Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) wants his Nazi scalps, and the lieutenant known as the Apache is going to get them all over again when Inglourious Basterds drops Friday, November 1 on Paramount+. This year marks the 15th anniversary of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 movie, and the war drama received a perfect four-star rating from the late Roger Ebert. The Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic wrote in his rave review (per RogerEbert.com):
“A Tarantino film resists categorization. Inglourious Basterds is no more about war than Pulp Fiction is about — what the hell is it about? Of course, nothing in the movie is possible, except that it’s so bloody entertaining. His actors don’t chew the scenery, but they lick it. He’s a master at bringing performances as far as they can go toward iconographic exaggeration. After I saw Inglourious Basterds at Cannes, although I was writing a daily blog, I resisted giving an immediate opinion about it.”
Ebert, who also worked as a journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, in addition to reviewing films on his television series co-hosted by the Chicago Tribune’s Gene Siskel, At the Movies, continued by writing in his critique:
“I knew Tarantino had made a considerable film, but I wanted it to settle, and to see it again. I’m glad I did. Like a lot of real movies, you relish it more the next time. Immediately after Pulp Fiction played at Cannes, QT [Quentin Tarantino] asked me what I thought. ‘It’s either the best film of the year or the worst film,’ I said. I hardly knew what the hell had happened to me. The answer was: the best film. Tarantino films have a way of growing on you. It’s not enough to see them once.”
Roger Ebert Praises Inglourious Basterds’ Characters
For those movie lovers who have seen Quentin Tarantino’s war thriller, they know Inglourious Basterds boasts some of Quentin Tarantino’s most memorable characters ever to grace the big screen. Who can forget Brad Pitt’s mesmerizing performance as Aldo the Apache, or Christoph Waltz’s Oscar-winning portrayal of the despicable and diabolical SS officer, Hans Landa?
These unforgettable parts and those talented thespians who portrayed them certainly weren’t lost on film critic Roger Ebert, as he rightly praised them, along with Mélanie Laurent’s riveting performance as Shosanna Dreyfus, in his review of QT’s epic movie:
“And above all, there are three iconic characters, drawn broadly and with love: the Hero, the Nazi and the Girl. These three, played by Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent, are seen with that Tarantino knack of taking a character and making it a Character, definitive, larger than life, approaching satire in its intensity but not — quite — going that far. Let’s say they feel bigger than most of the people we meet in movies.”
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Roger Ebert’s 20 Most Scathing Movie Reviews
Praise from Roger Ebert was sometimes seen as the biggest win a movie could get. Conversely, when he hated a film, he didn’t pull his punches.
Remember, Inglourious Basterds drops Friday, November 1 on Paramount+. Tarantino’s must-see World War II drama is also currently available to buy or rent on VOD platforms, including Fandango at Home. For those who are still on the fence, and perhaps concerned about the blood and violence, MovieWeb’s review calls QT’s film: “Tarantino’s version of a blockbuster summer release.” Yes, there’s certainly some gore, but every cinephile should see this “jaw-dropping, mesmerizing war thriller.”