One of Quentin Tarantino's most celebrated films, Inglourious Basterds, has made its way to Amazon Prime Video, giving subscribers immediate access to what critics have called one of the greatest war films ever made.
A Tarantino Masterpiece Revisited
Originally released in 2009, this genre-blending war epic follows Allied officer Lieutenant Aldo Raine, portrayed by Brad Pitt, during the early days of Germany's occupation of France in World War II. Raine assembles a team of Jewish soldiers on a mission to hunt down Nazi forces, eventually joining forces with German actress and undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark, played by Diane Kruger.
The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, and Mélanie Laurent. Interestingly, Tarantino originally wrote the script back in 1998 but shelved it when he struggled with the ending, choosing instead to create both Kill Bill films before returning to complete this project after releasing Death Proof in 2007.
Critical Acclaim and Awards Success
Inglourious Basterds proved to be a massive critical and commercial success, becoming Tarantino's highest-grossing film until Django Unchained surpassed it in 2012. The film received eight Academy Award nominations, with Christoph Waltz particularly praised for his chilling performance as SS Colonel Hans Landa.
Waltz's portrayal earned him numerous prestigious awards including:
- An Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- A BAFTA Award
- A Golden Globe
- The Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor
The film maintains an impressive 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics' consensus describing it as "a classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining."
What the Critics Said
British publications were particularly enthusiastic about Tarantino's war epic. The Independent noted that while it might not be Tarantino's masterpiece, it represents "his most entertaining and exhilarating effort since Pulp Fiction."
Little White Lies magazine observed that "QT has let loose completely: flashes of cine-genius curdle with crude, crazy juvenility, although it doesn't stop this being his most purely enjoyable film since Kill Bill: Vol. 1."
News of the World delivered perhaps the most vivid praise, calling it "a brutal, audacious, triumphant piece of filmmaking that hits harder than a baseball bat to the jawbone."
Christoph Waltz's performance received special attention, with The Atlantic gushing about his ability to "convey courtliness and sympathy and then go to commit the cruelest of horrors." New Statesman highlighted how Waltz's "mesmerising" performance transformed Tarantino's distinctive dialogue into "a vital aspect of Landa's professional pride."
In interviews, Waltz explained that Tarantino sought authenticity from the beginning, deliberately casting American actors for American roles, French actors for French roles, and German actors for German roles. The actor described himself as "the lucky guy on the end of all of that" and committed fully to the role once he learned he had been cast.
Inglourious Basterds is available to stream immediately on Amazon Prime Video, joining other Tarantino classics like Pulp Fiction and Death Proof on the platform.
