The Inglorious Bastards – BluRay review (1978)

The movie brings back memories; I got up around 5am one school day to watch this on cable. I remember liking it but that was about it. So flash forward over twenty years and now I have the BluRay to review.

The movie is Enzo Castellari's Inglorious Bastards, an Italian WW2 film that only could have been made by Italians. A rip off of Dirty Dozen with a group of military prisoners trying to get out of the war by heading to the border an encounter leads them on a mission vital to the success of the war. Lead by Bo Svenson and Fred Williams this group are a threat to both sides.  The crazed band of bastard brothers’ mission is the preventing of a train filled with destructive missile components with a whole bunch of Nazis on board from reaching its destination. The entire climax in and near the train station and the escape from the Nazi occupied château are cool as hell.

As far the transfer is looks very good for a 30 year plus movie, I have noticed with outdoor scenes look crisper that some other scenes lack this but only slightly.

This film will never look this good anyway else. The audio is good as well with a new 5.1 track and Dolby 2.0 one as well.  The extras here are well above average with audio commentary with Director Castellari.  There is also an hour plus documentary on the making that is a lot of fun. On the BluRay exclusively are a reunion at the New Beverly theater in LA and Enzo Castellari’s 70th Birthday celebration in LA as well.

No secret I like this movie it’s a fun afternoon movie for a lazy weekend, the look with miniatures and mat painting are old there to remind you this is back in the day without CG and has a certain charm. This is a must buy for a Europhile or WWII fan.

Recommended 3 out of 4

For more information on this and other releases by Severin you can visit Severin Films.

Reviewed by Steve Benningfield

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer