Great Scene: “Inglourious Basterds”
7 min readApr 27, 2017
Col. Hans Landa ‘chats’ with a French farmer.
Movie: Inglourious Basterds (2009), written by Quentin Tarantino.
IMDb plot summary: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner’s vengeful plans for the same.
Scene Setup: Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) chats with a French farmer, leading to some critical questions.
Farmer stands up, goes over to the ice box, and takes out the
aft of milk. As he walks over and fills the Nazi Colonel's glass,
German Officer talks.
COL LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, are you aware of the
nickname the people of France have given
me?
PERRIER
I have no interest in such things.
COL LANDA
But you are aware of what they call me?
PERRIER
I'm aware.
COL LANDA
What are you aware of?
PERRIER
That they call you, "The Jew Hunter".
COL LANDA
Precisely! Now I understand your
trepidation in repeating it.
Before he was assassinated, Heydrich
apparently hated the moniker the good
people of Prague bestowed on him.
Actually why he would hate the name,
"The Hangman", is baffling to me
It would appear he did everything in
his power to earn it. But I, on the
other hand, love my unofficial title,
precisely because I've earned it.
As "The Jew Hunter" enjoys his fresh milk, he continues to theorize
with the french farmer.
COL LANDA
The feature that makes me such a effective
hunter of the Jews, is, as opposed to most
German soldiers, I can think like a jew.
where they can only think like a German,
or more precisely, a German soldier.
Now if one were to determine what attribute
the German people share with a beast, it
would be the cunning and predatory instinct
of a hawk.
Negro's - gorilla's - brain - lips -
smell - physical strength - penis size.
But, if one were to determine what attributes
the jews share with a beast, it would be
that of the rat.
Now the Fuhrer and Gobbles propaganda
have said pretty much the same thing.
Where our conclusions differ, is I don't
consider the comparison a insult.
Consider for a moment, the world a rat
lives in. It's a hostile world indeed.
If a rat were to scamper through your
front door right now, would you greet it
with hostility?
PERRIER
I suppose I would.
COL LANDA
Has a rat ever done anything to you to
create this animosity you feel toward
them?
PERRIER
Rat's spread disease, they bite people -
COL LANDA
- Unless some fool is stupid enough to
try and handle a live one, rats don't
make it a practice of biting human beings.
Rats were the cause of the Bubonic plague,
but that was some time ago. In all your
born days, has a rat ever caused you to
be sick a day in your life? I purpose to
you, any disease a rat could spread,
a squirrel could equally carry.
Yet I assume you don't share the same
animosity with squirrels that you do with
rats, do you?
PERRIER
No.
COL LANDA
Yet, they are both rodent's, are they
not? And except for the fact that one
has a big bushy tail, while the other
has a long repugnant tail of rodent skin,
they even rather look alike, don't they?
PERRIER
It is a interesting thought,
beer Colonel.
COL LANDA
However, interesting as the thought may
be, it makes not one bit of difference
to how you feel. If a rat were to scamper
through your door, this very minute,
would you offer it a saucer of your
delicious milk?
PERRIER
Probably not.
COL LANDA
I didn't think so. You don't like them.
You don't really know why you don't like
them. All you know is, you find them
repulsive.
What a tremendously hostile world a rat
must endure. Yet, not only does he
survive, he thrives. And the reason for
this, is because our little foe has a
instinct for survival and preservation
second to none. And that Monsieur, is
what a jew shares with a rat.
Consequently, a German soldier, conducts
a search of a house suspected of hiding
Jews. Where does the hawk look? He looks
in the barn, he looks in the attic,
he looks in the cellar - he looks
everywhere, he would hide. But there are
many places it would never occur to a
hawk to hide. However the reason the
Fuhrer brought me off my Alps in Austria,
and placed me in French cow country today,
is because it does occur to me. Because
I'm aware what tremendous feats human
beings are capable of once they abandon
dignity.
(Changing tone)
May I smoke my pipe as well?
The Farmer's cool facade is little by little eroding.
PERRIER
Please, Colnnel, make yourself at home.The Jew Hunter, removes both a pipe and a bag of tobacco fixings.
The pipe, strangely enough, is a Calabash, made from a "S" shaped goard kith a yellow skin, made famous by Sherlock Holmes.
The Nazi Colonel, busies himself with his smoking life, he
continues to hold court at the Frenchman's table.
COL LANDA
The other mistake the German soldier
make is their severe handling of the
citizens who give shelter and aid to
the Jews. These citizens are not enemies
of the state. They are simply confused
people, trying to make some sense out of
the madness war creates.
These citizens do not need punishing.
They simply need to be reminded of their
duty in war time.
Let's use you as a example Monsieur
LaPadite. In this war, you have found
yourself in the middle of a conflict
that has nothing to do with yourself,
your lovely ladies, or your cows - yet,
here you are.
So Monsieur LaPadite, let me purpose
a question. In this time of war, what is
your number one duty? Is it to fight the
Germans in the name of France to your
last breath? Or, is it to harass the
occupying army to the best of your
ability? Or, is it to protect the poor
unfortunate victims of warfare who can
not protect themselves?
Or, is your number one duty in this time
of bloodshed, to protect those very
beautiful women who constitute your
family?The Colonel lets the last statement stand.
COL LANDA
That was a question Monsieur LaPadite.
In this time of war, What do you consider
your number one duty?
PERRIER
To protect my family.
COL LANDA
Now, my job dictates, that I must have
my men enter your home, and conduct a
thorough search, before I can officially
cross your families name off my list.
And if there are any irregularities to be
found, rest assured, they will be.
That is unless, you have something to tell
me that will make the conducting of a
search unnecessary.
I might add also, that any information
that makes the preforming of My duty
easier, will not be met with punishment.
Actually quite the contrary, it will be
met with reward.
And that reward will be, your family
will cease to be harassed in anyway,
by the German military during the rest
of our occupation of your country.
The Farmer, pipe in mouth, stares across the table at his German
opponent.
COL LANDA
You are sheltering enemies of the state,
are you not?
PERRIER
Yes.
COL LANDA
Your sheltering them underneath your
floorboards aren't you?
PERRIER
Yes.
COL LANDA
Point out to me the area's where their
hiding.
The Farmer points out the area's on the floor with the Dreyfusis are underneath.
COL LANDA
Since I haven't heard any disturbance,
I assume that while their listening,
they don't speak English?
PERRIER
Yes.
COL LANDA
I'm going to switch back to french now,
and I want you to follow my masquerade
- is that clear?
PERRIER
Yes.
Colonel Landa stands up from the table, and switching to FRENCH says
SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH;
COL LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, I thank you for milk,
and your hospitably. I do believe our
business here is done.
The Nazi Officer opens the front door, and silently motions for hisson to approach the house.
COL LANDA
Mademoiselle LaPadite, I thank you for
your time, we shant be bothering your
family any longer.
Yet the LaPadite women watch the Nazi soldiers, machine guns at ready, approach the house.
The Soldiers enter the doorway, Col Landa, silently points out area of the floor the Jews are hiding under.
COL LANDA
So, Monsieur and Madame LaPadite
I bid you adieu.
Options to the Soldiers with his index finger. Way TEAR UP the wood floor with MACHINE GUN FIRE.The little farm house is filled with SMOKE, DUST,
SPLINTERS, SCREAMS,BULLET CASINGS, and even a little
BLOOD.With a hand motion from the Colonel, the Soldiers cut off
Their gunfire. The Colonel keeps his finger in the air to
indicate silence.
UNDERNEATH THE FLOORBOARDS
The entire Dreyfus family lay dead. Except for sixteen
year old. SHOSANNA, who miraculously escaped being struck by the
Nazi's schedules. With her dead family surrounding her, the young girl goes
for freedom.
(represented by wire mesh vent).
The scene as it plays in the movie:
Tarantino is a master at tension-building scenes at here with Inglourious Basterds.
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