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Author Topic: Inglourious Basterds  (Read 102004 times)

Totoro

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #560 on: May 23, 2011, 03:15:01 AM »

Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time on the Filmspotting Forum...
Appreciation and caring are two different things. I appreciate that some of you people discussed the film in an intellectual manner. Note: some. I believe somewhere on the internet there's a 60 page discussion of Pootie Tang and a 5 page discussion about Tropical Malady. This doesn't equate to saying that Pootie Tang is better than Tropical Malady just because it's discussed more.

Chapter 2: Operation Violence
Violence is only as good as the emotional connection to the characters. The Nazis got what they deserved, those who became obsessed with vengeance got what they deserved, and Bridget's ignorance got what she deserved. Do I care about any of these characters? No. Does the violence disturb me? The violence, aside from the choking scene, does not go far enough to make any real statement about anything really. Before I continue let me state this: I give this film a 3/5. The choking scene makes the statement that the most violent acts are usually the most animalistic. That I feel a shred of sympathy for her character adds to the disturbing quality of the scene. But does that truly tell me anything that basic psychology doesn't tell me already? That a shot of a gun will never compare to the grip of a hand? No.

Chapter 3: 1+1=???
Is this film a revenge fantasy? Uh, none of this stuff actually happened, right? Fantasy. Shosanna and the Basterds want revenge for the Nazis killing their own, right? Revenge. If it sounds like one and looks like one it most likely is one. There's some heavy denial throughout this thread from what's very clear even from the trailer.

Chapter 4: A little explanation
I like this film, I just don't love it. Bad Tarantino does not equate terrible quality films. It's shallow entertainment that panders to his fans, young Jews who feel the weight of the Holocaust even if it's A). 60 years ago or B). possibly part of the reason they're alive today (butterfly effect), old Jews who once lived in Germany during the time of the Holocaust (very few), and some cinephiles.

Chapter 5: Inglouriously Tired
I don't know if this is a particularly great post, but I'm done rewriting.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2011, 03:20:40 AM by Totoro »

edgar00

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #561 on: May 23, 2011, 11:40:14 AM »
27 pages of denial, confusion, and over praise.

On the 28th page, Rambler gives the most thought provoking post of the entire thread.

denial: that's sort of a strange accusation...I'm not sure what you mean by that.

confusion: I always felt confusing films to be interesting. If Inglourious Basterds is confusing people, I honestly fail to see what the problem is.

over-praise: Well, that's a question of taste. You're entitled to that opinion.
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Junior

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #562 on: May 23, 2011, 11:43:27 AM »
The ending is just as violent as the choking scene and makes the thesis statement of the whole movie.

Yes, the movie takes the form of a revenge fantasy. I think it's pretty clearly doing something to comment on the problems that arise within the genre. None of them are good guys by the end of the movie. I was grinning at the end of the movie but it wasn't because Landa was getting what he deserved as would be the case in a typical revenge fantasy, it was because I was admiring the sheer audacity of Tarantino ending the movie in that fashion. If you liked Brad Pitt by the end of the film you're watching it wrong.

I have plenty of friends that aren't Jewish or cinephiles that loved the movie and understood the nuances. I don't know if that part of your post was serious or not but I just had to throw it out there.
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FroHam X

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #563 on: May 23, 2011, 02:47:33 PM »
I think Inglourious Basterds appealed to people who enjoyed it, and that works on many different levels.
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Totoro

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #564 on: May 23, 2011, 02:52:48 PM »
I enjoyed it, but I don't think it's anything special.

Agree to disagree.

Criticism/Analysis is always more important than praise. There's a lot of praise here and a lot of discussion over confusion of the film's plot/themes/characters. The denial part is just the whole, "this film isn't a revenge fantasy" when it explicitly is. Sorry if I offended anyone here.

Najemikon

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #565 on: May 23, 2011, 05:41:15 PM »
I haven't read the thread and to be honest, I've argued for Tarantino so much in the past I can't quite bring myself to catch up properly!

I thought Inglourious Basterds was flawed, but brilliant, and had moments that were the best cinema I'd had the pleasure of seeing for myself on the big screen. Your comment intrigued me, Totoro...

The denial part is just the whole, "this film isn't a revenge fantasy" when it explicitly is. Sorry if I offended anyone here.

Well, you didn't offend me because that's what it is. Tarantino loves the exploitation genre and he coupled it up to WWII. In some ways, it's the ultimate revenge fantasy!

I've upset people in the past because I feel that Tarantino embraces that genre with a real love for its themes, but adds what was always missing: talent. He makes them watchable. I prefer Jackie Brown over Pam Grier's classic roles, because JB actually gives her a character that proves how good she really is and respects her.

Inglourious Basterds is pure exploitation and it's fantastic. 
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Junior

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #566 on: May 23, 2011, 05:57:02 PM »
Ok. Are you guys denying that there is more to the revenge aspect than what appears on the surface? Is there nothing more to the story outside what is presented at the surface? Is there no nuance?
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Najemikon

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #567 on: May 23, 2011, 06:28:30 PM »
Absolutely there is nuance. That's why I love it. He's taken a grungy, nasty, violent, naive even, basic comic book fantasy which would have been enough for a dozen straight to video junk releases 30 years ago, and added elegance. The delicate restaurant scene is incredible, for one. That it is in the same film as, and makes sense beyond, a narrative with an ultimate purpose of "wouldn't it be fun to kill Hitler", is only possible in Tarantino's world, I think. It really works.
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Clovis8

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #568 on: May 23, 2011, 06:32:14 PM »
Absolutely there is nuance. That's why I love it. He's taken a grungy, nasty, violent, naive even, basic comic book fantasy which would have been enough for a dozen straight to video junk releases 30 years ago, and added elegance. The delicate restaurant scene is incredible, for one. That it is in the same film as, and makes sense beyond, a narrative with an ultimate purpose of "wouldn't it be fun to kill Hitler", is only possible in Tarantino's world, I think. It really works.

Perfectly stated.

pinko

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #569 on: June 25, 2011, 10:39:59 AM »
Little late in the game here and I haven't read through all 30 pages of this so please forgive me if I'm repeating someone, but: revenge fantasy or not, I think, is besides the point. Tarantino, at least how I read the film, is more making a point about HOW propaganda (revenge fantasies and the like) work solely from your own perspective and are absolutely appalling if you're the target of them.

So we have the Basterds, who are by pretty much every indication terrorists.  They murder indiscriminately, they strap suicide bombs on their bodies, they even are flat out called terrorists at one point by Landa. But because we know, historically, their cause is just (from our perspective) (I mean it's hard to argue in the perspective of the nazis, which is why I think Tarantino chose them) - all their actions are not even just tolerable, but cheers-worthy. The movie we're watching is pretty much the modern version of the film that the Germans are watching in the cinema. I don't think Tarantino is injecting any moral judgments here, and there's little to no chance that he's arguing nazis get a bum deal in cinema.  But he has talked before about always identifying with the Indians in cowboy movies, never understanding why the hell they were always the bad guys. I DO, then, think he's making a point that terrorism only seems like terrorism when you're on the receiving end, and our media is always sure to craft a flattering narrative about ourselves, which we lap up.

You could argue that's reading too much into it, but then I could counter that he does stop the movie halfway through to have a character give an allegorical reading/essay on King Kong. Even if Tarantino is not flat out asking you to do the same work with his film here, he's at least saying 'this is how I sometimes think about movies."

 

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