The beginning of Chapter Five "Revenge of the Giant Face" subtitled "Night of NATION'S PRIDE Premier" from Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" is definitely my favourite five minutes on film. The first chords of David Bowie's "Cat People" over the captions is only the start. As his vocal comes in, the beautiful Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus leans seductively by the fabulous huge circular window of her cinema, contemplating the terrible revenge she has organised for that night. It is only on repeat viewings that I now see the startling editing which comes next. Four times we gradually get closer to Shosanna, as each shot melts into the other. This is film making at it's peak.
I mentioned on a previous posting (11th August 2010) about how Shosanna initially applies rouge as warpaint during the ultra close up as she applies her make up. The song ends as she dons hat and veil and makes her way to the balcony where she watches all her victims gather. (Melanie Laurent was absolutely brilliant in this film, warranting awards and nominations for best actress from a number of film societies.) I cannot think of a more dramatic sequence from any movie. Perhaps one from "The Godfather" comes close.
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