Can 'Inglorious Bastards' restore the Tarantino buzz?
Posted: Friday, July 25, 2008 7:00 AM by Paige Newman
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Movies
For the last couple weeks, the buzz on the Internet has been overwhelming for Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards.” The writer-director has been working on this script, about a band of Jewish-American soldiers who try to take down the Nazis during World War II (loosely based on the 1978 film), since the release of “Jackie Brown” – “Bastards” was reportedly first intended for release in 2001.
El Mayimbe of the Latino Review enthusiastically described the script this way: “If you took the bad guy swagger of ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ the uber coolness and structure of ‘Pulp Fiction,’ throw in the revenge angle of ‘Kill Bill,’ set it in World War II – you get ‘Inglorious Bastards.’”
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And he isn’t alone in his adulation. The 145-page script (which translates to around 4 hours of movie) has been garnering raves across the Web.
Keep in mind, this movie is not in production yet. Heck, it hasn’t even been cast. Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikki Finke reported early on that Brad Pitt is being courted for one of the lead roles. And rumors of actors as varied as Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Adam Sandler, have been tossed around, according to New York magazine’s Vulture. Tarantino denies those rumors, but it wouldn’t be surprising if one of those actors turns up in the finished product.
The folks at Playlist.com had the most fun with their own casting suggestions for the movie, which include Werner Herzog (director of “Grizzly Man”) as Hitler, Tarantino regulars Michael Madsen and Tim Roth as soldiers, and last year’s best actress Oscar winner Marion Cotillard as the female lead. Vulture also reported that Leonardo DiCaprio is considering a role as a Nazi.
Web uproar is one thing, though. How many people will actually want to get out and see “Bastards” when it appears in June 2009? Tarantino’s last film, “Grindhouse,” (he directed the “Death Proof” portion – which is one of the more fun action flicks to come along in the last 10 years) didn’t score with fans at the box office.
Does Tarantino’s name still draw fans the way it once did? For me, “Jackie Brown” has become one of those movies which, if I happen to catch it on cable, I must watch all the way through. Though it’s not a perfect film, the relationship between Pam Grier and Robert Forster is one of the most adult to grace the big screen. These two aren’t teenagers, they have baggage and some pretty serious problems, but their passion feels so real and so organic that it’s hard not to be fascinated by them.
And Tarantino’s other classics hold up well. “Reservoir Dogs” is still the thrill ride you remember — can anybody ever hear Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” without recalling the graphic ear-removal scene? And “Pulp Fiction” still feels innovative 14 years after its release.
So maybe there’s a reason for all that hype. Are you excited about Tarantino’s latest? Or has his time come and gone?
