60 Fun Facts About Inglourious Basterds

Who wrote and directed Inglourious Basterds?

He spent just over a decade on the script, telling Charlie Rose he had become 'too precious about the page'.

The film's title was borrowed, and deliberately misspelled, from a 1978 Euro-war film by which director?

He has a cameo at the premiere, and Tarantino called the misspelling 'a Basquiat-esque touch' rather than a way to tell the films apart.

What nickname does Colonel Hans Landa boast about in the opening scene?

Tarantino has called the farmhouse interrogation his 'favorite thing' he has ever written.

The French dairy farmer hiding the Dreyfus family under his floorboards is named what?

He is played by Denis Ménochet; the scene is set in 1941, three years before the rest of the film.

Under what false name does Shosanna run her Paris cinema?

A character called Madame Ada Mimieux, played by Maggie Cheung, was cut from the film for length.

The German propaganda film premiered at Shosanna's cinema is called what?

Eli Roth directed the film-within-the-film, using 300 extras, and Tarantino appears in it as an American soldier.

Fredrick Zoller, the war hero starring in the propaganda film, is famous for what military role?

Daniel Brühl got the part after Tarantino saw Good Bye, Lenin! and declared 'That's my Zoller right there'.

Shosanna plans to burn down the cinema using her collection of what?

On set the blaze was projected to burn at 400 degrees Celsius but hit 1,200, and the giant emblem above the screen fell when its steel cables softened.

What is the codename of the British plan to attack the film premiere?

Kino is simply the German word for cinema; the briefing lists Goebbels, Göring and Bormann among the expected guests.

Before the war, British Lieutenant Archie Hicox had what profession?

Simon Pegg was Tarantino's first choice for the part but had to drop out because of The Adventures of Tintin.

In the tavern, the disguised officers and Bridget von Hammersmark play which German guessing game?

The German cut of the film runs slightly longer, and it is the only version with the tavern scene in full.

Hicox finally blows his cover in the tavern by doing what?

His accent had already caught the ear of the SS major Dieter Hellström, played by August Diehl.

Which two items does Landa recover from the tavern that expose von Hammersmark?

She had signed the napkin for the newborn son of Wilhelm, the sergeant she later shot dead.

At the premiere, Raine, Donowitz and Ulmer pose as filmmakers of what nationality?

Landa, fluent in the language, sees through the accents instantly.

How does Landa kill Bridget von Hammersmark at the premiere?

Tarantino told Graham Norton he did the strangling himself, with his own hands, in one take.

Which two Nazi leaders do Ulmer and Donowitz shoot dead in the opera box?

Martin Wuttke and Sylvester Groth play the pair; the timed explosives Landa planted then finish the job.

In the final scene Raine carves what into Landa's forehead, calling it his masterpiece?

He does the same to every German he lets live, so they can never hide their past after the war.

Sergeant Donny Donowitz, 'The Bear Jew', executes German soldiers with what?

Adam Sandler was asked to play him but was tied up with Funny People, so Eli Roth stepped in.

What nickname has Brad Pitt's lieutenant earned through his habit of scalping Germans?

The character is a coal miner and bootlegger from the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Which Austrian actor plays Hans Landa, a role Tarantino feared was 'unplayable'?

Tarantino said the actor 'gave me my movie'; he had first pursued a Hollywood A-lister before deciding on a native German speaker.

Which A-list star did Tarantino originally want for Hans Landa before opting for a native German speaker?

The two finally worked together three years later on Django Unchained.

Michael Fassbender plays Hicox, but he originally auditioned for which role?

The Irish-German actor entered final negotiations in August 2008, the same month B. J. Novak was cast as Utivich.

Which German star plays Hugo Stiglitz, the rogue sergeant who murdered Gestapo officers?

The character is introduced with his own freeze-frame title card and heavy-metal sting, a nod to Tarantino's grindhouse influences.

Which comedy star plays British General Ed Fenech in the Churchill briefing scene?

He had asked to be in the film because his parents served in the British Armed Forces.

Which retired Australian actor came back for his final film role to play Winston Churchill?

He recommended Albert Finney instead, then studied dozens of Churchill DVDs to get the posture, voice and lisp right.

Which German actress did Tarantino meet in Germany for Bridget von Hammersmark before casting Diane Kruger?

Kruger's character is a film star turned spy for the United Kingdom.

Samm Levine was cast as Hirschberg because Tarantino loved which cult TV series he had starred in?

The Basterds also include B. J. Novak of The Office as Smithson 'Little Man' Utivich.

Which French actress was cast as Madame Mimieux and then fired over creative differences?

The role was later played by Maggie Cheung, and then cut from the finished film altogether.

Who narrates the film, uncredited?

Harvey Keitel is also in there, as the voice of the OSS commander on the radio.

Tarantino said he could not finish the script for years because he was missing what?

He shelved it to make Kill Bill, and a French director later talked him out of turning it into a mini-series.

Which filmmaker persuaded Tarantino to finish Inglourious Basterds as a movie rather than a mini-series?

Tarantino then trimmed the script using Pulp Fiction as a guide to length.

Much of the film was shot at which historic studio in Potsdam, Germany?

The tavern town scenes were shot in Bad Schandau, a spa town near the Czech border.

Which composer did Tarantino want to score the film, only to use eight of his existing tracks instead?

The maestro was busy scoring Baarìa; the two finally collaborated on The Hateful Eight.

The opening theme, 'The Green Leaves of Summer', was written for which 1960 film?

Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster wrote it as a pseudo-folk ballad for John Wayne's epic.

Which David Bowie song, written for a 1982 horror film, plays as Shosanna prepares for the premiere?

The soundtrack was the first of Tarantino's not to include dialogue excerpts.

The film premiered in competition at which festival in May 2009?

It drew a standing ovation of up to eleven minutes, though Le Monde sniffed that Tarantino 'gets lost in a fictional World War II'.

What was the film's production budget?

It was a US-German co-production, with the Weinstein Company handling the US and Universal the rest of the world.

Roughly how much did Inglourious Basterds gross worldwide?

It was Tarantino's biggest hit until Django Unchained overtook it in 2012.

The film opened at number one in North America ahead of which sci-fi film?

The $38 million weekend was a personal best for Tarantino; a week later The Final Destination knocked it to second.

How many Academy Award nominations did the film receive?

They included Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay; only the supporting-actor prize was won.

The performer playing Landa won which prize at the festival where the film premiered?

He went on to sweep the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice awards for Best Supporting Actor.

The German edition of the film differs from other versions how?

The extra footage extends the tavern scene; German law lets 'works of art' show swastikas, so only the posters and website were altered.

In Poland the film was retitled Bekarty Wojny, meaning what?

The change let the poster's letter O be styled with Nazi iconography that the original spelling did not allow.

The first teaser trailer was attached in US cinemas to which 2009 horror remake?

The trailer used the line 'A Basterd's Work Is Never Done', which never made it into the finished film.

Which spaghetti-western-style alternative title for the film appears in its trailer?

Tarantino did eventually use the 'Once Upon a Time' formula for his 2019 film set in Hollywood.

The New York Times' 2025 critics' list of the century's 100 best movies placed the film where?

Readers ranked it even higher, at 11; the Writers Guild placed its screenplay eighth among the century's best.

Which comedian turned down the role of Donny Donowitz because of a scheduling clash with Funny People?

Eli Roth took the part and also directed the film-within-the-film, Nation's Pride, using 300 extras.

Which actor voices the Office of Strategic Services commander in an uncredited role?

Samuel L. Jackson narrates, and Tarantino himself appears as an American soldier in Nation's Pride and as a scalped German.

Besides Babelsberg Studio, much of the film was shot in which small spa town near the Czech border?

KNB EFX Group and Greg Nicotero handled the special effects, and principal photography began in October 2008.

What replaced the swastika on the steel helmet in German and Austrian promotional materials?

Both countries restrict the display of Nazi iconography, so the title typography was also changed.

Which company handled the film's international distribution while the Weinstein Company took the US?

The deal also had Universal finance the part of the budget the Weinsteins did not cover.

Which Tarantino film overtook Inglourious Basterds as his highest-grossing in 2012?

Basterds made $120.5 million domestically and $200.9 million elsewhere.

Where did the film rank highest in its international opening, taking $6.09 million on 500 screens?

It opened at number one in 22 markets across 2,650 screens, earning $27.49 million.

How many Screen Actors Guild Awards did the film win from its three nominations?

It took Best Cast and Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz.

How many BAFTA nominations did Inglourious Basterds receive?

It won only one, Best Supporting Actor for Waltz, despite a Best Director nod for Tarantino.

What percentage of critics gave the film a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes?

The consensus called it a classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, violent and thoroughly entertaining.

Which critic called it Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction in his first four-star review of 2009?

Roger Ebert also gave the film four stars in the Chicago Sun-Times.

In which 2007 Takashi Miike film did Tarantino take an acting role while delaying Basterds?

He also toyed with a kung fu film entirely in Mandarin before making Death Proof.

Which star of Castellari's original 1978 film has a cameo in Tarantino's Basterds?

Castellari himself also cameos at the premiere, reprising his role as a German officer under a different rank.

How many Golden Globe nominations did the film receive?

They included Best Motion Picture – Drama; Waltz won Best Supporting Actor.