The Inglorious Bastards (1978) American Transcontinental/Action-Adventure RT: 99 minutes Rated R (strong violence, language, nudity) Director: Enzo G. Castellari Screenplay: Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Romano Migliorini, Laura Toscano and Franco Marotta Music: Francesco De Masi Cinematography: Giovanni Bergamini Release date: December 1981 (US) Cast: Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani, Jackie Basehart, Michel Constantin, Debra Berger, Raimund Harmstorf, Ian Bannen. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
I’d like to start by pointing out that Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 WWII movie Inglorious Basterds is NOT a remake of The Inglorious Bastards, the 1978 spaghetti war movie from Enzo G. Castellari (1990: The Bronx Warriors). Other than the slight variation on the title, the only thing the two movies share in common is the basic premise of a team of disreputable soldiers on a mission in WWII. If anything, The Inglorious Bastards is an Italian remake of The Dirty Dozen (minus a not-so-magnificent seven). The tagline even reads “Whatever the Dirty Dozen did, they do it dirtier”. That alone makes Enzo’s intentions crystal clear.
We first meet the titular inglorious bastards in France circa 1944 as they’re being transferred to the stockade to await court-martial for various offenses. The leader of this motley crew is Lt. Yeagar (Svenson, Breaking Point) who hijacked his own plane to visit his girlfriend in London. The others are murderer Canfield (Williamson, Vigilante), deserter Berle (Basehart, The Iron Hand of the Mafia), killer Tony (Hooten, The Soldier) and petty thief Nick (Pergolani), the “Oddball” of the bunch. He’s been locked up so long, he sports hair as long as the average rock star.
Along the way, their convoy is attacked by German aircraft and the five prisoners manage an escape. En route to the Swiss border and freedom, they pick up an escaped German prisoner (Harmstorf, Bloody Friday) they find hiding in a barn. Later, they hook with a band of partisan fighters where Tony falls for a beautiful French nurse, Nicole (Berger, Dangerously Close). Their original plan falls apart after they inadvertently kill a team of Americans (disguised as German soldiers) on special assignment. Much to the distrust of the CO overseeing the mission, Col. Buckner (Bannen, Eye of the Needle), they take on their secret mission- a suicide mission at that- out of a combination of guilt and duty. It entails attacking an armored train, blowing up a bridge and stealing a gyroscope from top secret weapon prototype.
Rather than show the harsh realities of war, Enzo elects to have some fun with The Inglorious Bastards starting with the animated opening titles that recall Sergio Leone and his spaghetti westerns- e.g. the Man with No Name trilogy. The guys have a few close calls including one with a group of nude female swimmers who fire guns at them after seeing Canfield and realizing they’re Americans. There’s a lot of shooting and explosions in The Inglorious Bastards and the coolest thing about them is the spectacular way the enemy soldiers die. They don’t just fall to the ground; they throw their arms up wildly and fly through the air like gymnasts. It happens again and again; there must be at least 100 deaths if not more in Enzo’s flick.
The Inglorious Bastards has a sweet cast for an Italian exploitation flick. Svenson displays equal parts charisma and machismo as an officer conveniently fluent in German. Williamson, my favorite blaxploitation star, gives mean glares as he delivers tough guy dialogue like “I accidentally killed a loud mouth sergeant just like you. Ya wanna try for two? They can only shoot me once.” Pergolani gets the funniest bits as Nick, a gifted pickpocket described by one MP as “a walking Woolworth’s”. If I’m being honest, performance isn’t a high priority in The Inglorious Bastards. All the guys really have to do is strike macho poses and shoot guns. This is good since Enzo is much better at action than dialogue. He stages some truly exciting action sequences like a raid on a German stronghold to rescue one of their own. Of course, the finale on the train is AWESOME!
As is typical in the exploitation genre, The Inglorious Bastards is known by multiple titles. At one point, it was reedited and rereleased as G.I. Bro to appeal to the urban market. This version’s tagline was “If you’re a kraut, he’ll take you out” referring to Williamson’s character. As you know, I just LOVE this kind of thing. What’s better is that The Inglorious Bastards is actually a good movie. Sure, it’s derivative of many American war movies and the dialogue is obviously the work of somebody for whom English is a second language. Like most spaghetti-type exploitation flicks, the dubbing isn’t all that great. WHO CARES? It delivers where it’s most important, ACTION! It definitely does not short-change the viewer in this area. As long as it has that, the rest is of little importance.
