I am not interested in seeing this movie as the last 3 (Kill Bills and Death Proof) were hacks. The whole Nazi killers thing is already getting old after Dead Snow, anyway, and I hate seeing the way Germans are portrayed in American films as some of my friends are German.
You’d be surprised, Tyler – The German’s are some of the most interesting characters in Inglorious Basterds
Fair enough, I don’t remember that being in POLTERGEIST, but evidently I’m wrong. Where in the movie do they mention it? And why aren’t there any images of Indians among the assorted ghosts and graves that are opening all over the place?
Not to labor the point, sorry, but I really have no memory of that being part of POLTERGEIST at all. Is it mentioned in the sequel?
I thought it was his most well written, well directed, and well balanced film since Jackie Brown. That doggystyle cut, however, reminded me too much of something Miike might do, and seeing as Tarantino follows the inhibitions of his fellow contemporaries and whoever else he idolized whenever, I thought it would’ve been best to exploit that relationship for at least another thirty seconds. It would’ve been revolutionary.
Also, I was very pleased to see the lines, since I can’t understand French, “I’m French. We respect directors in our country.” Which, in effect, may as well state how useless directors are in our country since only four or five (living) get any recognition beyond a last name on a list.
Aoaijea: Just out of curiosity, who are those four or five you mention? I assume Scorsese and Spielberg are included.
and George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola and maybe Christopher Nolan. But if it’s not Christopher Nolan, then it might be Tim Burton, and if people forgot either of them, then Tarantino
Aoaijea: I’ve virtually forgotten Lucas actually. lol Only time his name comes to mind is when anyone brings up Star Wars. But anyway, I do think Burton is more generally well-known than Nolan. But that may change in the future. ;)
god forbid. I dislike Nolan with a passion. He’s one of the most unimaginitive directors to ever make a five hundred million dollar grossing film. Oh, and I also forgot Cameron. Okay, so nevermind. Seven or eight directors.
Aoaijea: Well, I can’t say anything ‘cause I’ve only seen Memento and I thought it was really good.
People may know Scorsese’s name but I bet if we asked the average teenager they would say “Isn’t he the guy who made The Departed and The Godfather?”.
I absolutely loved the movie. I love it BECAUSE it’s a mix-up of different films and styles that mesh together. Does it feel like it’s 2-3 movies crammed into one? Yes! And I think that’s a GOOD thing. How many other filmmakers can pull that off as well as Tarantino can? I loved the Basterds, I loved Shosanna’s story, I loved Christopher Waltz character, I loved the Bear Jew (his walkout was one of the highlights of the movie), I loved Bratt Pitt’s purposefully overdrawn version of Aldo Raine, I loved the narrators, the cheesy 70’s style font of the character’s names popping up.
Simply put, I loved it all and can’t wait to see it again. It was exactly what I was expecting and then some. I hope QT puts out an even longer version of the film on DVD.
Drew: I once asked one or both of my parents if they knew who Scorsese was.
They didn’t.
S, Hmmm maybe I should edit my post from teenager to person.
Drew: You might want to, in order to prevent any cliched comments about the young. ;)
The Young are…Damned!!! Except for Drew, Colin B. and a few others :)
Haha I don’t care as long as people say ‘most’. Hell I will say it. Most teenagers are stupid and obnoxious. I would like to add most stupid and obnoxious teenagers grow up to be stupid and obnoxious adults.
Mike: You’re right, we should be making girls wear whale-bone corsets, kids get whipped, and have arranged marriages for money!
[too far back?]
I was really surprised at the use of foreign dialogue and subtitles THROUGHOUT the entire film. That impressed me a lot for I didn’t expect QT to have the patience or the drive to make a film in languages he is not fluent in. Also, knowing his limited timeframe for making the movie it really surprised me at the quality of filmmaking I witnessed that night at the theater. You cannot compare this movie to his other films, though. Although I can say that this was his pinnacle/peak of movie-making, his other movies were equally important for him and developed him into the director that made IB. Certain aspects of the film really impressed me:
1. The building of suspense at the very beginning. Christoph Waltz’ character was so unpredictable and you knew he could at any moment pull something awful like a knife or instrument of torture from his jacket and start being cruel. I was just waiting for the moment where he showed his true colors to the frenchman. I had one problem with the beginning scene: the editing on the motorcade coming up the road was poorly done and why was the frenchman father chopping just the chopping block but not chopping actual wood on it? This bothered me right away. 2. I was glad that when the Nazis did come in and shoot the people under the floorboards that QT didn’t make it a glorified splatterfest of blood. A Nazi would have shot Shoshanna from the distance where she was running away. That would have been a very easy shot. That weakened the Shoshanna element for me later. 3. I was surprised by the Pulpy Hugo Stiglitz lettering that popped up on the screen with the electric guitar strum. That made me laugh out loud and immediately changed the mood and feel of the scene with the baseball bat that I was dreading in the ticket line. It gave it a campy feel and surprisingly that scene was pure comedy genius. 4. I loved the David Bowie CAT PEOPLE song used at the theater. Very stylized use of music with lyrics that talk of putting out the fire with gasoline and tears. 5. I loved the interracial relationship that was hinted at between Shoshanna’s black projectionist and herself. You just got the feeling that they were hitting it hard in that projection room during the films they showed there. 6. Christoph Waltz trying to be the hero and end the war by allowing Hilter and the other Nazi leaders to die in the theater was a bit of a fantasy that I cannot believe any Nazi would have done. I was glad to see that he didn’t fully get his freedom without a scar he would live with for the rest of his life.I would say that this film defied my expectations. I thought it was going to be terrible from beginning to end. After the opening scene I knew that I was in for a GREAT film. Definitely a must see at the MOVIE THEATER. Do not watch this for the first time as a rental or on your laptop. You won’t have the experience necessary to cause you to appreciate what QT intended to be seen on the big screen.
Josh S., how have you avoided seeing Nolan’s bat-films? I am impressed.
Im going to hang out outside theatrs telling people “They kill Hitler at the end”
Questions-
Are any tanks destroyed?
Bridges blown up?
If the answer is yes then I will go se IB.
If not I’ll pass.
Mike: I don’t go to theaters often, even for films I’m interested in, and I didn’t have a shitload of friends who told me I needed to see it. ;)
I am curious to see the ‘bat films’ though at some point.
@Francisco no ones going to care, it’s hardly a focal point of the film
@Mike even for films you’re interested in, why?
Kwenton: That’s my comment actually. I don’t know, probably ‘cause there’s no one I can probably bring along who’d actually enjoy them most of the time.
I’m a cinephile-in-exile. ;)
you’re a cinephile-in-exile only because it rhymes aren’t you! sounds friggin sweet though
“I am curious to see the ‘bat films’ though at some point.”
Unless you are a big Batman fan, which I doubt you are based on the fact that you haven’t seen them already, there’s no hurry.
And now Batman? Wow….Just…Wow…
I liked the Dark Knight, but what did people think of Batman’s interrogation techniques in that film?
Nolan is a talented director in my mind.
“Insomnia” and “Memento” and “The Prestige” come to mind.
I don’t think its an excuse to say that tarantinos films aren’t driven by coherence or narrative. It doesn’t matter that Tarantino made the film. He doesn’t get a free pass because of other moives he has made. I am going to judge the film against all other films.
If I see a film with no narrative, no coherence, no character development, incongruencies, plot holes, gratuitous violence, lack of depth, weak realiance on voiceover when the story itself can’t do the job (sam jackson scene) and other missteps, I am going to judge it as a bad movie. Just because Tarantino made the film doesn’t mean he gets to be judged by a different measuring stick. I thought the movie was smug. I think he fell in love with himself, his characters and his writing. I think this movie is just an excuse to show it all off, and to me it just doesn’t come together at all. I don’t care that every characters name or discussion topic is a reference to some piece of film history. What does he want a pat on the back for being a film history scholar?
I am not a QT hater. I loved True Romance, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Liked Jackie Brown and Kill Bill 1. but he lost me after that. I will say I loved the first scene with Landa and was ready for a return to form from QT, but from there on the movie just seemed to get worse and worse. It all culminated in a final scene that I thought was insulting. The basterds could have been removed form the film and it probably would have been better (after all the film was called inglorious basterds yet they were a mere sidestory and distraction from the main plot of the film). They added little and took much away. The exagerated characicatures were tired as was pitt’s performance in general. It may have been as bad as his performance in Burn After Reading. At this point I don’t care about QT’s eye or his precise editing. If I don’t care about the characters and it goes nowhere then all the technical details are meaningless.
I think the film bounced around from character to character, scene to scene, not for the purpose of telling a story, but instead for a chance for QT to sneak in some quick witted dialogue. I don’t think he was successful in moving from the comedic to the dramatic from scene to scene. The film didn’t know what it wanted to be and lacked the power it could have had with a bit more consistency. In the end I was watching my watch waiting for it to end. He wants to make a critique on contemporary film action and violence, but in the end this is all he has to offer in this film. His dialogue can be snappy and amuzing at times but I would have thought by now he would have progressed beyond that.In the first chapter, La Padite asked his daughter to close the window. Why do you suppose he did so? Waste time? The Natzis outside were not close enough to hear anything, if that was his motive in the first place. Was there a cool breeze coming into the house and he wanted to warm up the room – maybe – given the Jew Hunter had just arrived.
Nathan M.
David is correct, “Poltergeist” is a Native American revenge fantasy. The graveyard is an Indian burial ground. I remember that element specifically, because I thought it was pretty funny.