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See the movie that Quintin Tarantino can’t stop talking about.

The Inglorious Bastards has slowly been appearing on more and more people’s radar due to Quentin Tarantino’s constant mentioning that he’s in the process of remaking it.  For the past eleven years he’s been talking about how much he wants to remake this World War II B-movie.  From recent reports he’s finished the script and it looks like it’s going to be a two movie magnum opus.  Cause that’s what ever hour and a half B-movie needs is a two-movie adaptation.  I’m all for remaking films that it wouldn’t hurt if it was remade and The Inglorious Bastards definitely fits that bill.  After hearing about it again and again over the years, I was excited to get a copy of the movie in my hot little hands.  With expectations set low (we are talking about a Tarantino hyped film), I expected a fun, over-the-top film that would at least entertain if nothing else.  I wasn’t disappointed but I was surprised that I had seen the movie before but in a different context.

Now stop me if you’ve heard this before, set in World War II, five shamed U.S. soldiers have been placed under arrest for different reasons.  The crew is made up of Tony (Peter Hooten), a man with a plan that can see all the angles; Nick (Michael Pergolani), a thief that can get you anything you need;  Berle (Jackie Baseheart), a coward that is good with machines; Canfield (Fred Williamson), big black guy that growls a lot; and Lt. Yeager ( Bo Svenson), a good looking guy that got busted for using his plane to visit is girlfriend.  When their prison transport is attacked by Nazi’s, the five escape and head for the Swiss border.  On their way out of the war, they learn of an undercover mission to destroy a Nazi war machine being hauled through France by train.  The take the place of the men assigned to take it out and go ape shit crazy on the French countryside. 

If get rid of the thief and change the World War II soldiers to Vietnam vets, well you have The A Team.  Yes that seminal work of 80’s action was a rip off of a no name Italian film.  Like The A Team, Inglorious Bastards is a pretty simple film.  There aren’t any deep subplots or ponderousness on the nature of war and how it affects men; nope, this is just a straight-forward shoot ‘em up action flick that is what it is. The film is a loosely strung together series of action set pieces with the thinnest of story to tie it all together. 

Like most international Italian productions, the film involved an international cast with marquee names from different countries so they could easily re-dub the film and promote it around the actor from that country.  The dubbing here is highly suspect as many times the syncing doesn’t match up to actors mouth.  This only adds to the camp factor of the film and enhances the experience instead of detracting.  Inglorious Bastards is a fun movie that lasts a long as it should.  The thought that Quentin Tarantino is expanding the film into a three plus hour film is a little more than frightening.

Severin has released a great three disc edition of the movie.  It’s hard to find fault with anything included here.  There is an audio commentary by director Enzo G. Castellari and moderated by DVD producer David Gregory.  It’s not listed on the packaging anywhere and unless you know it’s there, you probably won’t find it.  Go to the audio options and you’ll find it.  There is also a theatrical trailer and a short conversation between Tarantino and Castellari.  It runs a little over a half hour and if you enjoy listening to Tarantino babble on and on, this is just the item for you.

Disc two has two featurettes on it.  A short called “Back to the War Zone” has the director visiting the locations where the film was shot and comparing them to now is a interesting enough extra but “Train Kept-A-Rollin’” is the main attraction.  This seventy-five minute documentary goes into great detail on the making of the film.  Featuring interviews with Castellari, Svenson, Williamson, effects man Gino De Rossi, producer Robert Sbarigia, screenwriter Laura Toscana and others, no stone is unturned.  It’s a great extra that adds to the film with insight into the stuntwork, budget problems, special effects, government interference and working in Rome.  Both are primarily in Italian with subtitles.

The third disc is the soundtrack to the film with four tracks composed by Francesco De Masi.  At just over 18 minutes, I wonder why this had to be its own disc as it could have easily been added to the second disc.

The Inglorious Bastards isn’t the lost cult film that must be seen but it is a fun movie that fans of The Dirty Dozen will highly enjoy. It’s a fun romp into the past and should wet the whistle of people eagerly waiting for Tarantino get off his butt and get his film made.  If you enjoyed The A Team, you’ll especially want to see where their concept came from.  Severin has done another standout release on a lessor known film.

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