One of ‘the greatest war films of all time’ arrives on Netflix

A Quentin Tarantino film lauded as ‘unrestrained’ and ‘genius’ is available to stream right now on Netflix.

Released in 2009, Inglourious Basterds follows Allied officer Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) during the first year of Germany’s occupation of France during World War II.

He assembles a crack Jewish crew to hunt down Nazi soldiers, joining forces with German actress and undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) to bring down the leaders of the Third Reich.

As of this week, it’s now streaming on Netflix, but Amazon Prime Video subscribers can also enjoy it on that platform too.

Alongside Pitt and Kruger, Inglourious Basterds boasts the likes of Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, and Mélanie Laurent among its cast.

Pulp Fiction filmmaker Tarantino penned the film’s script in 1998 but put it aside when he struggled to end it, instead choosing to make both Kill Bill films in the interim.

After releasing Death Proof in 2007, he returned to Inglourious Basterds, which went on to become his highest-grossing film to that point until the release of Django Unchained in 2012.

It received eight Academy Award nominations, with Waltz in particular nabbing several gongs for his role as Hans Landa, including a Bafta Film Award, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and the Cannes Film Festival award for best actor.

The film was met with critical acclaim, often being described as ‘one of the best war films ever made.’

Inglourious Basterds holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus reading: ‘A classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, Inglourious Basterds is violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining.’

In their review, The Independent wrote: ‘The film might not be Tarantino’s masterpiece but it is his most entertaining and exhilarating effort since Pulp Fiction.’

Little White Lies said: ‘QT has let loose completely: flashes of cine-genius curdle with crude, crazy juvenility, although it doesn’t stop this being his most purely enjoyable film since Kill Bill: Vol. 1.’

News of the World commented: ‘A brutal, audacious, triumphant piece of filmmaking that hits harder than a baseball bat to the jawbone.’

Many heaped praise on Waltz’s performance, with The Atlantic gushing: ‘The performance of Christoph Waltz, playing the Nazi Gestapo figure Col. Hans Landa, is the highlight of the film. His ability to convey courtliness and sympathy and then go to commit the cruelest of horrors is simply superb.’

Similarly, New Statesman said: ‘It has been a problem in the past that Tarantino’s voice could be heard in the lines he wrote, but the mesmerising Waltz takes that gleeful relish of language and presents it as a vital aspect of Landa’s professional pride.’

Speaking to SlashFilm, Waltz explained the inspirations behind his role and working with Tarantino.

‘I think what Quentin was after from the very beginning, you know, he wanted a certain degree of authenticity,’ he began.

‘That was his plan from the beginning, to have American actors play the American parts, French actors play the French, and Germans play the Germans. And in this case, since it was written that way, I feel it was the right thing to do.’

He continued: ‘I am a lucky guy. I was the lucky guy on the end of all of that—that whole process—you know. And of course, I think about what you said, but I really question it. I was the one to do it. And I got busy right away. You know, as soon as I learned that I was the one, I got ready. I put everything in. I dug up everything there was.’

Inglourious Basterds is streaming now on Netflix in the UK.

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