Considered to be the greatest Quentin Tarantino movie of all time, Inglorious Basterds is a cult-classic worthy of the hype. Here are a few infamous but genius fan theories regarding the movie.
The WW2 Movie Is Actually a Social Experiment
Quentin Tarantino is known to use his movies to create a mirror image of social views. Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained asked such complex questions it blew our minds away. Inglorious Basterds is no less when it comes to social analogies. The movie explores the human perception of violence. In this alternate reality world war movie, the “good guys” – the infamous Inglorious Basterds, run amok in Nazi territory. They are ultra violent and are ready to rampage in a moment’s notice. The bad guys are Nazis, who seldom commit acts of violence and bloodshed in the movie. The movie implores the audience to think how society has a skewed perception of good and evil.
Hellstrom Knew About The Basterds In The Tavern From The Very Beginning
Hugo Stigliz, Bridget Von Hammersmarck, as well as Lieutenant Hicox were all having drinks dressed as Nazis in the infamous Tavern scene. The Nazi Officer Hellstrom struck up a conversation with them where Hicox screwed up with how he held up the number three with his fingers. The Nazi Officer instantly knew they weren’t German and hence spies. A famous theory claims Hellstrom knew the Basterds were in the Tavern from the very beginning. He was just toying with them. In the beginning of the movie, a Nazi Officer held hostage claimed everybody knew who Hugo Stigliz was and how he looked like. They had been compromised the moment Hellstrom saw Stigliz.
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The Title Of The Movie Is Spelled Wrong For A Reason
Fans have pointed out that the movie’s title should have been Inglorious Bastards and not ‘Basterds’. There are several fan theories to explain the spelling error. After the original script for the movie was leaked, Tarantino was too ashamed to change the title. Another theory states that there was another Italian movie with the same name (and correct spelling) and story arc where a group of Americans stole a Nazi Warhead for the Allies. But the most incredible theory states the name is misspelled because Aldo, who scribbled the name on his gun, did not have time to get a good education on written communication since he never completed his schooling.
Inglorious Basterds Is a Movie That Exists Within the Tarantino Universe. It Inspires Other Tarantino Characters To Become Violent.
Various theories in the internet claim that all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies take place in the same universe. The Inglorious Basterds happens in an alternate timeline, where the Americans won the war albeit in a far more brutal fashion. The theory states that Quentin Tarantino movie characters are exceptionally violent because they read the story of Inglorious Basterds, a tale of anti-heroes that exists within the Tarantino shared universe. The violence in Inglorious Basterds inspired other Quentin Tarantino characters to become violent themselves.
The Mind-Blowing Reason Why Shosanna Spoke In English
In the movie that plays in the climax of the movie – The Revenge Of The Giant Face, Shosanna appears and starts talking in English. The entire theatre busts up in flames and most of the top Nazi hierarchy is charred to death in the fire. The reason why Shosanna filmed herself talking in English is far too simple. When the movie begins, Landa talks in English with Perrier LaPadite, discovering that Shosanna’s family is under the floor of the house. Shosanna is the only one who escaped that aftermath. To ensure that mistake never happens again, Shosanna teaches herself English. She talks in English as an act of epic irony. English murdered her family and now English will murder the Third Reich.
The Nazi Officer In the Beginning Sacrificed Himself To Save His Men
The Inglorious Basterds are introduced as savage soldiers who even resort to de-scalping their enemies and torturing them to exact information. A Nazi Sergeant is one of their first victims. He says he is ready to die for his country when Aldo tries to interrogate him. A theory claims the Nazi sergeant volunteered to die so that one of his men could live. The Basterds always leave one survivor with a Swastika symbol engraved on his forehead to tell the horrors he encountered to his people. The most likely candidate would have been the high ranking Nazi Sergeant. The sergeant volunteered to die so that at least one of his men survives the Basterds.
How Come Shosanna Managed to Survive Landa?
In the epic scene between Nazi Officer Landa and Perrier, the former is quick to deduce that the latter is harboring Jews in his house. He instructs Perrier to talk to him in English so that the French born Jews cannot understand what they are speaking. Landa asks Perrier to go along with this “Masquerade.” Masquerade is a word that also means the same in French. Shosanna latched onto this word in the conversation and knew something was wrong. She managed to escape because Landa misjudged, using a word that conveys the same meaning in English as it does in French.
Landa Knew Who Shosanna Was When He Met Her Years Later
When Landa finally meets an adult Shosanna years later, she is running a successful theater business in Nazi territory. Landa and Shosanna dine at the same table, eating next to each other. The movie showcases as if Landa had no clue who this lady was. But a theory states that he already knew. It was the way Landa questioned and grilled Shosanna and when he ordered milk for her, a clear shoutout to the times when Shosanna’s family had taken refuge in the dairy farm where they were later massacred.
Based On a Real-Life All-Jew Extermination Squad That Hunted Nazis
Though the story in the movie is said to be totally fictional, there are some real world allegories. There indeed was an all Jew Nazi hunting squad that roamed and terrorized Nazis during World war Two. They were called the Nakam Jews. Nakam literally translates to Avengers. So in a way, Inglorious Basterds were based on real life Jew Avengers.
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Aldo Was Once Hanged. He Survived!!
There is an ongoing mystery regarding one of the Inglorious Basterds’ main characters. Aldo, the de facto leader of the group, had a scar around his neck. That was the type of scar you only see on suicide victims and on people who have been given the death penalty. The mystery surrounding Aldo is – those marks on his neck meant he was hanged once. This means Aldo cheated death once. He is a true survivor. In the movie, Hans Landa tells the story of the Hangman, a man who is never mentioned again in the movie later on. Fans postulate Aldo might be connected to Landa’s tale.
