Sway
Posts: 8866
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Albuquerque
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Super Hans
What's peoples' verdicts on Inglourious Basterds?......Others just saw it as simply "shit" .
While I'm don't claim to be hugely knowledgable of history, nor by any means a stickler for historical accuracy, a lot of Inglourious Basterds for me was just a bit much, and a touch too corny. Character nicknames like "The Jew Hunter", and a plot involving luring Hitler into a movie theatre so they could (successfully, ultimately) kill him off just seemed a bit too silly for my liking. I know QT's style is generally quite pulpy anyway but this just seemd like something a kid would concoct in a playground game at lunchtime, and lacking a little in credibility.
My verdict = Guilty
I concur with the above.
I put off watching this film for ages because I always thought it looked completely naff and toe-curlingly awful, and, quelle surprise!, was berated when I still thought the same after having watched it recently.
The film is a terrible mess. I kind of want to say it was a wasted opportunity, but I think Tarantino achieved what he set out to make, it's just that it didn't sit well with me at all.
Timon was quick to jump in with assumptions after I'd mentioned on my facebook that I thought it was rubbish, since I'm a history graduate, but like Super Hans, I have no qualms with historical inaccuracies in film at all. Hell, I saw 300 at the cinema twice and have watched it countless times on dvd since. I unashamedly love Braveheart because it's just outright entertainment.
So the silliness of the Hitler/Nazi/Film Theatre plot didn't bother me on its own.... My main criticism is that the tone of the film was all over the bloody shop. I suspect people will interject at this point to tell me what was the whole point of the film, but it just left me feeling frustrated and detached. There are a number of great scenes in which the tension is built up pitch perfectly, (Landa's first meeting with Shosanna years after her initial escape), but then let down greatly by the juxtaposition with the caper-like tone of other scenes... such as Eli Roth discovering Hitler's private box in the theatre then grabbing his fellow basterd to kill him.
How am I meant to genuinely take the Nazis and their 'menace' seriously if there are ridiculous caricatures with corny/contrived back stories and nicknames prancing about trying to bump them off. Eli Roth as 'The Bear Jew'. I mean... come on. Asides from the fact I think we all agree he can't act for shit and is one of the worst things about the film, you can almost see the image of Tarantino cackling away with glee as he thought he'd created this amazing iconic character with an awesome nickname that people would be worshipping for years after the film came out. It just reeks of trying too hard. Similarly, Brad Pitt was wasted in this film and his character was drivel.
Tarantino appears to be his own worst enemy at times. He's known for the attention to dialogue in his films - it's his trademark - but in places he over eggs it, again, which comes across as trying too hard to be iconic or to produce throw away quotes he clearly hopes are picked up on and used between discerning film fans years down the line. So while some of the dialogue in the film truly makes some of the best scenes, it also ruins others and leaves your lips curling in disgust.
Contrary to my negative opinion before I saw the film, I genuinely had wanted to be surprised by it, and initially I began thinking, 'hey this isn't half bad', but it just descended into farcical territory anytime I wanted to take it seriously.
Oh sure, this is clearly Tarantino's point, we've already got too many serious Nazi war films, he doesn't want you taking another one seriously. But I couldn't take this film any which way at all, I just thought it was a shambles.
Verdict - Guilty.
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"I am not in danger, Skyler. I AM the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!"
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