Inglourious Basterds is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an alternate history story of a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers that coincides with a theatre owner’s vengeful plans for the same in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
Tarantino originally wanted to call the movie Once Upon a Time in Occupied France
Before settling on “Inglourious Basterds,” Tarantino wanted to name the film “Once Upon a Time… In Nazi-Occupied Germany.” Tarantino was inspired by Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time…” film series. Although he initially passed on Leone’s titling style, Tarantino utilized it in 2019 with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Tarantino still included “Once Upon a Time … In Nazi-Occupied Germany” as the subtitle of the film’s first chapter.
Christoph Waltz wasn’t the first choice to play Hans Landa. Tarantino originally wanted to cast Leonardo DiCaprio
Tarantino originally wanted Leo to play the film’s villain. After deciding he wanted Landa to be played by a native German-speaking actor, Waltz got the part. DiCaprio and Tarantino would later team up twice. Once in “Django Unchained” and again in “Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood.”
Inglourious Basterds is the first Quentin Tarantino film to win an Oscar for acting. Christoph Waltz was awarded as Best Supporting Actor
Quentin Tarantino was considering abandoning the film
Quentin Tarantino was considering abandoning the film Inglourious Basterds while the casting search for someone to play Colonel Hans Landa took place, fearing he’d written a role that was unplayable. After Christoph Waltz auditioned, however, both Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender agreed they had found the perfect actor for the role.
Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s highest-grossing film since Pulp Fiction (1994)
To prepare for her role in Inglourious Basterds, Mélanie Laurent worked as a film projectionist for a few weeks at New Beverly Cinema
Quentin Tarantino originally wanted to cast Adam Sandler as Donny Donowitz (AKA The Bear Jew) in Inglourious Basterds, but Sandler turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts
Only thirty percent of the film Inglourious Basterds is spoken in English
