That said, it's an awfully funny, tense, violent love letter. As you've probably seen in the movie's trailers, the Basterds are a group of Nazi-killers (their leader points out they're not in the prisoner-taking business). And Tarantino isn't afraid to show them do their thing in graphic detail. And as you probably learned in history class, the Nazis were pretty rough customers themselves.
This isn't a History Channel production, though. Like Hendrix covering Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," Tarantino takes World War II events and spins them into something all his own, a movie full of larger-than-life heroes and villains. I mean, when we're first introduced to Tarantino's Hitler, he's wearing a cape.
A cape. Like Darth Vader. Or Doctor Doom.
Getting back to the real subject of the film, a French movie theater is a major character. Tarantino throws in nods to noir movies, Hitchcock, and probably a hundred other cinematic particulars I wasn't hip enough to catch, at least on first viewing. I especially love how one character, even after meeting an untimely demise, gets the last laugh thanks to a movie projector.
As is the case with most of Tarantino's flicks, the cinematography, editing, and sound work are top-notch. And the music is great, of course. I especially love a totally period-incorrect David Bowie song that shouldn't work but does. Totally. In fact, it might be my favorite ever use of a pop tune in a Tarantino movie.
I don't feel like my rambling about Basterds is really doing the movie justice, so I'll just add that it is currently my pick for best movie of 2009. And it's a movie you should see. In a proper movie theater.
I've had a good run at the theater lately, having also seen District 9 and Moon. Both are worth your time, and both feature excellent effects--D9 on the CG side (seriously, and I don't even usually like CG), and Moon on the practical side (seriously, and I love practical effects). And speaking of effects, the makeup and pyro in Basterds are just about perfect.
3 comments:
Saw this last night and it was good. In fact, and I know this probably makes me a weirdo or something, I liked it better than Pulp Fiction. (Then again, I never shared the same love of Pulp Fiction that a lot of people do.)
What struck me most last night though was not anything in the movie itself, but the audience. There was a lot of old people at the screening I was at. I mean OLD. I'm talking in their seventies old. If fact, when I first walked into the theater, I would say 70 was roughly the average age of those already seated. It was to the point that I actually considered walking back out to make sure I entered for the right screen. Eventually more people arrived which were mostly younger. But it was still a lot of old people. I have to wonder how many were familiar at all with Tarantino's work, and how many were just there because it was a WWII-era film.
I also went and saw it last night. I don't remember there being as many old folks there but I did notice a few. I got a bigger kick out of the way folks reacted to the grosser scenes, did they not know it was a Tarantino film?
I thought the whole thing was put together great. The story line, the music, the effects, hell, even the length of the film. I was a little shocked when I saw that it was 2 1/2 hours, but if was not for that damn soda I drank, I could have sat there another couple hours.
Trap
I feel bad for anyone expecting a straight WW2 movie or a non-violent flick from Tarantino. Glad you guys saw the flick. Hope it encourages QT to make another movie soon.
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