After Jackie Brown and Kill Bill, I needed more Tarantino on 4K. Fortunately Arrow just put out Inglourious Basterds in a new special edition.
A decade and a half later, the World War II revisionist history is no longer a surprise, but it’s still a highly entertaining execution of men on a mission, and three threads converging in an epic finale.
And boy, Tarantino knows how to make a movie look good. I hope we still get one more.
4K highlights his use of shadow in Inglourious Basterds, from the inside of the French Farmer’s house with only the doorway lighting the fields outside as Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent) makes her escape, to the darkened corridor from which the Bear Jew (Eli Roth) emeerges. There’s more throughout, like Shoshanna’s nitrate film storage.
Surround sound comes alive in the infrequent but explosive bursts of violence during which gunshots surround the viewer.
Solid new bonus features enhance the original archival materials, including an interview with Omar Doom, Greg Nicotero and editing assistant Fred Raskin. Good video essays tackle less discussed aspects of the film, and Tim Lucas’s commentary includes both analysis and researched information.
Now let’s get Django Unchained, Hateful Eight and Grindhouse on 4K UHD already!