Inglourious Basterds

Submitted by DVD Queen on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 00:50.

DVD Reviews

Rating:

By Kim Parobek: I would give Inglourious Basterds 5 stars if I could so I will have my fingers crossed that this film wins best picture!

Quentin Tarantino delivers a masterpiece in this complex story. Several stories weave together to converge on a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. Inglourious Basterds has the trademark Tarantino flair but holds back on the gore and the language so nothing distracts from the depth and brilliance of the story. The cast is a dream come true! Diane Kruger is amazing as Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actress deep in the plot against Hitler, but it is Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, the Jewish refugee masquerading as a French cinema owner that really gives the film its heart. She plays against Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa “The Jew Hunter” in a scene with so much tension I was biting my nails. Waltz’s many award wins and his Oscar nomination are well deserved. I just don’t understand why Laurent wasn’t nominated for a Globe or an Oscar for her role. Brad Pitt is also exceptional; he and his Nazi killing squad actually provide the comic relief.

The DVD presentation does the material justice. The color palette is realistic which really is the best choice for the varied settings. From the opening scene in the pastoral French countryside to the noir style bar scene, the colors are right on! The vivid red of Shosanna’s dress pops off the screen without oversaturation. Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is everything it needs to be. The dialogue is clear from the center channel but the effects and the ambient noises make good use of the surrounds. Then there’s the score… Tarantino always puts his score front and center; again he holds back just enough to let the material through but not enough to mistake this for any other director’s film.

The extras are sparse. The gem is “Nation’s Pride”, the film from within the film that tells the heroic story of character Frank Zoller played by Daniel Bruhl. The only other extra is a small collection of extended and alternate scenes.

I can’t say enough about how amazing this film is. Quentin Tarantino has created a classic that people will talk about for years to come. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for a special edition or collector’s edition to be released so I can add the best possible release of Inglourious Basterds to my collection.

Reference Equipment

All viewing and listening done with the following equipment: Toshiba 42” Regza LCD HD-TV, Adcom amplification and Harman Kardon processing, KEF Reference Series speakers, Harman Kardon DVD player, and Blue Ray via Sony Playstation 3 for the meantime.