The box office had a “glorious” outcome this weekend for Quentin Tarantino’s new film, “Inglourious Basterds”. Cultural diversity within the actors, language, and dialect makes the “basterds” a hit. The movie is set in Nazi occupied France and places you on a trip with one destination: to kill Hitler and his generals.
One path to killing Hitler involves a theater owner named Shosanna Dreyfus, played by Melanie Laurent, who is hiding in France. After witnessing her family’s murder and escaping the evil and creepy Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), Dreyfus hides her true Jewish identity.
The Basterds, a Jewish-American group of soldiers executing Operation Kino, also plan to kill Hitler. Operation Kino run by Lieutenant Aldo Raine, played by Golden Globe-award winner Brad Pitt. They team up with undercover agent and actress Bridget Von Hammersmark (played by Diane Kruger) on taking down the leaders of the Third Reich.
Dreyfus hosts a German movie premiere in her theater, and plans to lock all of the Nazi leadership in the theater and burn them to death. However, the Basterds knew of the premiere and planned to blow up the theater.
The film has a very vibrant cast, but you must pay attention throughout the film because the mix of different languages might throw you off. However, the audience can still understand what’s happening in the movie.
This film brought in $37.6 million, topping the competition that included “District 9”, “Post Grad”, and “Shorts”. Tarantino has done it again with this history lesson in World War II mixed with comedy and intensive action. This movie is his biggest box office debut, surpassing 2004’s “Kill Bill”, which opened with $25 million on its way to $66 million.
His fantasized version of World War II exceeds industry expectations with a budget of $70 million. Though very violent and grotesque, it is a must see film. Yes, it has its moments of extended dialogue, but overall the film is phenomenal and it’s a big hit in my book.
- Erik Veal
