History YMMV / InglouriousBasterds

* {{Applicability}}: [[ThoseWackyNazis The Nazis]] are [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped utterly and completely destroyed]] by [[YouHaveToHaveJews Jews in a movie theater]] after the end of the war. "This movie is based on a true story" indeed.

** German actor August Diehl played a Nazi soldier in this movie. He then went on to play two real-life figures detested by the Nazis: Karl Marx in ''The Young Karl Marx'' and a conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter in ''Film/AHiddenLife''.

* HilariousInHindsight: In Landa's conversation with Shosanna, he tosses some casual racism her way about her black lover Marcel. Creator/ChristophWaltz's next Quentin Tarantino film ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' has him as one of the few non-racists in the cast, and he spends the majority of the film helping a black man.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Lt. Archie Hicox. He only gets about 15 minutes of screen time but Creator/MichaelFassbender makes every second count.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler: It would be really interesting to see [[AlternateHistory how the world would've looked like if Hitler died in 1944]] but sadly the film ends shortly after his assassination.]]

* TrailersAlwaysLie: Much of the marketing campaign focused solely on the Basterds and Landa, giving off the impression that the story's about them. While they are main characters, Shoshanna and her role in the plot are just as important and she's nowhere to be found in the trailers. Possibly justified as Creator/MelanieLaurent was virtually unknown to American audiences at that point.

* ToughActToFollow: Since its 2009 release, few of Quentin Tarantino's other films have come close to following this one's near universal praise. ''Film/DjangoUnchained'', ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' were all quite divisive, with the latter especially being compared unfavorably to this.

* NightmareFuel: Whenever Raine pulled out his knife, scalped the Nazis and carved swastikas onto the foreheads of the survivors, well-deserved as it may be. His best one goes to [[spoiler: Hans Landa]].

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Shosanna has just shot [[spoiler: Zoller]] a few times, only for him to stir shortly afterwards.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' She would go ahead and finish the damn job.\\
'''Instead:''' She shows something approaching regret and tries to go to his side. End result, she gets filled with lead from the victim's sidearm.
** Bridget, Hilcox, Stiglitz and another Basterd meet in a tavern to discuss their plan, when another Major Hellstrom shows up and asks to join them.\\
'''You'd Expect''': Them to politely get rid of him.\\
'''Instead''': They let him join.\\
'''Result''': Bridget gets a bullet in the leg and everyone else in the tavern, including her own allies, are dead. Plus, her injury lead to Landa killing her.

'''You'' Expect''': Them to politely get rid of him.\\

** Eli Roth earned lots of praise for his small but memorable role as Donnie the Bear Jew. Turns out being directed by Quentin Tarantino brings out the best in everyone.
** Diane Kruger was mostly reduced to doing roles that catered to her beauty such as ''{{Film/Troy}}'' and ''Film/NationalTreasure''. Here she shows off plenty of charisma and comic timing as Bridget von Hammersmark - proving that she had more to offer as an actress.
* HilariousInHindsight: In Landa's conversation with Shosanna, he tosses some casual racism her way about her black lover Marcel. Christoph Waltz's next Quentin Tarantino film ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' has him as one of the few non-racists in the cast, and he spends the majority of the film helping a black man.

* NauseaFuel: [[spoiler: The death of Bridget von Hammersmark]], specifically the shot of her face as it happens. [[spoiler: Diane Kruger]] was really being strangled at the time.
* OneSceneWonder: Mike Myers as Ed Fenech, Denis Menochet as Perrier [=LaPadite=]. Rachtman, Hellstrom, and UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill.
* OvershadowedByControversy: The film was obliquely affected by the controversy of Uma Thurman being forced into a dangerous car crash in ''Film/KillBill'', which drew increased scrutiny to the already infamous scene where Tarantino's own hands are the ones strangling Bridget. Diane Kruger was quick to deny any wrongdoing, saying that Tarantino told her exactly what he had planned, a maximum of two takes where he would genuinely choke her for several seconds, and only went ahead with it after she agreed and stuck to his word.
* PeripheryDemographic: One thing Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth didn't expect is the movie having such a large popularity among the yaoi fans. Though they both announced their immense approval of the fan fiction upon discovering it.

** Daniel Bruhl will of course be better known to Marvel fans as [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Helmut Zemo]].

** Hicox's overly aggressive stance in the tavern. He causes a scene by chewing out a drunk German soldier rather than gracefully entreating his friends to control him, then picks a fight with the SS officer whose suspicion he's already aroused.
** Shosanna's reaction to the German propaganda film, moving her to pity [[spoiler:its star Zoller and ultimately prompting her to go to his side when he stirs, allowing him to shoot her]].
** Since Landa knew that Aldo's Bowie knife had carved many a swastika into many a forehead, one wonders why he didn't simply toss it out the window of the car on the way out of France (or get rid of it in some other way) so that Aldo could never use it on him.

** Also, Fredrick Zoller. Is he the DoggedNiceGuy trying to help out his crush, only to get [[spoiler: [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished manipulated and shot over it]]?]] Or is he a creepy, annoying StalkerWithACrush, hounding Shoshanna (a woman who repeatedly shows that she has no interest in him), believing that due to his fame, he is entitled to get whatever he wants? [[spoiler: His last scene where he yells and threatens her after getting fed up with her attitude lends credence to the latter interpretation, but on the other hand, some of his lines seem practically lifted from a cliched romance, and Tarantino has stated that, in any other time, they probably would have ended up together.]] Or is he a [[ShellShockedVeteran traumatized soldier]] trying to get away from his dark past through Shoshanna, and watching himself kill repeatedly pushes him over the edge?

** Does Landa recognize Shoshanna in the restaurant or does he simply treat every conversation as an investigation?

** Hicox tries to cover for his strange accent by claiming that he was born in the shadow of Piz Palu. The mountain is located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, so people from this region would have a different accent than someone from Germany.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/LeaSeydoux has a bit role as one of [=LaPadite=]'s daughters before rising in fame.

** The Basterds, together with Franchise/IndianaJones and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, have become mascots for those who celebrated when a masked man punched self-proclaimed white supremacist Richard Spenser in the face on live television on January 20th.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''Oh so much''. If there's one thing you can expect out a Tarantino film (well, [[SignatureStyle you can expect many things out of a Tarantino film]]), it's an awesome soundtrack. "Putting out the Fire" by Music/DavidBowie stands out during a truly awesome montage sequence at the beginning of the movie premiere. You can watch Tarantino absolutely nerd out about the soundtrack [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOC9GrVewX0 here.]]

** Shoshanna Dreyfuss is a Jewish girl who loses her family to the Nazis. When approached on using her theater in Paris as the site of a premiere for Goebbels' major new film, Shoshanna and her lover Marcel opt to lock the Nazis inside the theater and burn it down. Shoshanna proceeds to enact her plan near flawlessly, recording a message to all the Nazi leaders to see on screen that their fates are her vengeance and the vengeance of the Jewish people, ending up with the complete elimination of the Nazi leaders assured even before the Basterds get involved.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Sgt. Donny Donowitz, Col. Hans Landa, and Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz. Yes, ''really''.

--

** Who are the actual protagonists? Are the Basterds the protagonists? Shoshanna? Is Landa the VillainProtagonist? Or is Raine the VillainProtagonist? Can any of the characters be considered genuine good guys whom the audience can root for? Also, is Landa a MagnificentBastard? Is Raine a [[{{Pun}} Magnificent Basterd]]? Are the Basterds {{Anti Hero}}es, {{Sociopathic Hero}}es, or just [[PsychoForHire sociopaths]]?

* {{Magnificent Bastard}}: Hans Landa is a possible example, as he gets personally involved in many of his Gestapo investigations and ultimately takes a huge risk for personal glory. [[spoiler:He ALMOST gets away without a scratch (and what a scratch it is!)]].

** Hicox tries to cover for his strange accent by claiming that he's born in the shadow of Piz Palu. The mountain is located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, so people from this region would have a different accent than someone from Germany.

** After catching the Basterds pretending to be Italians, Landa pours Also and Utivich glasses of Chianti, an Italian wine.