In the year 2009, a brilliant man named Quentin Tarantino made a war film by the name of Inglourious Basterds that grossed over $320 million worldwide. The film is complex, and oftentimes confusing the first time around. However, after watching it for the 27th time (as many die hard fans have), it becomes easier to understand. The structure, the characters, the soundtrack; each being essential to the intensity of the film. Being such a complex film, it is crucial that it is analyzed piece by piece or else important things will be missed. This goes especially for all Tarantino films; it is easy to not fully understand it the first time around unless you read between some of the lines.
The structure of this film is one of the most interesting aspects of it. Quentin Tarantino has an extremely unique style when it comes to his movies. The film itself is split into 5 chapters: Once upon a time… in Nazi-occupied France, Inglourious Basterds, A German Night in Paris, Operation Kino, Revenge of the giant face. Each of these chapters tell a portion of the story; sometimes through flashback, but mostly in chronological order, and in present time.
The most captivating cinematic tool used in Inglourious Basterds is the music. The soundtrack fits phenomenally with each scene. At the beginning, when LaPadite is chopping wood, and Landa rolls up, “The Verdict (La Condanna)” by Charles Bernstein starts to play which is an insanely suspenseful piano tune. It matches the mood at that specific time, the audience can tell that something major is about to happen…and it will not be good. The same goes for the rest of the film, specifically when Shoshanna is shot by Fredrick Zoller at the end, the climax of the song that is playing happens exactly when the climax of the scene happens. Something interesting about the way Tarantino make this film is the genre. Most war films have such a serious tone. Rarely do we see a war film that has comedy, a badass Nazi massacre, or a group of Jewish avengers.
Most people would argue that one of the greatest feelings in the world is revenge. No matter the kind, revenge is one of those irreplaceable feelings. Revenge is even better when it happens to someone who really deserves it, and who deserves it more than Nazi Germany? Inglourious Basterds combines that amazing feeling of revenge with a kick-butt storyline that includes kick-butt characters.
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