Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds hits HBO Max on May 8, 2026. Released in theaters in 2009, this war-and-vengeance epic reimagines World War II through a chaptered narrative, led by Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger and Michael Fassbender.
Inglourious Basterds
Film | 2009
Theatrical release: August 19, 2009
Available on HBO Max on May 8, 2026
War, Action | Runtime: 2h33
Directed by Quentin Tarantino | Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz
Nationality: United States, Germany
Premiered in competition at the Cestival de Cannes 2009, Inglourious Basterds earned Christoph Waltz the Best Actor prize on the Croisette, kicking off a wave of international acclaim, including the Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. After arriving on Netflix on January 19, 2026 and then on Disney+ on February 1, 2026, the film keeps streaming with this latest upload on HBO Max.
In Nazi-occupied France during the 1940s, Shosanna Dreyfus survives the massacre of her family carried out by SS Colonel Hans Landa. Hiding in Paris under a false identity, she takes over a small cinema—an unassuming place that soon becomes the backdrop for a carefully planned act of retaliation. Her solitary journey unfolds in silence, driven by trauma and a deep longing for a defining moment.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Aldo Raine assembles a team of American Jewish soldiers trained for targeted retaliations against the Nazi regime. Known as the “Basterds,” these men operate outside the conventional rules and team up with a German actress turned double agent to strike at the heart of the Third Reich’s command. Their paths cross during a film screening that could, both symbolically and literally, alter the course of history.
Trailer for Inglourious Basterds
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino over the course of nearly a decade, Inglourious Basterds marks the filmmaker’s first foray into a period piece set in a bygone era. Drawing on European war cinema, spaghetti westerns, and exploitation films, the feature-length film embraces complete creative license with history. Principal photography unfolded across Germany and France, with a pronounced focus on multilingualism, a central engine of the dramatic tension.
Blending elements of **war films** and genre cinema, Inglourious Basterds stands out with its elongated dialogues, stylized violence, and dark humor. Tarantino plays with the contrast between words and action, building tension through clever direction and language play, as much as through daring sequences. The film appeals both to fans of the director’s style and to viewers interested in fictionalized reimaginings of history, in a tone reminiscent of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
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