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‘Inglourious Basterds’ With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin

July 16, 2019 · Inglourious Basterds (2009) · Adventure · Drama · War · 1:40:03 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Chris Ryan▶ 28:51Nominated multiple scenes including La Louisiane Tavern, Landa at dairy farm opening, Hickox meeting, Shoshana's strudel lunch, and cat people makeup scene. Particularly favors the tavern scene as 'my favorite movie' and compares it to Hitchcock
Mallory Rubin▶ 30:52Agrees with previous nominations and adds the Stiglitz killing spree montage, Hans flip sequence, and theater carnage scenes to consideration
Sean Fennessey▶ 29:33Strongly advocates for the Bear Jew introduction scene and the Gorlami Italian compatriots scene, emphasizing the build-up, musical needle drop, and comedic elements

Half-Assed Internet Research

Chris Ryan▶ 32:57The King Kong scene with Hellstrom is Tarantino's theory about King Kong that he shared with Terry Gross on Fresh Air
Sean Fennessey▶ 34:18Fassbender was born in Germany, raised speaking German, moved to Ireland and learned English, but portrays a person born in England who learns German - mental gymnastics for the actor. Also Fassbender auditioned for Landa five times and was heartbroken he didn't get it
Sean Fennessey▶ 39:09Opening shot is the same as Unforgiven, same setup as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Morricone score is from The Big Gun Down. Opening notes are Für Elise by Beethoven - the great Germanic composer arriving like Landa

What's Aged the Best

Chris Ryan▶ 54:13The language of the writing in general

What's Aged the Worst

Chris Ryan▶ 54:19Eli Roth's feel for the game of baseball - doesn't seem authentic as a Boston guy, learned baseball vocab phonetically
Mallory Rubin▶ 54:45Fassbender only being in two scenes (17 minutes total, doesn't appear until 50th minute) and the slow-mo when Frederick shoots Shoshana
Sean Fennessey▶ 56:45The Cat People scene with David Bowie's voice being too anachronistic and distracting from the film's consistent tone

Casting What-Ifs

Chris Ryan▶ 58:28Leonardo DiCaprio — Discusses multiple casting alternatives: Leonardo DiCaprio was supposed to play Hans Landa but would have required an English-language version; Adam Sandler rumored for Bear Jew role would have worked well; Nastasha Kinski initially considered for Bridget Van Hammersmark but Kruger was better choice
Sean Fennessey▶ 58:42Leonardo DiCaprio — Makes brief comments supporting the casting discussion, noting Leo's dedication (referencing bear carving from The Revenant) and commenting on the tough choice Simon Pegg faced between Tintin and Inglourious Basterds

Dion Waiters Award

Chris Ryan▶ 1:03:21Eli Roth
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:03:12Alexander Fehling — Alexander Felling as Wilhelm (Maximilian's dad)
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:03:35Eli Roth

Joey Pants Award

Chris Ryan▶ 1:08:48Sylvester Groth — Hellstrom's assistant/driver who picks up Shoshana at the movie theater (actor who plays Egon Tiedemann from Dark)
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:09:37Denis Ménochet — Denis Menoshe (who plays the lapidite)

Apex Mountain

Chris Ryan▶ 1:11:20Quentin Tarantino — Argues this could be Tarantino's Apex Mountain, discussing his three phases and current ability to make long talky films that audiences still see
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:12:44Quentin Tarantino — Says this is her favorite Tarantino movie, loves it more than Pulp Fiction and Django, but doesn't explicitly state if it's his Apex Mountain
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:11:51Brad Pitt — No for Tarantino (Pulp Fiction was his peak), Yes for Brad Pitt (citing his incredible run from Ocean's 13 through Inglourious Basterds)

Best Quote

Mallory Rubin▶ 1:32:06Christopher Hitchens' criticism: 'sitting in the dark, having a great pot of warm piss emptied very slowly over your head'

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Chris Ryan▶ 1:33:45Agrees Landa senses something about Shoshana (the milk order, au revoir moment) but notes unanswerable questions are hard with revisionist history
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:35:03How did Shoshana come to own the cinema? The logistics of how she acquired it in four years under a new identity
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:33:25Does Landa recognize Shoshana during the strudel scene when he forgets what he was going to say, and is he already orchestrating his own scheme at the premiere?

Who Won the Movie

Chris Ryan▶ 1:36:53Christoph Waltz — Christoph Waltz - argues Waltz gave Tarantino his movie and it's hard to imagine the film without him
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:38:02Acknowledges both arguments but notes the mixed critical reception complicates declaring Tarantino the winner
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:36:59Quentin Tarantino — Quentin Tarantino - argues this revitalized his career, started his third wave of filmmaking, and he's the sole creator responsible for a movie of the century contender

Movies Referenced (41)

Avatar (2009)

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 26:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cat People (1942)

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 29:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

King Kong (2005)

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 32:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Pulp Fiction (1994)

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin▶ 4:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Blood Diamond (2006)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 39:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 1:23:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

District 9 (2009)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 26:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Drive (2011)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 0:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jerry Maguire (1996)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 0:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 4:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 19:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (9)

Quentin Tarantino

57 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, Mallory Rubin · Known for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, From Dusk Till Dawn▶ 3:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anson Jew

13 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Passengers, Wonder Woman▶ 10:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eli Roth

11 mentions · Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin, Sean Fennessey · Known for The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Inglourious Basterds▶ 5:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lee Daniels

4 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 26:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jason Reitman

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Up in the Air, Saturday Night, Thank You for Smoking▶ 26:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeffrey Goldberg

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin▶ 18:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Ford

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin · Known for The Quiet Man, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley▶ 40:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Rodriguez

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for El Mariachi▶ 25:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Takashi Miike

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for 13 Assassins, Ichi the Killer▶ 25:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (45)

Michael Fassbender

22 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Shame, Prometheus, X-Men: First Class▶ 28:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Heartless Bastards

21 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Safe Haven, Black Snake Moan▶ 1:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Christoph Waltz

17 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Zero Theorem▶ 11:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brad Pitt

14 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Mallory Rubin · Known for Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith▶ 11:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Diane Kruger

7 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Inglourious Basterds, National Treasure▶ 28:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mike Myers

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery▶ 45:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Saul Rubinek

5 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Unforgiven, True Romance, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs▶ 1:03:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rod Taylor

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Inglourious Basterds, The Birds▶ 45:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Bowie

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Labyrinth, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Prestige▶ 16:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Leonardo DiCaprio

3 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed▶ 58:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Simon Pegg

3 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The World's End, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz▶ 58:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sylvester Groth

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for Inglourious Basterds, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.▶ 1:03:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (4)

Cole Porter

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey▶ 1:08:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Elmore Leonard

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Out of Sight, Get Shorty▶ 1:11:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Cameron

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 26:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 16:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Martin Fuhrer

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Lord of the Flies▶ 14:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗