Movie madness
Today: Josephine Riesman, New York Times bestselling author of Ringmaster and True Believer.
Issue No. 475
Inglourious Vengeance
Josephine Riesman
Inglourious Vengeance
by Josephine Riesman
“I’ve been looking, for the last few movies, to come to Israel,” Quentin Tarantino told the Tel Aviv audience before him on September 9, 2009. “And I figured this might be the movie to do it with.”
The occasion was an Israeli screening of his newly released World War II movie, Inglourious Basterds. It was the director’s very first visit to the Jewish state. Major American films hardly ever get red-carpet premiere events in Israel. But Tarantino is a peculiar filmmaker, and this was a peculiar film.
After thanking the audience “for making me feel so welcome here” and adding that he was “looking forward to seeing the movie with an Israeli audience,” Tarantino brought to the stage producer Lawrence Bender, as well as Christoph Waltz, the breakout star who plays a clever S.S. officer in the film.
Then it was time for the show. But the director had a final question to pose to the packed crowd of Israeli Jews.
“So, are you guys ready to kill some Nazis?” Tarantino cried.
The people applauded.
“Are you ready to fuck up some Nazis?!?” he continued, bringing up the volume.
The people screamed and cheered.
Keep us breathing fire!
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