The Inglorious Bastards

It is well set in 1944 France . Five convict soldiers (Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson , Basehart , Pergolani) in WWII French territory led to martial court escape from lock-up and head to Switzerland . They are commanded by a con-lieutenant (Bo Svenson) . They , then , mistakenly attack an allied command suited as Nazis . Shortly after , the motley gang assigned by an Allied colonel (Ian Bannen) pull off a daring assault on a Nazi-held stronghold , the most heavily guarded base . To add intrigue , a female (Debra Berger) and French resistance (Michel Constantine) have joined the ranks of the rag-tag , tough outfit ; besides , a rebel Nazi (Raimund Harmstorf) has also infiltrated the band . After that , they participate on a suicidal task to thwart the Nazi schemes by blowing up a train containing V2 head-rockets in a decisive battle for winning the war .

The movie packs noisy action , slow motion explosion , shootouts , bombing and results to be quite amusing . It's well-made war-action/thriller/adventure/ Eurotrash film , it is a standout in its genre : ¨The Spaghetti-Italian warlike¨ . Relentless plot twists , in spite of some flaws , the warlike action keeps you breathless ; dealing with a peculiar band to steal the Nazi's most precious military hardware , and bring it back to the allies without getting arrested again by their own side . Rough , elegant Bo Svenson is fine as the group leader of the motley pack , he leads the misfit band of crooks from behind enemy lines . Remainder cast formed by Fred Williamson , Michel Constantine , Debra Berger (William Berger's daughter) , Enzo G. Castell himself in a brief cameo and Peter Hooten as an assassin convict are nice . The film takes part from American classic movies , just like :¨Dirty dozen¨ , ¨Kelly's heroes¨ and ¨ Where the eagles dare¨ but is actually its origin an Italian movie in similar plot , titled ¨ Hell commandos¨ (1969) .

Inglorious bastards¨ had a special remake directed by Quentin Tarantino , in fact several scenes had to be re-scripted and/or shot differently as during filming the Italian Government, in response to increasing activity by the terrorist Red Brigade, drafted a law prohibiting the holding of weapons in case they fell into Red Brigade hands . The castle rescue scenes originally featured a massive shoot out, but were rewritten into the covert attack and escape featured, using knives, catapults and crossbows instead of firearms . The picture was professionally directed by Enzo Girolami Castellari who previously had made another good war film : ¨Eagles over London¨ . Besides , Enzo usually worked with Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson (who is even named as a co-writer on screenplay on deposit at the Copyright Office) in Italian ¨B¨ films such as : ¨Delta Force commando¨ ,¨Deadly impact¨, ¨ Tides of war¨ ,¨Bronx warriors¨, and ¨Warriors of the wasteland¨ .

An entertaining action-war movie. I remember i bought this movie the in a video-store back in 1986-87. It was an old English video-version from the early 80's (from that time when video-stores in my country imported video-movies direct from England without giving them subtitles)

The movie have some similarity's with "The Dirty Dozen" and it's obvious that the film-makers got much inspiration from this great hit from the 60's. Acting and plot is not the greatest in history, but it's still a very exiting film. Not so much indifferent action-scenes here, like there are in many other movies of this type.

8 out of 10

The Italian industry from the 50's to the late 70's thrived by imitating big Hollywood box office hits and even though The Inglorious Bastards came a good 10 years after the WWII action cycle of the 60's, it's still a welcome addition to the genre. Two years after his spaghetti western masterpiece Keoma, director Enzo G. Castellari gathers a cast of b-movie stalwarts spearheaded by Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, a couple hundred disposable extras in Nazi uniforms and unleashes hell.

There's no sophistication or Spielberg-ian schmaltz here. It's an action-er through and through with a comedic touch and lots of gunplay. Castellari is no hack though and you can see flashes of his directorial brilliance in the slow-motion intercutting shots in the train, which rival anything Sam Peckinpah has done with the same technique. He knows he's not doing Citizen Kane though so he doesn't let his "artistry" get in the way of making an entertaining picture. Not a masterpiece by any means and it will probably seem outdated to anyone used to modern CGI work and Matrix stunts. This is old school action.

Tarantino is preparing a remake of sorts for 2009 but The Inglorious Bastards has enough going for it to warrant a watch not just so you can brag to your friends on opening day that you've seen the original. Action fans will get a kick out of it.

I viewed this movie because the QT movie of the same title came out in 2009. I enjoyed the drama of this movie, the plot twists, and action. I was raised in the era of Clint Eastwood's Italian westerns and while this was a low budget Italian made film, it contains some of the elements that makes those movies so great.

Slightly like the Dirty Dozen this movie remains true to history and looks deep into human nature. There is a lot of good action scenes and the acting is great for the style. There are better action war films to watch but few that will remain a classic like this one.

While I did not enjoy the 2009 movie by QT, I must thank him for directing my attention to this title. Enzo Girolami Castellari is by far a much better director from viewing both movies of the same title. My advice is to rent both and come to your own conclusions.

A group of American convicts in WWII Europe escapes in transport and makes their way for the Swiss border. Along the way they encounter German platoons -- lots of shoot outs ensue. Eventually, they come across another American contingent and are mistaken for a special ops team whose plan is to bomb a Nazi train carrying some sort of big fancy weapon. More shoot outs ensue.

Leave your hat and your desire for plot logic at the door if you want to enjoy this bargain-bin version of "The Dirty Dozen." Much of this film doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but you won't realize it doesn't make sense until after the movie's over, because while you're watching it it's easy to be distracted by the energy of the storytelling and film-making. One thing this movie has is style.

Bo Svenson heads the cast of mostly unknowns, though Ian Bannen (who has an Academy Award nomination to his credit, though not for this) brings some actorly street cred to the film as a general. The movie makes no effort whatsoever to capture the period feel of 1944 Europe. The various pornstaches on display are pure 1978.

Grade: A-