds also learn of the premiere and plan their own assassination. The fourth chapter follows the Basterds as they infiltrate the premiere with the help of a German actress and British spy, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger). The final chapter is the premiere itself, where both plots come together. Shosanna projects footage of her face telling the Nazis that they are about to die, and she sets the cinema on fire. The Basterds shoot Hitler and Goebbels. The film ends with Aldo carving a swastika into Landa's forehead, letting him live as a monument to his shame. Christoph Waltz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Landa, one of cinema's greatest villains. Inglourious Basterds was a critical and commercial success, earning over $321 million worldwide. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film is a violent, thrilling, and darkly comedic revenge fantasy about the power of cinema.
