One of Quentin Tarantino’s most beloved works, Inglourious Basterds, is available on Netflix and has received critical acclaim for its direction, performances, and screenplay. Blending dark humour with violence, this historical thriller and war drama is a classic of the genre. The film is particularly notable for its standout performances, especially by Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. Earning an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Inglourious Basterds is set in Nazi-occupied France, where a group of American soldiers plans a bold attack to eliminate Third Reich leaders during a propaganda film premiere.
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, the 2009 film stars Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, and Eli Roth. The film is set during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. The film presents an alternate history where two intersecting plots aim to assassinate the Nazi leadership at a cinema in Paris.
One Reddit user wrote hailed Waltz’ portrayal of Nazi officer Landa: “Watched Inglourious Basterds and I have never in my life been more astonished by an acting performance.”
Another said: “I love Tarantino’s work in general, but I just can’t get enough of Inglourious Basterds!! Each scene is masterfully crafted to create that famous Tarantino tension, like an elastic band that gets stretched and stretched and just when you think it can’t get stretched further, it gets stretched some more! And then finally… snap!!
“What I absolutely love the most about this film is that it threads the line so absolutely perfectly between self-aware comedy (where the characters know it’s a comedy) and objective comedy (where only the audience finds it funny).”
Another Reddit user said: “Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece.”
Someone also wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: “Best Tarantino movie of all time!”
Another Rotten Tomatoes review reads: “Might be Tarantino’s best effort so far. Gloriously gory and merciless brutality, plenty of action and twists. Great cinematography. Brad Pitt excels in this character, well all cast is just excellent in character. No nonsense in typical Tarantino fashion. Absolute must see, badass to the bone.”
The first plot follows Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his team of Jewish-American soldiers, known as the “Basterds,” who are tasked with brutally killing Nazis and their primary mission is to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officials, including Adolf Hitler himself, during a film premiere at a cinema.
Meanwhile, Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), a Jewish woman who survived a Nazi massacre, plans to avenge her family by using her cinema in Paris to kill Nazi leaders, and the two plots soon converge.
The film premiered on May 20, 2009, at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, and received many awards and nominations including eight Academy Awards nominations.
Waltz won the Best Actor Award, the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor at the 67th Golden Globe Awards in 2010, and the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.