Tarantino's Inspiration for Inglorious Bastards

Itself intended as an 'inspired by' remake of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen, Castellari’s film chronicles a band of American soldiers headed for the stockade who make a dash for Switzerland once Germans kill their convoy. Along the way, these grunts are drafted to help the French Underground by storming a German base and stealing a warhead.

The film starred two of exploitation cinema’s leading lights, Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Part II, Breaking Point) and Fred Williamson (Bucktown, Hell up in Harlem).

Which Bastard is which?

Released in theatres as Inglorious Bastards, the film suffered many title changes and content alterations on video.

--it first premiered on video as Deadly Mission

--a subsequent video released titled the film Hell’s Heroes

--a re-cut version that shifted focus to Fred Williamson was released as G.I. Bro, with the tag line “If you’re a kraut, he’ll take you out!”

--another English title for the Philippines video release was The Dirty Bastard

--Counterfeit Commandos was yet another re-issue title change

A definitive release on DVD

Severin Films has released a new, comprehensive 3-disc edition of Castellari’s epic. Included in the set are:

--a conversation between Quentin Tarantino and Enzo Castellari, about the original film and Tarantino’s plans for the remake

--theatrical trailer

--Back to the War Zone—a locations featurette

--Train Kept a Rollin’—a documentary with director Castellari and stars Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson and Massimo Vani

--bonus CD of surviving soundtrack

Few would suggest that Castellari is a legendary genre filmmaker. His resume is populated by the kind of slap-dash cash-ins that producers hope will succeed due to audience confusion with legitimate, higher-budgeted films. Entries such as Few Dollars for Django, For a Few Bullets More, One Dollar Too Many, The Last House Near the Lake and The Last Jaws don’t inspire confidence in the more discerning film fan. What kind of place does a hack filmmaker have in the pantheon of cinema greats?

Tarantino would disagree. A large part of the former video store clerk’s charm is his refusal to distinguish between grindhouse flicks and art house fare. His cross-pollination of influences has resulted in successful films that introduce the grindhouse to the art house, including Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Death Proof.

He brings this distinct sensibility to his films and celebrates both high art and lowbrow. Whatever the result, there is little doubt that Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards would make both Robert Aldrich and Enzo Castellari proud.

Severin Films released the 3-disc edition of Inglorious Bastards on July 29th, 2008. Tarantino’s remake is due to premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Inglorious Bastards on DVD

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds