Quentin Tarantino’s film, often described as “unrestrained” and “genius,” is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. This 2009 movie, Inglourious Basterds, follows Allied officer Lt. Aldo Raine (played by Brad Pitt) during the first year of Germany’s occupation of France in World War II. Raine forms a team of Jewish soldiers with the goal of hunting down Nazi soldiers. He collaborates with German actress and undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) to bring down the leaders of the Third Reich.
The film features an impressive cast that includes Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, and Mélanie Laurent. Tarantino originally wrote the script in 1998 but set it aside due to difficulties in concluding the story. Instead, he chose to create the Kill Bill films during that time. After releasing Death Proof in 2007, he returned to Inglourious Basterds, which became his highest-grossing film at that time until the release of Django Unchained in 2012.
The film received eight Academy Award nominations, with Christoph Waltz earning significant recognition for his portrayal of Hans Landa, including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor. Critics praised the film, often referring to it as “one of the best war films ever made.” It holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus stating: “A classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, Inglourious Basterds is violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining.”
In their review, The Independent noted: “The film might not be Tarantino’s masterpiece, but it is his most entertaining and exhilarating effort since Pulp Fiction.” Little White Lies stated: “QT has let loose completely: flashes of cine-genius curdle with crude, crazy juvenility, although it doesn’t stop this being his most purely enjoyable film since Kill Bill: Vol. 1.” News of the World called it “a brutal, audacious, triumphant piece of filmmaking that hits harder than a baseball bat to the jawbone.”
Streaming Options for Quentin Tarantino Films
- Reservoir Dogs – ITVX
- Pulp Fiction – Amazon Prime Video, NOW TV, and Sky
- Jackie Brown – YouTube free with ads
- Kill Bill: Volume One – Netflix
- Kill Bill: Volume Two – Netflix
- Death Proof – Amazon Prime Video
- Django Unchained – Netflix
- The Hateful Eight – Available to rent and buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Netflix
Many critics highlighted Waltz’s performance, with The Atlantic praising: “The performance of Christoph Waltz, playing the Nazi Gestapo figure Col. Hans Landa, is the highlight of the film. His ability to convey courtliness and sympathy and then go to commit the cruelest of horrors is simply superb.” New Statesman added: “It has been a problem in the past that Tarantino’s voice could be heard in the lines he wrote, but the mesmerising Waltz takes that gleeful relish of language and presents it as a vital aspect of Landa’s professional pride.”
Speaking to SlashFilm, Waltz discussed the inspirations behind his role and working with Tarantino. He said, “I think what Quentin was after from the very beginning, you know, he wanted a certain degree of authenticity.” He continued, “That was his plan from the beginning, to have American actors play the American parts, French actors play the French, and Germans play the Germans. And in this case, since it was written that way, I feel it was the right thing to do.”
Waltz also reflected on his experience, saying, “I am a lucky guy. I was the lucky guy on the end of all of that—that whole process—you know. And of course, I think about what you said, but I really question it. I was the one to do it. And I got busy right away. You know, as soon as I learned that I was the one, I got ready. I put everything in. I dug up everything there was.”
Inglourious Basterds is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
