Johan Erik Lallerstedt

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS ANALYSIS

RATIONALE

I chose this four minute excerpt due to it’s contrast to the rest of the film and almost a contrast to the rest of Quentin Tarantino’s films. Quentin Tarantino is know for his violent, bloody and suspenseful filmmaking, but I thought that this excerpt was a break from all the violence and action. Since the first time I have seen the film, I have always been drawn to the elegance in this scene, and I truly wanted to analyze what made it so appealing. It was as if Quentin Tarantino and Robert Richardson, the cinematographer, put in a great deal of effort into shooting these scenes because they needed a change in pace, and all the effort and attention truly paid off as they went on to make this attractive and elegant four minute scene.

In this opening scene, there are a lot of things to mention. The dominant colour is the bright red of her dress and the swastika’s on the sides and next to her. There are mirrors on both sides of the frame reflecting swastika flags. This shows a connection between the two, which presents the irony in her situation as well (a Jew living with the Nazis without their knowledge of her beliefs). The large circle in the middle creates a motif of time, due to its resemblance to a clock (as the big moment is approaching), and it also refers to an eye (how she keeps an eye on everything, cautious), which will be a recurring motif throughout the scene. In watching the four minute scene, one must remember to think of the colors red, white and black, for they appear frequently.

There are slow fades between shots which creates a sense of calm and peace. Again, the dominant colour is red, seen on her dress and the swastika flag. Her reflection on the window shows how there are two sides to Shoshanna and one could be able to say that you could see her reflecting through a reflection. She is presented through a profile shot, which usually means the character is in their own thoughts, and it makes sense in this situation, for in a few moments, she will burn a cinema down with German officials inside.

Here the establishing shot is zoomed up closer to Shoshanna (medium shot) and her reflection in the mirror blends with the swastika flag outside. This further creates this parallel with the two and its irony. Throughout the whole scene I am analyzing, the 1983 song “Cat people (putting out fire)” by David Bowie plays as non-diegetic sound. This foreshadows the following events of her burning down a cinema killing a large number of Germans.

Most of the time, Shoshanna has a swastika behind her, which again relates to the irony aforementioned. When the song starts to become more intense, she starts putting on her make up along with the beat which is a nice connection between the visual and auditory appeal. This is also when the cuts become sharper and do not use fades. This signifies how even though everything might seem glamorous and gentle, it can quickly turn into a fast and active scene.

Here we see a few things. When Shoshanna is putting on blush, it creates an allusion to war paint, which reflects her warrior spirit and willingness to fight. The next shots are close ups of her putting on more make up in a gentle manner, which creates contrast with the previous war paint shot. This also establishes the ‘sexiness’ of Shoshanna but also her gritty character. Here is another great focus of her eyes, going back to the motif, and at the same time, the song says: “See these eyes so red, red like jungle burning bright,” which is an interesting connection between the significance of the scene and the lyrics of the song.

This is an interesting shot. In the midst of preparing for the big night, she takes a sip of wine. This reflects how she wants to take a moment and enjoy thinking what she is about to do in a few moments.

The next shot is of a close up of Shoshanna loading a gun, foreshadowing its importance later in the film (where she kills a German Soldier about to discover her plan). This also creates contrast to her femininity and poise. The action of loading bullets into the pistol’s magazine is also done to the sound of the song’s beat.

Here she cocks the gun to the beat of the song and places it in her feminine purse. Another example of contrast. The mirror also signifies her two sides and reflection. The over-the-shoulder shot is often used in dialogue scenes and so it looks like she is speaking with herself, pondering on the future events. The costume designer, Anna B. Sheppard, chose a beautiful red dress for Shoshanna that is adequate for the early 1940’s. Shoshanna’s accessories such as the purse were also well chosen.

The next shots go back chronologically to when Shoshanna and her friend/accomplice Marcel are preparing the clip they will later insert in a German film that is premiering at her cinema. In their clip, Shoshanna reveals her true identity and her plan to kill everyone in the room. The sudden shift in colours from all the previous shots show the two sides the situation has, almost good and evil. The low to high angle on Shoshanna makes her look bigger and superior to whom she sends the message. The lighting from behind is a feature commonly used in horror films and is applied here to create a diabolical image. The camera used to film Shoshanna is a well chosen prop because it is historically accurate as it was common for people to have such hand held cameras.

The next scene shows what happened after their time filming. The shots chronologically behind the current event of her getting ready, move forward chronologically in their own time frame. The manipulation of time in the preparation scene reflects back to the motif of time. Another interesting thing Quentin Tarantino did was that the script was written so the characters were true to their language. The Germans speak German among each other, and the French speak French with themselves, unlike previously made war films where German soldiers spoke English with a thick German accent. There is rim light on the sides of Marcel so that he can be easily separated from the background, and to emphasize his role’s importance in their plot.

Right after Marcel and Shoshanna are talking about forcing a film developer to develop their clip, a sudden cut is made to show what happens after the discussion, which is indeed, a film developer being harassed violently by the two characters. The diegetic sound of the film cases smashing surprises and shocks the audience.

The few shots during the threat clip are similar to each other. Again, French is used between the French, because that is what they would actually do. The framing is interesting because Shoshanna takes up most of the space of the frame in the top image which shows the intensity of the situation. The other two shots illuminate her from behind, and the horror movie technique is used again in these shots to make her look scarier and more threatening. She is the most illuminated out of the three characters in these shots to reiterate her importance and significance in the scene and even of the whole film.

The next shot is a sharp cut to what happened after, to show how the intimidation worked, and they got their clip developed. The film reel is a circle, again relating back to the large circle in the beginning, and the motif of time. Everything else aside, it’s also just an attractive frame.

The film reel containing the death clip is in the middle of the frame, accentuating it’s importance. The big red ‘X’ relates back to the dominant use of the color red throughout the four minute scene and it’s relation to important aspects. Also, here you see Shoshanna with her less attractive clothes, or work clothes, which will contrast with the next shot.

The glamorous red dress contrasts a lot with the clothes she was wearing in the previous shot. This also shows the two sides to Shoshanna. The mirror refers to this as well. The use of the color red in the previous shot transitions well to this scene, where the red dress is a powerful, eye-catching part of the shot. Light is also focused on her eyes, referring back to the recurring motif of eyes.

This shot is a great example of framing and lighting. The parallel lines next to Shoshanna close in on her. This shows how she has no escape from what’s about to happen. The light coming from behind create a silhouette of Shoshanna creating a sense of anonymity as no one knows who she really is.

This is probably my favorite shot in the whole four minute scene and possibly the whole movie. The act of her pulling down a veil or net reflects her life for the past three years. The Nazis killed her family in 1941 and for three years, she has been living in Nazi occupied France saying she was not a Jew, and under a false name as she mingled with German soldiers numerous times. The veil is like a mask, covering her true identity as the Nazi swastika is in the background. All this is an example of symbolism. Her eyes also seem to shine, going back to the motif of eyes. This shot is 17 seconds, compared to the quick 5 second shots previous to this one which shows the importance and the significance of this shot.

This shot is done with a crane camera, as it follows Shoshanna from her chambers to the cinema, where 350 German officials await. In the beginning, light coming through the circle window appears as she begins to leave for the cinema lobby, which relates to both motifs of time running out and her vigilance. This scene also shows how close the two worlds are. First she is in her apartment, where she can be herself, and at a few steps, is her other side, the side everyone else recognizes.

The following shots show how she is above the rest, despite their powerful rank in the German military. As aforementioned, a swastika is always present and shares space with Shoshanna during her shots. This mise-en-scene is seen in the flags in the first image and the emblem behind her in the second image. Horizontal lines created in the first image by the hand rail in front of Shoshanna and the line that is at her eye level relate back to the rule of thirds and show structure. In the second image, a medium shot is used where Shoshanna is in the middle of the frame, with the veil down, with a low to high camera angle. This proves her dominance and creates irony because she is a Jew, in a room filled with the people who ordered the persecution of her family and other Jews, and no one realizes.

This close up on Shoshanna’s covered eyes relate back to the recurring motif of eyes and how she monitors the room, scouting the event.

This shot is used to show how many distinguished figures of the German military are in the room. Quentin Tarantino makes it easy for the audience to know who is at the premiere, as an animated arrow is used to point out Hermann Göring’s presence, a World War I Veteran and a leading member of the Nazi party during the early 1940’s until his suicide in 1945 to avoid his hanging. This is a nice example of how modern movie making and somewhat comical techniques, accentuate the significance and severity of a situation.

The four minute scene ends with a mischievous smile on Shoshanna's face, as she is satisfied of her plan and is looking forward to what will come.