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''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 epic
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
written and directed by
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
. It stars an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
including
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...
, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender,
Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films ''Cabin Fev ...
, Diane Kruger,
Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González (; ; born 16 June 1978) is a German and Spanish actor. He has received various accolades, including three European Film Awards and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for two Golden Globe Awar ...
,
Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor and filmmaker. He became known in the 1990s for films such as '' Manta, Manta'', '' Der bewegte Mann'' and '' Knockin' on Heaven's Door''. He went on to star in international ...
and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an
alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
story of two converging plots to assassinate
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's leadership at a Paris cinema—one through a British operation largely carried out by a team of
Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...
soldiers led by
First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
Aldo Raine (Pitt), and another by French Jewish cinema proprietor Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent) who seeks to avenge her murdered family. Both are faced against Hans Landa (Waltz), an SS colonel with a fearsome reputation for hunting Jews. The title (but not the story) was inspired by Italian director Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 Euro War film '' The Inglorious Bastards'', but deliberately misspelled as "a Basquiat-esque touch". Tarantino wrote the script in 1998, but struggled with the ending and chose instead to direct the two-part film '' Kill Bill''. After co-directing ''
Death Proof ''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American slasher film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a Stunt performer, stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he says are "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito ...
'' in 2007, Tarantino returned to work on ''Inglourious Basterds''. A co-production between the United States and Germany, the film began
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
in October 2008 and was filmed in Germany and France with a $70 million production budget. ''Inglourious Basterds'' premiered on May 20, 2009, at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, and received a wide release in theaters in Germany on August 20, and in the United States on August 21.
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
distributed the film in the United States, while
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
handled international distribution. It was a commercial success, grossing $321.5 million worldwide, becoming Tarantino's highest-grossing film to that point, until it was surpassed by '' Django Unchained'' (2012). The film received critical acclaim, with Waltz's performance as Hans Landa being singled out for praise, but some criticized the historical liberties taken. It also won multiple awards and nominations, among them eight
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominations (including Best Picture, Best Director and
Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
). For his role as Landa, Waltz won the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actor Award, as well as the
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
,
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
, Critics' Choice,
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
, and
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...
.


Plot

In 1941, Austrian SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa interrogates French dairy farmer Perrier LaPadite about a fugitive Jewish family, the Dreyfuses. Eventually realizing that a lie will not save him and his family, LaPadite tearfully admits that the Dreyfuses are hiding under his floor. Landa's men massacre the family but one of them, young Shosanna, escapes unharmed. Three years later, U.S. Army lieutenant Aldo Raine recruits
Jewish-American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...
soldiers to the "Basterds," a black ops
commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...
unit tasked with instilling fear among Nazis in occupied France by killing and
scalping Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...
them. The group includes Sergeant Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz, privates first class Smithson Utivich and Omar Ulmer, rogue German sergeant Hugo Stiglitz, and Austrian-born translator Corporal Wilhelm Wicki. Raine leaves a
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...
mark on all surviving German soldiers as a way to make their Nazi affiliations clear even after the war. In Paris, Shosanna operates a cinema under the name Emmanuelle Mimieux, and meets Fredrick Zoller, a famed German sniper set to star in the German
propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
''Stolz der Nation'' (''Nation's Pride''). Infatuated with "Emmanuelle," Zoller convinces
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
to hold the film's premiere at her cinema. Landa, as the premiere's head of security, interrogates Shosanna but does not reveal if he recognizes her. She plots with her Afro-French lover and projectionist, Marcel, to kill the German leaders by burning down the cinema with her collection of highly flammable
nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitration, nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitri ...
s.
British Commando The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...
Lieutenant Archie Hicox, a former film critic and fluent German speaker, is recruited for Operation Kino, an attack on the premiere with the Basterds. Disguised as German officers, Hicox, Stiglitz, and Wicki meet with German film star Bridget von Hammersmark, an undercover Allied agent, in an occupied town at a tavern unexpectedly full of German soldiers. Hicox's unusual accent arouses suspicion from Wehrmacht sergeant Wilhelm and Major Dieter Hellström. Major Dieter Hellström joins Hicox's group and invites them to a strong drink; eventually Hicox blows the group's cover with a non-German hand gesture. A gunfight ensues, killing everyone except Wilhelm and a wounded von Hammersmark. While Wilhelm holds von Hammersmark at gunpoint, Raine arrives and negotiates for her release, giving her a chance to shoot Wilhelm with a dead soldier’s gun. Believing she set his men up, Raine tortures von Hammersmark, but she convinces him of her loyalty and reveals that Hitler will be attending the premiere. She proposes that Raine, Donowitz and Ulmer attend the premiere posing as Italian filmmakers, remarking that Germans do not recognize Italian accents. Landa investigates the tavern and finds von Hammersmark's shoe and a napkin with her signature. The Basterds infiltrate the premiere with timed explosives. Landa, who is fluent in Italian, readily sees through their cover and confronts von Hammersmark with her missing shoe before strangling her to death. He has Raine arrested along with Utivich, whom he has also detected, but leaves Ulmer and Donowitz in the theater. Recognizing the opportunity of his situation, Landa offers to let the attack proceed if Raine's OSS commanders will guarantee his safety after the war. Raine contacts his commanders and Landa negotiates a generous deal for himself and his radio operator. During the screening, Zoller slips away to the projection booth and berates Shosanna for rejecting his advances, leading them to shoot each other dead. As ''Nation's Pride'' reaches its climax, Shosanna's face appears on the screen telling the Nazi audience that they are about to be killed by a Jew. Having locked the auditorium, Marcel ignites a pile of nitrate film behind the screen with his cigarette, setting the theater ablaze (killing himself in the process). Ulmer and Donowitz break into the opera box, gunning down Hitler and Goebbels, before firing into the crowd until their explosives kill everyone inside the cinema. Landa and his radio operator drive Raine and Utivich into Allied territory, where they surrender to Raine. Raine shoots the radio operator and triumphantly carves a swastika into Landa's forehead, declaring it to be his masterpiece.


Cast

Director Enzo G. Castellari also makes a
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in the film at the movie premiere. He previously cameoed as a German in his own '' The Inglorious Bastards'' and reprised the same role in this film, but under a different rank and SS organization. Bo Svenson, who starred in Castellari's ''The Inglorious Bastards'', also has a small cameo in the film as a US colonel in the ''Nation's Pride'' movie. Additionally, Samuel L. Jackson narrates the film,
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...
voices the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
Commander, Bela B appears as an usher and Tarantino appears as an American soldier in ''Nation's Pride'' and a scalped German. Two characters, Mrs. Himmelstein and Madame Ada Mimieux, played by Cloris Leachman and
Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong actress. She is one of the most successful and internationally acclaimed actresses in Asia, renowned for her diverse and versatile performances as well as her natural acting skills ...
, respectively, were both cut from the final film due to length.


Production


Development

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
spent just over a decade creating the film's script because, as he told
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...
in an interview, he became "too precious about the page", meaning the story kept growing and expanding. Tarantino viewed the script as his masterpiece in the making, so felt it had to become the best thing he had ever written. He described an early premise of the film as his "bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission" film, "my '' Dirty Dozen'' or ''
Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 action adventure war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. Set during World War II, it follows a Special Operations Executive team charged with saving a ca ...
'' or '' Guns of Navarone'' kind of thing". By 2002, Tarantino found ''Inglourious Basterds'' to be a bigger film than planned and saw that other directors were working on
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
films. Tarantino had produced three nearly finished scripts, proclaiming that it was "some of the best writing I've ever done. But I couldn't come up with an ending." He moved on to direct the two-part film '' Kill Bill'' (2003–2004). After the completion of ''Kill Bill'', Tarantino went back to his first storyline draft and considered making it a mini-series, but
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...
convinced him to finish it as a film. Instead he trimmed the script, using his script for ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...
'' (1994) as a guide to length. The revised premise focused on a group of soldiers who escape from their executions and embark on a mission to help the Allies. He described the men as "not your normal hero types that are thrown into a big deal in the Second World War". Tarantino planned to begin production in 2005. In November 2004, he delayed production and instead took an acting role in
Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...
's
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
film '' Sukiyaki Western Django'' (2007), and intended to make a
kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
film entirely in
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
; this project floundered. He directed ''
Death Proof ''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American slasher film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a Stunt performer, stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he says are "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito ...
'' (2007), part of the
double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...
'' Grindhouse'', before returning to work on ''Inglourious Basterds''. The film's title was inspired by the English-language title of director Enzo G. Castellari's 1978
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
, '' The Inglorious Bastards''. Tarantino has said that the film's opening scene, in which Landa interrogates the French dairy farmer, is his "favorite thing" he's "ever written".


Casting

Tarantino originally sought
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
to be cast as Hans Landa, before deciding to have the character played by a native German-speaking actor. The role ultimately went to Austrian Christoph Waltz who, according to Tarantino, "gave me my movie" as he feared the part was "unplayable". Brad Pitt and Tarantino had wanted to work together for a number of years, but they were waiting for the right project. When Tarantino was halfway through the film's script, he sensed that Pitt was a strong possibility for the role of Aldo Raine. By the time he had finished writing, Tarantino thought Pitt "would be terrific" and called Pitt's agent to ask if he was available. Tarantino asked
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
to play the role of Donny Donowitz, but Sandler declined due to schedule conflicts with the film '' Funny People'' (2009).
Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films ''Cabin Fev ...
was cast in the role instead. Roth also directed the film-within-the-film, ''Nation's Pride'', which used 300 extras. The director also wanted to cast
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...
in the film as Lt. Archie Hicox, but he was forced to drop out due to scheduling difficulties with ''
The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...
'' (2011). Irish-German actor Michael Fassbender began final negotiations to join the cast as Hicox in August 2008, although he originally auditioned for the role of Landa. B. J. Novak was also cast in August 2008 as Private First Class Smithson Utivich, "a New York-born soldier of 'slight build. Tarantino talked to actress
Nastassja Kinski Nastassja Aglaia Kinski (; née Nakszynski, ; born 24 January 1961) is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with '' Stay as You Are'' (1978). Sh ...
about playing the role of Bridget von Hammersmark and even flew to Germany to meet her, but a deal could not be reached and Tarantino cast Diane Kruger instead. Rod Taylor was effectively retired from acting and no longer had an agent, but came out of retirement when Tarantino offered him the role of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
in the film. This would be Taylor's last appearance on film before his death on January 7, 2015. In preparation for the role, Taylor watched dozens of DVDs with footage of Churchill in order to get the Prime Minister's posture, body language, and voice, including a lisp, correct. Taylor initially recommended British actor
Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...
for the role during their conversation, but agreed to take the part because of Tarantino's "passion".
Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...
, a fan of Tarantino, had inquired about being in the film since Myers' parents had been in the
British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...
. In terms of the character's dialect, Myers felt that it was a version of
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent of British English regarded as the Standard language, standard one, carrying the highest Prestige (sociolinguistics), social prestige, since as late as the beginning of the 2 ...
meeting the officer class, but mostly an attitude of "I'm fed up with this war and if this dude can end it, great because my country is in ruins." Tarantino met Mélanie Laurent in three rounds, reading all the characters on the first round. On the second meeting, he shared the lines with her; the third was a face-to-face dinner. During the dinner, he told Laurent, "Do you know something—there's just something I don't like. It's that you're famous in your country, and I'm really wanting to discover somebody." Laurent replied "No, no, no. ... I'm not so famous." After four days, he called to finalize her for the role of Shosanna. Samm Levine was cast as PFC Hirschberg, because, according to Levine, Tarantino was a big fan of ''
Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near ...
'', which starred Levine. Filmmaker Tom Tykwer, who translated parts of the film's dialogue into German, recommended
Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González (; ; born 16 June 1978) is a German and Spanish actor. He has received various accolades, including three European Film Awards and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for two Golden Globe Awar ...
to Tarantino, who recalled that upon seeing the actor's performance in '' Good Bye, Lenin!'' (2003), he declared, "That's my redrick Zollerright there. If Daniel's mother had never met Daniel's father, I don't know if we'd ever have the right Zoller". Isabelle Huppert was originally cast in the role of Madame Mimieux before being fired due to creative differences. It was also reported that Catherine Deneuve was considered for the role. According to French musician and actor
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
, Tarantino had originally written a role for him in the film.


Filming

Tarantino teamed with
the Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...
to prepare what he planned to be his film for production. In July 2008, Tarantino and executive producers Harvey and
Bob Weinstein Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company (TWC), all of which he co-founded with his older brother, H ...
set up an accelerated production schedule to be completed for release at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 2009, where the film would compete for the
Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
. The Weinstein Company co-financed the film and distributed it in the United States, and signed a deal with
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
to finance the rest of the film and distribute it internationally. Germany and France were scheduled as filming locations and
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
started in October 2008 on location in Germany. Filming was scheduled to begin on October 13, 2008, and shooting started that week. Special effects were handled by KNB EFX Group with
Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American Prosthetic makeup, special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead (1985 fi ...
and much of the film was shot and edited in the
Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...
in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, Germany, and in
Bad Schandau Bad Schandau (; , ) is a spa town in Germany, in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the valley of the Kirnitzsch and in the ar ...
, a small
spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...
near Germany's border with the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Roth said that they "almost got incinerated", during the theater fire scene, as they projected the fire would burn at , but it instead burned at . He said the swastika was not supposed to fall either, as it was fastened with steel cables, but the steel softened and snapped. On January 11, 2013, on the BBC's ''
The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...
'', Tarantino said that for the scene where Kruger was strangled, he personally strangled the actress, with his own bare hands, in one take, to aid authenticity. Following the film's screening at Cannes, Tarantino stated that he would be re-editing the film in June before its ultimate theatrical release, allowing him time to finish assembling several scenes that were not completed in time for the hurried Cannes première.


Music

Tarantino originally wanted
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...
to compose the film's soundtrack. Morricone was unable to, because the film's sped-up production schedule conflicted with his scoring of '' Baarìa'' (2009). However, Tarantino did use eight tracks composed by Morricone in the film, with four of them included on the CD. The opening theme is taken from the pseudo-folk ballad " The Green Leaves of Summer", which was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and
Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United S ...
for the opening of the 1960 film '' The Alamo''. The soundtrack uses a variety of music genres, including
Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
and R&B. Prominent in the latter part of the film is
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's
theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...
from the 1982 film '' Cat People''. The soundtrack, the first of Tarantino's not to include dialogue excerpts, was released on August 18, 2009.


Release

When the script's final draft was finished, it was leaked on the Internet and several Tarantino fan sites began posting reviews and excerpts from the script. The film's first full
teaser trailer A teaser trailer, also shortened to teaser, is a short trailer (promotion), trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release film or television show advertisement. Sh ...
premiered on ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'' on February 10, 2009, and was shown in US theaters the following week attached to ''Friday the 13th''. The trailer features excerpts of Lt. Aldo Raine talking to the Basterds, informing them of the plan to ambush and kill, torture, and scalp unwitting German servicemen, intercut with various other scenes from the film. It also features the spaghetti-westernesque terms ''Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied France'', which was considered for the film's title, and ''A Basterd's Work Is Never Done'', a line not spoken in the final film (the line occurs in the script during the Bear Jew's backstory). The film was released on August 19, 2009, in the United Kingdom and France, two days earlier than the US release date of August 21, 2009. It was released in Germany on August 20, 2009. Some European cinemas, however, showed previews starting on August 15. In Poland, the artwork on all advertisements and on DVD packaging is unchanged, but the title was translated non-literally to (Bastards of War), so that Nazi iconography could stylize the letter "O". Tarantino did not misspell the title to differentiate his film from the 1978 movie by the same name. He said it instead was a creative decision which he initially refused to explain, simply saying that "Basterds" was spelled as such because "that's just the way you say it".


Promotion in Germany and Austria

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
adjusted the film's publicity materials and website in Germany and Austria to comply with both countries' penal laws, as the display of Nazi iconography is restricted there: the swastika was removed from the typography of the title, and the steel helmet had a bullet hole in place of the Nazi symbol. The site's download section was also revised to exclude wallpaper downloads that openly feature the swastika. Though advertising posters and wallpapers may not show Nazi iconography, this restriction does not apply to "works of art", according to German and Austrian law, so the film itself was not censored in either Germany or Austria.


Home media

The film was released on single-disc
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and a two-disc special-edition DVD and
Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
on December 15, 2009, by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in the United States and Australia. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. On its first week of release, the film was number two, only behind ''
The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, H ...
'', selling an estimated 1,581,220 DVDs, making $28,467,652 in the United States. The German version is 50 seconds longer than the American version. The scene in the tavern has been extended. Although in other countries, the extended scene was released as a bonus feature, the German theatrical, DVD, and Blu-ray versions are the only ones to include the full scene.


Reception


Box office

''Inglourious Basterds'' grossed $120.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $200.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross $321.4 million, against a production budget of $70 million. It became Tarantino's highest-grossing film, both in the US and worldwide, until ''Django Unchained'' in 2012. Opening in 3,165 screens, the film earned $14.3 million on the opening Friday of its North American release, on the way to an opening-weekend gross of $38 million, giving Tarantino a personal best weekend opening and the number one spot at the box office, ahead of ''
District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...
''. The film fell to number two in its second weekend, behind '' The Final Destination'', with earnings of $20 million, for a 10-day total of $73.8 million. ''Inglourious Basterds'' opened internationally at number one in 22 markets on 2,650 screens, making $27.49 million. First place openings included France, taking in $6.09 million on 500 screens. The United Kingdom was not far behind making $5.92 million (£3.8 m) on 444 screens. Germany took in $4.20 million on 439 screens and Australia with $2.56 million ( A$2.8 m) on 266 screens.


Critical reception

Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reports that 89% of 332 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, ''Inglourious Basterds'' is violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a rating on reviews, gives the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Critics' initial reactions at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
were mixed. The film received an eight- to eleven-minute standing ovation from critics after its first screening at Cannes, although ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' dismissed it, saying "Tarantino gets lost in a fictional World War II". Despite this, Anne Thompson of '' Variety'' praised the film, but opined that it was not a masterpiece, claiming: "''Inglourious Basterds'' is great fun to watch, but the movie isn't entirely engaging ... You don't jump into the world of the film in a participatory way; you watch it from a distance, appreciating the references and the masterful
mise en scène Mise or Miše may refer to: * Mise (mythology), a deity addressed in the ''Orphic Hymns'' * Ante Miše (born 1967), Croatian footballer * Jerolim Miše (1890–1970), Croatian painter, teacher, and art critic * MISE, an abbreviation for Mean integ ...
. This is a film that will benefit from a second viewing". Critic James Berardinelli gave the film his first four-star review of 2009, stating, "With ''Inglourious Basterds'', Quentin Tarantino has made his best movie since ''Pulp Fiction''", and that it was "one hell of an enjoyable ride".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' also gave the film a four-star review, writing that "Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he's the real thing, a director of quixotic delights." Author and critic Daniel Mendelsohn was disturbed by the portrayal of Jewish American soldiers mimicking German atrocities done to European Jews, stating, "In ''Inglourious Basterds'', Tarantino indulges this taste for vengeful violence by—well, by turning Jews into Nazis".
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' stated he was "struck ... by how exasperatingly awful and transcendentally disappointing it is". While praising Christoph Waltz's performance ("a good actor new to American audiences"), David Denby, of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', dismissed the film with the following words: "The film is skillfully made, but it's too silly to be enjoyed, even as a joke. ... Tarantino has become an embarrassment: his virtuosity as a maker of images has been overwhelmed by his inanity as an ''idiot de la cinémathèque''". Journalist
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
likened the experience of watching the film to "sitting in the dark having a great pot of warm piss emptied very slowly over your head". The film also met some criticism from the Jewish press. In ''Tablet'', Liel Liebowitz criticizes the film as lacking moral depth. He argues that the power of film lies in its ability to impart knowledge and subtle understanding, but ''Inglourious Basterds'' serves more as an "alternative to reality, a magical and
Manichaean Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...
world where we needn't worry about the complexities of morality, where violence solves everything, and where the
Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
is always just a film reel and a lit match away from cartoonish defeat". Anthony Frosh, writer for the online magazine ''Galus Australis'', has criticized the film for failing to develop its characters sufficiently, labeling the film "Enthralling, but lacking in Jewish content". Daniel Mendelsohn was critical of the film's depiction of Jews and the overall revisionist history aspect of the film, writing "Do you really want audiences cheering for a revenge that turns Jews into carboncopies of Nazis, that makes Jews into 'sickening' perpetrators? I'm not so sure."
Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...
equated the film to
Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...
, stating "A film that didn't even entertain me past its opening sequence, and that profoundly bored me during the endlessly protracted build-up to a cellar shoot-out, it also gave me the sort of malaise that made me wonder periodically what it was (and is) about the film that seems morally akin to Holocaust denial, even though it proudly claims to be the opposite of that." When challenged on his opinion, Rosenbaum elaborated by stating, "For me, ''Inglourious Basterds'' makes the Holocaust harder, not easier to grasp as a historical reality. Insofar as it becomes a movie convention – by which I mean a reality derived only from other movies – it loses its historical reality." ''Inglourious Basterds'' was later ranked #62 on a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
critics' poll of the greatest films since 2000. In 2010, the '' Independent Film & Television Alliance'' selected the film as one of the 30 Most Significant Independent Films of the last 30 years. In 2013, ''
GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...
'' named Colonel Hans Landa one of the "50 Creepiest Movie Psychopaths".


Top-ten lists

''Inglourious Basterds'' was listed on many critics' top-ten lists. * 1st – Mick LaSalle, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' * 1st – Kyle Smith, ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' * 1st – Noel Murray, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' * 2nd – Elizabeth Weitzman, ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' * 2nd – James Berardinelli, ''Reelviews'' * 2nd –
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' * 2nd – Scott Foundas, '' L.A. Weekly'' * 3rd – Rene Rodriguez, ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' * 3rd –
Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.
, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' * 4th – Mark Mohan, '' Portland Oregonian'' * 5th – Peter Hartlaub, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' * 5th –
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
, ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' * 5th –
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
* 5th –
Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor ''Th ...
, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' * 7th – Joe Neumaier, ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' * 7th – Joe Williams, ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...
'' * 8th – Claudia Puig, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' * 8th – J. Hoberman, ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' * 8th – Kimberly Jones, ''
Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
'' * 9th – Marc Savlov, ''
Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
'' * 9th – Mike Scott, '' The Times-Picayune'' * 10th – Keith Uhlich, ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
''


Accolades

Christoph Waltz was singled out for Cannes honors, receiving the Best Actor Award at the festival's end. Film critic Devin Faraci of '' CHUD.com'' stated: "The cry has been raised long before this review, but let me continue it: Christoph Waltz needs not an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
nomination but rather an actual Oscar in his hands. ... he must have gold". The film received four
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
nominations including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Supporting Actor for Waltz, who went on to win the award. The film also received three
Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
nominations and went on to win the awards for Best Cast and Best Supporting Actor, which was awarded to Waltz. The film was nominated for six
BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...
, including Best Director for Tarantino, winning only one award— Best Supporting Actor for Waltz. In February 2010, the film was nominated for eight
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Waltz, and
Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
. Waltz was awarded the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...
.


See also

*
Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the World War II, Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv, Y ...
– a unit of Jewish Soldiers formed by the British to fight the Nazis in WW2 * Special Interrogation Group – a unit of German-speaking Jewish volunteers formed by the British * Nakam – also referred to as "The Avengers" or the "Jewish Avengers," a Jewish partisan militia which targeted Nazis * List of films featuring fictional films * List of films featuring psychopaths and sociopaths * Quentin Tarantino filmography * ''Bastards'' (2006 film) * '' The Real Inglorious Bastards'', a 2012 Canadian television documentary film about the historical true story


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inglourious Basterds 2009 films 2009 action drama films 2009 action thriller films 2009 multilingual films 2000s action war films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s French-language films 2000s German films 2000s German-language films 2000s political satire films 2000s war adventure films 2000s war drama films A Band Apart films Alternate Nazi Germany films American action drama films American action thriller films American action war films American alternate history films American political satire films American films about revenge American multilingual films American war adventure films American war drama films American World War II films Babelsberg Studio films BAFTA winners (films) Cultural depictions of Joseph Goebbels Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill English-language action drama films English-language action thriller films English-language German films English-language war adventure films English-language war drama films Films about Adolf Hitler Films about anti-fascism Films about assassinations Films about Jews and Judaism Films about Nazi hunters Films about Nazis Films about the German Resistance Films about World War II alternate histories Films directed by Quentin Tarantino Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award–winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Lawrence Bender Films set in 1941 Films set in 1944 Films set in a movie theatre Films set in France Films set in London Films set in Paris Films shot in Germany Films shot in Paris Films with screenplays by Quentin Tarantino French-language American films French-language German films German-language American films German alternate history films German drama films German political satire films German films about revenge German multilingual films German war drama films German World War II films German-language war films Holocaust films Satellite Award–winning films Saturn Award–winning films Universal Pictures films The Weinstein Company films Films about psychopaths and sociopaths