DISQUS

facebook-522826981 · 3 months ago

I normally don't critique critiques, but I have to take exception to one point of this otherwise solid review: The scenes without subtitling are important, as they occur in instances where the character in question (i.e. Shosanna) has no idea what's being talked about. It creates, IMO, greater empathy among the audience to be just as lost as she is when there is rapidfire German being spoken around her.

RobHunter · 3 months ago

That's actually a pretty interesting defense, I'll have to mull it over a bit. But it also happens when Landa arrives at the farmhouse and tells his soldiers something (perhaps that would have been spoilerish), and in the basement bar when the barman talks to his daughter before telling the table that she'll play the game, and I think there was one more that I'm forgetting at the moment. Like I said in the review, this wasn't a deal-breaker, I just found it odd when QT was so good about subtitles in general throughout the film.

FSR_Brian · 3 months ago

Rob, the subtitle or native language usage was a storytelling device that Tarantino was using to further "trick" the audience, or to strengthen the illusion of historical accuracy. It has been done in other satirical pieces before. Tarantino almost overdoes it, kind of like a joke in the beginning when Landa asks to use English...until you find out there is an ulterior motive to Landa's spoken word.

RobHunter · 3 months ago

I get the opening bit with Landa, and I did in fact think it was a smooth trick at first before seeing his actual motivation... but how does the absence of any translation strengthen the illusion of historical accuracy? He had subtitles for roughly 95% of the foreign dialogue, so I don't see the point of dropping it for such brief periods.

FSR_Brian · 3 months ago

If I had to guess, just for comedic purposes...just to show that he is using the languages as a trick, and briefly lapsing to show his control?

J · 3 months ago

i think all of your smaller examples are all examples of when you didn't need sub-titles to tell you what was said. i don't need subtitles to know the bartender probably just reprimanded his daughter and told her she was going to play.

and the soldiers part obviously was clearly to not give away his position.

RobertFure · 3 months ago

I'm going to see this in theaters because of you (normally I save Tarantino for DVD) and if I hate it you and are going to throw fists at each other until I get $14 worth of pain out of you. If I love it, you get $14 worth of hugs.

RobHunter · 3 months ago

In my family "throwing fists at each other" is the same thing as hugs, so I guess it's win/win for me either way.

And you may not love it like I did, but I'll be disappointed if you don't enjoy the very funny dialogue, the quick and bloody bursts of violence, and the beautiful Melanie Maurent.

less · 3 months ago

Good timing for a lil positive PR, what with the Jews currently under fire for stealing organs from murdered Gazans, mostly women and orphans

Cole_Abaius · 3 months ago

It's a great movie, I'll give you that. And Waltz should at least be nominated this year for taking a difficult character and making everyone fall in love with him right before he kills your family dog.

But those slight problems you had were more major for me, and they dragged the movie down past the A- realm. Tarantino had about 20 more lines of dialog in every scene than is really necessary, save except for the bar scene that's one of the most perfectly executed scenes he's tackled. Those inserts made no sense, but they weren't too terribly jarring. But the thing that got me the most was his stroking of his cinematic knowledge. It's just a bit too much, and it took me out of the movie...no bueno.

Not that I don't love a Lillian/Goebbels joke, but all the tiny insights got to be a bit much.

But...people should definitely bone up on their WWII/Nazi history because they will love this movie even more.

RobHunter · 3 months ago

"Dragged the movie down past the A- realm" for you? That would be a B+ at best then correct? Makes me curious why you gave the movie an A in your own review of the movie here:
--> http://www.590klbj.com/movies/reviews.aspx <--

That minor discrepency aside, your critique applies to just about every other Tarantino film before Basterds. He hasn't become a minimalist when it comes to dialogue by any stretch of the imagination, but none of it here felt inflated or without purpose. Col. Landa is the only one who seems to take tangents, but they always prove to be intentional, precise, and with a firm destination in his mind. And I agree about more historical knowledge increasing your enjoyment of the film... as long as you remember that Tarantino's not playing slave to historical accuracy.

Cole_Abaius · 3 months ago

Ah...that would be because Neil loaded that into the site and ignored me giving it a B...Miller!

Some of the dialog serves little purpose beyond proving to the world that Tarantino knows more about film than everyone else. He's like a guy who's one the pissing contest and then continues to piss on everyone. It's not the downfall of the movie or anything, but some of the dialog is just a bit much.

But...I am going to see it again this weekend and paying for it.

svensvensven · 3 months ago

I too found it odd the film didn't reveal the Basterds' backgrounds other than one's. Would've liked to learn why Aldo had a huge scar (from cutting, hanging?) on his neck, where had Donnie played baseball, how come some of the guys spoke fluent Deutsch etc There might've been something to take on from Guy Ritchie's Snatch..

With IB QT totally changed his playground now coming over to Europe. And it's a nice touch that he used alot of French, German and Italian in the dialoges throughout the movie when he could've just made everybody speak English and leave it up to the audience to guess who's from which country. Landa deserves much respect for learning all those beautiful languages.

I would compare Landa with such enjoyable villains as Matrix's Mr Smith and No Country For Old Men's Anton Chigurh. Wonderful characters they are.

Now some random rambling:
I expected the German high brass to survive since that would've been more true to history. Didn't mind all of them get theirs though.
Shosanna looks very much the girl I dated a while back so A+ for using her in the movie.
I was positively surprised to hear a Beethoven's Für Elise remix when the germs were arriving to interrogate the frenchman.
I half expected Myers start pulling some stupid jokes, but thankfully that didn't happen.
Watch Inglorious Bastards from 1978. I wonder now if QT took any ideas other than the title from there..

Rachel Wolf · 2 months ago

I agree that Mike Myers was terrible casting. Very distracting.

Don't you hate when in films they speak English with a German accent to let us know they're German? I was delighted to have the real language spoken.

Willie Stanley · 3 months ago

The amount of opposition on the blog comments to the idea that Native Americans have practiced every religion under the Sun, including the Sun, and Judaism, is ridiculous and oppressive and annoying. They've probably practiced every religion on Earth and integrated with every culture on Earth. Some people, somewhere, just don't like that reality.

Davebaxter1989 · 3 months ago

I may only have a few more minutes in this dingy library as my internet conundrum ticks on but having seen this last night I must say what a spot on review this is. As far as Fassbender's accent everyone speaks like that here, It's jolly normal :)

**SPOILER ALERT** Anyone else have thoughts on why Landa betrayed the Nazis? I'd have to plump for a controversial one and say he was homosexual with his radio controller and wanted to ensure their safety. Just a thought though.

J · 3 months ago

I love how you judge your own criticisms to be valid. Shouldn't someone other than the person making them judge whether they are valid?

I have to disagree with your criticism of the sub-titles, to me, it felt like the times when subtitles were not used were times when you were supposed to connect with the character who couldn't understand the language. i thought his use and non use was balanced perfectly.

Walter · 3 months ago

uh, this movie though enjoyable, is a big piece of shit for 2 reasons. 1. Hitler did not die in a theater. 2. Haven't we had enough of the jew as superhero coming out of hollywood?

Rachel Wolf · 2 months ago

I'm sorry... were you expecting this to be something you'd see on the History Channel? Historical accuracy was not the issue. Tarantino was skewering many cinematic conventions. Did you not get that? And in response to your second question... never mind, won't dignify it with a response as it's so Anti-Semitic.

Rachel Wolf · 2 months ago

There were a few inconsistences that annoyed me. First, I loved when Landa switched to English. I giggled out loud (the only person in the audience who did) when he first asked if they could switch to English. I got the joke... and then the insidious reason for it made it all the more powerful. But in terms of the subtitles -- Why, while translating French into English, would "oui" appear as "oui" and not "yes." Similarly with other familiar foreign words, he'd do the same thing. Those occasional words would appear in the native language among the English translation. Jarring to me. Also, the Shosanna/Shoshanna spelling discrepancy and inconsistency STILL drives me batty. In the opening/closing credits, it is spelled sans second "h." Yet they pronounce it WITH that H... and in one insert shot where her name is written on a piece of paper, the H is there. Was this intentional or sloppy continuity?

kingisafink · 2 months ago

Loved the movie despite its flaws. Tartantino is the King of Dialogue. Enjoyed the language / translation play, although I agree with others that it wasn't consistent. Laughed out loud when Landa asked if he could speak English to the Frenchman. Thought the titles and montages for Stiglitz and a couple of others should have been removed or extended to others (each of the Basterds, at least?)...not that this movie needed to be any longer.

Many solid performances (Landa, Shoshanna, Hickox[loved Fassbender in Hex]), although I agree with others that Myers was miscast...too distracting. For a moment my friends and I hoped that it was him playing Hitler, but alas... Thought that Roth's clumsy performance might have been on purpose. Maybe Tarantino said, "Act like a little shy Jewish guy who just got The Hulk's body."

ewnlol · 3 weeks ago

Movie was pretty solid till the ending, that was fuckin' stupid.