14 DAY TRIAL // Quentin Tarantino’s WWII epic “Inglourious Basterds” has managed to cause some pretty high waves at the Cannes Film Festival, with most critics labeling it the hottest movie in the competition. Still, that’s not to say it is just as marketable or that the audiences will enjoy it, which is precisely why movie bosses are pushing the director to re-structure it and add more action to the story, as Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail writes.
According to Bamigboye, who was in Cannes this week for all the major premieres, Tarantino is getting a lot of heat for rushing the film to make it to the competition. Instead of wrapping up the project in a hurry, he might have considered the option of bringing it to Cannes, premiering it outside the competition and presenting it as an unfinished work, critics say. This way, Tarantino could have avoided the harsh backlash that started after the film ran for the first time, and which had some critics completely trash it.
“While it boasts some memorable scenes, it seemed incomplete and was weighed down with verbosity rather than jam-packed with action and thrills. By his own admission, Tarantino rushed to finish the film in time to compete in the Cannes Film Festival. He would have been better off screening it out of competition and designating it a work in progress. In fact he told me, at a Soho House party, that he left hours of footage on the cutting room floor. He should go home, lock himself in an editing suite – attend no parties! – and re-shape the film.” Bamigboye states.
According to him, sources from inside the movie studio say that “Basterds” will certainly not see the light of day in theaters in the shape it is now. While Tarantino has the final word as to what stays and what goes from the film, as well as to how long it will be, Weinstein Co. and Universal will refuse to run it as it is now, spies tell the Mail editor. The two things that the director will have to focus on once he’s back to work on “Basterds” are, spies reveal, the lack of action scenes and the verbosity of the characters, which often leaves little room for the regular cinemagoer to get to truly know them or their history.
As we also reported yesterday, “Inglourious Basterds” has been warmly received by most critics present at the film festival. Those who did not enjoy were not left indifferent either, but bitterly attacked it with whatever they had best in their arsenal. This alone should speak volumes as to the quality of the film, it has been said, because only a quality production leads to such heated debates.
“Inglourious Basterds” hits US theaters in August. Until then, keep an eye on this space for more details regarding the changes Tarantino plans to make to it, if any.