Inglorious Basterds - Touches greatness a few times throughout but can't seem to get a, um, stranglehold on it. Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino should have gone with Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied France as the title because there is precious little of the titular "Inglourious Basterds" in the film at all. Potential viewers MUST understand that this is NOTHING like Robert Aldrich's 1967 WWII film, The Dirty Dozen. What's remaining is still a very strange and highly entertaining mixture of genuinely funny, involving and bloody as all hell material, complete with Tarantino's trademark penchant for reeling you in with engaging dialogue (he once again delivers the heat here) and then shocking you with short bursts of graphic violence. Younger, more impressionable sorts will yield to the inherent cool factor and quickly file this amongst the greatest films ever made, yet seasoned cinephiles (I'm not claiming to be one) should recognize a substantial amount of character-building and exposition either forgotten or excised from the story due to run-time concerns- it unquestionably hinders the film but never threatens to derail it.
Brad Pitt is funny and amiable as Basterd leader, "Lt. Aldo Raine"- it's my favorite role from him to date. His character's usage of a Bowie knife to "mark" Nazi's is both weirdly pleasing and unsettling- his sendoff to a most unpleasant fellow in the film's final scene will have you simultaneously smiling and squirming in your seat.
French actress Melanie Laurent is outstanding as the revenge-minded "Shosanna", a cinema proprietor operating in Nazi occupied France. We're obviously given the necessary motive, yet, again, there seems to be quite a bit of back story and exposition missing for her character. How about a little more depth concerning the interracial relationship/romance with the black projectionist, "Marcel" (French Actor Jacky Ido in fleeting appearances)? - For some reason, it didn't seem that important for Tarantino to flesh out- strange considering how Marcel is more than willing and ready to die for his beloved. Furthermore, scripted and shot segments covering how our heroine inherited the theater from an Asian madame (Maggie Cheung) also didn't make the cut. This is neither here nor there, but Laurent has strikingly beautiful eyes and my personal idea of the perfect female nose... yes, I was fascinated with her and I'm not ashamed.
It's "Jew Hunter" Christoph Waltz that absolutely owns this film- he should not only be nominated for an Oscar but should win one outright (and yes, he went on to do so). Undeniably charming yet completely evil, his Nazi SS Officer "Col. Hans Landa" should rightfully take it's place amongst the greatest screen villains in cinema history. It's a layered, thrilling performance that will stick with me for a lifetime.
Diane Kruger (Troy) is also excellent as the German film star turned allied spy, "Bridget von Hammersmark"- roles for the actress should come rolling in after her performance here.
Eli Roth's Louisville Slugger brandishing "Sgt. Donny Donowitz" should have been some kind of mysterious, hulking mute- the man can't deliver dialogue for shit and he's absolutely awful in this. It's the only glaringly obvious casting mistake of this release.
Til Schwieger's (Knockin' On Heaven's Door) fellow Basterd and Nazi killer extraordinaire, "Hugo Stiglitz", is introduced with a cool, splashy 70's marquee and yet is killed off mere moments later- the character DESERVED more screen time and could have proven to have been one of the more cult-friendly movie characters for the ages, yet simply isn't given the attention/material to flourish. There's 10 members of Aldo Raine's hand-picked Basterds, yet we have multiple lines of dialogue from only four of them, with only fleeting shots of the remaining six- that's short-sighted any which way you slice it.
The film bears little resemblance to Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 Macaroni Combat film, The Inglorious Bastards, yet that film's Director and co-star (Castellari and Bo Svenson) do have cameos here. It would have been nice to have seen Fred Williamson (a co-star of the '78 film) make an appearance, but oh well.
The film features dark, yet beautifully crisp and detailed cinematography by three-time Oscar winner, Robert Richardson and is complete with excellently edited shots. It's refreshingly fantastic that QT chose to have the cast and characters speak in their native (and appropriate) French, German and Italian tongues- with English subtitles, of course. This may be off-putting for some, but aren't most viewers' general discontent with subtitles usually born of laziness?
Expect one helluva tension-filled confrontation in a cramped basement tavern filled with celebrating Nazis- the verbal showdown between Michael Fassbender's (X-Men: First Class) British Spy and August Diehl's (The Counterfeiters) SS Officer is golden film-making. That said, a wild and fiery climax inside a Parisian theater dances around in genius territory and overkill, with QT perhaps a little too playful and arrogant. He simply has little interest in the specifics of history and appears keen to rewrite it to shape his own fantasies and embellishments.
I loved most of the musical selections here, with the film featuring great original stuff from Ennio Morricone and nice, nostalgic selections from the likes of Lalo Shifrin ("Tiger Tank" from 1970's Kelly's Heroes), Jacques Loussier (Main Theme from 1968's Dark Of The Sun), Dimitri Tiomkin (a Nick Perito update of "The Green Leaves of Summer" from 1960's The Alamo) and Charles Bernstien (Main Theme from 1973's White Lightning). I'm still on the fence concerning Tarantino's inspired/strange usage of David Bowie's title song to 1982's Cat People (Putting out the Fire) in a climactic scene.
Overall, Basterds falls somewhere between very good and great- it's just a bit of a disappointment that it was so very close to solidifying itself as one of the all-time great war films, yet QT didn't fully realize it (or allow it). I believe there's a wealth of poignant footage and connective tissue that was removed, for whatever reason, and collecting dust somewhere until Tarantino gives in to a possible Director's Expanded/Extended Cut. We may never see the complete narrative, and I'm of the mindset that this particular tale should have been restructured and split in two like the Kill Bill films for maximum impact.
As is, Inglourious Basterds is still entirely worthwhile and Highly Recommended.
8.5
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bruhl, Rod Taylor, Mike Myers, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, Lea Seydoux and Denis Menochet
Run-Time: 153 minutes
MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality
FWIW-
How I felt about other Tarantino Films-
Reservoir Dogs- 8.5
Pulp Fiction- 9.0
Jacky Brown- 8.0
Kill Bill Vol. 1- 9.0
Kill Bill Vol. 2- 8.5
Death Proof- 7.5
Django Unchained- 7.5
No comments:
Post a Comment