"Inglourious
Basterds" begins in German-occupied
France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie
Laurent) witnesses the execution of
her family at the hand of Nazi
Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph
Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes
and flees to Paris, where she forges
a new identity as the owner and
operator of a cinema. [Taking over
from a character named Madame
Mimieux.]
"Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant
Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a
group of Jewish soldiers to engage
in targeted acts of retribution.
Known to their enemy as "The
Basterds," Raine's squad joins
German actress and undercover agent
Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane
Kruger) on a mission to take down
the leaders of The Third Reich.
Fates converge under a cinema
marquee, where Shosanna is poised to
carry out a revenge plan of her
own."
The Quentin Tarantino Archives also says the movie "is partly a homage to ... "men on a mission" World War II movies like The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen and Five For Hell.
Tarantino has long been a fan of one of Rod's past "man on a mission" films -- Dark of the Sun. The Oscar-winning director has screened that film during his annual film festival in Austin, Texas.
ROD'S SCENE
In a script widely distributed across the Internet, Rod-as-Churchill appears almost midway through the film. The scene also includes General Ed Fenech, played by Mike Myers, and Lt. Archie Hicox, a handsome young British soldier, played by Michael Fassbender.
Hicox enters a room and salutes the general. The stage directions say:
"In the back of the room, sitting
behind a piano, smoking his ever-present
cigar, is the unmistakable bulk of Winston
Churchill. Hickox's eyes go to the
formidable bulldog behind the piano, who's
scrutinizing him behind his cigar. However
the man behind the cigar makes no gesture,
and the General makes no acknowledgment of
the 300-pound gorilla in the room. Which Lt.
Hicox knows enough to mean, if Churchill
isn't introduced, he ain't there. "
Hicox has been called upon because he has
run undercover commando operations in
Germany and German-occupied territories.
He's also a film expert, and the upcoming
mission requires knowledge of the German
film industry under the Third Reich. Hicox
says Goebbels considers the films he's
making to be the beginning of a new era in
German cinema.
Then there's sudden bellowing from the back
of the room ... Churchill demands to know
how Goebbels is doing. "Compared to say,
Louis B. Mayer... how's he doing?"
Hickox explains how Goebbels is doing. Then,
with a puff of cigar smoke, Churchill says,
"Brief him."
The general then describes "Operation Kino,"
including the role of "The Basterds," led by
Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and a German actress
working for England.
In the back of the room, the bulldog barks,
"Extraordinary woman."
The scene closes with the "three British
bulldogs" laughing.
