Product Details

• Actors: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mike Myers, André Penvern, Michael Bacall
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: August 28, 2011
• Run Time: 153 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (528 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002T9H2LA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,181 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #13 in Movies & TV > DVD > Military & War
• For more information about "Inglourious Basterds (Single-Disc Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although Quentin Tarantino has cherished Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 "macaroni" war flick The Inglorious Bastards for most of his film-geek life, his own Inglourious Basterds is no remake. Instead, as hinted by the Tarantino-esque misspelling, this is a lunatic fantasia of WWII, a brazen re-imagining of both history and the behind-enemy-lines war film subgenre. There's a Dirty Not-Quite-Dozen of mostly Jewish commandos, led by a Tennessee good ol' boy named Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who reckons each warrior owes him one hundred Nazi scalps--and he means that literally. Even as Raine's band strikes terror into the Nazi occupiers of France, a diabolically smart and self-assured German officer named Landa (Christoph Waltz) is busy validating his own legend as "The Jew Hunter." Along the way, he wipes out the rural family of a grave young girl (Melanie Laurent) who will reappear years later in Paris, dreaming of vengeance on an epic scale.

Now, this isn't one more big-screen comic book. As the masterly opening sequence reaffirms, Tarantino is a true filmmaker, with a deep respect for the integrity of screen space and the tension that can accumulate in contemplating two men seated at a table having a polite conversation. IB reunites QT with cinematographer Robert Richardson (who shot Kill Bill), and the colors and textures they serve up can be riveting, from the eerie red-hot glow of a tabletop in Adolf Hitler's den, to the creamy swirl of a Parisian pastry in which Landa parks his cigarette. The action has been divided, Pulp Fiction-like, into five chapters, each featuring at least one spellbinding set-piece. It's testimony to the integrity we mentioned that Tarantino can lock in the ferocious suspense of a scene for minutes on end, then explode the situation almost faster than the eye and ear can register, and then take the rest of the sequence to a new, wholly unanticipated level within seconds.

Again, be warned: This is not your "Greatest Generation," Saving Private Ryan WWII. The sadism of Raine and his boys can be as unsavory as the Nazi variety; Tarantino's latest cinematic protégé, Eli (director of Hostel) Roth, is aptly cast as a self-styled "golem" fond of pulping Nazis with a baseball bat. But get past that, and the sometimes disconcerting shifts to another location and another set of characters, and the movie should gather you up like a growing floodtide. Tarantino told the Cannes Film Festival audience that he wanted to show "Adolf Hitler defeated by cinema." Cinema wins. --Richard T. Jameson

Product Description

Brad Pitt takes no prisoners in Quentin Tarantino’s high-octane WWII revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds. As war rages in Europe, a Nazi-scalping squad of American soldiers, known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” is on a daring mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich. Bursting with “action, hair-trigger suspense and a machine-gun spray of killer dialogue” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Inglourious Basterds is “another Tarantino masterpiece” (Jake Hamilton, CBS-TV)!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blu-ray quality nice, but "Special Edition" not so special..., January 21, 2010

By 

P. M. Bego (Northwest USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inglourious Basterds (Two-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This is just a review of the Blu-Ray "2 Disc Special Edition" since there are plenty of reviews of the movie itself by reviewers far more qualified than I.

The video and sound quality is excellent and I have no complaints about that. But I have to give this 4 stars instead of 5, because, I just don't get some of the "marketing lingo" on this package:

* This version does NOT include a running commentary. None at all (not director, not actors, not cinematographer, nothing). To me this is really odd -- it seems that almost all DVDs released in the last 10 years have had some sort of commentary track. Especially with a Tarantino movie, this seems like something you really WANT to have.
* I think this is the only Blu-ray version available right now. It includes the "digital copy" but that is just a lower-res copy of a movie with DRM, nothing wrong with getting that with it, but that is one of the TWO discs in the "Special Edition"
* If this is the only one available, and it doesn't include stuff like a commentary, what makes the Marketing people put the "Special Edition" tag on it? I guess because it comes with the low-res copy, see previous item...
* Other info on the package is misleading too. It says under "Additional Features:" "The original Inglorious Bastards." This might lead one to conclude that it includes the original movie (and there would be plenty of room for an SD copy of a movie on a Blu-ray disk. This feature is just a 10-minute summary of the movie and discusses it's relation to the new movie. A nice feature worth watching, but I think the way it is named as a feature is misleading.
* Minor thing: They put a sticker about "Includes Digital Copy" on the metallic-printed cardboard sleeve. When you take off the sticker, it removes part of the metallic printing. I know these sleeves are only meant to make the product look nice and flashy and get your attention when it's on a store shelf. But for those of us that like to keep these, it was annoying the way it was stickered. If they put the sticker on the outer plastic shrink-wrap this wouldn't be a problem.

Still a great movie and I'm glad I got the disc. Giving it 4 of 5 because of the questionable "Special-ness" of the Edition.

184 of 231 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: This movie may not be what you are expecting..., December 21, 2009

By 

D. Ferrari - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inglourious Basterds (Two-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This movie is really pretty outstanding. The opening scene is intense, frightening, shocking, and appauling all at once, and it sets up the entire film perfectly. I really had no expectations for this movie because I had read so many mixed reviews and none of them really said anything, so I actually thought this was a really good movie although a bit drawn out. The film is artfully done beautifully shot and extremely well acted.

Now here's why you may not like this quite as much as I did and why my wife absolutely HATED it.

What most expected from this movie:
1- Gore, action, and more gore and more action
2- A story that follows the Basterds as they wreak havoc on Hitler's army
3- Maybe a few subtitles as the film does take place in France after all
4- Classic Quentin Tarantino comedic dialogue

What the film actually is:
1- A character driven story HEAVY on dialogue and other than the last 20 minutes extremely light on action with a couple pretty graphic gory bits tossed in. The last 20 minutes is extremely graphic and violent.
2- The story largely follows the young Jewish girl/woman who escapes the opening scene. The Basterds are just kind of there as an afterthought because they are planning to blow up the same theater.
3- This film is conservatively speaking about 80% subtitled and spoken either in German or French.
4- The only part that is really funny (and it is hilarious) is Brad Pitt "speaking" Italian so poorly that Helen Keller could have picked him out as the American in the crowd.

I've read negative reviews about how this film is "war porn" and diminishes U.S. veterans in some way, but this couldn't be further from the truth. First of all this film is pure fiction that just happens to take place during WWII in France. Nothing depicted in this film is based in any way on fact. It is a complete fantasy of what could have possibly happened if Hitler and all the Nazi upper echelon had all decided to go to a jewish owned movie theater to watch a propaganda film.

Overall it is an extremely well made film that does just about everything well. It is a little bit drawn out at over 2.5 hours but like I said it is very well done and the acting is superb. 4.5 stars. I'd recommend it but be sure to have an open mind.

***Update***
My wife wants to watch it again. She thinks that maybe due to the fact that we started this at about 2:00 am might have had an effect on her opinion. We'll see. For me personally after a second viewing I like it even more.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I kind of agree with Brad Pitt..., October 25, 2010

By 

Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Inglourious Basterds (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD)

At the end of the film, Pitt states "I think this may be my masterpiece" (or something to that nature) and in regards to Tarantino and his directorial efforts, I think that statement may apply here (however, not in regards to Brad Pitt who, sadly, is that acting `weak link' in this film). Yes, Tarantino will have legions of fans bickering in rabid fashion over which gargantuan cult classic is the best (most will cheer for `Pulp Fiction', some `Kill Bill' and, until I saw this film, I was all about `Reservoir Dogs') but at the end of the day, when you stack everything back to back to back, his latest effort makes it very clear that he has learned and certainly grown as a director over the course of his career.

This film is nearly perfect.

I could go on all day dissecting this film and layer my review with countless praise-littered sentiments, but I'm going to try and refrain, just a little.

I'm often told I'm a tad longwinded.

The story itself is a fabricated fantasy piece set in the times of the Nazi regime where Tarantino has a group of violence-fascinated `Nazi Killers' waging war with a `Jew Hunter' and his reign of terror. They aren't alone in their mission of hate-filled executions though. At the films outset we are introduced to Landa, the `Jew Hunter', as he slaughters a Jewish family taking refuge in another man's home. One of the family members, a young girl, escapes. She in turn, years later, is presented with a rare opportunity that she cannot let slip through her fingers; revenge.

The film never once appears lacking in rich Tarantino style, but it also carries with it a layer of sophistication that is not found in most of his work. It is more polished; crisper if you will. While some will balk at my statement and point out that `Pulp Fiction' itself is `sophisticated' (an assessment I will stand behind), I feel compelled to point out that while I love both films, this latest entry in the Tarantino roster surely shows much maturing since Tarantino's 90's heyday. The narrative flow feels far less like a gimmick (yes, that is an accusation made against `Pulp Fiction', and one that bares some truth) and more like a fully fleshed out plot piece. And while Tarantino has shown great visual flare in many of his films, especially his `Kill Bill' epic, he has never exuded so much class into his visual opuses as he does here. Just look at the opening sequence. It is breathtakingly staged, brilliantly acted and flawlessly captured. The visual is fresh, rich and certainly eye-catching, but it isn't over-the-top. The spectacle of it all doesn't take away from the seriousness of it all. There is the tension, the dread, the emotional gut punch; not to mention the perfectly times flares of humor that take the scene to a whole new level. In fact, that opening sequence should be preserved in a room for all struggling artists to venture when needing inspiration (that and the opening sequence to Fincher's `The Social Network'). It is a brilliant and inspired way to open a film, setting the tone effortlessly and inviting us (or should I say CONVINCING US) to walk right alongside Tarantino for the entire journey.

Oh lord; I am getting longwinded, aren't I?

I wanted to touch upon the acting, because as an ensemble it really does shine (and Christoph Waltz's Oscar win was VERY deserved). Yes, Pitt is here and he is decent but he is also a tad overdone and certainly the films weakest performance. In fact, Fassbender has a VERY short scene and yet he acts circles around anything Pitt does, adding an entire back-story to his devilishly charming grin. That said; Waltz is just phenomenal, layering Landa with so much unintentional wit that you can't help but totally `get this guy'. Sure, he's a creep, but you want him around. Besides, Waltz really understood how to work with his fellow actors. He plays off of them in each and every scene, and it actually boosts the performances of the entire cast. In fact, some of the best moments come from other actors working off of Waltz's presence. The other GIGANTIC standout here is Melanie Laurent. She is mesmerizing here, and totally nails the inner tension that presents itself in her character. She is not only stunning (seriously, gorgeous to look at) but she embodies the films moral core (yes, it has one) and exudes a sense of profound entitlement that I think is necessary to accepting the film as more than torture-porn.

There is a method to Tarantino's madness, and Laurent holds the key.

In the end I'm totally in this films corner. It really should have swept at the Oscars (at least when you consider the films it was nominated against). This film is far more entertaining, creative, stylistic, memorable and profound than James Cameron's opus of gigantic smurf people and their protests to `save the planet'.