I remember begrudgingly accepting that Inglorious Basterds was a good film upon its release a couple of years ago. I went into the cinema with an open mind after all the hype that comes with ‘The New Tarantino’ but there were a few things that put me off at the very start, Firstly there’s the three opening titles fonts. I had forgotten all about them, and watching it again in DVD, they weren’t quite so annoying but they’re still unnecessary and out of place (I wonder if Quentin regrets it now).
You remember, it starts out like this
then changes to this
then through out the film it's like this
apart from this bit
It’s a minor thing to moan about, and they only detract from all the good bits a little. Bastards is a self conscious ‘genre’ film like every film Quentin has made since Jackie Brown (I’d say the Jackie Brown and everything before are unselfconscious genre films, not to suggest that Quentin didn’t make genre films on purpose, he just never used to wear it like a badge of honour) And such films are idiosyncratic enough through the use of unorthodox sound and fast-cut flashbacks and such things, without resorting to crazy ‘look at me’ on screen text, which should really be far less obtrusive (in my old fashioned opinion).
The other thing that grated the first time I watched Inglorious Basterds was harder to put my finger on. I think I had begun to tire of what I perceived as smugness. Basically, Quentin’s dialogue isn’t as good as he thinks it is, and in Kill Bill and Death Proof, there are long talky bits that everyone gets bored of. The problem with Kill Bill and Death Proof is that the long sections of dialogue are an indulgence, serving no dramatic purpose, whereas in Inglorious Bastards, the conversations create the tension. Each of these films is full of peril, but because of the setting in occupied France, the peril the Basterds are put in is far more affecting.
Inglorious Basterds captures the politeness of 40’s Europe and contrasts it with the barbarism of the Nazis in a way that almost no other WWII film does (and I’ve seen a few). The characters are experts in polite conversation. They are very pleasant company, yet war and ideology force them to do despicable things. The long, occasionally one-sided conversations that take place emphasise this contradiction and create a very real sense of unease.
I suppose the reason I may have missed this first time round is because Inglorious Basterds slightly uneven. Half the scenes are tense, the other half are funny (the great Christoph Waltz is present in both varieties). Any cinemagoer will more likely remember the funny bits of a film rather that the perilous bits. Watching it again I think that the balance between drama and comedy, tragedy and farce, is pretty much perfect, further emphasising the contradiction of wartime Europe.
So belated congratulations are in order Mr Tarantino. I think the only bad thing about Inglorious Basterds is Brad Pitt. I hope that Michael K Williams gets the part in Django Unchained rather than Will Smith.
Way back in early 2010 I started to write a review of Schindler’s List but ended up with a brief stream-of-consciousness blog about WWII films in general. I think I was trying to make the same observations about the atrocities of that period that Richey Edwards made far more eloquently in the song The Intense Humming of Evil.
Richey’s notes from the Holy Bible Tour Book read:
The Intense Humming Of Evil"/"Mausoleum: "Brother/sister songs. Visited Dachau and Hiroshima. What reflections should be for everyone. Otherwise we're all Edward Scissorhands Avon Lady. Winners dictate history. Holocaust one of the few examples where even truth is being questioned. Revisionist historians. Danger of Schindler's List - Portrayal of merely flawed man. Never question our own past - myth of Churchill. "An individual death means little - millions must mean something?"
Schindler’s List is the obvious example of a big Hollywood Movie dramatising the holocaust, but since then (and since Richey’s disappearance) there have been others. I always felt a little uncomfortable watching the WWII veterans speak at the beginning of Band of Brothers, and I always wondered how they reacted to watching their experiences recreated on screen. Was it really like that? I’d believe them if they said it was.
So anyway, here is a clip-heavy and probably too long animated short about films about the Second World War.
Glen-Gary Glen Ross – 1992, James Foley aka ‘Death of a Fucking Salesman’ aka ‘Famous Actors Swearing At Each Other’. Based on a play and packed with an all male cast of stellar actors giving incredible performances. You may have stumbled upon the famous scene where Alec Baldwin rips into Jack Lemon, Ed Harris and Alan Akrin on Youtube but if you haven’t, rather than watch it in isolation I’d recommend watching the whole thing. Put it on your lists. Marathon Man – 1976, John Schlesinger I was expecting to be underwhelmed but this one is actually quite good. I was disappointed by The French Connection and The Conversation and even slightly let down by Mean Streets, so I though this 70s thriller would turn out to fail to live up to the hype. Dustin Hoffman delivers his typical style of character; all sincere vulnerability that comes across as charming (clearly a great inspiration for Jason Schwartzman, I’ve been watching Bored To Death recently, it’s the best thing on telly I reckon). The tense drama of the story combined with Hoffman’s youthful whimsy is what makes this one well worth a watch. Undisputed – 2002, Walter Hill I wasn’t expecting greatness but I was still disappointed by Undisputed. I’m a big fan of Walter Hill, not just his films but his attitude to film making. ‘Every film I’ve done has been a Western’ he famously said, and he’s right: The Driver, The Warriors, 48 Hours, Red Heat, and Last Man Standing are my faves. Walter also made more than his share of absolute duds, and though Undisputed isn’t a complete train wreck, it’s not so good. It’s a boxing drama set in a prison with Ving Rhames playing a Mike Tyson inspired character sent down for a sexual assault he vehemently denies. Once he’s banged-up the film becomes a predictable prison yard yarn with bent screws and screwy cons. If only Undisputed had been made in the 70s it might have had the same charm as many of Walter’s other films. As it is the story and characters are as stale as the ubiquitous and poorly compiled hip hop soundtrack. Sadly, Ving proves himself to be no more than a competent supporting actor unable to carry a lead, even when sharing the screen with a more wooden than usual Wesley Snipes.
Hard Eight – 1996, Paul Thomas Anderson An unknown Gem. Paul Thomas Anderson’s feature debut is excellently written with an excellent cast. John C. Reilly does very well in a non comedic role which makes it seem even stranger that he’s appeared in so many sub-par comedies. I suppose he was just best buds with Will Ferrell when he was at his peak of popularity. Quite similar to The Cooler, maybe slightly better? It’s a tightly made film, there’s nothing that might be unnecessary, dramatic but never excessive.
American Splendour – 2003, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini I had this DVD on my shelf for a year before I finally got round to watching it. I saw it at the cinema way back and remembered it was good, but I’d forgotten how good. Paul Giamatti is amazing, and although he makes it seem like no other actor could have played Harvey Pekar, Harvey’s life and personality would make any film about him compelling. Pekar was the original loveable loser. Years ago I saw the documentary about Robert Crumb, who is equally interesting but far less endearing (coz he’s a massive perv). The directors of Splendour have worked together on a few films since that are all probably worth checking out.
Porco Rosso – 1992, Hayao Miyazaki Far from the best of Miyazaki’s films but still excellent. It’s about an Italian fighter pilot at the turn of the (last) century who has been turned into a pig. Typically imaginative with familiar character design. No real environmentalist undertone this time, but a smattering of anti-fascist sentiment. Of all the Miyazaki films it’s the least ambitious in terms of scale and animation, it was followed by the almost epic Princess Mononoke which is every bit as good as Spirited Away in my opinion.
Happy Together – 1997, Wong Kar-Wai Another dreamy tale from Wong Kar-Wai. I just read my previous post on a couple of films of his and on his style in general. I think I was a little harsh, especially now that I’ve watched a few Andrei Tarkovsky films. There’s a big difference between the free flowing, illusory beauty of Wong’s films and the bare tedium of Andrei’s. Happy together a very simple story about two lovers who try to escape to a better place, and end up realising that they really need to escape from each other. Visually, it’s probably a huge influence on scores of young cinematographers, and like most of Wong’s film it stars The World’s Finest Actor Tony Leung.
Coraline – 2009, Henry Selick Stunning stop-motion animation from the guy who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’m a big fan of stop motion and animation in general and this film is a real marvel. The story and the characters are slightly lacking, but then again it is a film for kids. Any thinness to the plot is more than made up for by the quality of the animation, and the more I find out about how it was made, the more in awe I am of the talented people who made it. It actually looks too good to be true in parts, and though there are clearly some digital effects, the character and the sets all exist in real life.
Planet Terror - 2007, Robert Rodriguez Grind House marks the beginning of a kind of low in the history of cinema that hasn’t quite passed, but the disappointment of Machete could bring the ‘self conscious exploitation genre’ to an end. Neither Planet Terror nor Death Proof are completely awful, but both of them appear to have skipped a very important stage of pre-production; the script review. Normally (as is my understanding of the Hollywood Studio film making process) a script will be assessed and rewritten, maybe even eventually being written by committee, until the shooting script is ‘locked’. Often the good films closely resemble the original draft (Predator, Lethal Weapon) and the not so good ones end up as something completely different (Alien 3, Last Action Hero, although I like both). The Weinstein Company was so smitten with Tarantino and his mate Richard Rodriquez that they let them go off and do whatever they wanted to do, when really there should have been more input from other writers and producers. All style and little substance with some ideas that weren’t as good as they seemed when they thought of them. It lacks the soul of the films that inspired it.
Gangster No1 – 2000 – Paul McGuigan Crappy British Gangster Film No 72. Paul Bettany is in danger of becoming the new Clive Owen. He’s not quite so uncharismatic and boring, but he does the same ‘see how refreshingly understated I am’ thing. Luckily he seems to have found a niche that suits his talents; action-horrors steeped with Christian mysticism. I though Legion was OK and the new one about the futuristic vampire hunting monks or whatever looks fun. Gangster No1 is just more over indulged cockney turd. Malcolm McDowell plays Bettany’s character as an old man, and delivers completely the opposite type of performance, chewing the scenery like crazy. It’s almost embarrassing to watch. Are there any British actors who aren’t overrated?
