‘Inglourious Basterds’ Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Essential Quentin Tarantino

One of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time harnesses the power of cinema itself to rewrite history in this electrifying WWII thriller. Narrowly escaping the massacre of her entire family by the SS, Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) flees to Paris and forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Meanwhile, a guerilla band of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), are waging a bloody war of attrition behind enemy lines but Europe remains beneath Nazi bootheels. Believing themselves unstoppable, the leaders of the Third Reich assemble in Paris for the premiere of propaganda epic Nation’s Pride. The location? Shosanna’s cinema. With all the rotten eggs in one basket, “The Basterds” join forces with British Commando Lt. Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) and German film star/undercover allied agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) to infiltrate the premiere. Their plan? Blow up the basket…

Brim-filled with shocking violence, thrilling action and excruciating suspense, Inglourious Basterds was a box office smash around the world garnering eight Academy Award (2009) nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, with Christoph Waltz winning Best Supporting Actor for his star-making turn as the chilling SS Col. Hans Landa. Witness the war as it might have been in stunning 4K Ultra HD, packed with explosive extras!

For in-depth thoughts on Inglourious Basterds, please see my previous 4K UHD Blu-Ray review from Universal here. 

For additional thoughts on the film, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Arrow Video has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Inglourious Basterds that is sourced from a 4K master supplied by Universal in HDR10. This appears to be the exact same master as the one released by Universal in 2021. There may be subtle differences in the encoding, but anyone who has that previous release will not see a night and day difference, and there is no inclusion of Dolby Vision to potentially squeeze more nuance out of the picture. 

If you are looking to upgrade from the previous 4K UHD release, you should keep your expectations in check, but those who are making the jump from Blu-Ray will likely appreciate this disc. This presentation offers a subtle uptick in quality over the already-impressive Blu-Ray released by universal in 2009, most notably in its gains in fine detail and well-defined textures. The film was finished to a 2K digital intermediate and has been upscaled to 4K. While many may incorrectly argue that there are no benefits to putting a 2K master on a 4K disc, the reality is that Universal did not have a film negative they could easily scan in 4K and completely rebuilding the raw materials in 4K along with the visual effects work would have been astronomically expensive. What we have here should be comparable to the theatrical experience.

The new disc offers some small improvements so that some of the darker scenes on the Blu-Ray display more clearly in 4K. This new presentation is not a night and day difference from the older Blu-Ray, so don’t expect this one to knock your pants off. Elements such as the tension-filled tavern scene taking place in varying degrees of shadow are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels are slightly elevated in this presentation, but there is still a good amount of detail. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. With the upgrade to 4K also comes the added benefit of better compression, as this film is allowed more room to breathe on the disc. 

Skin tones appear a touch more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores. There are so many stunning pops of color in the production design that appear with greater vibrancy than before thanks to this presentation. The increased range of the color spectrum helps bring more nuance to the visual palette of the film. Important details like fiery explosions look incredible and quite vivid here. The transfer reveals an increase in the depth of field in the varied locations that we visit throughout the journey. You can more clearly make out textures within the theater lobby and similar such elements. There does not appear to be any noise reduction or black crush that we detected at any point. If you have not had any complaints with the Blu-Ray up until this point, you may not find the upgrade to 4K a monumental leap, but those who have not owned the film previously should go ahead and pick up this version. 

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 lossless track recycled from the previous 4K UHD Blu-Ray that packs one hell of a punch. This disc perfectly brings the story to life with a depth and clarity of sound that is staggering. As the Basterds move throughout their mission, the sounds of the environment flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of gunfire that really make you feel like you are in the thick of the fight. Every kinetic sequence features some impeccable sound design that comes through flawlessly. 

The implementation of environmental effects such as crowd chatter and silverware against plates come through in a natural way. There is a substantial amount of activity in the low-end when the scenes suddenly shift towards violence. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting muddied by the score or any sound effects. The impeccable music utilized in the film comes through with a pleasing fidelity. Arrow Video knocked it out of the park with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have a blast with this one. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. 

Special Features

The Limited Edition Collector’s Set of the Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Inglourious Basterds comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer case and includes a 60-page ‘Films & Filmmakers’ collector’s book with writing by film critics Dennis Cozzalio and Bill Ryan which delve into the film from multiple angles. These works provide a great analysis of the film in a thoughtfully written style. This package also includes a double-sided poster, a replica of Nation’s Pride Premiere programme booklet, La Louisianne beermat, 3 postcard sized double-sided art cards, and a strudel recipe card. The on-disc special features are as follows:

• Audio Commentary: Film critic and author Tim Lucas provides a very informative commentary track in which he uses his penchant for classic cinema to draw numerous connections to what Quentin Tarantino was inspired by while making this film, along with plenty of analysis of the narrative and performances. 

• What Would Sally Do?: A new 11-minute interview with editor Fred Raskin, assistant editor to Inglourious Basterds editor Sally Menke, who discusses his background leading to editing movies, what he learned from working from Menke and Tarantino, what it is like working with Tarantino, and more. 

• Doomstruck: A new nearly 12-minute interview with actor Omar Doom in which he discusses his background, meeting Quentin Tarantino at a bar, the audition process, gaining experience working on Death Proof, what it is like being on a Tarantino set, and more. 

• Blood Fiction: A new 22-minute interview with special make-up effects supervisor Greg Nicotero who discusses his relationship with Tarantino, his directing style, pulling off the scalping effects, the most challenging special effects, and more. 

• Making It Right: A new 22-minute visual essay by film critic Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film, in which he explores the kindness of Quentin Tarantino throughout his filmography, how his extreme violence often overshadows his sensitivity, and more. 

• Film History On Fire: A new 22-minute visual essay by film scholar Pamela Hutchinson, author of BFI Film Classics Pandora’s Box, in which she delves into film as a weapon both in the figurative and literal sense. There are great insights into film as propaganda, how Hollywood avoided depicting Nazis in the early days of the war, war heroes on film, the flammability of the material, and more. 

• Filmmaking In Occupied France: A new 16-minute visual essay by film scholar Christine Leteux, author of Continental Films: French Cinema Under German Control, explores French cinema during the time it was occupied during the war. 

• Archive Extras

• • Extended & Alternate Scenes: Three scenes totaling nearly twelve minutes of unused material included an extended lunch with Goebbels, an extended card game and an alternate version of the Nation’s Pride opening. Some of these scenes include the opening camera slate and direction from off-screen from Tarantino.

• • Roundtable Discussion with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and Elvis Mitchell: A 31-minute piece in which Mitchell gets Pitt and Tarantino to discuss the process of working together on set, the energy that comes from making decision on the fly, developing backstory that never makes it to the screen, playing with history to subvert typical audience response and more.

• • Nation’s Pride – Full Feature: The six-minute film-within-the-film is provided here in full directed by Eli Roth which serves as an amusing bit of self-righteous fun. The 4K disc offers this in HD with two different audio tracks.

• • The Making Of Nation’s Pride: A four-minute in-character making-of featurette in which Director Alois von Eichberg (Eli Roth), Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment & Propaganda Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth), actress/mistress Francesca Mondino (Julie Dreyfus), and actor/war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) take you through the journey of bringing this film to life.

• • The Original Inglorious Bastards: An eight-minute piece that pays respects to Enzo G. Castellari’s Inglorious Bastards while showcasing how Tarantino worked talent from that film into his new one.

• • A Conversation with Rod Taylor: A seven-minute interview with legendary actor Rod Taylor in which he discusses his connection with Tarantino and getting involved with the film. 

• • Rod Taylor On Victoria Bitter: Another three-minute piece with Taylor in which he relays a story about Australian beer. 

• • Quentin Tarantino’s Camera Angel: A three-minute montage of an amusing clapperboard girl slating scenes.

• • Hi Sallys: A two-minute collection of greetings to Tarantino’s longtime collaborator editor Sally Menke.

• • Film Poster Gallery Tour with Elvis Mitchell: An eleven-minute piece in which Mitchell explores the background posters featured throughout the film with important insights into each one.

• Trailers: The disc includes a Teaser (1:45), Domestic Trailer (2:23), International Trailer (2:08) and Japanese Trailer (1:17). 

Final Thoughts

Inglourious Basterds is one of the best films to come out of the 2000s, and it is one of the very best to come from the mind of Quentin Tarantino. Every single element of this masterpiece is perfectly executed from the casting to the pacing, the dialogue and all of the craft elements. Every single time you watch it, it gets a little bit better. Arrow Video has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that does not offer a monumental upgrade in the A/V department but does offer some nice, subtle improvements on the video side of things that fans should appreciate. Nearly all of the legacy special features have been ported over along with a new commentary track and great new interviews. While those who already own the Blu-Ray may have to weigh how important small improvements are to them, those who have never owned the film should consider this disc a must-purchase. Highly Recommended 

Inglourious Basterds will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray on January 14, 2025. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.