Killer Film catches up with Shaun Robert Smith as he is gearing up to shoot the film in the coming days, as we talk about the film, the sub-genre, and 3D.

Jon Peters: The 4th Reich‘s inception began through a few short films you have done dealing with war and horror. What’s the fascination with WWII to you and what has your opinion been on previous Nazi zombie movies?

Shaun Robert Smith: I have always been fascinated with war and horror, it seemed natural to bring the two together. The previous Nazi Zombie films didn’t explore the full potential, secrets buried for years set in the present and as such, the budget is usually the reason for this – with The 4th Reich we have a decent budget. It’s all set in 1944 making it a period piece, instantly you have a situation – the horrors of war. I have enjoyed all the other films of this sub-genre, I respect anyone who can get a film financed and made – it’s tough!

Jon: Has the successes of Dead Snow and Ingloruious Basterds? hinder or help finding funding of The 4th Reich?

Smith: This sub-genre has grown rapidly, bigger budgeted film like Zombieland and Inglorious Basterds have all contributed to the sub-genre’s ascent into the mainstream audience. Each film of this sub-genre has its own merits and not trying to duplicate each other. Whilst both films have proven that there is an appetite with the cinema going public for this genre there are key differences between them and T4R. We have been compared to Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies, and Wolfenstein, which of course are video games but it identifies one of our target audiences – T4R will have its very own survival horror video game.

Jon: How has the UK genre film changed in recent years?

Smith: We have seen an influx of British filmmakers in the last decade, unfortunately there is not enough support for new talent. The recent news of the UK Film Council abolishment won’t faze most Brit filmmakers because the UKFC had their select few whom they supported. A film like T4R would never be considered by UKFC.

Jon: : The film certainly sounds like it could be either a psychologically disturbing film or it could be an all out horror flick. Can you explain the tone of the film and what fans can expect?

Smith: It’s a psychologically disturbing all out horror flick!!! From the very beginning I wanted to make a war film with elements of horror, full orchestral score, traditional gutsy prosthetics and minimal VFX. A chance to really produce something different and unique – On paper it is a Nazi Undead film, but something not seen before, a clever tale that will keep audiences guessing the whole way through.

Jon: The film got Director of Photography Peter Hannan. What will he bring to the project from his previous films that attracted him to you for the project?

Smith: We needed someone with enough experience to realize my vision, Peter Hannan is a true inspiration to us all. I met with Peter and I expected him to force his experience and knowledge on me – being a first time director – people can take advantage but my team are supporting my vision and we’re all on the exact same page. Peter is a phenomenal DP and he will bring the atmosphere needed to T4R, intense and mystifying.

Jon: You’re shooting the film in Poland and the Ukraine. Was this for budget reasoning’s and/or because the script called for what those countries provide in their terrain?

Smith: There are advantages to shooting in Eastern Europe, budget is one, but this is not the sole reason we are shooting out there, the locations are breath taking – We hope to open up Ukraine to more filmmakers.

Jon: Some of the  casting choices will turn heads, like Jason Flemyng (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Tom Savini (Machete), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser series), and Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers). Can you explain casting for the film and the intent of the choices and why these fine actors were chosen for the film?

Smith: They will certainly turn heads, I always wanted to cast T4R myself with the help and power of casting director Jeremy Zimmerman. Sean Pertwee’s character – Captain Bathurst – was written with him in mind, because Bathurst is far away from anything Sean has done before. Doug, Tom and Simon were obvious choices to play Nazi’s, I had jokingly offered a part to Tom back in ’98 when I was attended ‘The Tom Savini Lecture’ (I was an avid fan and wannabe FX Artist). The script was completely different back then, it was called AWOL to Horror and my student film. Same structure, but set in Vietnam!

Obviously over the years it has evolved into T4R. Actors like Jason Flemyng choose their roles on pure fun and quality factor, instead of size of the role and dosh, etc. We are still yet to announce our two lead actors.

Jon: Will it be shot in 3D or post-conversion? When did it come about that you wanted to shoot the film in 3D?

Smith: When we started this project 3D was just dawning, but over the past year it has become a gimmick, every other film is 3D, and we’re not interested in that. We have not made a decision not to, but I don’t want to be pushed onto the ‘bandwagon’. We genuinely wanted to add value to the project, not to deflect from the story. 3D would take a large chunk of budget, we need every penny on the screen – the jury is still out on T4R in 3D.

Jon: Why has the Nazi become the ultimate villain for movies and do you see them ever fading from that top spot?

Smith: We need to be reminded of the true horrors of the Nazi’s. They will always be regurgitated in films for this reason. The Nazi’s committed some of the most horrific atrocities the world has ever seen. These cannot be forgotten. With T4R I intend to bring a serious history lesson. I was shocked when a younger family member told me he’d never heard of the holocaust or Nazi’s – I do not intend to glorify or poke fun at the war, we are making a serious horror film with historical references, out story is based on true facts and that’s what is truly scary, we have just exaggerated the truth.

The 4th Reich is aiming for a late Spring 2011 release date. Keep it here at Killer Film for more on this film and the eventual review! You can flow the film on Facebook here, Myspace here, and its official site here!

The first of the two is Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, where he’s reportedly being lured in to take the role of a young Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto. James McAvoy recently signed on to play the young Charles Xavier, so if Fassbender does say yes then the two main leads are a lock, which is really good for their production since they want to have this film ready for release on June 3rd, 2011.

The second is the Spider-Man reboot from Sony Pictures. You know, the one where almost every other young male actor is being rumored to be Peter Parker. Well, Fassbender is not rumored to play the web-slinger but rather is said to be in talks to take on a villain role. That would be pretty interesting, but what villain do you think he would play?

Once again, he’ll be appearing on the big screen alongside Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and John Malkovich in the DC Enterprises/Warner Bros Pictures comic book adapted feature Jonah Hex this June 18th.

Besides screening killer films, SXSW has a plethora of entertaining panels for film lovers to enjoy. Once such panel that I had the pleasure of attending was Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill Their Guts that was supposed to include genre directors; Eli Roth (Cabin Fever/Hostel), Ti West (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever/House of the Devil), Quentin Tarantino (Death Proof/Inglourious Basterds), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and Matt Reeves (Cloverfield/Let Me In). The line to get into this event was exceedingly long, so it wasn’t surprising that many of the people populating the line got pretty irritated when it was announced that both Tarantino and Roth had to cancel and wouldn’t be attending the panel. However, the irritation faded away pretty quickly when the audience found out that Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers/The Descent) and Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror/The Faculty) were thrown in as replacements.

The panel was moderated by Cinematical’s Scott Weinberg and the topics/questions posed by both Scott and the audience made for an entertaining hour and a half. The first topic brought to the table was dealing with the ratings board (MPAA). What was surprising about this topic was the fact that none of the directors had horror stories to tell. They elaborated on their experiences and talked about some of the tricks they used. For instance Neil Marshall confessed that he had never been cut by the MPAA, but that he does tend to censor himself. Robert Rodriguez advised that “giving them something right up front that they can get shocked about” sometimes worked to dull their senses for the rest of the movie.  Ti West said that like Marshall, he had never been censored either and said of the ratings board that he sometimes wanted to hate them, but didn’t. Matt Reeves conceded that the MPAA gave his creature feature, Cloverfield a R rating because of “Monster Intensity.” My favorite though, came from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer who said that in order to make sure his film received a hard R rating he “put in more f**ks,” and that seventeen year old kids that get to goto an R movies are excited because they hear one more f**k. Also, apparently desaturating the blood for the ratings board screeners is common practice.

Another interesting topic of discussion was the use of nudity in horror films, and once again, while there is some nudity in the films of these directors it was extremely evident that it wasn’t something that any of them thought was a necessary ingredient for a successful horror film. Marshall stated that he made a point to not put nudity in his film The Descent.

Of course there can’t be a discussion on horror films without bringing up the dreaded remake, or the advent of 3D into the genre market.  Matt Reeves’ film Let Me In, a remake of the film Let the Right One In seems like it could be one of the few remakes that resonates within the horror community. He is obviously passionate about the material, and was able to relate to the characters on a personal level. He also stepped up and voiced his opinion to the studio when they suggested that he make the children older, insisting that it would hurt the entire film. Then Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer talked about his plan to make Zombieland 2 in 3D.

Overall the panel participants were enthusiastic about the current state of the genre. They were excited to be at SXSW and their love of cinema was evident.

The first movies under this arrangement are Rob Marshall’s Nine, A Single Man, The Road, Youth in Revolt, Halloween, Piranha 3-D, Nowhere Boy, Hoodwinked 2 and Blue Valentine. However, note that not all of these titles will necessarily get a high-definition release, according to Blu-ray.com .

Note that the list includes Halloween. The TWC has released both Rob Zombie Halloween films on Blu-ray, so maybe that’s the listing for the upcoming Zombie-less third entry?

Source: Deadline Hollywood

“I’d like to do a Western. But rather than set it in Texas, have it in slavery times. With that subject that everybody is afraid to deal with. Let’s shine that light on ourselves. You could do a ponderous history lesson of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Or, you could make a movie that would be exciting. Do it as an adventure. A spaghetti Western that takes place during that time. And I would call it ‘A Southern.’”

Inglourious Basterds is nominated for eight Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards, among those being Best Picture, Cinematography, Director, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing, Supporting Actor and Original Screenplay.

The people over at Radar Online put together the list of winners from this year’s awards show. Take a look at them all below and let us know what you think of some of the surprises and shoe-ins of the ceremony.

Outstanding Performance By An ensemble Cast In A Feature Film

• Inglorious Basterds

Outstanding Performance By A Leading Female Actress In A Feature Film

• Sandra Bullock

Outstanding Performance By A Leading Male Actor In A Feature Film

• Jeff Bridges

Outstanding Performance By A Female Supporting Actor In A Feature Film

• Mo’ Nique

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A TV Movie Or Mini Series

• Kevin Bacon

Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A TV Movie Or Mini Series

• Drew Barrymore

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble Cast In A Drama

• Cast Of Mad Men

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series

• Michael C. Hall

Outstanding Female Actor In A Drama Series

• Julianna Margulies

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role

• Christoph Waltz

Best Ensemble In A Comedy Series

• Glee

Outstanding Female Actress In A Comedy Series

• Tina Fey

Outstanding Male Actor In A Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin

“It is a daunting challenge for our members to narrow a very competitive field down to five films that represent the most artful cinematography we have seen during the past year,” says ASC President Michael Goi. “We believe these very different films have set the contemporary standard for compelling visual storytelling.”

Here’s the list of the three nominees below, thanks to WeAreMovieGeeks.:

Cinematographer’s (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Award:

• The Hurt Locker - Barry Ackroyd, BSC
• Nine – Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS
• The White Ribbon - Christian Berger, AAC
• Avatar – Mauro Flore, ASC
• Inglourious Basterds - Robert Richardson, ASC

Also gaining an award is Caleb Deschanel, who’s cinematography works include The Right Stuff, The Patriot and The Passion of the Christ, for the American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award. The ASC Awards will take place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on February 27th.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film (2009)

• Katheryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
• James Cameron – Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox)
• Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
• Jason Reitman – Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

Among this list the only two directors that have previously been nominated were James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino, the rest of them being the first time they got such a high nomination in this particular guild. The 62nd Annual DGA Awards takes place on January 30th in the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

Among the rest of the winners for this includes the best actress which goes out to Yolande Moreau for Seraphine. Best supporting actor went to Christoph Waltz for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds along with Paul Schneider who acted in the Jane Campion film Bright Star. Within the best supporting actress category Mo’Nique strikes again with her role in Precious.

It’s not too much of a surprise to see the Coen brothers get recognition for their writing again as they pick the two for their script for A Serious Man. The rest of the winners can be read right here, and judging from the list of winners maybe it’s a foreshadowing of nominees at least to come when it pertains to the Academy Award nominees.

So, why possibly ruin a good thing with a prequel?

Tarantino sits down with the NyMag and spills that there is a prequel to Inglourious Basterds, but Tarantino has not finished writing it up yet. Claiming that he’s only written 40 pages worth, he’s still got a ways to go before a draft is completed and is hoping that it will get off the ground. Then again, it could take awhile with the new confirmed report of another mystery story he’s got on the backburner.

It’s going to be “smaller, less epic” in scale than Basterds, and in a “different genre entirely.” He says he thinks he can finish it in a five- to six-month period of intensive writing.

One can only ponder what Tarantino has got going on through his head with whatever the project may be. Inglourious Basterds is out on DVD and Blu-Ray right now and at this rate is in a nice running to possibly get some sort of nomination from the Academy Awards since it’s been so loved by other award shows. Let’s see what this director and writer can pull out for the general audience in this upcoming decade.

From movies to television, all the way to stuntmen, SAG certainly is following suit on a lot of the similar nominations that were already made with the Golden Globes in the feature film category. Though the both do differ in ways through television, which list do you prefer more? Here it is right for you all to look at below.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
• George Clooney – Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)
• Colin Firth – A Single Man (The Weinstein Company)
• Morgan Freeman – Invictus (Warner Bros Pictures)
• Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side (Warner Bros Pictures)
• Helen Mirren – The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classic)
• Carey Mulligan – An Education (Sony Pictures Classic)
• Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
• Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

• Matt Damon – Invictus (Warner Bros Pictures)
• Woody Harrelson – The Messenger (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
• Christopher Plummer – The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classic)
• Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones (Paramount Pictures)
• Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

• Penelope Cruz – Nine (The Weinstein Company)
• Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)
• Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)
• Diane Kruger – Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)
• Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

• An Education (Sony Pictures Classic) – Dominic Cooper, Alfred Molina, Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike, Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams
• The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment) – Chrisitian Camargo, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner
• Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures) – Daniel Bruhl, August Diehl, Julie Dreyfus, Michael Fassbender, Slyvester Groth, Jacky Ido, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, Denis Menochet, Mike Myers, Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Til Scweiger, Rod Taylor, Christoph Waltz, Martin Wukke
• Nine (The Weinstein Company) – Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren
• Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (Lionsgate) – Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Sherri Shepherd, Gabourey Sidibe

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series

• Kevin Bacon – Taking Chance (HBO)
• Cuba Gooding Jr. – Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (TNT)
• Jeremy Irons – Georgia O’Keeffe (Lifetime)
• Kevin Kline – Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac (PBS)
• Tom Wilkinson – A Number (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series

• Joan Allen – Georgia O’Keeffe (Lifetime)
• Drew Barrymore – Grey Gardens (HBO)
• Ruby Dee – America (Lifetime)
• Jessica Lange – Grey Gardens (HBO)
• Sigourney Weaver – Prayers for Bobby (Lifetime)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• Simon Baker  - The Mentalist (CBS)
• Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad (AMC)
• Michael C. Hall – Dexter (Showtime)
• Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
• Hugh Laurie – House (Fox)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• Patricia Arquette – Medium (NBC/CBS)
• Glenn Close – Damages (FX)
• Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)
• Holly Hunter – Saving Grace (TNT)
• Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
• Steve Carrell – The Office (NBC)
• Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
• Tony Shaloub – Monk (USA Network)
• Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men (CBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
• Toni Collette – United States of Tara (Showtime)
• Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
• Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)

Oustanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

• The Closer (TNT) – G.W. Bailey, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Tony Denison, Robert Gossett, Phillip P. Keene, Corey Reynolds, Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Tenney
• Dexter (Showtime) – Preston Bailey, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Courtney Ford, Michael C. Hall, Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, John Lithgow, Rick Peters, James Remar, Christina Robinson, Lauren Velez, David Zayas
• The Good Wife (CBS) – Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Matt Czuchry, Julianna Margulies, Archie Panjabi, Graham Phillips, MacKenzie Vega
• Mad Men (AMC) – Alexa Alemanni, Bryan Batt, Jared S. Gilmore, Michael Gladis, Jon Hamm, Jared Harris, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Robert Morse, Elisabeth Moss, Kiernan Shipka, John Slattery, Rich Sommer, Christopher Stanley, Aaron Staton
• True Blood (HBO) – Chris Bauer, Mehcad Brooks, Anna Camp, Nelsan Ellis, Michelle Forbes, Mariana Klaveno, Ryan Kwanten, Todd Lowe, Michael McMillian, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston, William Sanderson, Alexander Skarsgard, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

• 30 Rock (NBC) – Scott Adsit, Alec Baldwin, Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Tina Fey, Judah Friedlander, Jane Krakowski, John Lutz, Jack McBrayer, Tracy Morgan, Keith Powell
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – Larry David, Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines
• Glee (Fox) – Diana Argon, Chris Colfer, Patrick Gallagher, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Harry Shum Jr., Josh Sussman, Dijon Talton, Iqbal Theba, Jenna Ushkowitz
• Modern Family (ABC) – Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland, Ed O’Neill, Rico Rodriguez, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Ariel Winter
• The Office (NBC) – Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, John Krasinski, Paul Lieberstein, B.J. Novak, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, Rainn Wilson

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

• Public Enemies (Universal Pictures)
• Star Trek (Paramount Pictures)
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

• 24 (Fox)
• The Closer (TNT)
• Dexter (Showtime)
• Heroes (NBC)
• The Unit (CBS)

Screen Actors Guild 46th Lifetime Achievement Award

• Betty White

The Film

I don’t know any blue-blooded American that doesn’t like fantasizing about killing some Nazis. They’re cinema’s greatest villain, all a film maker has to do, is say their villain is a Nazi and it’s instant heat. As long as there has been sound in film, there has been war films, notably WWII films. Killing Nazis is good and all, but you got to throw in some of that good old American fist-pumping heroics, and a student of that is Quentin Tarantino. He has been in this mode of popularizing old genres recently, taking niche genres and mainstreaming them. Shaw Brothers kung-fu flicks from China is Kill Bill, and open road car films from the ’70s is Death Proof. Except the latter was his weakest film, one that feels hastily put together, as it features some of his blandest characters and lamest dialogue scenes.

Tarantino is a student of cinema, and that is perfectly clear in his films, but Death Proof was on-the-nose with its influences, to standout of all the copycats who are going back to the wild west of cinema known as the 1970s, and it felt bland and desperate. Has the pop culture master fallen off? Every director has their off film, but he returns valiantly with this ever so loose remake of Enzo Castellari’s exploitation WWII film from 1978, Inglorious Bastards. Where as that film was a cheap (but fun) Italian knock-off of the Dirty Dozen, Tarantino just makes good on killing Nazis, and it’s apparent that killing Nazis is a good business venture.

Tarantino succeeds here with his crafty staging of scenes. From the first chapter (a repeated gimmick from Kill Bill), he handles a scene where Col. Hans Landa (a criminally good Christoph Waltz) interrogates a French man hiding runaway Jewish people. Col. Hans Landa is cunning. Tarantino writes the scene almost as a violent type of foreplay. He uses his well-written dialogue for when Col. Hans is telling the French man about the nature of rats and squirrels. Why are we compelled to instantly attack a rat when it enters our home, and not a squirrel? They’re both rodents. These exchange masterfully explains why the Germans are eradicating the Jews. As if we needed more fuel for our Nazi-hating fire, Tarantino gives us a craftier reason to hate the Nazis even more. He uses his camera movements to give us a non-verbal cat-and-mouse game, following the rise of suspense to its inevitable conclusion. This early scene not only establishes Col. Hans as a genius that can sniff out liars, but sets the stage for the continuous use of the slow building of suspense to rally up our hip-hip-hooray American pride to its natural climax. He’ll do this numerous times, and its always gratifying.

As much as killing Nazis is fun (a tag line that is always worth repeating), he does stumble midway through. The film begins to meander for a time, albeit somewhat interestingly, but he starts to love each character, no matter how minute, giving them long-winded scenes. Inglourious Basterds is like a Stephen King novel, it starts off with promise and draws you in, then putts around for a time, almost boringly. Although with the promise of the early parts, you continue to follow, even though you want to have him get on with it, wherever he’s going with it. Then when he reaches his story’s climax, everything fits together, and you see his full scope and arc, you’ll appreciate the time he meandered around. But it still feels long-winded. Same thing here. There’s a hugely unneeded scene with Mike Myers (yes, Austin Powers himself), that feels, well, like a deleted scene from Austin Powers in Goldmember. It’s too jokey and out-of-place.

But Tarantino hasn’t forgotten his early promise, and he ends the film with the ultimate climax, however fictionalized it is, history is just too anti-climatic for us Americans. He doesn’t go full on with his genre love. Here he’s just flirting with Nazisploitation. He’s more impressive with his use of Nazi chic than SS women torturing prisoners. It’s loud, hollow, fun, and a welcome return for cinema’s so-called prodigal son. It’s Kill Bill, but less epic. A fun realization of American expectations brought to a satisfying conclusion, as satisfying as an American apple pie. Now, who says some WWII-Nazi killing, has to be as stiff as a college level history class? Kill some Nazis, and collect their scalps!

The Blu-ray

Audio/Video

The audio on this disc is stellar, attacking the eardrums with just the right amount of resonance to make watching it at home feel like more like being in a real theatre than on your couch. The video is equally as impressive, boasting beautiful colors that pop out of the subdued hues in the color palette. The blacks are deep and brooding and the perfect mix of light and shadow are consistently displayed throughout the movie’s entire runtime.

Special Features

Roundtable: Tarantino, Pitt, and Elvis Mitchell talk about the genesis of the movie. Everything from the script to rehearsals is discussed. Solid feature that almost makes up for the lack of commentary tracks.

Extended/Alternate Scenes: This isn’t a long feature, but all of the scenes presented here are worth watching. A longer version of the lunch scene and the card game are joined by a new version of Nation’s PrideI.

Making of Nation’s Pride: Eli Roth and friends talk about his awesome propaganda video. A little short, but fun.

Original Inglorious Bastards: A look at the original cast members of Castellari’s film, and a brief look at the actors that made cameos in Tarantino’s version.

QT’s Camera Angel: A funny collection of lines by the slate girl on the flick. Good stuff.

Pocket Blu: A cool app that allows you to use your iPod Touch or iPhone as a remote control/viewing device for special features. I enjoyed this feature, and can’t wait for these apps to get even more advanced.

Killin’ Natzis Trivia Challenge: I had a great time with this trivia challenge! Fun for any fan of the movie.

Conversation with Rod Taylor: The actor that portrays Winston Churchill in the movie talks about his experiences working with Tarantino.

Also included on the disc are short video greetings sent to the film’s editor (Hi Sallys), a Poster Gallery, Trailers, BD-Live, and more!

The Film: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Hangover

This R-rated comedy blew up the box office. Funniest and most profitable comedy of the year. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Buy

Inglourious Basterds

This film contains some of the best written scenes in Tarantino’s career, namely the opening scene. Great performances, too. I do wish the middle was edited better, well, let me just say ridding the film of Michael Myers, would have been wise. Still, a fun, rocking, WWII American what if film! (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Buy

G-Force

Disney is the king of making live action films mixed with animation. Does it mean that this is good, no, but I’m sure the young ones will eat it up. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Rent    Donny says: Rent

Taking Woodstock

The dramatic telling of how the famous concert came to be, with a great cast, and directed by Ang Lee, came and went without any fuss. Looks mediocre, in my opinion. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Skip   Donny says: Rent

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

One of the few comedic summer bombs this year. Best bits are in the trailer. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Skip   Donny says: Skip

New to Blu

Star Trek- The Original Series: Season 3

The Mel Brooks Collection

That does it for this week, so please keep coming back for more news, reviews, and other goodies only on Killer Film!

All three editions of Inglourious Basterds include: 

• Extended & Alternate Scenes
• Nation’s PrideThe film within the film can be seen it its entirety
• Domestic and International Trailers
  

Both the Two-Disc Special Edition and Blu-ray™ also come with: 

• Roundtable Discussion with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and film historian/critic Elvis Mitchell
• The Making of
• The Original
• A Conversation with veteran actor Rod Taylor
• Rod Taylor on Victoria Bitters, the Australian beer
• Quentin Tarantino’s Camera Angel
• Hi Sallys – Gag Reel
• Film Poster Gallery Tour with Elvis Mitchell
• Inglourious Basterds
• Digital Copy of
  

In addition to the above features, the Inglourious Basterds Blu-ray™ Hi-Def release includes: 

•    BD-Live™— Access the BD-Live™ Center with your Internet-connected player to download the latest trailers, host a chat with your buddies, upload your own webcam commentary, and more!

Now it’s time for some clips. Let’s start it out with Lt. Aldo Raine chatting it up with a Nazi soldier:

‘Italian Aliases’ clip:

Eli Roth chatting it up about the original Inglourious Basterds:

Alois von Eichberg (aka Eli Roth) talking about his film Nation’s Pride:

Last but not least is ‘Hitler’s Support’ for Nation’s Pride:

The site is now up here and Yahoo! posted the trailer. Here’s the trailer.