Inglourious Basterds is a
war film written and directed by
Quentin Tarantino and released in August 2009 by
The Weinstein Company and
Universal Pictures. It was filmed in several locations, among them
Germany and
France,
[Tarantino Wrapping Inglourious Basterds for Cannes Finish] beginning in October 2008.
The film, set in
German-occupied France, tells the story of two plots to assassinate the
Nazi political leadership, one planned by a young French Jewish cinema proprietress, the other by a team of American soldiers called the "Basterds".
Tarantino has said that despite it being a war film,
Inglourious Basterds is a "
spaghetti western but with
World War II iconography".
In addition to spaghetti westerns, the film also pays homage to the World War II "
macaroni combat" sub-genre (itself heavily influenced by spaghetti-westerns).
Inglourious Basterds was accepted into the main selection at the
62nd Cannes Film Festival in competition for the prestigious
Palme d'Or and had its world premiere there in May.
It was the only U.S. film to win an award at Cannes that year, earning a
Best Actor award for
Christoph Waltz.