REVIEW - Inglorious Bastards (Enzo G. Castellari, 1978)

So after many many years Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (note the title change) is about to have it's premiere at Cannes 2009 and will be released worldwide this summer. It would appear from the trailers, the leaked script and various comments by Tarantino that plotwise there is not actually much similarity between the original film and his. Although he changed it slightly, it would seem that the main thing he has retained is the title. I can understand using the title; Inglorious Bastards is probably one of the greatest titles ever. It tells you what you need to know about the film and it is a title that makes you want to watch the film just to know if it lives up to it.

Ironically the original Inglorious Bastards went through a lot of title changes, originally titled Quel maledetto treno blindato (which literally translates as 'That Damned Armored Train') and was subsequently released as Deadly Mission, Hell's Heroes, The Dirty 7 and as in the poster to the left Ein Haufen verwegener Hunde (rougly translated as something like 'A Bunch of Daring Dogs'). It was also re-released by Mack Video as G.I. Bro, recut to make Fred "The Hammer" Williamson more the star of the film and with the tagline, "If you're a Kraut, he'll take you out". The film was also shown on German television with key scenes cut out, most likely in order to not cause offence, In 2008 Inglorious Bastards finally got a decent release as a three-disc special edition, including a commentary by Enzo G. Castellari. After years of watching mediocre copies of the film on dodgy VHS or imported DVDs, it was so enjoyable to see a restored 1.85:1 print, including subtitles for the German parts, something missing from all the versions I had watched previously.

1944 occupied France and a group of military prisoners are being transported to prison or worse and German planes suddenly attack the convoy giving them the chance to escape and overpower the guards. The group includes Bo Svenson as Robert Yeager and Fred Williamson as Fred Canfield and as the stars of the film they lead the group of misfits across France in an attempt to make it to Switzerland and freedom. The group travel through France along the way getting into fights with Germans and also their own side. At one point they meet up with a German Deserter called Adolf (Raimund Harmstorf) who like them doesn't really see much point in the war and just wants to get out of it and have an easy life. In a wonderfully gratuitous scene they also stumble upon a group of female Nazi soldiers bathing naked and decide to join in only for them to attack them with machine guns after seeing Fred Williamson.

The group end up being mistaken for a US special forces division arriving in France to complete a top secret mission. Rather than risk being locked up again, the group go along with this and decide to try and complete the mission in true anti-hero. They join up with a group of French resistance fighter and in order to complete the mission pose as German soldiers infiltrating a Nazi occupied castle and then a Nazi train transporting a deadly V2 rocket. This is essentially a men-on-a-mission film, similar of course to films such as The Dirty Dozen, but the mission in question does not represent the whole plot. For most of the film the plot involves a series of action orientated sequences as they travel across France leading up to the climax of the mission and the final battle.

Enzo G. Castellari is a master of action and this film delivers so much on the action. Only a few minutes seem to pass before another action sequence and the film gradually builds up pace until the final battle without a single dull moment. The action is filmed with incredible style and expertise including the first use ever of Steadicam in Italian film and a series of slow motion sequences that complement the frenetic pace brilliantly. The slow motion sequences have a balletic beauty and are a high point of the action.

The soundtrack, included on CD in the three-disc Region 1 release, is supplied by Francesco De Masi, who also supplied the music for Castellari's Bronx Warriors 2 and Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper. The soundtrack is does not stand out much but it suits the film really well and the rousing opening theme provides audio cues picked up at crucial points in the story.

Inglorious Bastards is a violent action picture and could certainly be described as a Grindhouse film but is it is not a blood-splattered film, most of the exploitative content comes from the nudity, the colourful language used and the genre nature of the piece. Overall Inglorious is a massively entertaining film. I have rewatched it quite a lot and I find it just as fun every time, an action film through and through; if you leave your history books at the door and want to settle down to non-stop shoot outs, zip lines, Fred Williamson cigar in mouth throwing grenades and female Wehrmacht with machine-guns this the film for you.