Hard-earned, controversial but deserving, Quentin Tarantino has gained glory for his audacious World War II film, Inglourious Basterds.
Tarantino re-wrote history. He spilled blood. He gave Jews a violent fantasy that avenges Nazi atrocities. He discovered a brilliant yet modest Austrian actor, Christoph Waltz, to play his deliciously despicable villain. He brought the best out of Brad Pitt in a support role as the Tennessee hillbilly who commands an elite Jewish-American assassin squad behind enemy lines. He populated the entire film with excellent performers.
And now he enhances the enterprise with an excellent DVD and Blu-ray debut.
Inglourious Basterds arrived this week as a single-disc DVD with limited extras; as a two-disc Special Edition DVD with extensive extras and digital copy for portable devices; and as a two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray with the same bonuses.
Inglourious Basterds is so visually dynamic — and a stunning example of a film which boasts refined production values — that it greatly benefits in Blu-ray.
Tarantino is not only a cinephile and great American storyteller, he is also a gifted film technician.
A warning is in order. With Basterds generating awards nominations after its $312-million worldwide box office, it might begin to appear to be “mainstream” fare.
No chance.
Part of its power as cinema is the brutality Tarantino uses to build to his horrifying climax and bittersweet denouement.
Queasy? The scalping alone will deter or disgust you. For others, however, Tarantino’s violence is cinematic poetry.
The extras are fascinating. Extended scenes allow us to hear Tarantino’s direction; featurettes show the irrepressible director in action on set, with insight from actors, including Rod Taylor.
Comedy highlights include the wonky Camera Angel featurette. We even get to see the uncut version of Nation’s Pride (Stolz der Nation), the six-minute film-within-the-film that was shot in B&W as Nazi propaganda by Eli Roth (who also played The Bear Jew). Oddly, Joseph Goebbels’ name is misspelled in the fake credits.
Among other highlights, journalist Elvis Mitchell hosts an illuminating interview session with Pitt and Tarantino, with the director hijacking the conversation and bringing whole sentences out of the usually inarticulate Pitt.
Mitchell also does brilliant analysis on poster art in the film, and also explains references to real cinema names such as Georges Clouzot and Lilian Harvey.
This is not just interesting for its own sake but allows us to better understand Tarantino’s mad genius.
Taking Woodstock
As much as Quentin Tarantino staged a career revival in 2009, Ang Lee suffered in his.
Taking Woodstock, his small-scale opus about the world’s most famous and influential music concert, was misunderstood and flopped at the box office.
That is a shame because, seen in the right kaleidoscopic light, Taking Woodstock is a charming insight into the world behind Woodstock, circa 1969. It tells the mostly true story of how a young local named Elliot Tiber (or Teichberg) helped organizers stage the concert after being banned from other New York state sites. The results became legend.
Lee, wisely, refused to re-stage Woodstock, instead opting for a peripheral story about Tiber, his family and various old and new friends in the vicinity.
Eliot (Demetri Martin) never even quite gets near the Woodstock stage. This low-key approach is perfect, and perfectly acceptable.
This week’s new DVD, in the Focus Features Spotlight Series, shows how Lee and his business partner and writer, James Schamus, went about their business. They do a commentary together and also participate in a good making-of documentary.
Give peace a chance — and give Taking Woodstock a look-see without overwrought expectations.
NEW THIS WEEK: Inglourious Basterds n The Hangover n G-Force
NEW NEXT WEEK: District 9 n (500) Days Of Summer n Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day
COMING SOON: 9 (Dec. 29) n Paranormal Activity (Dec. 29)
