The New York Times has released their list of the 21st century’s greatest films, and a 2009 epic of mayhem and Nazi-murder is the highest-ranking war movie on the list. Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino‘s pulpy ode to mid-century Euro-war thrillers, came in at #14, making it not only the highest-ranking war movie, but also the highest-ranking of the three Tarantino films on the list. Tarantino’s first, and so far only, war movie, the film stars Brad Pitt as the leader of a squad of Nazi-hunting American soldiers scalping their way through Europe.
It’s the only unambiguous war movie in the top 20, and with The Hurt Locker, one of only two on the entire list; however, arguments could be made for The Zone of Interest and Oppenheimer, both of which take place during World War II. Tarantino, meanwhile, had three films on the list; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino’s love-letter to late-1960s Los Angeles, made it to #44, while Kill Bill Vol 1, the first part of his blood-soaked revenge-film duology, made it in at #61. Kill Bill Vol 2, Grindhouse, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight did not make the list.
What is ‘Inglourious Basterds’ About?
The Basterds of the title are a black-ops squad of Allied soldiers sent into German-occupied France to sow fear among the Nazi ranks by killing and mutilating as many of them as possible. Led by Aldo Raine (Pitt), they’re headed for Paris, where Adolf Hitler himself is set to attend the premiere of Nation’s Pride, a Nazi propaganda film. But they aren’t the only ones with designs on killing the Führer: the film is set to premiere at a theater managed by Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), who’s looking for revenge on the Nazis. In particular, she’s after SS officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz, in an Oscar-winning performance), the infamous “Jew Hunter” who killed her family. They’re all going to come together in an explosive climax that may change the course of history.
After all his previous films took place in a contemporary setting, Inglourious Basterds (which was named after The Inglorious Bastards, a 1978 Italian WWII film) kicked off a string of Tarantino-directed period pictures. Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight were set in the American West of the 19th century, while Once Upon a Time In Hollywood takes place in 1969 Los Angeles, and takes a similarly revisionist tone to the Manson Family murders of that year. It remains to be seen whether Tarantino’s next (and purportedly last) film will be a period picture, as well.
Inglourious Basterds is currently available to stream on Paramount+ Premium and Starz. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
Source: The New York Times