Author Topic: Inglourious Basterds  (Read 102020 times)

ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #140 on: August 26, 2009, 12:27:40 PM »
i went to the first show of the day yesterday, so the gigantic theatre i was in had only about 100 people in it and crowd reaction was not ideal/a bit muffled.  but, when Shosanna gets dragged to the dinner and was thanked for "accepting the invitation" a guy in the theatre stood up and yelled "asshole!" - so great

Nice :)

During the finger in the leg scene someone at my theatre really lost it and blurted out "OH GOD NO!" and the whole crowd laughed. He was sitting right across the isle from me, and was really really cringing.

Two great stories there. 

I'm pretty stone faced about such things but I was curled up in the seat cringing on that last scene of the movie.  

I'm wanting to watch this again.  You guys are motivating me to wait until Friday for a packed house.  We had about 15 people in the theater last night

"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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smirnoff

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #141 on: August 26, 2009, 12:28:41 PM »
I totally get what you're saying.   And maybe I'm much better for not knowing a lot of the references in the same way that I can enjoy wine that comes out of a box cuz I know nothing about 1962 Chablah blah blah.

But I will debate that knowing the reference doesn't give away the result of the first scene.  I think you know it's going to end badly the second you see the Nazi cars driving up the dirt road.  They weren't going to be selling Magazine subscriptions.
Heh, this is true. Perhaps where I'm hung up is that there aren't enough surprises along the way. An exception would be Landa letting Shosanna run away at the end. I didn't understand it, I didn't expect it, but I liked it.

Clovis8

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #142 on: August 26, 2009, 12:31:44 PM »
I totally get what you're saying.   And maybe I'm much better for not knowing a lot of the references in the same way that I can enjoy wine that comes out of a box cuz I know nothing about 1962 Chablah blah blah.

But I will debate that knowing the reference doesn't give away the result of the first scene.  I think you know it's going to end badly the second you see the Nazi cars driving up the dirt road.  They weren't going to be selling Magazine subscriptions.
Heh, this is true. Perhaps where I'm hung up is that there aren't enough surprises along the way. An exception would be Landa letting Shosanna run away at the end. I didn't understand it, I didn't expect it, but I liked it.


I think this makes sense for his character. He does not like killing jews. He likes finding them. Killing them is sometimes part of his job. He basically makes this point in his speech about his nickname.

ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #143 on: August 26, 2009, 12:32:16 PM »
I totally get what you're saying.   And maybe I'm much better for not knowing a lot of the references in the same way that I can enjoy wine that comes out of a box cuz I know nothing about 1962 Chablah blah blah.

But I will debate that knowing the reference doesn't give away the result of the first scene.  I think you know it's going to end badly the second you see the Nazi cars driving up the dirt road.  They weren't going to be selling Magazine subscriptions.
Heh, this is true. Perhaps where I'm hung up is that there aren't enough surprises along the way. An exception would be Landa letting Shosanna run away at the end. I didn't understand it, I didn't expect it, but I liked it.


True.  The Landa turn at toward was probably the one other big surprise for me .

I liked that runaway scene too :)   I love the explanation earlier in this thread about how it was allowed because Landa was really in it for the hunt and not necessarily for the extermination.  

EDIT: Clovis beat me to it!
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #144 on: August 26, 2009, 12:35:58 PM »
Some disorganized thoughts.

I didn't get any pleasure out of spotting the resemblance between Inglorious Bastards and other films of which I'm a fan. Why would I? It takes the mystery out of every scene and character. The opening scene between Landa and Lapadite IS the scene in TGTB&TU where Van Cleef enters the home of the Mexican peon. Angel Eyes makes himself at home, Landa makes himself at home. Angel Eyes eats their food, Landa drinks their milk (Leon?). Angel Eyes is Gentlemanly, refined, coy, conscientious (in his own way), but a killer nonetheless; Landa is all of those things too. They both smoke fancy pipes even. And in the end, the shooting happens. The difference is that the scene in Inglorious Bastards has no tension. How can it when you know how it's going to end?

It's not just the ending to the scene which is spoiled, but every moment along the way. The characters and scene are so laden with references to other films that it limits their every move. It's this constrictive nature of IG which frustrated me. The film was like a dog on a short leash. Any time it attempted to run in any direction it was jerked to a halt, while Tarantino replayed another one of his favourite scenes. It's so preoccupied being referential that it fails to be it's own thing.

Watching IG is like watching someone else play video games. You sit waiting patiently for your turn (which never comes), while Tarantino has all the fun. "Watch this, Watch this!" he yells, "Yeah, that's great" you lie. I really don't care that Tarantino can beat the game and I probably can't even get past the first level. 

Saying IG is an homage to other films is like saying a photograph of a tree is tree-like::)

I have read dozens of reviews online and you are literally the only person who did not like the first scene and find it suspenseful.
I don't like it either for the same reasons. I knew how it was going to end from shot one. No suspense. That whole scene was such a drag.

Pretty much all the references annoyed me. There's a difference here between the kind of PTA references and IB referencing. PTA makes them his own, Tarantino just changes the names and stuffs the scene with a ton of dialogue.

Clovis8

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #145 on: August 26, 2009, 12:47:26 PM »


Pretty much all the references annoyed me. There's a difference here between the kind of PTA references and IB referencing. PTA makes them his own, Tarantino just changes the names and stuffs the scene with a ton of dialogue.

This might be the single most incorrect thing ever posted on the board!

Colleen

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #146 on: August 26, 2009, 12:47:43 PM »
Cringing:  I had to turn away on all the scalpings and swastika carvings; it only made me notice the equally unnerving juicy sound effects.  Brrrr.  Just shuddered again typing about it.

The Landa turn at the end being a surprise:  agreed.  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, that it was all a big set up, and Landa was playing them.  I was worried that Aldo seemed to be falling for it, but also assumed he had another double cross up his sleeve as well.

ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #147 on: August 26, 2009, 12:57:56 PM »
Something else that struck me about this, besides the obvious Jewish Revenge theme, was that it is very appealing on the level of these are Americans fighting for a cause that is not ambiguious in any way.  It's been a while since you could root for Americans to succeed unilaterally in a mission not involving aliens or asteroids, so that was an additional carthartic element to it.  Case in point, I watched the Hurt Locker right after. 

It probably bears mention too, that the French in WWII have been heavily criticized by history - so I can see some French audiences getting some satisfaction in this revisionist conclusion as well.
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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smirnoff

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #148 on: August 26, 2009, 12:59:07 PM »
I totally get what you're saying.   And maybe I'm much better for not knowing a lot of the references in the same way that I can enjoy wine that comes out of a box cuz I know nothing about 1962 Chablah blah blah.

But I will debate that knowing the reference doesn't give away the result of the first scene.  I think you know it's going to end badly the second you see the Nazi cars driving up the dirt road.  They weren't going to be selling Magazine subscriptions.
Heh, this is true. Perhaps where I'm hung up is that there aren't enough surprises along the way. An exception would be Landa letting Shosanna run away at the end. I didn't understand it, I didn't expect it, but I liked it.


I think this makes sense for his character. He does not like killing jews. He likes finding them. Killing them is sometimes part of his job. He basically makes this point in his speech about his nickname.

Hmm, yeah you're right. That works for me.


Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #149 on: August 26, 2009, 01:00:58 PM »
Pretty much all the references annoyed me. There's a difference here between the kind of PTA references and IB referencing. PTA makes them his own, Tarantino just changes the names and stuffs the scene with a ton of dialogue.
This might be the single most incorrect thing ever posted on the board!
Take for instance the John C. Riley character in Hard 8 (Or Sidney). He doesn't carry around matches because once they exploded in his pocket. PTA even shows a short shot where this happens. This is a nod to the Edward G. Robinson character in Double Indeminity who also doesn't carry around matches for the same reason. It's a small asside, a character quirk, but PTA makes it his own.

Contrast this to Tarantino who pretty much just yanked plot points and images from other movies and tossed them into IB. He didn't earn it the way PTA did. In fact, he might even be considered a cinema plagiarist. He needs to make his own film, not rip bits and pieces of great films.

 

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