Movie Information

Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds

Released: August 21, 2009

Credits

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Soundrack Albums

Song Credits

  • "THE GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER"
    written by Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Francis Webster
    performed by Nick Perito & His Orchestra
    courtesy of Capitol Records
    under license from EMI Film & Television Music
  • "L'INCONTRO CON LA FIGLIA"
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of GDM Music S.r.l. on behalf o Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.r.l.
  • "IL MERCENARIO (Ripresa)"
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of EMI Music Publishing Italia srl
  • "THE VERDICT"
    ("Dopo la condanna")
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of EMI Music Publishing srl
  • "WHITE LIGHTNING (Main Title)"
    written by Charles Bernstein
    performed by Charles Bernstein
    (from the motion picture "White Lightning")
    used through the courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Music Inc.
  • "SLAUGHTER"
    written by Billy Preston
    performed by Billy Preston
    courtesy of A&M Records
    under license from Universal Music Enterprises
  • "ALGERI: 1 NOVEMBRE 1954" (Battle of Algiers)
    written by Ennio Morricone, Gillo Pontecorvo
    orchestra conducted by Bruno Nicolai
    courtesy of CAM Cine TV Music, Inc. / BMG Records Music Publishing Spa
  • "ONE SILVER DOLLAR" (Un Dollaro Bucato)
    written by Gianni Ferrio
    performed by The Film Studio Orchestra
    courtesy of Victor Entertainment, Inc., Japan
  • "AL DI LA' DELLA LEGGE"
    written by Riziero Ortolani
    performed by Riz Ortolani
    courtesy of IDM Music Ltd obo GDM Music S.r.l. on behalf of Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.r.l.
  • "THE SURRENDER" ("La resa")
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of EMI Music Publishing Italia srl
  • "HOUND CHASE (Intro)"
    written by Charles Bernstein
    performed by Charles Bernstein
    (from the motion picture "White Lightning")
    used through the courtesy of Metro-Goldyn-Mayer Music Inc.
  • "BATH ATTACK"
    written by Charles Bernstein
    performed by Charles Bernstein
    courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
  • "CLAIRE'S FIRST APPEARANCE"
    written by Jacques Loussier
    performed by Jacques Loussier
    courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • "THE FIGHT"
    written by Jacques Loussier
    performed by Jacques Loussier
    courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • "THE MAN WITH THE BIG SOMBRERO"
    written by Phil Boutelje, Foster Carling
    performed by Samantha Shelton and Michael Andrew
    inspired by the original recording by June Havoc
  • "MAIN THEME"
    written by Jacques Loussier
    performed by Jacques Loussier
    courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • "DAVON GEHT DIE WELT NICHT UNTER
    written by Bruno Balz, Michael Jary
    performed by Zarah Leander
    from the film "Die Grosse Liebe"
  • "ICH WOLLT ICH WAER EIN HUHN"
    written by Hans-Fritz Beckmann, Peter Kreuder
    performed by Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch
    courtesy of EMI Music Germany
    under license from EMI Film & Television Music
  • "CAT PEOPLE (Putting Out The Fire)"
    written by David Bowie, Giorgio Moroder
    performed by David Bowie
    courtesy of Universal Studios
  • "MYSTIC AND SEVERE"
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of GDM Music S.r.l. on behalf of Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.r.l.
  • "THE DEVIL'S RUMBLE"
    written by Davie Allan and Mike Curb
    performed by Davie Allan and The Arrows
    (from the motion picture "Devil's Angels")
    courtesy of Curb Records, Inc.
  • "ZULUS"
    written by Elmer Bernstein
    performed by Elmer Bernstein conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    courtesy of Cerberus Records/Cerberus Productions
  • "EASTERN CONDORS"
    composed by Chung Ting Yat
    ownership Creative Entertainment
  • "WHAT'D I SAY"
    written by Ray Charles
    performed by Rare Earth
    courtesy of Motown Records
    under license from Universal Music Enterprises
  • "TIGER TANK"
    written by Lao Schifrin
    courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • "UN AMICO"
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of EMI General Music srl
  • "RABBIA E TARANTELLA"
    written by Ennio Morricone
    performed by Ennio Morricone
    courtesy of GDM Music S.r.l. on behalf of Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.r.l.

Review: Inglourious Basterds

by Dan Goldwasser August 18, 2009
3.5 / 5 Stars

World War II movies tend to be either one of two things: incredibly depressing, or incredibly inspiring. It can be a sensitive subject to tackle, depending on the approach of the filmmaker, and with Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino takes us on a somewhat cathartic journey right down the middle. Starting out in Sergio Leone fashion with a title card that says "Once Upon a Time.... in Nazi-occupied France", Tarantino immediately sets the tone for the majority of the film - it's a talkie. A prolonged scene where Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (brilliantly performed by Christoph Waltz) psychologically breaks a farmer hiding Jews beneath his floorboards, opens the film and takes its time. After Landa lets one of the Jews escape the massacre of her family, we move to a few years later, in 1944, where 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) has assembled a crack-team comprised of mainly Jewish soldiers to hunt down Nazis. Not content with merely capturing/killing them, Raine demands their scalps, earning him the nickname "Aldo the Apache".

The teenager (Mélanie Laurent) who escaped Landa three years earlier is now in Paris running a movie cinema, under the name of "Emmanuelle Mimieux". She tries to shy off the advances of Frederick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), a German marksman who is also the subject of a propaganda film. In an effort to impress her, Zoller manages to convince Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to hold the premiere of the film at Mimieux's theater. With most of the Nazi high command to be in attendance, Mimieux comes up with a plan to burn the theater down during the premiere in an act of revenge.

Meanwhile, Raine and his team of "Basterds" are recruited by the British to parachute behind enemy lines to meet up with an informant in the German film industry (Diane Kruger) who is able to get them into the premiere - their intention is to blow up the theater, killing the Nazi high command. The mission becomes even more important when it is learned that Hitler himself is going to attend the event. And so, the two different plots come together in an orgy of violence and blood that is befitting of Quentin Tarantino.

But don't be fooled - while there are plenty moments of extreme violence, this is no action film. Instead, this is a Tarantino picture through and through, with excessively long sequences of dialogue, with characters spouting off all manner of trivia (primarily cinema related), creating an air of tension that is only occasionally spattered with humor. It's a WWII revenge fantasy, and while it bears little resemblance to real life (no real mention of the Holocaust), the film is still a satisfying - but long - piece of cinema.

Where Tarantino overextends himself is the dialogue. But while such lengthy scenes might cause one to zone out or lose interest, the fact that a majority of the film is spoken in native languages (German and French, with a little Italian on occasion), and the actors (primarily Waltz) so fascinating to watch makes it more digestible than your typical Tarantino talkies (see Death Proof). As per his usual post-production style, most of the music in Inglourious Basterds is tracked in from other films and sources - Ennio Morricone and Charles Bernstein's music features primarily, but there are some odd modern inclusions, like David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" and Billy Preston's "Slaughter".

Inglourious Basterds runs about 45 minutes too long, but with an amazing performance by Christoph Waltz - delivered in German, French, English and some Italian - it's definitely worth seeing. Some people might be turned off by the talkativeness of it, but that's par for the course for Tarantino - and with the ultra-violence (some of which is quite gory) scattered through the film, it might be a little uneven, but it was still satisfying.

more reviews by Dan Goldwasser
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