The story of the inglorious bastard opening 

 

For me, one of the most

memorable scenes in recent years

comes from the opening act of

Tarantinos "Inglourious Basterds."

"-A German soldier

Conducts a search

of a house suspected

of hiding Jews.

Where does the hawk look?"

In today's deep dive

we're going to unpack the creative

choices that Tarantino makes

to keep the scene interesting.

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Let's dive into

"Inglourious Basterds."

First, a bit of backstory.

The film begins witha

farmer and his family

in Nazi-occupied France.

They're working outside

a little farmhouse

when a small motorcade pulls up.

And SS Colonel Hans

Landa introduces himself.

"- It is a pleasure to meet

you, Monsieur LaPadite...

.l am Colonel Hans

Landa of the SS.

Then our scene begins.The scene begins

with rigid symmetry.

Immediately, we align with

the farmer and his family.

The first viewpoint here is

between two of the daughters

as if we're standing with them.

When we get a reverse shot,

it seems like the view

has rotated a full 180°

This square on framing feels very

limiting, it traps us.

The visual scheme aligns

us with them emotionally.

Here the camera crabs

left to reframe on Landa

as he crosses the room.

"- Colonel Hans Landa of the

SS, Mademoiselle..."

He is in full control

of this encounter.

" Please...

...have a seat."

Here again,

the camera moves to follow Landa.

It's a subtle pan to the right.

But it reminds us,

Landa controls this scene.

"- This being a dairy farm, one would

be safe in assuming you have milk?

- Oui.

- Then milk is what l prefer.

- Very well.

- Julie, would you mind

closing the window2"

The next change well

see is a subtle one.We start with the old angle.

A close-up glance clues us

to an unspoken understanding

between the farmers about

what's really going on.

So when we cut back to

a medium shot of Landa,

it's actualy different.

"- Merci."

It's a low-angle

shot framing Landa

as a more powerful,

perhaps more

intimidating figure.

The key to these angle changes

is that they parallel changes

in the tone of the scene.

"- Please join me

at your table."

And we soon come to our

next change of angles.

The farmer comes

to sit at the table

and the camera pans right

and re-frames for a two-shot.

"- Monsieur LaPadite..

...what we have to discuss would

be better discussed in private."

You'll notice a bunch of long

static takes in this scene.

They're also part of Tarantino

strategy to draw out the tension.

"- Charlotte,

would you take the girls outside?

The Colonel and I need

to have a few words."

With the farmer's

daughters leavingthe purpose of the

conversation becomes clear.

And the tone of

the scene shifts.

Of course,

the camera angles shift too.

Here we are.

Medium wide, about to settle into a

classic Tarantino-esc conversation

where Landa verbally

outmaneuvers the poor farmer.

It's quite a long take

and it serves as a master shot.

"- To continue to speak it so inadequately

Would only serve to embarrass me.

However, I've been led to believe

you speak English quite well"

In addition to the master,

we have our over-the-shoulder

medium shot of the farmer.

And the corresponding reverse shot

over-the-shoulder and medium of Landa.

It's a textbook

conversation scene

with the camera

roughly at eye level

and the characters

simply chatting.

".l ask your permission

to switch to English.

...for the remainder

of the conversation.

- By all means.

- While l'm very familiar

with you and your family.

."The angle on the

farmers shifts slightly.

We're a little

closer and notably,

Landa is not in the frame.

By framing Landa out,

Tarantino gives us

a more intimate view

of the farmer's sense of

isolation and vulnerability.

He's alone here,

which means he's in danger.

" Please,

tell me what you've heard.

- I've heard

that the Führer has put you in charge

of rounding up the Jews left in France."

And soon we cut to Landa

in a single as well.

We're committed to

the conversation.

The geography of the space

has been established,

SO we get these more

intimate direct angles.

The master two-shot.

The two over-the-sthoulder shots.

And the two singles

are simply classical

Hollywood coverage.

Just about any conversation

scene in a mainstream film

is shot in this way.

The reason is simple,

it provides editorial

protection for the performances."- Before the occupation, there were

four Jewish families in this area,

all dairy farmers

like yourself."

Before we get to the next

significant angle change,

I want to point out this moment.

"- According to these papers,

all the Jewish families in this

area have been accounted for

except the Dreyfuses."

The camera doesn't re-frame.

"- According to these papers..."

Once again Tarantino insists

that Landa and only

Landa control the scene.

No one else could motivate

the camera to move.

At least not yet.

This classical coverage continues for

more than three and a half minutes.

And then Tarantino finally

gives us an actual close-up.

And look, the camnera moves to

follow the farmer's actions.

The farmer's trying to give

confident, believable answers,

he's trying to take

control of the scene.

And for a moment, Tarantino lets us

believe that he's done just that.

But the camera movement ends

with the SS officer's hat

in the foreground.