Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to leaving fans with questions, often thanks to his mind-bending movies and their riveting storylines. Having made some iconic films and features, one of Tarantino’s projects could have taken a very different route had he cast Leonardo DiCaprio as a ruthless killer. While that casting never came about, there is another mystery about the said film that remains unsolved.
One of Tarantino’s greatest films is his 2009 WWII film, Inglourious Basterds. And perhaps the greatest mystery of the film is the title’s numerous spelling errors, which Tarantino refuses to explain to this day.
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Its Misspelled Title
Quentin Tarantino‘s Inglourious Basterds isn’t just known for its bold and revolutionist take on WWII but also turns heads due to its deliberately misspelled title. The misspelling, since its release in 2009, has sparked endless debates about why the Oscar-winning director would choose to alter the words ‘Inglorious Bastards’.
But true to his form and nature, Tarantino has largely remained tight-lipped about the deliberate misspelling. While breaking down the trailer, shortly before its release, Tarantino was asked by Empire Online about the quirky spelling and he stated,
I can’t tell you! But the ‘Basterds’? That’s just the way you say it: Basterds.
The title is said to be inspired by the 1978 Italian classic, The Inglorious Bastards, but the filmmaker has maintained that the deliberate misspelling has not been to differentiate it from the Italian war epic. Instead, in another interview with Forward, back in 2009, the director joked,
It’s an artistic stroke. To describe it would take the piss out of it. Consider it a Basquiat-esque touch [laughs].
A curious explanation, but one expected of the filmmaker, he yet again was asked the same question during the film’s Cannes press conference, only to add,
Here’s the thing I’m never gonna explain that. You know, when you do an artistic flourish like that to describe it, explain it… it just take the piss out of it and invalidate the whole stroke in the first place.
And so the question still remains why Tarantino would intentionally make such a blunder, over the years fans have found several theories as to why it could be. The most plausible of these many theories is because of the character Aldo Raine, who cannot spell in the film. In one of the scenes featuring Raine, his rifle has a clear ‘Inglourious Basterds’ carved onto it, potentially making tying the scene to the film’s misspelled title.’
Leonardo DiCaprio was Almost Cast in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds features several iconic characters that fans have come to love and appreciate. One of these many characters is the character of Christoph Waltz aka the formidable Nazi antagonist Col. Hans Landa.
While Waltz went on to earn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Award for his portrayal, his role was initially said to be offered to Leonardo DiCaprio (via Variety). For reasons undisclosed, the casting never worked out and Tarantino was almost about to shelve the film if Waltz hadn’t auditioned.
Praising the German star as a linguistic genius, Tarantino later revealed that he was convinced the part was unplayable after struggling to cast any actor worthy of playing a character as complex as Landa (via Variety). Despite DiCaprio missing the opportunity, everything worked out for the best in the end, and the Titanic star eventually ended up collaborating with Tarantino later on.
Inglourious Basterds is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.
