6. Inglorious Basterds
Inglorious Basterds isn’t Tarantino’s best film, but it’s his grandest in scope. His revisionist retelling of the end of World War II is centered on two sprawling revenge plots against the Nazis: one on an intimate, personal scale with Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) avenging the death of her family, and another on a more epic scale, with a ragtag team of American soldiers known as “The Basterds” led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). Tarantino’s knack for personalizing spectacle is one of his greatest talents, and turning fierce Nazi villains into caricatures of themselves offers a fresh perspective on a horrific time. This is one of the Tarantino films with so much to dissect and enjoy that it requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate.
