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Here's the opening of this morning's Inglorious Basterds press conference, following this morning's 8:30 am screening. And here's an mp3 of most of what was said. About 13 or 14 minutes in director-writer Quentin Tarantino delivered a great riff on what the Cannes Film Festival so special. I'll try and find and isolate and run it as a stand-alone. As for the film...

It's not great. It's a fairly engaging Quentin chit-chat personality film in World War II dress-up. It's arch and very confidently rendered from QT's end, but it's basically talk, talk, talk . Tension surfaces in a couple of scenes (especially the first -- an interrogation of a French farmer by a German officer looking for hidden Jews) but overall story tension is fairly low. A couple of shootouts occur but there's no real action in the Michael Mann sense of the term except for the finale. No characters are subjected to tests of characters by having to make hard choices and stand up for what they believe, and nobody pours their heart out. What they do is yap their asses off. Cleverly and enjoyably at times, yes, but brisk repartee does not a solid movie make.

The theme, I suppose is the penetrating and transformative power of film. The secondary theme is a Jewish revenge fantasy against the Nazis. (Costar Eli Roth called it "kosher porn" in this sense.) No emotional currents, no sense of realism and no characters you're allowed to really and truly enjoy and care about. That said, the two best performances are given by Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa -- a great malicious Nazi -- and Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna Dreyfus, a French farm girl who escapes Landa's grasp and winds up running a Parisian cinema.

Inglourious Basterds is probably too talky to lure the knuckle-draggers. The chat really does seem to weigh things down in the middle section. It's an arch exercise in World War II genre filmmaking, a kind of filmic valentine for people who love film and film culture, and a put-on about World War II movies.

Trims To Come?<< previous | next >>Basterds Encounter

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 20, 2009 at 3:50 AM

comment #1

DeeZee says ...

And people said I was absurd to suggest it bombed as soon as he leaked the script.

Posted by DeeZee at May 20, 2009 4:26 AM

comment #2

JD says ...

You have seen Tarantino's other films, right? Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Death Proof are all super talky films. That's what he does. And I can't think of any film that is more overwhelmed by talkiness in the middle than Pulp Fiction (ie. that hotel sequence with Bruce Willis). Didn't seem to bother anyone then...

Posted by JD at May 20, 2009 4:30 AM

comment #3

actionman says ...

Spot on, JD.

That said, this new one doesn't do a ton for me, based on the ads. I love Pitt, and Bob Richardson is DoP, but those are the two main reasons I want to see this film.

QT changed my movie life with Dogs, Pulp, and Jackie. I really want to be blown away again.

Posted by actionman at May 20, 2009 4:34 AM

comment #4

DeeZee says ...

JD: There's a difference between talking to pad the time and talking to compensate for a lack of action. IB is the latter type of film. It's like Jackie Brown if the only kinds of scenes they showed throughout the movie were when SLJ's watching TV.

Posted by DeeZee at May 20, 2009 4:39 AM

comment #5

Imogen says ...

DeeZee your suggestion had nothing to do with it. It is you yourself who is absurd. Were you not banned? Why do you persist with your ignorant and stupid postings? You must be almost as big a masochist as you are a fool, and goodness knows you are one enormous fool.

Posted by Imogen at May 20, 2009 4:40 AM

comment #6

COCO says ...

Loved Pulp Fiction, Dogs and the Mexican Vampire
film......the ads for this one promise bloody
revenge for everything Nazi. Being Jewish, this
doesn't bother the senses so much in me.
Pitt is getting better as he ages and as he reminds
us....
"i want my scalps"

Posted by COCO at May 20, 2009 4:44 AM

comment #7

markj says ...

Can't wait, looks like a return to form after Death Proof, which was kinda fun in it's own way.

Posted by markj at May 20, 2009 4:58 AM

comment #8

MAGGA says ...

Even as a non-religious gut I feel an urge to get on my knees and praise the lord for there not being any action scenes in the "Michael Mann sense of the term". That being said, this sounds dissapointing, since all I can go by right now is this one perspective. I loved the script, though, so the hopes are still high.

Posted by MAGGA at May 20, 2009 5:19 AM

comment #9

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

It's somewhat disappointing that the early reviews are so-so. I remember Kill Bill was enthusiastically received at first before the backlash began. If this is starting out with mediocre reviews, God only knows what people will think of it when the dust has settled.

It's a shame because I like WWII movies. I'll probably still see it, but it's amazing how a Tarantinto film inspires so little enthusiasm these days.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at May 20, 2009 6:16 AM

comment #10

MondayMoanin says ...

I liked the trailer for IB. But it doesn't sound like the movie lives up to it. Tarrentino is like a souffle, sometimes it rises...

Brad Pitt -- I watched The Mexican over the weekend and realized he rehashed his mannerisms (and even some lines) from this movie for Burn After Reading. Lazy.

Posted by MondayMoanin at May 20, 2009 6:21 AM

comment #11

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Oh dear.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/may/20/cannes-film-festival-tarantino-inglourious-basterds

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at May 20, 2009 6:23 AM

comment #12

DavidF says ...

The only things funnier than DZ's increasing tendency to change aliases (a bit) is that he continues to insist the film already "bombed" though it still hasn't opened and that he continues to think he can review the film based on reading the script and reading other people's reviews.

When you say, "IB is the latter type of film," it implies YOU HAVE SEEN THE FILM but YOU HAVE NOT!

Dude, come on, really.
You don't like QT - we know.

Posted by DavidF at May 20, 2009 6:36 AM

comment #13

Tom Logan says ...

How did Rod Taylor do in his small role as Churchill? No one has mentioned Maggie Cheung in their reviews too?

Posted by Tom Logan at May 20, 2009 6:45 AM

comment #14

jamesO.incandenza says ...

I am not Nostradamus, or even Steve Mason, but I predict the box office for this is going to make the Weinsteins nostalgic for Grindhouse. As a genre, WWII movies have just about zero currency with the two generations that make up most of QT's remaining audience. That's a challenge. The general public has pretty much rejected military pictures of all stripes for most of the past decade. That's also going to be a challenge, particularly for women, who didn't exactly beat a path to the Kill Bills or Death Race either despite the presence of potentially relatable characters. And let's not forget that this same public isn't really too keen on arch genre exercises, especially ones that only work as arch genre exercises, and you'll be glad you don't have any money tied up in this thing.

Posted by jamesO.incandenza at May 20, 2009 8:03 AM

comment #15

Bob Violence says ...

No one has mentioned Maggie Cheung in their reviews too?

Cheung's part was completely cut, which is pretty funny given that she turned down Tsai Ming-liang's Face to do this instead

Posted by Bob Violence at May 20, 2009 8:05 AM

comment #16

mccool says ...

that's not the real DZ. Whatever loser is getting kicks out impersonating DZ is too jaded. If it is actually Daniel Zelter, the DZ who has been posting here for years and years, then something has happened to him that has changed him from a rambling, argumentative, oblivious, generally well-intentioned, non-sequitur-loving contrarian, to a bitter, swearing, on-the-nose, in-your-face, miserable sonofabitch. Life happens and changes us, but this just doesn't seem like the same guy.

Posted by mccool at May 20, 2009 8:11 AM

comment #17

Bob Violence says ...

And people said I was absurd to suggest it bombed as soon as he leaked the script.

No, people said you're absurd because you're a certified bed-wetting trainable

Posted by Bob Violence at May 20, 2009 8:12 AM

comment #18

YRG says ...

From the-numbers.com (some figures rounded up):
Kill Bill 1: 22MM opening, 70MM US, 180MM World Wide, 55MM budget (Oct. '03)
Kill Bill 2: 25MM opening, 66MM US, 151MM WW, 55MM budget (Apr. '04)
Grindhouse: 11.5MM opening, 25MM US, 50MM WW, 53MM budget (Apr. '07)
Benjamin Button: 27MM opening, 127.5MM US, 330MM WW, 160MM budget (Dec. '08)

If past performance is any guarantee of future success, my guess is it will open at around 25MM and earn about 75MM US, 200MM WW.

Posted by YRG at May 20, 2009 9:05 AM

comment #19

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

JamesO: Saving Private Ryan made a shitload. Band of Brothers and Medal of Honor are both popular. WWII genre is not dead; I doubt it ever truly will be.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at May 20, 2009 9:15 AM

comment #20

Tom Logan says ...

Cheers for Bob Violence. That's a damn shame about Cheung.

Posted by Tom Logan at May 20, 2009 9:26 AM

comment #21

Gordon27 says ...

"The general public has pretty much rejected military pictures of all stripes for most of the past decade."

This is true, with the exception of World War II movies from the past decade.

Posted by Gordon27 at May 20, 2009 11:17 AM

comment #22

DeeZee says ...

COCO: "the ads for this one promise bloody
revenge for everything Nazi. Being Jewish, this
doesn't bother the senses so much in me."

It should bother you, if you don't like what we're doing at Gitmo, though. But no one else wants to bring that kind of analogy up, except for Godard, so...

MAGGA: "Even as a non-religious gut I feel an urge to get on my knees and praise the lord for there not being any action scenes in the "Michael Mann sense of the term"."

The problem is there's no action at all-unless you equate unnecessary stand-offs and Mission Impossible-style planning sessions with your type of action.

DavidF: "The only things funnier than DZ's increasing tendency to change aliases (a bit) is that he continues to insist the film already "bombed" though it still hasn't opened"

It just opened in Cannes, and it's already bombing.

"and that he continues to think he can review the film based on reading the script and reading other people's reviews."

Yes, because no one else ever does that.

"it implies YOU HAVE SEEN THE FILM but YOU HAVE NOT!"

I've seen it in my head, and it sounds like every other QT-wankfest ever made, except it's got Brad Pitt as the lead instead of Travolta, Thurman, or Jackson.

james: I thought female viewers did relate to the characters in Kill Bill. It's just that Uma made them look stupid for supporting it, when she signed up for that superhero spoof; and so they took it out on Grindhouse.
[And probably Hillary Clinton.]

Bob: Well, she's Asian in a Hollywood movie, so of course QT has to screw her over.

mccool: Actually, I'm in a better mood lately, but thanks for your concern. I just figured I'd keep it brief, since my opinions aren't wanted here, unless they involve agreeing with the topic.

Bosh: Ryan and Brothers had Spielberg and Hanks. With the exception of Troy, Pitt has yet to be proven to be as big a draw as Hanks. And Medal of Honor is a video game, which is a totally different culture from the average movie-goer, which is why even that Clint WW2 movie bombed.

Posted by DeeZee at May 20, 2009 1:52 PM

comment #23