Glorious Basterds.

So, as most people are aware Tarantino is a very talented director with absolutely huge potential. Pulp Fiction is deservedly considered a modern classic and will doubtless go down in the annals of time as one of the best films ever made. Then Quentin makes some really sub par films. Kill Bill parts 1 and 2 were so outlandishly extravagant it became farcical. I felt it was as if his films were becoming parodies of themselves, as if some characaturist plucked from the streets of paris was making a joke about how excessive his work is. I couldn't even bring myself to watch Death Proof, having assumed I would really not enjoy it (this is perhaps unfair of me to judge it before viewing it but critically it did go down like a sack of shit hitting a rotary blade).

Having heard alot about Inglorious Basterds I really suspected I would dislike it hugely, the trailer looked to tick all of the irritating tarantino boxes- 1.) Unnecessary comic relief that a.) isn't funny b.) is so far removed from the events in the film that it completely draws you away form the action 2.) ludicrous dialogue (I would point you to a scene in Kill Bill vol. 1 when one of the assassins of the childishly titled 'Deadly Viper Assasination Squad' says 'bitch' so many times she would give Joe Pesci a run for his money in competition for potty mouth of the century. Another massive problem with Tarantino's work for me is his use of intertextual referencing. His homage to other directors and films is so frequent that at times it doesn't even feel like a coherent film but more a bag of other people's ideas messily and non-coherently thrown together. Most notably he does this by referencing The Western with perticular regard to the work of John Ford and Sergio Leone. In other director's work I love picking up on subtle (emphasis on subtle) references which are placed into the film delicately with care as the artist will want to take great care in respectfully, thoughtfully and meaningfully paying homage to his influences. Tarantino (after Pulp Fiction) did none of these things until Inglorious Basterds. So i was clearly dubious when I sat down to watch his latest movie which from the trailer looked utterly ridiculous, offensive and dreadfully written. BUT being the discerning, tolerant, able minded, statue-esque and strapping figure of a man that I am I decided to soldier on through it and see if it could rival the greatness of his early work. Boy oh, boy am I glad I went. From the very opening shot I knew I was going to appreciate the film and perhaps enjoy it. A stunning shot drawing heavily on the work of Leone and very reminiscient of the opening shot of Unforgiven. For the first time Tarantino intelligently incorporates his references into the film. This film is essentially a Spaghetti Western set within a W W 2 backdrop and it works perfectly. In his other works such as Kill Bill the frequency of his homage to The Western seems at odds with the film itself. With Inglorious Basterds this is not the case. The opening scene is arguably the best opening scene to a western I have ever witnessed with the possible exception of El Topo. The reason Inglorious basterds works so well is that it takes all of the fundamental elements that make Spaghetti Westerns so engaging, visually arresting and thematically entertaining and incorporates them perfectly and relatively realistically within a much more modern and equally dramaticised setting. The villain Col. Hans Landa is such a threatening and entertaining presence on screen that I could not help but smile when he was on screen-a genuine delight to watch. The aforementioned opening scene is one of the best inroductions to a character I have witnessed to date. Christopher Waltz deservedly was awarded best actor at Cannes for his marvellous performance in this landmark role. The plot was really really good as well, genuinelly interesting, engaging, mainly well written dialogue (with the huge exceptions of almost anything Brad Pitt says and the seethingly irritating "That's a bingo" moment) and for the most part not too outlandish and I could almost forgive it for the times it was because atleast it wasn't constant. With several very tense set pieces interlaced into the narrative tarantino triumphantly managed to hold the fundamental elements of the 'Mexican stand off' archetypical of the genre and translates it perfectly and again surprisingly realistically into the historical setting. Another moment I was very respectful to was in homage to John Ford's classic The Searchers. With the hugly famous and iconographic image of John Wayne standing on the threshhold of the house looking out over the vast, barren desert. Tarantino replicated this shot in Kill Bill which really pissed me off but it works perfectly in Inglorious Basterds. The beautiful scenery of the French countryside in stark juxtaposition to the landscape displayed in The Searchers but both clearly dangerous as one another despite aesthetic appearences. John Ford's setting with the threat of the Indians, Tarantino's with the threat of the Nazi's. Brilliant. I thought the violence as always in Tarantino films was entirely unnecessary, not adding anything of real substance to the film. The only thing I can really see the violence doing is making stupid people want to see it for the sight of a Nazi getting beaten to death with a baseball bat (when i put it like that it doesn't sound like a bad thing, maybe I am wrong.) I hated that Eli Roth landed the roll of "The Jew Bear". I HATE Eli Roth. Having made both Cabin Fever the two Hostel films he is clearly a man of no artistic capability or moral fibre. The fact that he is in this film detracted hugely from the film for me, infact the general representation of 'The basterds' summed up what I dislike about Tarantino quite nicely in a neat little bundle. tarantino is such an erratic and charged individual with so many ideas running through his head that some ideas just don't work coherently when set against his better thoughts which I find very alienating as an audience member. For instance the introduction to Stiglitz with the huge title in a stupid font coming up in front of him was nothing short of ludicrous and just annoying. This aside Inglorious Basterds is a very good film. With a very engaging plot, brooding tension, superb villains, wonderful engagement with The Western genre and some wonderful camerawork (watch out for the fantastic circular tracking shot around Landa and Hammersmark towards the end, a clear reference to the closing sequence of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly which interestingly enough Tarantino cites as the best scene ever shot in a film). I would give Inglorious Basterds a solid 8/10, Tarantino has sharpened up his script writing and tempered erratic and often incoherent direction style to produce a disciplined, intelligent and entertaining film he should be proud of. His best film since Pulp Fiction, possibly better than Pulp Fiction. I would hugely recommend it. I just hope that he can keep up the good work for his future projects. I never thought I would say it but- Bravo Tarantino! In running with the tone of Inglorious Basterds I thought I would recommend some films which draw heavily upon The Western as a point of reference/influence to produce some very interesting/original/intelligent and entertaining reults: Sexy Beast El Topo The Proposition Throne Of Blood (any Kurosawa for that matter) There Will Be Blood