A movie note by Maynard
Count me among the fans of Quentin Tarantino. He’s the man that digs up the hackneyed, formulaic clichés from yesterday’s rubbish heap and turns them into vivid art. He’s old and he’s new. He’s a one-man cinematic bridge between the past and the future.
Don’t go to “Inglourious Basterds” expecting simply a war movie. Yes, it’s a war movie on the surface. However, this is at its core an homage to every war movie ever made. It’s as much a real war movie as James Bond is a real spy. To properly “get” the film, it will help if you’re something of a movie fan. (I’m not saying you need to be an encyclopedia.)
There’s nothing political here, so I wouldn’t want to make a political analysis. But I do appreciate the underlying theme of good versus evil. It’s a thing we need to be occasionally reminded of in these muddled and equivocating times. “Basterds” harkens back to a moment in history when Americans knew what had to be done to Nazis. I felt good about that.
Reviews are mostly favorable. “Inglourious Basterds” is rated “R” for graphic violence.
For Los Angeles residents, I urge that you NOT see “Basterds” (or any other film for that matter) at the ArcLight Cinema complex in Hollywood. The problem with the ArcLight is it is so much superior to any other theater in Los Angeles (and perhaps the entire world) that, if you ever see a film there, you’ll never find satisfaction at any other theater. So avoid the ArcLight unless you’re willing to tie yourself to it for life. You have been warned!
LOVED the movie. Even my 80 yr. old Mother loved it. Called and told me she found it “very satisfying.” :) So true.
Though I detest any form of socialism, as in the national-socialist (nazi) party. I wonder if Taratino or hollywood in general, would make the same type of film but have the old soviet union as the bad guys. After all, they murdered, systematically, millions upon millions, if not more than the nazis, of innocent people because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or dissension. Where were the Nuremberg type trials for the murderous leaders AND FOLLOWERS who participated in the old soviet union holocaust? Where is the leadership to track the communist down to face justice? I mean, the US claims they won the cold war, how come the US doesn’t make the communist party, like the nazi party, accountable for their crimes? Or are we just fooling ourselves that the cold war is over and the international crime court is a joke? Seems to me, the “free” world has given the communist part of the old soviet union a pass. I guess those millions upon millions of deaths don’t count, but dammit- we love to kill nazis!
I am SO glad you blogged on this, Maynard! I LOVE Quentin Tarantino, ADORE his movies, and consider myself his #1 fan! I loved Inglorious Basterds as well! I too, loved the fact that the sentiment of what needed to be done was not sanitized or washed away. It made me feel great!
I just saw the movie. It seems like a remake of “The Dirty dozen” according to “Pulp Fiction” (Wherein we just switch gangsters for Nazis).