‘Inglourious Basterds’ had been in development by Quentin Tarantino for nearly 15 years.
Given the event at which I saw the film, the anticipation from the audience was through the roof. The secret screening at the Gaslamp district during Comic-Con included fans waiting in line for tickets as early as 4am.
The screening kicked off with an announcement, that we were the first public audience in the United States to see the final theatrical cut of the film (shorter than what was screened at Cannes). Eli Roth introduced the film and watched with us.
In short, ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is a story about an alternate history of World War II in which a brutal military group collects Nazi scalps.
There are two main plots of the film. The first follows the infamous ‘Inglourious Basterds’ led by Lt. Aldo Raine (played by Brad Pitt). The conquests of the basterds are the stuff of folklore and legends, stylized as bad-assery by Quentin Tarantino.
The second plot follows the story of Shoshanna (played by Melanie Laurent), a young Jewish woman who escaped death and capture by Nazis in her childhood and later became the successful owner of a French movie theater.
Met with a unique opportunity to end the war once and for all, Shoshanna and the Basterds strategize on two very different and dangerous fronts to defeat the Nazis.
The film is headlined by Brad Pitt and features familiar faces such as Eli Roth, Mike Myers (Austin Powers), BJ Novak (‘The Office’) and Samm Levine (‘Freaks and Geeks’). Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna and Diane Kruger as Bridget make extraordinary performances in their roles as empowered women.
However, my favorite performance is most definitely by Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa. His commanding presence onscreen makes his character all the more frightening.
Since I’ve seen the film, the most common question I’ve encountered has been how this film compares to Tarantino’s others. ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is divided by act with title pages—a signature Tarantino style. It has the gore and violence of ‘Kill Bill,’ however where ‘Kill Bill”s action sequences were slick and graceful, IB’s sequences are rough and unforgiving. IB has the potential to become a Quentin Tarantino classic on par with ‘Pulp Fiction.’
Verdict: Popped! Like a bustin’ a cap in those Nazis!
Other highlights:
- How I was able to watch this screening… following @TheRealBasterds on Twitter and responding first to a Twitpic contest!
- Screening tickets in the form of a dog tag = sick. Still a long standby line at the door.
- Who else was in the crowd: Elvis Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, and Eli Roth
- Free poster autographed by Eli Roth
