# Inglourious Basterds is Possibly the Stupidest Best Picture Nominee I've Ever Seen. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246 "2012-10-09T19:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/81 "2012-10-15T15:46:18Z")
> [@Uther\_Penguin](#): > > I dispute this statement vehemently. In LOTR, wing-sprouting hobbits would be awful nonsense, but a generic “fantasy movie” can indeed have its own rules, so if a species is stated to magically grow wings there, the plot can show it doing so. > > Likewise, there a no binding laws for “WW2 movies”. Do you seriously think that _Schindler’ List_ or _Saving Private Ryan_ follow the same set of narrative rules as _Hogan’s Heroes_, _Kelly’s Heroes_ or as _Catch-22_? Each of these has its own rules, as they belong to different narrative styles. IB is a mixture of revenge fantasy and comedy, and does not in the slightest have to follow the rules of serious WW2 documentaries. > > Should I open a thread how awful _The Court Jester_ was, since there never was an usurper called Roderick in England and the characters’ garments and teeth were much too clean and **a lot of the rhymes would not even work in medieval English**? > > In general, I think the current concept of genres is less than useful. It muddles a type of setting with a type of story. Once upon a time there was a strong correlation - fantasy often combined a magical-medieval setting with a epic quest story. WW2 implied a rather heroic fighting tale. Horror usually run “man meets monster, man fights monster, man kills monster”. > > But today, the connection of setting and plot is much looser - a vampire setting can contain a story of romance, a wild west setting can have a plot about a heroic quest, a grimdark heist or even an alien invasion. But for some reviewers and a lot of readers and moviegoers there still seems to be the one true plot type for a given setting. You miss the point, I don’t want movies that follow genre rules, but rather movies that set up rules and then follow them. For example, in Captain America we have a super soldier who fights Nazis wielding ray guns powered by a supernatural cube. But that was not intelligence insulting since the people in the movie acted like people would if such things were possible. In IB there is a band of American soldiers operating behind enemy lines, and they are so succesful that they are well known and are being hunted by the German army. Despite this, they never act like they are in any danger. In the scene where the Bear Jew kills the german with the bat, the whole group is whooping it up like they are in a secure location instead of the middle of a forest in occupied france. The only real suspense in the movie is the first scene because people the people in danger are acting terrified. There is a german war hero who follows the jewish girl around like a love sick puppy, despite her not giving him any encouragment. This is a man who is getting autograph requests every where he goes, and is starring in a movie about his own exploits but can not find a woman in Paris. There are also two plots to kill Hitler and they both succeed, which eliminates the suspense from either plot. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/82 "2012-10-16T03:18:55Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I think even for alternative history stories, some verisimilitude of era is necessary. I was going to respond to your OP, but then you said verisimilitude and I lost interest. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/83 "2012-10-16T04:50:58Z")
Wasn’t “Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France” in the opening credits? I think this makes it pretty clear it’s not meant to be an alternate reality but not reality at all. Also clearly a reference to Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West.” I know it was a tag-line and one of its working titles, but can’t recall 100% if it was on-screen at the beginning of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/84 "2012-10-16T08:11:11Z")
> [@porcupine](#): > > Wasn’t “Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France” in the opening credits? I think this makes it pretty clear it’s not meant to be an alternate reality but not reality at all. Also clearly a reference to Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West.” I know it was a tag-line and one of its working titles, but can’t recall 100% if it was on-screen at the beginning of the film. It was on screen, and it sums up the film perfectly. It’s halfway between a fairytale and a spaghetti western, if you want genres. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/85 "2012-10-16T11:36:56Z")
The OP is not wrong as such, but does rather miss the point. I enjoyed _IB_ more than I expected I would. Landa was chilling, and it has some great scenes, such as the way the tension builds before the bar shootout. Another strength was that I really wasn’t sure where it was headed, it suspends the ordinary conventions of cinema. However, I don’t think it added up to a coherent whole, and I don’t think I’ll ever re-watch it. It also left me feeling somewhat uncomfortable. > [@Uther\_Penguin](#): > > But I get the feeling that suspending ones own disbelief is an art slowly lost. In a certain way, that might have its positive side, since _in general life_ critical thinking and scepticism towards euphonious fluff is good - we are on the Straight Dope MB, after all. But uncritical scepticism towards stories that mainly aim to entertain seems rather self-defeating. That’s well to bear in mind. Thing is, there is little voluntary about this reaction. All of us have a different threshold where suspension of disbelief is broken. At that point enjoyment is lost, and any merits a work may have become almost invisible. I prefer to watch uncritically, especially when seeing something for the first time, but am often unable to. > [@puddleglum](#): > > IB took place in WW2, in a war zone, therefore its characters need to act like people act in a war zone. it is therefore and insult to the audiences intelligence to have a group of american soldiers screaming and clapping in the french countryside. It is stupid to say someone is a famous criminal and then have no one recognize him. There were numerous other times where people acted in an implausible way. That is just bad writing. That’s a very strong position to take. I don’t think you can draw a line in the sand and say “this breaks the film”. Tarantino places stylism well ahead of realism, and is not necessarily “wrong” to do so. That said, my favourite Tarantino film is _Reservoir Dogs_, where he takes fewer liberties. I completely understand the reaction of the OP and others to the film, I often feel the same. _Independence Day_ is the movie that really pushes my buttons, and the one I’d personally nominate as stupid beyond belief. However, what’s important to me is not that film-makers work to my sense of aesthetics. What I want is for a diversity of films to be made. That way, it’s more likely I can find something enjoyable. Thank god not every director wants to be Tarantino. But almost equally, thank god they don’t all want to be the Coen brothers, or Francis Ford Coppola. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/86 "2012-10-16T11:44:33Z")
I can suspend disbelief, BUT the rules of the reality set up must make sense. You can’t just go feh let it go, no way I suspended my disbelief but you still have to create a coherent reality. People never change, even on another planet fighting unicorn vampires the people have to react realistically and abide by the reality they are in. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/87 "2012-10-16T12:42:56Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I can suspend disbelief, BUT the rules of the reality set up must make sense. There is nothing universal about your, or my, definition of the degree to which reality can be bent in the name of storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/88 "2012-10-16T13:13:17Z")
I thought this movie was good, but not great. I’ve seen it twice. Even though Kill Bill is one of my favorite movies of all time, I don’t know if I would call myself a huge Tarantino fan. I think what he does is interesting, and original, and I _love_ the dialog in his films, but Inglorious Basterds never really struck me as the ‘‘masterpiece’’ so many people think it is. But then again, I’m not a huge fan of war movies and I probably missed a lot of the more nuanced stylistic choices. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/89 "2012-10-16T14:44:21Z")
Waltz was great. As was whoever played the blond Jewish girl. Otherwise? Forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/90 "2012-10-16T15:45:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It was 100% accurate in portraying the world and the era involved. I know. I was there. Unless you are approximately 85 and were in Nazi occupied Europe..you werent there. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/91 "2012-10-16T16:29:06Z")
_Crash_ won Academy Awards and I thought it was a substantially worse movie with a fifth grade message about tolerance or something. Nearly every character was unsympathetic and their behavior rarely made sense. The same can be said about _Inglorious Basterds_, but it was much, much more fun to watch. It had Tarantino’s outstanding dialogue, which truly is the crux of any good Tarantino movie. Did it deserve an Oscar? Probably not, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit, and I’m not angry about it garnering critical acclaim because it’s not trying to be some kind of pretentious, artsy Oscar bait. It’s a well-made movie about people killing Nazis and getting into well-written conversations. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/92 "2012-10-16T21:34:05Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I think I’ve identified your problem. The movie is not supposed to be a taut thriller. > > It’s really (like so many of Tarantino’s movies) a tribute to cinema. It has elements of thriller, war movie, spy movie, period piece, comedy, action… but it doesn’t solely belong in any of these genres. > > Much of the beauty of a Tarantino script is the dialogue. Yes, it’s anachronistic and fantastical. No one talks like that - and mob assassins don’t talk like Samuel Jackson in _Pulp Fiction_ either. It’s stylized. And man, what style! Bingo. I have no problem with the fact that not everyone likes what Tarantino does and by extension dislike his movies. But dislike them for the “right” reasons. 😛 I happen to love what he can do - no one writes dialogue like Tarantino. Or creates characters quite like he does. > [@](#): > > I didn’t expect to like _Basterds_, and I only watched it reluctantly when it got nominated for BP - and I was blown away by how great it was. Not the best picture of the year, but it absolutely deserved its nomination and Waltz deserved his trophy. I did expect to like it and saw it the weekend it released. I walked out of the theater and commented to my friend that if Waltz didn’t win an Oscar for this movie there was no justice in the world. Now if you want to talk about nominated movies that didn’t deserve it, let’s go back to 1994. Seriously?! Forrest Gump? And not only was it nominated - it won!! Hands down the best picture that year was The Shawshank Redemption and I’m still bitter it lost to FG. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/93 "2012-10-16T21:36:38Z")
> [@Mauvaise](#): > > Bingo. I think you mean “Ooooh! That’s a Bingo!” ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/94 "2012-10-16T22:36:53Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I think you mean “Ooooh! That’s a Bingo!” Ohhhhh, how FUN! ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/95 "2012-10-18T00:53:49Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > For years they couldn’t make movies about their own people. Here, they’re more or less the gimmick. And they’re physical action heroes, which is still kind of a taboo. I can;t help thinking think there were some high fives amongst the more self-conscious members of the tribe. Okay, that makes sense. > [@Tarwater](#): > > When the film was screened in Israel, Tarantino reported that the crowd cheered so loudly and vigorously during the scenes in question that it almost made him uncomfortable. Whether the Israeli reaction indicates that there was a similar response from Jewish producers and critics in Hollywood, I couldn’t say. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, at least for some. I think we are looking at two different populations. Israeli Jews know that there are thousands of people in and near to Israel who would be quite happy to see them die just because they are Israeli/Jewish. This makes it easier for them to understand the oppression of Jews in Nazi Europe. Jewish Americans are closer to non-Jewish Americans than they are to Israelis. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/96 "2012-10-18T17:45:33Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > In IB there is a band of American soldiers operating behind enemy lines, and they are so succesful that they are well known and are being hunted by the German army. Despite this, they never act like they are in any danger. In the scene where the Bear Jew kills the german with the bat, the whole group is whooping it up like they are in a secure location instead of the middle of a forest in occupied france. The only real suspense in the movie is the first scene because people the people in danger are acting terrified. > There is a german war hero who follows the jewish girl around like a love sick puppy, despite her not giving him any encouragment. This is a man who is getting autograph requests every where he goes, and is starring in a movie about his own exploits but can not find a woman in Paris. > There are also two plots to kill Hitler and they both succeed, which eliminates the suspense from either plot. So, the problem here is that you don’t find it believable that a successful group of fellas who have been almost bulletproof enough to be well known to the enemy wouldn’t be so full of bravado that they feel bulletproof, or that a famous person who would fall for someone that doesn’t give them the time of day could have issues that keep him from getting laid?I have yet to see the movie, but from your descriptions of your issues with it… those are things i see all the time in real reality. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/97 "2012-10-20T04:00:49Z")
I loved the theater scene: We watch the Nazis’ bloodlust as the movie-within-the-movie shows American soldiers being mowed down by a sniper. The fire begins and everyone panics, and snipers show up in the balcony. The movie audience is now cheering as the Germans are being mowed down, then the perspective changes and, for a moment, we the present-day cheering audience are sitting in front of a burning screen… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/98 "2014-07-20T04:30:00Z")
Well, I realize the zombification factor involved here, but I just saw this movie and loved it. There were more unexpected results than I’ve ever seen in any other movie. The actors who spoke 2, 3, 4, languages seemed to nail it. Great movie all around. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/99 "2014-07-20T05:32:44Z")
Well, Christoph Waltz _did_ get his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and deservedly so. Frankly, I thought Brad Pitt dragged the movie down, as if an A-list star was needed to get the film made but the director resisted and resented his presence. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246/100 "2014-07-20T07:00:44Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Tarantino is, to my mind, about all and only style over substance. (This isn’t meant as a negative remark). If you’re criticizing the substance of the film, you’ve probably missed the point. Yes – the thing is that that appeal to style is so sadly adolescent that it’s mostly just annoying. In fact, the whole “movie about other movies” things is equally as adolescent. It’s like acne that just won’t go away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inglourious-basterds-is-possibly-the-stupidest-best-picture-nominee-ive-ever-seen/637246.md?page=6)