Inglorious Bastards (1978)

I watched this classic on HBO as a child and loved it. I recently bought it and watched it the first day I received it. It is the best "B" class WW II movie out there. The acting is pretty good and the story, while implausible, is pretty cool. All of the actors were perfect for their role. Other than Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, and Ian Bannen, I have not seen any of the other actors since. It's too bad. I would like to see them in something else. By the way, if any of you out there who were in the service is wondering why Bo Svenson sounds authentic calling cadence in the movie, it is because he was in the Marines for six years.The movie is relatively short by today's standards so pause it if you go to the bathroom. Anyway, a great and fun movie. I loved it as a kid and do today.

Thanks to the odd impressive matte shot and a skilful marshalling of its limited resources, Enzo Castellari's Inglorious Bastards doesn't look cheap even if the same extras keep on getting killed in every action scene, but despite Quentin Tarantino's slavish devotion it's more Garrison's Guerrillas than the Dirty Half-Dozen. Castellari's heroes are a standard issue group of American military prisoners: black marketer (Michael Pergolani), would-be mobster (Peter Hooten), coward (Jackie Basehart), proud black man who got tired of taking s*** (Fred Williamson), mildly sympathetic disillusioned German deserter to avoid offending the lucrative German market (Raimund Harmstorf) and the obligatory cocky but heroic one who got busted for using his fighter plane as a taxi for dates across the English Channel in his downtime (Bo Svenson). Naturally their plan to make a break for the border when they're waylaid en route to the stockade by some Nazi planes naturally ends up with them embarking on a mission vital to the success of the war (admittedly only after inadvertently killing some of their own side), but then this is a film that exists purely to do only what's expected of it rather than offer any unwelcome surprise. Sure, there's the odd spin on some of the old favorites, but there aren't nearly enough naked women with machine guns to truly lift it above the formulaic.

Dialogue isn't exactly sparkling "All Americans are mongrels... and your women are whores!" and half the cast are dubbed anyway (Ian Bannen's Scottish tones are replaced by an American actor and Hooten by what sounds like John Dall), but the film does its job even if it's more supporting feature than main event. Castellari is the best kind of hack, one with a good eye for framing and who knows how to shoot action (although the sight of one German soldier being lifted up, Peter Pan-style, on a visible wire in an explosion is worthy of one of the sight gags in Top Secret! It's a minor film and one it's best not to expect too much from, but there a lot worse exploitation films out there.

The three disc US Region 1 NTSC DVD comes with a decent array of extras, including Easter Egg alternate title sequences for a couple of the film's many video reissues as Deadly Mission and G.I. Bro (it's also known as Counterfeit Commandos, Hell's Heroes and Commando Bastards) a cheap-and-cheerful hour long making of, brief then and-now tour of the locations with Castellari and a CD (not included on the 2-disc set) of what little remains of the score the composer recorded his son's school play over most of the masters! By far the most curious of the extras is an interview with Quentin Tarantino and Castellari, with the chin treating it as part confessional, part therapy, unburdening himself on the engaging director as if an unworthy disciple at the feet of a true master.

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it's hard to say what I think of this film. It's, in some ways, a brilliant war film that deserves recognition, while it can simultaneously make you shudder. it has a clever plot but then you have dialogue like "hey, those are our flyboys!" (impersonates an airplane while making a machine gun noise); there are some great effects and sets that are made good use of, but you can see the ropes pulling men from an explosion more clearly than you can see the strings in an Ed Wood film; you have naked german women firing machine guns at retreating American troops, and then you have the fact that this scene only lasts a couple of seconds (this is first time that an Italian movie has skimpped out in this category, let alone not completely over do it. It should have been at least a few minutes long, if not for the sex appeal then for the pure hilariouty of it.)

It's like a movie that's so bad that it's good, but at the same time is actually good. And, like many films of this sort, it's main source of entertainment comes from it's cleverness that simply oozes from it's different aspects including plot and filmwork.

The only major problem is that I had expected it to actually go on for about two hours or so until it ended. I would've given it four stars if it were only longer (especially certain *clear throat* scenes).

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Wahoo!! Let's grab some beer and go shoot our machine guns at some Nazis!

Inglorious Bastards is a campy cult war flick, high on violence and insanity but a little low on common sense. You've got a bunch of reject U.S. soldiers facing court martial for various infractions, like flying the jetplane to visit their girlfriend a few thousand miles away.

On the way to the military prison the convoy gets hit by some German artillery. This enables a few of the prisoners to escape. This ragtag group decides to head for neutral Switzerland while avoiding the American armies plus the Nazis.

Now along the way there is all sorts of unrestrained madness. The highlight has got to be when they stumble across the female German soldiers skinny dippin in the lake. Allright! Just what you expect to see when running for your life through Europe. The soldiers masquerade as Nazis and get ready for some wet-n-wild fun.

Inglorious Bastards is an entertaining thrill ride that makes war seem like a party. The acting is decent. I recognized the cigar-smokin' Fred Williamson from Rodriquez's classic From Dusk til Dawn.

I'm anxious to see QT's remake, supposedly due out in 2010. Somehow I doubt it resembles this film too much. But PLEEEEASE Quentin, keep the naked nazi chicks with the machine guns. I'm begging you!

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A World War II adventure set somewhere in France, The Inglorious Bastards (1978) is solidly entertaining affair, where a group of escaped prisoners become involved in a top secret commando mission. Directed by Enzo Castelari, the movie is an Italian production with an international cast, and features some nicely executed combat scenes, creative cinematography, and interesting European locations.

A group of inmate soldiers is being transported, when their convoy is attacked by a German fighter. Led by Lieutenant Robert Yeager (Bo Swenson) and Private Fred Canfield (Fred Williamson), the surviving prisoners take command, and escape from captivity, heading off in a truck bound for Switzerland. The rest of the "Bastards" are Tony (Peter Hooten), Berle (Jackie Basehart), and Nick (Michael Pergolani). They eventually wind up on foot, where after taking refuge in a barn, they discover a German soldier named Sachs (Raimund Harmstorf) who is willing to help them to escape. Travelling through the French countryside, the group encounters various German forces, and has to fight for their lives several times. Sachs is killed in a skirmish, where a group of Germans is wiped out.

Soon after, the escapees fall into the hands of a group of Partisans. They discover that the German soldiers they just killed, were actually Allied soldiers in disguise. These men, were to have collaborated with the partisans on a top secret mission. American Colonel Charles Thomas Buckner (Ian Bannen) parachutes in to lead the mission, and is furious when discovers that his trained commando team is dead, and his only option is a bunch of misfits and deserters.

It's been a fun ride so far, but things ramp up to a new level as the complicated mission goes into operation. This is where the Bastards really shine, as the various pieces fall nicely into place. Buckner and Yeager impersonate German scientists in order to try and steal a vital V2 rocket component being transported on a train guarded by the German army. Meanwhile the partisans are setting up to take over a railroad station, and blow up a bridge. What follows is a number of nicely executed action scenes, large scale battle sequences, and action aboard the train, that all build up to a dramatic conclusion.

Like many war tales, it isn't necessary to have a lot of depth regarding motivation or character development. Since the Bastards killed the men who were to go on the mission, it seems fair that they take their place. Being an Italian production, many of the actors are dubbed, which kind of colors some of the performances. Bo Swenson (Walking Tall) is rather low key as Yeager, a capable leader that can kill when necessary. Being black, slightly restricts what Fred Williamson's character Canfield can do, but "the Hammer" definitely makes his presence known, and executes his role with style and a brash attitude. Williamson, Swenson, and most of the cast, perform many of their own stunts. Dubbing hides his British accent, and Ian Bannen may not quite look the part as an American General, but his performance still comes across as quite solid. The only thing that seems out of place, is the instant romance between Tony, and Nicole (Debra Berger), a member of the partisans. This is the only tenderness, in a bittersweet tale.

Director Enzo Castelari's commentary track provides lots of background information regarding the production of the film, and the cast. Quentin Tarentino, a huge fan of the film, is featured in an extensive conversation with Castelari, almost gushing with glee at times. This discussion is quite informative, as at the time Tarentino's planned remake (The Inglorious Bastereds) was still in its infancy. In the three disc edition, Disc 2 contains two featurettes, including Train Kept-A-Rollin', an extensive 75 minute retrospective with lots of meaty information, and interviews with Casterlari, Hopkins, Williamson, and various cast and crew members. Disc 3 contains four musical selections from the film's soundtrack.

The Inglorious Basterds (2009), has increased interest in the original film that impressed and inspired Quentin Tarentino so much. This is a good thing, as Enzo Caselari's film is well deserving of a wider audience. The Inglorious Bastards is a tough straight ahead war adventure, with some unassuming and unlikely heroes, who do what needs to be done without any fanfare. "Inglorious" they may be, but they operate with a sense of style, bravely accepting their fate and fighting hard till the end.

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