Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

2:33 (153 min)

Drama, Thriller, War

France, Germany, United States

8.3/10
2 598 680

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8.2/10
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8.4/10
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All about film

Video 31

Photo 255

Actors and characters

1:44

Photo 255

Production

The Weinstein Company, Universal Pictures, A Band Apart

Release date

2 August 2009

Budget

$70 000 000

Revenue

$321 455 689

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Scenario

Quentin Tarantino

Producer

Lawrence Bender

All team (92)

Actors

Brad Pitt

LT. Aldo Raine

Mélanie Laurent

Shosanna

Christoph Waltz

COL. Hans Landa

Eli Roth

SGT. Donny Donowitz

Michael Fassbender

LT. Archie Hicox

Diane Kruger

Bridget von Hammersmark

Daniel Brühl

Fredrick Zoller

Til Schweiger

SGT. Hugo Stiglitz

All actors and roles (10)

• In the first version of the script, the role of Sam Levine was much larger. However, in the film, he says one line and disappears from the plot. According to Levine, his character survived.
• To prepare for the role, Mélanie Laurent worked as a film projectionist for several weeks at the New Beverly Cinema. She mainly "ran" cartoons and trailers before the start of films. Quentin Tarantino gave her a kind of exam to see how well she had mastered the profession: Mélanie had to show him the film 'Reservoir Dogs' specifically for Quentin.
• On Stiglitz’s knife (Til Schweiger) is written “Meine Ehre heisst Treue,” which means “loyalty is my honor” (literally “my honor is named loyalty”).
• At the premiere of "Nation's Pride", Hans Landa can be seen wearing the Golden Knight's Cross of Military Merit. This award was established to recognize non-combat merits to the Third Reich during military operations. The award was established on October 12, 1944, so Landa could not have received it.
• Before emerging from the tunnel under the bridge, Donnie Donowitz knocks on the wall 28 times with a bat.
• At one point, Quentin Tarantino considered making a trilogy or a mini-series.
• When Aldo Raine interrogates a captured field sergeant at the 31st minute of the film, a chest badge can be seen on his uniform. The badge disappears and reappears with each change of frame.
• Several cinemas in California, such as Vista Cinema Silverlake and Los Angeles Theater, served as inspiration for the design of Shosanna's cinema.
• In the cinema scene, Elai Roth's character states his name is Antonio Margherita. Antonio is one of the favorite directors of both Elai and Quentin Tarantino.
• As of 2011, 'Inglourious Basterds' received the most Academy Award nominations of any Quentin Tarantino film (8 nominations).
• During filming, B.J. Novak took a leave of absence from filming the series “The Office” (2005-2013). His character’s absence from the series was explained by Ryan going on vacation to Thailand with friends.
• At the premiere of 'Nation's Pride,' a 'Golden Knight's Cross with Swords of the War Merit Cross' can be seen around Hans Landa's neck. This award was established to recognize non-combat merits to the Third Reich during military operations. According to some sources, nine people received this award by the end of the war, while others claim about twenty. The award was established in October 1944, therefore Landa could not have received it.
• Previous films by Quentin Tarantino featured a shot where the camera looks at the actors from the trunk or hood of a car. This film does not have such a shot, but it does have a practically identical one: a first-person view of those who have swastikas carved into their foreheads.
• Ennio Morricone was supposed to compose the music for the film, but was unable to do so due to commitments to other projects.
• According to Eddie Murphy, he was in negotiations with Tarantino about a role in the film.
• English dialogue accounts for approximately 42% of the screen time, German for 28%, French for 22%, and Italian for 1%. The film also features a 54-minute segment where characters speak English for only nine minutes. Moreover, the third chapter, 'German Night in Paris,' contains no English dialogue at all, which is very unusual for a commercial Hollywood film.
• Cloris Leachman played Mrs. Himmelstein, an elderly Jewish woman living in Boston who drinks tea with Donnie Donovitz. However, the scenes with Cloris were completely cut from the film, as were the scenes telling about Donnie's life before he went to the front.
• The role of Sergeant Donnie Donowitz was offered to Adam Sandler, but he had to decline due to commitments to other projects.
• Quentin Tarantino called Rod Taylor personally to offer him the role of Sir Winston Churchill. When Taylor learned that filming would take place in Germany, he told Quentin that Albert Finney, who had repeatedly played Churchill, lived nearby in England. Tarantino replied: “If Rod Taylor refuses the role, I will call Albert Finney.” Taylor agreed to star in the film.
• Enzo J. Castellarri, the director of *Inglorious Basterds* (1978) (American title – the original Italian title was *Quel maledetto treno blindato*, "This Damned Train") allowed Quentin Tarantino to use the film's title in exchange for a cameo. He played a general shouting, "Fire!". The scene with Enzo was filmed but did not make the final cut. Notably, Enzo later directed *Caribbean Basterds* (2010).
• Bela B. Felsenheimer, the drummer for the German band Die Ärzte, played the usher at the premiere of "Nation's Pride".
• The third chapter is the only one in the film where no one dies.
• Rumor has it that Harvey Weinstein tried to convince Quentin Tarantino to cut the film by forty minutes.
• The posters for "Nation's Pride" are stylistically accurate. If such a film had been released at that time, posters like these could have been made for it.
• Tarantino worked on the screenplay for about 10 years.
• The name of Til Schweiger's character, Hugo Stiglitz, is a tribute to the Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz.
• Bo Svenson, who appeared in "The Inglorious Bastards" (1978), played Colonel Svenson.
• One of the names carved onto the Baseball Bat of the Jew-Bear is Anne Frank.
• Eli Roth's character is named Donnie Donowitz. In the film 'True Romance,' written by Quentin Tarantino, there is a film producer named Lee Donowitz. According to Quentin, Donnie is Lee's father.
• Filming took place in Berlin, Saxony, and Paris.
• Denis Ménochet, who played Perrière LaPadite, was the first person to audition for the role.
• The inscription on Stiglitz's (Til Schweiger) knife reads 'Meine Ehre heisst Treue,' which translates as 'My honor is called loyalty.'
• Harvey Keitel voiced the American officer whose voice is heard during the negotiations between the characters of Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz.
• During filming, B.J. Novak took a leave of absence from filming the series “The Office.” His character’s absence from the series was explained by the fact that Ryan went to Thailand with his friends for a vacation.
• Enzo G. Castellari, the director of the film 'The Inglorious Bastards,' allowed Quentin to use the film's title in exchange for a cameo. He played a general shouting 'Fire!' The scene with Enzo was filmed but did not make the final cut of the film. Notably, Enzo later directed a film called 'Caribbean Bastards.'
• When asked about the grammatical error in the film's title, Quentin Tarantino replied that he would never reveal the secret why such an error was made, and what it means.
• The film doesn’t say how Aldo Raine got the scar on his neck. However, the script hints that Aldo survived a lynching.
• Quentin Tarantino personally strangled Diane Kruger in the cinema scene.
• Eli Roth and his brother Gabriel filmed a film within a film for "Inglourious Basterds." The film's duration is 5 minutes 30 seconds.
• As of 2011, 'Inglourious Basterds' was the only Quentin Tarantino film to win an Oscar in acting categories (Christoph Waltz – Best Supporting Actor). John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman were nominated for their roles in 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress respectively), and Robert Forster was nominated for his role in 'Jackie Brown' (1997) (Best Supporting Actor). They lost to Tom Hanks (for his role in 'Forrest Gump' (1994)), Martin Landau ('Ed Wood' (1994)), Dianne Wiest ('Bullets Over Broadway' (1994)), and Robin Williams ('Good Will Hunting' (1997)) respectively.
• The role of Donnie Donowitz was offered to Tim Roth.
• Initially, Tarantino wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play Hans Landa, but later decided that a German-speaking actor would be better suited for the role.
• Mike Myers' character Ed Fennec was named after actress Edwige Fenech.
• Filming took place from October 9, 2008, to February 6, 2009.
• Simon Pegg was originally supposed to play Archie Hicox.
• Originally, Nicholas Shumer was supposed to play one of the Inglourious Basterds, but was unable to participate in the film due to commitments to other projects.
• David Kramholtz left the project due to contractual obligations to other films.
• Quentin Tarantino met with Brad Pitt at Pitt’s house in France to discuss the role of Aldo Raine. During the conversation, they drank five bottles of wine. The dialogue ended late at night.
• Quentin Tarantino began writing the screenplay even before "Kill Bill" (2003), but he couldn't come up with a suitable ending, so he decided to postpone the project and work on "Bill" instead.
• The film's script is 165 pages long (the script for 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) was 170 pages long).
• Shosanna Dreyfus was named after Julie Dreyfus, who played Francesca Mondino.
• Til Schweiger persuaded Tarantino to include a scene in the film with the killing of Goebbels and Hitler in the cinema. Initially, the director did not intend to do this, but Schweiger insisted, arguing that he had dreamed of killing Hitler since the age of 13 and very much wanted to see his death, at least on screen.
• At the premiere of “Nation’s Pride,” Joseph Goebbels introduces Frederick Zoller to Emil Jannings (Hilmar Eichhorn), whom Goebbels describes as the greatest actor in the world. During the Third Reich, Jannings starred in several films that promoted Nazism, including “The Master” and “Uncle Kruger.” Joseph Goebbels called Jannings the country's leading actor.
• The character of Frederick Zoller is based on Odie Murphy.
• During the card game in the tavern, the SS officer had to guess King Kong. “King Kong” (1933) was one of Adolf Hitler’s favorite films.
• Quentin Tarantino met with Brad Pitt at Pitt's home in France to discuss the role of Aldo Raine. During the conversation, the two drank five bottles of wine. The dialogue ended late at night. Pitt agreed to star in the film.
• During the game in the tavern, a card with the name Edgar Wallace (a British writer, journalist, and screenwriter) was attached to the forehead of Volker Michalowski. A card with the name King Kong was attached to the forehead of August Dyle. It was Edgar Wallace who came up with the idea for the original “King Kong”.
• Isabelle Huppert was originally intended to play Madame Mimi.
• When, shortly before the finale, Aldo Raine pretends to be an Italian actor, he is named Enzo Girolami, which is a reference to Enzo G. Castellari, the director of 'Inglourious Bastards'.
• Christoph Waltz dubbed his own character for the German version of the film.
• When Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) mentions the name of actress Lilian Harvey, Joseph Goebbels flies into a rage and demands that her name never be spoken in his presence. Lilian Harvey fled Germany in 1939 after helping Jewish choreographer Jens Keith to move to Switzerland.
• Hans Landa’s nickname is ‘Jew Hunter’. In real life, Christoph Waltz’s son is a rabbi.
• To get into the bestial nature of the Jewish Bear, Eli Roth was greatly helped by carefully recreated costumes from the mid-20th century. According to him, anyone would want to kill someone after wearing wool underwear for a few hours. Also, Eli's girlfriend secretly added the soundtrack of the series 'Hannah Montana' (2006-2011) to his iPod, listening to which Roth quickly got into the necessary state of rage.
• Filming lasted 70 days.
• The name of Brad Pitt's character, Aldo Raine, is a tribute to actor Aldo Ray.
• The character of Eli Roth is named Donnie Donowitz. In the film “True Romance” (1993), scripted by Quentin Tarantino, there is a film producer named Lee Donowitz. According to Quentin, Donnie is Lee’s father.
• Michael Fassbender was born in Germany but grew up in Ireland. He speaks two languages (English and German) and is also very good at imitating various accents and dialects. In the film, Michael’s character, Lieutenant Archie Hicox, is an Englishman who speaks German but cannot hide his accent.
• Daniel Brühl dubbed his character for the Spanish version of the film.
• During a card game in a tavern, King Kong was the character the SS officer had to guess. “King Kong” (1933) was one of Adolf Hitler's favorite films.
• The role of Bridget von Hammersmark was offered to Nastassja Kinski.
• The rough cut of the film is 3 hours and 10 minutes long.
• Schenke Möring, who played Private Butz Möring, also portrayed Gestapo officer Walter Fratzer, who appears in the bistro with Frederick and Shosanna.
• Elai Roth was largely helped to get into the animal nature of the Jewish Bear by meticulously recreated costumes. According to him, anyone would want to kill someone after wearing wool underwear for a few hours. Roth’s girlfriend also secretly added the soundtrack of the series “Hannah Montana” to his iPod, listening to which quickly drove Roth into a rage.
• Shortly before the finale, when Aldo Raine pretends to be an Italian actor, he calls himself Enzo Girolami, a reference to Enzo G. Castellari, the director of 'Inglourious Bastards' (1978).
• The film contains several references to Sherlock Holmes, for example, Hans Landa smokes a Calabash Meerschaum pipe (the same as Sherlock's); Landa also says: "Damn good detective. Tracking people down is my specialty."
• Deleted scenes detail the origin of the Jew-Bear Baseball Bat. These scenes were present in the version of the film shown at Cannes.
• The director spoke about his plans to make the film as early as 2001.
• The name Dieter Hellstrom is a reference to the Marvel Comics character Demon Hellstrom.
• In early versions of the script, Shosanna was a more active member of the French Resistance: she shot German officers with a sniper rifle. She also had a list of high-ranking German officers she intended to kill. However, Tarantino felt that such a plotline did not fit the character of Mélanie Laurent. Therefore, in the film, Shosanna operates secretly and discreetly.
• In the second chapter, Donowitz talks about Teddy's game, which is a reference to the famous baseball player Ted Williams, who interrupted his sports career to serve in the army during World War II and the Korean War.
• Throughout the film, Christoph Waltz's character speaks four languages – English, French, German, and Italian.
• After each take, the actors would turn to the camera and say “Hi, Sally,” addressing Sally Menke, the film’s editor. The same practice was used during the filming of Quentin Tarantino's previous films.
• At the premiere of “Nation’s Pride,” Joseph Goebbels introduces Frederick Zoller to Emil Jannings (Hilmar Eichhorn), whom Goebbels characterizes as the greatest actor in the world. Emil Jannings was born in Germany and was a star of silent films. In 1927, he moved to Hollywood, where he successfully continued his career. At the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, he became the first actor to receive the award for “Best Actor” for his roles in “The Way of All Flesh” (1927) and “The Last Command” (1927). With the advent of sound in cinema, Emil’s Hollywood career ended: he had a strong German accent. Jannings returned to Germany, where he starred with Marlene Dietrich in “The Blue Angel” (1930). During the Third Reich, Jannings appeared in several films that promoted Nazism, including “The Master” (1937) and “Uncle Kruger” (1941). Joseph Goebbels called Jannings the country’s leading actor. After the war, Emil Jannings was forced to abandon his acting career.
• Mike Myers' character, Ed Fenech, was named after Edwige Fenech, who gained fame in 'giallo' films, a subgenre of Italian horror films.
• Omar Ulmer was named after German director/screenwriter/artist Edgar G. Ulmer.
• Sam Levine played the artist who is in the background during the scene where Adolf Hitler first appears.
• The film's screenplay is 165 pages long (the screenplay for "Pulp Fiction" was 170 pages long).
• During the card game in the tavern, a card with the name Edgar Wallace (a British writer, journalist, and screenwriter) is attached to Volker Michalowski’s forehead. A card with the name King Kong is attached to August Diller’s forehead. Edgar Wallace originally conceived the idea for “King Kong” (1933). In Peter Jackson’s remake, Wallace is also mentioned as the story’s author.
• Before meeting Diane Kruger, Quentin Tarantino had only seen Hollywood films with her in them and was convinced she was American. However, at her first audition, Diane easily convinced Quentin that German was her native language.
• In "Nation's Pride", Quentin Tarantino voiced an American soldier who says, "I beg you, we must destroy the tower!"
• Quentin Tarantino invited Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung to one of the roles, but all scenes with her participation were cut during final editing.
• Scenes with swastikas were removed from the film, intended for a German audience, as the display of Nazi symbols is prohibited in Germany.
• Samuel L. Jackson reads the voice-over narration.
• Before meeting Diane Kruger, Quentin Tarantino had only seen Hollywood films with her in them and was sure she was American.
• The name of Wilhelm Wicki's character, played by Gideon Burckhard, is a tribute to directors Georg Wilhelm Pabst and Bernhard Wicki.
• The role of Francesca Mondino was specifically written for Julie Dreyfus.
• Michael Madsen was once offered the role of a character named Babe Baczynski.
• To prepare for her role, Mélanie Laurent worked as a film projectionist for several weeks at the New Beverly Cinema. She mainly 'ran' cartoons and trailers before the start of films. Quentin Tarantino gave her a sort of exam to see how well she had mastered the profession: Mélanie had to show Quentin the film 'Reservoir Dogs' (1991) specifically for him.
• Volker Michalowski, a German comedian, played one of the soldiers playing cards in the bar.
• Brad Pitt's character uses a knife made by Arno Bernard.
• According to Brad Pitt, the scenes were filmed in the same order as they appear in the film.
• At one point, Quentin Tarantino considered making a trilogy, then he thought about a miniseries, and eventually, he decided to fit the action into one film.

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