Find out how this genius helped us differentiate the character of Hans Landa in the opening shots of Inglourious Basterds.
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Find out how this genius helped us differentiate the character of Hans Landa in the opening shots of Inglourious Basterds.
If long, one-shot dialogues and violent shootouts (plus some feet scenes) are your thing, then Quentin Tarantino is the director that you should go for. From movies like Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino is the man, the myth, the legend who knows what true cinema is (like Martin Scorsese).
However, it’s not just his feet fetish that he is known for. There’s a genius at work, and his genius is clearly visible in his iconic movies.
The opening scene from Inglourious Basterds, where Hans Landa visits Monsieur La Padite’s house (who was harboring Jews beneath his floorboard), is a masterpiece in storytelling due to its iconic cinematography. Well, here’s how Tarantino convinced you right off that Colonel Hans Landa wasn’t a simple character like he seemed.
(*Cue Cat People by David Bowie) Put on the director's hat because we are going to take a deep dive into the mastermind that is Quentin Tarantino. If you look carefully, the opening shots of Inglourious Basterds feature Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa waltzing into the room (the joke was right there), where Monsieur La Padite and his three daughters are present.
The first shots of Colonel Hans Landa and Monsieur La Padite showcase their full faces, indicating that they both have nothing to hide at the moment. The gentlemen sit down at the table while Hans Landa drinks his milk. The camera cuts between two faces as both Hans Landa and LaPadite seem innocent.
However, the camera shifts behind the table, and we only see half of the men's faces. This indicates that both have something to hide. Monsieur La Padite was harboring Jews beneath his floorboard while Hans Landa was hiding the fact that he wanted to hunt them.
Both faces are covered in half-shadow due to the iconic cinematography done by Quentin Tarantino. When they start conversing in English, Hans Landa gets up, revealing that his intentions are fulfilled.
With nothing to hide once again, Hans Landa calls his soldiers with his full face revealed. That’s the genius of Quentin Tarantino. Not only does Tarantino further the storyline with his iconic characters and dialogue, but he also does it so brilliantly with the cinematography and his crew. It was natural for the director to call Inglourious Basterds his masterpiece.
In an interview with Variety, Quentin Tarantino sat down to talk about the movies that he made over the years. Starting from Reservoir Dogs on his way to Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and more, Tarantino has a total of 9 movies to his name as a director.
The director revealed that although Kill Bill "is the ultimate Quentin movie", he still considers Inglourious Basterds as his masterpiece.
So I think ‘Kill Bill’ is the movie I was born to make, I think ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my masterpiece, but ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is my favorite.
He further continued,
I think ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my best script, and I think ‘Hateful Eight’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood’ are right behind.
Well, I have to agree with Tarantino that Inglourious Basterds is indeed a masterpiece in terms of storytelling, cinematography, music, and characters. "Cat People" by David Bowie is still my top-favorite song, and yes, Inglorious Basterds was the movie that introduced me to Quentin Tarantino.
As the world waits for Quentin Tarantino's 10th and final movie, it is time for a rewatch and Inglourious Basterds is the movie I choose everytime. What's your favorite Tarantino movie?
