2009
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
I should probably develop some sort of system in selecting the order in which I complete the rest of the Lists. Otherwise I will end up just writing about all my favorites and being left with such disasterpieces as Field of Dreams and Lincoln. My only idea for themes so far is to write about horror movies for the month of October. With these creativity skills, it's hard to believe that I keep getting turned down for jobs.
In Nazi-occupied France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the slaughter of her entire family by Colonel Hans Landa, who is known by the moniker "The Jew Hunter." She plots her revenge a few years later when German war hero Fredrick Zoller arranges to have the film based on his wartime exploits premiere at the theater she runs. Meanwhile, Lt Aldo Raine leads a group of ruthless Nazi hunters, nicknamed the "Basterds." The film premiere, which will be attended by nearly every Nazi officer, attracts the attention of the Basterds, who plan their own attack.
Come to think of it, writing about films I enjoy is much harder than writing about movies I hate. Maybe I will go through all the ones I expect to dislike first. Basically, I think this film is brilliant. To me, Quentin Tarantino's world is very simple. People die young, violence solves everything, etc. In his world, it makes sense for the Jewish population to attack the Germans just as mercilessly as they have been attacked. It is also grimly satisfying to watch. We all know violence only makes things worse, an eye for the eye makes the whole world blind, blah blah blah. Sometimes it is nice to see evil people get swastikas carved into their skin.
I probably keep making this claim, but this time I mean it: Colonel Hans Landa has got to be the greatest movie villain of all time. The only performance that I thought was a little off was Eli Roth's, but that might just have to be because of the strangeness of his character.
Love, love, love this movie and I might be back to talk about Django in a bit. I'm kind of on a Tarantino kick right now.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Eli Roth and Omar Doom were almost burned alive during the fire sequence. They were later treated for minor burns.
Shot sequentially.
