From the backwoods of Tennessee to the House of Blue Leaves, Tarantino’s painstakingly focused collage aesthetic and narrative prowess guides you into the fantasy world of film as history. In lieu of placing his movies in a particular era or crafting them within the boundaries of a specific cinematic style, he orchestrates his illustrious symphony as if it were conducted by his multigenerational director heroes, which is why, for example, referencing both the films of Jack Hill (“Coffy,” “Foxy Brown”) and Akira Kurosawa (“Rashomon”) feels so appropriate and earnest in his 1997 film, “Jackie Brown.” For a movie geek like me, it’s a really comforting place to visit for a few hours.

In the past, though, this method of making movies has worked for and against him. The constant movie references, specifically in his “Kill Bill” duo and 2007’s “Death Proof,” became tiresome because Tarantino basically kept referencing the same period of film over and over again. He stopped growing as a movie viewer, which is where the pit of his passion stems from in the first place. Upon seeing the trailer and reading the lukewarm reactions from people who saw it at the Cannes Film Festival a few months ago, I was worried that “Inglourious Basterds,” Tarantino’s long-awaited WWII project about a group of people all trying to kill Hitler, would suffer the same treatment. There are enough WWII movies being made each year without some fan boy glorifying the genre with Eli Roth in tow.

Much to my surprise, “Inglourious Basterds” is actually Tarantino’s most mature film in over ten years. Not since “Jackie Brown” has Tarantino dug so deep into a mélange of diverse creations by giving each person a fair, benevolent shake. None of the characters in “Inglourious Basterds” – from the likes of the Jewish Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) who shotguns the story into motion when her family is brutally murdered, to Brad Pitt’s prejudice hatin’ Aldo Raine, and to the magnificent Nazi Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who wears the face of humanity, but really has the soul of a monster – are merely ciphers of the filmmaker himself for his own fantasyland. By trimming the fat, Tarantino places himself at ground zero of his passion for cinema and brings all of the best aspects of his filmmaking persona back home where they belong.

And what’s more homey to Tarantino than lengthy conversations? Told over five chapters, “Inglourious Basterds” is essentially something like twelve different scenes and twelve different chats. It’s a conversation spectacle at its core. While the central characters (Raine, Shoshanna and Landa) drive the narrative by their actions as well as conversations, the amazing supporting cast (which includes Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender and Daniel Brühl) picks up the talky reigns and adds tension to the already hot and sweaty situations. My favorite scene in the film, which is probably the longest (forty-five minutes? Maybe less), takes place at a bar where Diane Kruger’s character, famed German actress Bridgett Von Hammersmark, arranges for the Nazi-killin’ Basterds to meet her there. In what amounts to a Mexican stand-off of a chat, two of the most masculine members of the Basterds face off against a brutal, important Nazi in an attempt to out-man the other man. Though it all ends in bullet shells and lost Cinderella slippers, Tarantino still manages to comment on masculinity as well as build an atmosphere so thick with intensity you could almost stab it with a knife.

Though I could be biased by my own love of all things classic Hollywood, I feel that Tarantino’s success with “Inglourious Basterds” has largely to do with its time period and appropriate movie references. There’s a lot of Sam Fuller (“The Big Red One”), John Ford (“The Searchers”), Jacques Tourneur (“Berlin Express”), and Fritz Lang (“Man Hunt”) within the film, and Tarantino utilizes both his heroes’ subtle tact (maybe not Fuller’s…) and highly expressive energy without being bombastically contemporary. He seems to look at his film and the characters within it from a truly 1940s standpoint. Sally Menke’s hardboiled editing is perhaps the clearest indication of this decision. Throughout every conversation, Tarantino keeps the camera rolling on everyone’s faces a few seconds longer than he normally would. The minimal amount of quick cuts allows us to watch each character think and react, which is just fascinating when watching intelligent characters talk.

Much has been said about Christoph Waltz’s performance as the evil-incarnate, Col. Landa. While I agree with everyone in saying that his embodiment is entirely Oscar-worthy, I can’t help but personally gravitate towards the two main female performances by Kruger and Laurent. Their characters, particularly Laurent’s Shoshanna, are really culturally stimulating from a feminist perspective. In both perfect Fassbinder and Cukor style, these ladies radiate strength and perseverance. Though they’re at the forefront of the story in “Inglourious Basterds,” I think it’s remarkably fitting that Tarantino contained their heroics within the physical structure of the narrative. It’s hard to explain this without giving the game away, but let’s just say that all of their perilous deeds go un-thanked on every level while, of course, all of the good and evil male characters score all the kudos they possibly can. While the world remembers the countless male soldiers and their cinematic representations during WWII, women really only have the figure of Rosie the Riveter to symbolize the plights of women everywhere during that time period. Shoshanna probably could have stood for something similar and brought hope to women all over the world if her circumstances had panned out differently. But maybe not.

As a determined character study, “Inglourious Basterds” succeeds on every level. It’s also, at times, incredibly unsettling and hysterically funny. Robert Richardson’s cinematography is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and brings the vibrant reds, blacks and whites of the stellar art direction to life with as much vigor and pep as any Tarantino film has yet displayed. This film has (hopefully) elevated Quentin Tarantino to the next stage of his filmmaking career, and has me truly looking forward to whatever comes next.

==Written by Sara Freeman==

==From: In Review Online (www.inreviewonline.com)==

A new film by Quentin Tarantino isn't just another film, it's an event. Despite his talents at both writing and directing, along with his extreme adoration and knowledge of all things cinema, he's only made six films to date. Bursting onto the scene in the early '90s with the now iconic Reservoir Dogs, he then moved on to what many consider his masterpiece (and my personal favourite movie of all time), Pulp Fiction. Then came Jackie Brown, his most well-rounded film to date and one that goes underrated. Six years later he gave us Kill Bill, split into Vol.1 and Vol.2, and a few years after that, there was his seriously misunderstood and underrated half of the Grindhouse experience, Death Proof.

All of his movies consist mainly of dialogue — he's proven time and again that he excels at writing it — and despite its appearances, his sixth film, Inglourious Basterds, follows suit. Those expecting an action-packed war film need to look elsewhere as this is more about the talk than it is the walk. It's just lucky the guy responsible for the talking knows what he's saying.

Set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, Inglorious Basterds (yes, the title is intentionally misspelled) follows a group of Jewish-American soldiers, known as "The Basterds," who make it their mission to brutally kill as many Nazi soldiers as they can, causing widespread fear among the enemy in the process. The Basterds soon run into a French-Jewish girl who runs a movie theatre that the group of soldiers target after they find out most of the Nazi command structure will be attending a première there.

Inglourious Basterds is a film that's been gestating for a long time. Much in the same vein as some of his other ideas (The Vega Brothers comes to mind, a project that would tell the backstory of John Travolta and Michael Madsen's brother characters from Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, respectively), Tarantino has been saying he'd do a war film for years, but nothing came of it until now. And what he has come up with is simultaneously unique and yet full of references to various other movies. He employs his usual tip of the hat to his influences, but in a decisively more subtle way than he usually does. This is a bit less of a pop culture-ish tale from Mr. Tarantino.

Filling the screen is a diverse array of actors and actresses from all different countries, from America and Britain to France and Germany. The cast features the likes of Brad Pitt (in top form as the leader of The Basterds, Lt. Aldo Raine), Eli Roth (making his proper acting debut), Michael Fassbender, Til Shweiger, Daniel Bruhl, Diane Kruger, and English-language newcomer Melanie Laurent. He even fits in Mike Myers as an army general (seriously), and Samuel L. Jackson as a narrator for part of the story. It's an odd and striking group of actors that Tarantino has assembled for his first ever tale of war, but just like his soundtracks, they work in context.

However, as good as the rest of the cast are, a special mention must go to Christoph Waltz as the methodical, exacting, and sadistic Colonel Hans Landa. He represents the focus of the enemy Nazis to The Basterds (even more than the little seen Hitler), and he absolutely steals every scene as well as the viewer's attention. Waltz was nominated and won the award for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival this year for this role; it may seem strange from the outside looking in that the one award a film like this wins is for acting, but trust me, Waltz is astonishingly good. The character is about the best to grace the screen all year; it's really hard nowadays to create a unique character that stands on its own, and Tarantino has done that with Colonel Landa. I would even go as far to say he's one of the best characters of the last few years, if not of the whole decade so far.

As usual, the diverse and strange soundtrack Tarantino has used for Basterds is expertly chosen and, like the cast, it totally works within the context of the movie. There's a brilliant mix of musical score (albeit from already established movies) and normal music tracks, and will have you constantly thinking, "Where have I heard that song before?" but not quite being able to place it. Only Tarantino could have put Ennio Morricone and David Bowie in one movie and managed to make it work. He always manages to strike that perfect balance of songs that are of quality but aren't necessarily widely known. This is just another reason his movies are so special, and Inglourious Basterds is certainly no different.

Most of the film is made up of extended scenes of dialogue as opposed to bloody violent action scenes as you'd expect from how it's been marketed. The latter is understandable considering the Weinstein Company will want to make as much money as possible after their Grindhouse ended in financial failure. But I suspect most people who see this because of Tarantino's name will know what they're getting themselves in for.

The dialogue is whip sharp, precise and with many a memorable line spouted in a variety of different languages. Speaking of which, a lot of the movie is in either French or German, with English only being spoken whenever an English-speaking character talks or when Tarantino makes some sort of wink-wink joke. He has a bit of fun with the latter with a lot of the subtitles (for example, "oui" will come up on-screen instead of "yes" as English translation).

At over 150 minutes, and with the sheer amount of detail to be found here as per Tarantino's usual MO, some may see this as sheer indulgence on the director's part. And I guess in a way it is. However, if you're a fan of his style of filmmaking — smart dialogue over action, diverse and iconic characters, on and on — this will be movie heaven for you. I can tell you it absolutely was for me.

This is a film that you can tell has been made by a talented filmmaker who's also a fan of the medium. The "main event" takes place in a cinema, for god's sake! The film is filled with iconic characters, brilliant performances, superb dialogue, expertly chosen music, and just the right amount (enough but not too much) of blood and carnage. All the boxes are ticked for an enjoyable and technically superb motion picture. Ultimately Inglourious Basterds marks not only one of the best films of the year so far, but also a film that will endure over the years. Man, will Tarantino ever make a film that falls short of pure brilliance?

==Written by Ross Miller==

==From: Movie World (www.movie-world.moonfruit.com)==

Quentin Tarantino returns at full force withInglourious Basterds, the epic war drama follow-up to Death Proof. Although this film takes a different direction than we’re used to seeing with Mr. Tarantino, everything in Inglourious Bastards is pure Q.T. From the subtle homages and generous graphic violence to the strong dialogue, this film takes all of Quentin’s best features and sets them in a different and historic time-period.

Before we dive into this work of art, let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat: this is a fantasy film. Please read my rant on the topic of so-called “historically accurate” films. If you’re looking for a more accurate portrayal of WWII, I might suggest a good documentary or even Downfall (2004). I shouldn’t even have to mention this tidbit as any film fan knows what’s in store when they walk into a Quentin Tarantino film, but undoubtedly there are still many viewers in uproar about inaccurate portrayals of historical events.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. Not unlike Pulp Fiction, the film follows a set of intertwined stories that begin to come together as the film progresses. The story follows a motley group of Jewish-American soldiers, the Basterds, set out to have their revenge and put fear into the Nazi regime. On the other hand, Col. Hans Landa is out to find any Jews or opponents of the Nazis. Meanwhile, a young French woman is out for her own revenge against the regime. The story provides many likable characters and dramatic moments combined with plenty of comic relief.

What absolutely needs to be praised with this film is the brilliant cast. Christoph Waltz is the standout as Col. Hans Landa, aka the Jew Hunter. Waltz’s portrayal of the intimidating and evilly hilarious villain has already earned him the Best Actor award at Cannes, and I’m guessing a few more awards will be in order. Aside from Waltz, megastar Brad Pitt steps in as Lt. Aldo Raine, aka Aldo the Apache. Pitt’s southern-fried Nazi scalp-seeking Raine attacks the screen with comedic ferocity. Giving the veteran gents a run for their money, the young and lovely Mélanie Laurent steals the show as Shosanna Dreyfus, a young Jewish theater owner who’s family was murdered by the Nazis. Diane Kruger also graces the screen as double-agent Bridget von Hammermark. All of the rest of the cast, especially the Basterds, delivered exceptionally well.

Aside from the cast, the film displays plenty of artistic goodness. Blending styles from spaghetti westerns and war epics, the picture is a pleasant testament to breaking genre boundaries. It would also not be a Tarantino film without a brilliantly selected musical score to accompany the illustrious scenery. The camera angles and editing are as inventive as ever. The glorified violence that conservative individuals love to hate is beautifully and graphically stylized. To make things more authentic, the spoken languages are in German, French, and Italian as well as English. To top things off, we’re left with an incredible scene within the movie theater at the end of the film, with my personal favorite part being Shosanna’s “Giant Face” on the movie screen.

Inglourious Basterds is one of those films that people are either going to love or hate (as is the case with many of Q.T.’s films). Opponents of excess violence and historical inaccuracies are sure to have their panties in a bunch. But for us movie fans, this film is a whole lot of fun and just a purely well made film. For fans that may have drifted away after Death Proof (myself not included), they will most certainly be reassured with this latest installment. Top-notch writing and directing combined with a diverse cast where absolutely everyone was on-target makes Inglourious Basterds the standout film of 2009 and one to set the bar for Quentin Tarantino himself and other filmmakers alike.

==Written by Nicolas ==

==From: Critic Nic (www.criticnic.com)==

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)!