The fact Waltz goes from being one of the best villains in Bastards to one of the best heroes in Django whilst always being German As Fuck just shows his range and Tarantino being a great director letting him do what he needs to do for the role
The scariest part about him is that you never know exactly what he knows. You can't tell if he has the upper hand or not until he's where he wants to be
Its part of his bluff to gain power, we don’t know if he has knowledge of the situation or not. This makes us think that he knows whats going on even if he doesnt.
Acting like you know everything but not revealing what you actually do or don’t know is a very effective technique. It’s pretty good for parenting also. 😂
Two things you missed in the café scene. He orders milk for her, knowing that it will not be kosher. When she accepts it without a problem, he increases the pressure by ordering apple strudel. In that period, dairy products were in short supply, and pork fat was used as a substitute in pastries like this. He already knows who she is, so this isn't a test, it is just sadism.
Yeah but I really don't believe if he definitely knows that he's talking to the one Shoshanna Dreyfuss. He's simply just baiting some jews, but that's really where it all end imo
Hans often talks in double meaning. Half of which is politeness, the other half with threatening undertones. You see this when he says "May I call your Emmanuelle?". I'm 100% certain he know who she is.
If you strictly look at the scenes, it's impossible for Hans to recognize her. He never saw her face, he only knew her name. For me, it's one and done with this fact alone. Unless I'm missing something.
Can we also give due to the amazing acting of the man who played La Paditte? Almost wordless, so much conveyed in his expressions and movements, extraordinary.
i remember reading somewhere that if u look carefully you'll notice Hans doesn't just take the girls hands, he takes them by the wrists an studys their pulse to get a feeling of their true reactions
It's more than that. You can gauge a pulse, breath, look for pupilary dilation, and the "blush response" but also trembling, goosebumps, and perspiration. The man was a detective
Hes kind of a good guy in this movie too. Yeah he killed hella people BUT they ended up killing Hitler. And he helped them pretty much cut the head off the snake as far as nazis go. For a price of course.
I always felt Hans strangling her was a personal thing. They seem to have known each other for years (as when the two of them meet at the party they greet each other like old acquaintances) and i feel that him not knowing she was a spy was a shot to his intelligence as a detective. Which is also why her death is as brutal and anger filled as it is shown.
Maybe she was never in a situation with him where she had to give a poor excuse or come up with an impromptu one. Maybe whenever he met her, he took her for a dumb celebrity actress and he might have never thought of a well known star to be involved.@@marco7563
Of course it was personal. Von Hammersmark indirectly threatened to expose his homosexuality and her charade was an insult to his intelligence. She has the fame he desires, even though she is a much worse actress than he is. He fears that as a celebrity she will take the credit for the plot against the Nazi leaders that he claims for himself.
I think Hans strangled the girl, strictly because he felt his intelligence was so blatantly insulted with her bs story of the rock climbing and that she actually believed a man of his infamy and status would believe such an idiotic excuse. Simply hurt his pride too much.
I think there's more to it - envy. See my latest comment: RE: "You get what you paid for" - that's basically him saying "you should have paid ME to run this plot of yours instead of paying some stupid actress, who got so easily caught by ME". And as we saw later - he would have been 100% game. It's essentially grandiosity and envy. That's why he killed her - pure murderous envy.
@@jacobavakian5893 Both are probably true to some degree, he was probably going to kill her regardless but wounding his ego gave him the extra venom he needed. He could of killed her any which way but he chose an extremely intimate way to kill her which deterred from his usual efficiency. Sadist or personal slight?
@@lufsolitaire5351 i think he plays games with his prey bc he is sadistic! He also plays games with von to match the shoe of the crime scene to his suspicions!
I like the small detail that whenever Landa is in control of a situation, he usually takes his hat off. But in the ending scene where he was helpless, his hat stayed on
Interesting, and a good idea to put forth. Thank you for that. But, this could also be explained away by saying that a gentleman takes his hat off when he is indoors.
When his neutral expression goes into visible distaste in the opening scene you damn well know, this guy is no joke. It's such a subtle change, but done so perfectly that your heart just drops the way LaPadite's does.
i mean when the "friendly" ss nazi after drinking your milk and making smalltalk goes full death stare and says outright "your haboring jews...do you not" its clear he doesnt play around anymore,either you cooperate and save yourself or your in with them.
@@herschelschueler the way he was able to emote pure fury with just a stare was frightening. I saw this in the movie theater on opening day and during that scene you could hear a pin drop.
I think Hans absolutely knew who Shoshanna was in the restaurant, but didn't give her away for two reasons: one - he sometimes likes to play with his toys, and two - she obviously didn't come to own a theater all on her own. There were people helping her and he wants to weed them out too.
I think he definitely knows but he also doesn’t care He is not a real nazi as in “a fanatical believer”, the ending tells us this, he is not attached to the ideology personally, he doesn’t hate jews specifically, he just does his job to his fullest and thrives on power I think he knows its Shoshanna but he is no longer hunting jews, today he’s just organising security for the theatre and watching her squirm and knowing he has total power is amusing to him
@@ceaselessroad9294 that is because he had a file w/ their names and she was the only teenage girl in the family. he's satisfying his kink of 'politely terrorizing his victims' more than doing complex detective work. his real smarts is his uniform and the terror it inspires.. there's nothing genius in finding the hiding spot for example, he just makes it sound like he's smarter than his predecessors when in reality they just didn't do a proper job for whatever reasons... this motif repeats a few times thru-out the movie
He knew about the inglorious basterds and there plan. By not telling anyone about it he knew her theater wil be the best fit to wipe out the entire third reich. So he needed soshanna to help carry out his plan to help the basterds and to defect to the Americans. That’s why he didn’t do anything to her. If he did then his plan would’ve been busted
I love how Hans Landa, in accordance with his obvious intelligence, has shown not to be ideological in any meaningful sense. It's almost as though he privately knows that the politics of the Third Reich are absurd, but he doesn't care because it's an opportunity for him to flex his intellectual prowess as a detective and hunter.
He pretty much explicitly states in the first scene that he is in it because he enjoys the process of investigating and tracking down people. He is good at it, and the ideal scenario for him to exploit his talent presents itself - in the form of the SS. As Vile Eye says, the perfect oppurtunist.
@@frogglen6350 That's stupid, if a war breaks out you are gonna work and fight for your country, you don't have the resources to contact a foreing country. By winning side you mean America? America wasn't in the war, they just came to it at the end to take the spoils and only because they were dragged into it. People play the cards that they have, people like Landa play it well, they are only there for their self interest, they were winning until the USSR beat them in Stalingrad, the movie show us the moment that he can access to new cards. People don't predict the future, maybe all the people working for the US are stupid for not working for the chinese under that logic. The world is full of people like Landa, that's the scary thing, most of them maybe are not that smart. The people that think of themselves as heroes maybe are the incarnate evil of the future, the people want to be a hero now, but they want to be cheered for that, not punish. The nazis thought (and in their logic it has sense) that they were the salviors of the world and that their cause was fair and noble, if you really belive in what you say you stay untill the end, Hitler was one of this people, he could have scaped Berlin and he didn't because he believed in what he said, even if for us his way of thinking was monstruous. But most people even whith the greatest words just want to float above the shit, just a few have the skills and the resources to do it.
Hans Is scary because he’s not impulsive or easily angered, he’s so level headed and calculated it makes him seem like he already knows all your secrets. A lot of movies show nazis/ cops as stupid or incompetent but Hans is clever, and has a cold pressure to him
They was never stupid.who you think teach American about astronomy.they was way infront of america.hitler lost the was it's just because he was saw bigger than is belly.hes mistake is not supposed to attack Russia.
Hans stared at the youngest daughter because he knew she would reveal where the Jews were hiding. She revealed it the second she glanced towards the floor whereupon she immediately looked at her father in fear because she knew what she did. Her father knew it too and you could see he had already decided to tell Hans the truth to protect his daughters. The rest of their conversation was entirely theatre because Hans enjoys his job.
Not necesarily, alot of people look down when they are in a state of fear and submission, which the Nazis would obviously cause in any sensible person.
@@ThiaZdk That would explain the first greeting. But the persistent looks seemed to actually have a goal. Not just staring at her for her blondish hair
Another crazy thing about his interrogation with Lapadite: Lapadite definitely speaks some pretty good English, but it's not his native tongue. That means it's significantly more difficult to lie/hide details than if he were speaking French, and Hans exploited that as well when he switched to English. He might have had suspicions, but that could be how he 100% confirmed Lapadite was hiding the Dreyfuses Lapadite's actor also needs some serious props. He spoke English just fine and you see him maintaining kind of a stone cold persona of his own but clear nervousness. Something that a genius like Landa would notice, especially if he's speaking a language he's less comfortable with
Well the fact that he switches to English (specificly) is because an US audience dont wonna read an entire scene in French. In the german Version they switch to german which, in fact, makes much more sense that a SS officer speaks german instead of English.
@@tombkingsethbattlechannel9419 What most people miss is how the pos measures a pulse by asking for a handshake or holding the hand. He said himself, he's a detective not a hunter.
@@tombkingsethbattlechannel9419I don’t think it’s that far fetched that a well educated, intelligent, and decorated German military officer knows English. It’s completely plausible that Hans Landa studied abroad and learned English that way. Also, you are wrong about the whole language switch to cater to English speaking audiences. First off, it’s not done for no reason, it’s done because the Dreyfus’ did not speak English at all so they were unable to understand what they were talking about. Secondly, only about 30% of the entire film is in English while the rest was either in German, French, or Italian. There were plenty of scenes in the film that were spoken exclusively in German or French, or at least for the majority of the time. This includes the famous basement bar scene, which is more than 20 minutes long and only switches to English near the end when the protagonists covers are blown and the actual English speaking characters enter the picture. So trying to say this “caters to English speaking audiences” is just completely wrong. Lastly, it is technically an English film created by an English director, obviously there is going to be English in it, but Tarantino went the extra mile and used actual Native speakers for the German and French parts (Other than Michael Fassbender).
@@u121386 hi, think u are missing my point a bit. what i ment is that, when they switch the language to cater to the local audiene. So in the english version they switch to english, in the german version they switch to german and i guess in italy they switch to italian. and yes ofc a person like landa would speak several languages but certainly not a french farmer. so storywise it makes more sense that they use german instead of english because german was the language of the occupiers at that time. and if u ever go to france u will notice that they flat out refuse to use any other language except their own^^
Hans’ use of subtle actions, questions, etc. that let his victims *know* they’ve been caught is what makes him the perfect villain to me. He lets you know you’re doomed but instead of just ending it, he toys with his victims just for fun... he may even just say “Au Revior” and let you live in fear indefinitely. Beautifully written and performed.
You'd think Hans would instantly figure out at the end of the movie that he can just say a Nazi marked him before he left Germany. It's way more believable than anything Pitts shitty character does
A big tell in the interview with La Padite , is early on, Landa says that he understands that La Padite can speak English. From La Padites perspective, he realizes that Landa already knows things about him.
His claim that he has exhausted his usage of the French language, after several minutes of fluent, errorless conversation, was always a huge red flag to me.
Hans also has a thing for linguistics. He always wants to know the exact phrase and accent in the native speakers’ tongue, indicating an extraordinary punctuality
@@bootstrapperwilson7687 Maybe you could turn off the pretentiousness while on TH-cam. It makes *you* look like someone who cannot identify TH-cam "decorum".
Hans speaks French only at the beginning of the film in the first chapter when he presents himself to the LaPadites before switching to English for most of the sequence. He then only speaks French in the third chapter when he reencounters Shosanna posing as Immanuel Mimieux. He speaks English in only the first and final chapter. German is the language he most speaks throughout the film when he talks to Goebbels and Zoller in Chapter 3 before talking to Shosanna, Chapter 4 when he examines the corpses at the tavern and discovers Bridget von Hammersmark's handkerchief with an autograph and missing shoe. Then in Chapter 5 when he's being the security at the Premier he speaks German when talking to the Nazis, his comrade and Bridget von Hammersmark as well as Italian when talking to the disguised Basterds to show off his skills and detect that they're fakes before concocting his plan to ally with them.
When Hans takes her wrist, he's actually checking her pulse. Her heart was pounding which was his first real clue the La Padites were hiding something...or someone.
eh, i'm not sure that's what he was doing. Unless you're specifically trained not to, the human heart can fluctuate because the person is being touched. Given the fact he was almost certain that the jews were already there it then became a question of getting the occupants to reveal it was so.
@leah rose I get what you mean. Not every movie can be a smash hit and that’s why it’s hard for actors sometimes. You could jump on a role that launches you into the top 10 or the movie you play in could be SO BAD that is just destroys your personal image.
@leah rose Spectre is quite old now, it was 5 years ago already. Better watch more recent movies such as Alita Battle Angel - he has a much better role in this movie.
@@Rocky-oq9cy But it's difficult to know which movie is worth playing in or not. Like, Bond movies are famous, if not for their quality, then for being popular and well-received by the public. So it's not that surprising actors are willing to play in those movies as they are fairly reliable. But, as it turns out, even well-established franchises have their bad eggs. On the other hand, some low-budget and not well-known movies can actually turn into something good, if they are written well.
Let me second this. There is no one who could play him like Walz. In my opinion the mo is should be watched in German. Christoph synced him self in French, English, Italian and German.
The shot of Hans and his facial expression in the house as he makes his coup de grace is duplicated with Shoshana at the end of her interrogation . Then at the last second he claims to forget what his last question was, and forcefully extinguished his cigarette in the creme. He knew exactly who she was. I thought the reason he decided to let her go was hinted at in the start of the scene when they were discussing rank. To kill her would jeopardize the event being planned by his superiors. There was also the complication of harming the "girlfriend" of the German soldier who was being honored at the film event. There were too many complications and he kept his cool. Those kind of elements make him my favorite villain.
I've always loved that he was not particularly loyal to the Nazis, more just an opportunist. Everything he did was for himself. He would have played a flute if that was the key to his own success.
I think the character in the movie ( not the actor ) DID play the flute. If you know what I mean. Evidence: He " made arrangements " to take his aide with him to safety in America. I think there was more than a bit of a BROMANCE going on there.
I would say that’s the worst aspect of his character. To a certain extent I feel bad for the people who were taught antisemitism and authoritarianism since they were young and became Nazis. But if you’re smart enough to know antisemitism is stupid and that what you’re doing is wrong but you do it anyway, you’re worse than the idiots you work for
I've always been of the opinion that Landa knew that Emmanuelle was Shoshanna when they spoke, but deliberately spared her because she had a believable and consistent backstory for her current identity. As you say in your video, much of Landa's presence and interrogation throughout the film has to do with performance, and the performances which turn sour and violent only do so the moment he's broken through the façade of the people he's been interrogating. I believe that he knows Shoshanna's identity is a falsehood but doesn't care to pursue her on that note both because it wouldn't be of any personal gain to him and because he respects the work she's put into the lie. Had anyone aside from Landa been there he would've been fooled entirely, and Landa sees pride in a good performance. I don't think that his murder of von Hammersmark is out of character for that exact same reason. He doesn't kill her because it would necessarily be beneficial to him or his plot, but because he's outraged by the pathetic story they've come up with and clearly put no thought or rehearsal into, and because they thought it would be enough to fool him, specifically. It's a disrespect to both his intellect and his craft and so he sees it as the ultimate insult. Thus the "you get what you pay for" remark - she was an actress, and obviously he believed her to be a very poor one. Thus also why the scarring of his forehead was the ultimate insult, since he can no longer pretend he was anything else.
Oh man when you put it that way the carving is such perfect punishment for Hans; The man so expert in theatre can now only play one character ever again, a Nazi failure.
Very true. He also had that charming, very dangerous aura around him. You never knew where he stood. He like Hans didn't need to be violent or aggressive to get the point across.
Tarrantino was definitely doing an homage to the opening scene of Sergio Leone's _The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly_ with Angel Eyes' (Van Cleef) introduction.
Well... Considering the fact that he's widely considered the finest director that's ever lived, I'd say credit is due. Sure, the actors are phenomenal, but it's his DIRECTION that makes the film.
I think the reason he singles out the daughter Charlotte when he is looking at the Lapetite daughters is because unlike her sisters she has blonde hair and blue eyes, a perfect 'Aryan' girl.
He singles her out because of how nervous she was compared to the rest. Her eyes kept darting around so Landa knew something was up. Charlotte gave them up because of how she was acting
@@dawsynasay4841 exactly. They were at Hanz' mercy the moment he stepped foot in their property. It's often revealed that people like Hanz don't really view other people, even the perfect Aryan girls, as their equals. I believe he singles her out because she seemed the most nervous out of the three. He knew they were hiding Jews in their property. But he didn't know where. But Hanz is investigating like Sherlock Holmes. He singles Charlotte out because he knew she would crack sooner or later under pressure. Which she did. Before that uncomfortable exchange of Charlotte with her father, she shifted her eyes for a split second to where the Jews were hiding. Hanz most certainly noticed that. And Charlotte and her father's uncomfortable exchange was like Charlotte saying, “I am sorry dad” and her father saying, “What have you done?!”
I heard someone make a great description of Hans. “He holds your hand just a second too long, he stares just a beat more than he should, and he drags the breathe of his words just a moment more than he should”
I remember a theory why he killed the actress was that he becomes enraged when she stops playing the game with him. When she admits she’s a spy and “you got me” (pretty sure she says something to that effect) he is enraged because she broke the “rules” of the game. In that she gave up.
I always thought he knew German high command in one spot to be killed and win the war would absolve his war crimes . Instead of a spy like the actress to get credit for ending the war
I figured it had to do with him still having a strong sense of national pride and he was an anti semite so vanhammersmark working with the hastards wasnt only a betrayal to germany but to her "German race"
I really think Landa spared the La Padites family. Looking at him innocently surrendering his weapons to the Basterds despite being an extremely clever and cunning man shows that Landa is someone who truly respects agreements. To him everything is business, his killing of the actress is simply a business, he wants to complete his businesses before switching sides.
@@weirdshibainu Honestly, it wouldn't be much of a stretch. Even evil bastards understand that people become less inclined to make deals with you once you develop a reputation for killing people who make deals with you.
@@MrClickity I'd say it's a coin toss. The entire family could just disappear, with neighbors racing to snitch on one another. When the Germans invaded Poland and then Russia, neighbors turned on one another in a vain attempt to curry favor with the Germans
It would also be in character. Himmler stressed in one of his speeches, that 'keeping word' is one of the highest virtues for a member of the SS. Even if an SS-man gives his word to a scoundrel (in the eyes of Himmler), he has to keep it.
That first 20 minutes with him and the farmer are terrifying, especially when the farmer realizes there’s nothing gonna stop him from finding those people
I wonder if even that mistake wasn't deliberate on reflection. The psychology behind every one of Landa's actions can measured and weighed for motive. He wanted to concede some power to his "captives", knowing that they would soon hold his life in the balance once he surrendered to them. The "mistake", softens his arrogance and superiority a little, making him less menacing and more childlike in the eyes of these Nazi-killers. It's another subtle and nuanced move in the masquerade-driven chess match he's playing towards the end-game.
@@goldengun9970 in the cinema when brad Pitt says "arrivederci" which means bye bye in Italian with that shitty accent i almost passed out by how much I laughed my god i had a lung hanging out of my throat
Lavrenty Beria would have raped the girl before he killed her, and disposed of everyone else in this movie in the most brutal manner imaginable. And all before lunch. th-cam.com/video/aHQo8mjMge0/w-d-xo.html
When he holds the wrists of the girls in the beginning on the farm, he's actually checking there pulse to see if it is raised / panicked, you can see it if you look closer he is pressing into the underside of the wrist, knowing full well how everyone is freaking out and he's is just there cool, calm and evil.
It was most definitely not out of character for him to kill her. She was lying to his face and taking him for a fool. He greets her as an old friend but knows full well what she's up to. That won't sit right with a man like Landa who needs everyone to know he is the smartest, most perceptive man in the world. "You get what you pay for" indicates his disdain for her botched plan that was poorly thought out, including that they hadn't even bothered to practice any Italian. To Landa, it's all about competence, professionalism and respect and he has no problem showing his deep disdain for those who he seems don't show it.
Yeah, I think that scene was Tarantino showing us that no, this charming, well spoken man is in fact a narcissistic sociopath. And it wasn't just murder, Landa tackles, straddles and strangles her with this bare hands. His hair is even stringier from the sweat and exertion when he goes to the phone - he put everything he had into killing her - because she insulted his intelligence by her lame excuse and the fact they didn't even practice basic Italian. Then her arrogant "what now colonel?", basically saying "what you gonna do about it?" pushed him over the edge. You are 100% right about it not being out of character - they insulted his intelligence from the moment he stepped up and he needed to put SOMEONE in their place. Or in this case, their grave.
Because culture is his weapon and what keeps him empowered. His victims are forced to engage with him because of societal rules, they can't simply tell him "sorry I have to go". They are playing his game, and he is good at it. His ultimate threat are people rejecting culture, like in the end scene where the basterds just throw aside all professionalism and simply kill him.
@@DallasGreen123 They did not kill him, they just carved a swastika in Landa's head so everyone back in the states would know he was a Nazi. They wanted him to live and live with that mark. The proverbial mark of Cain for a man who was in practice, Cain.
Yeah, that was a weird observation: Landa had already shown he could kill - ordering the soldiers to shoot the cabin/family - didn't he shoot at fleeing Emanuelle, in the field? Also, it was war - she was the enemy. He strangled her, not causing a mess or the shot being heard. I wonder if he not secretly (had) desired her - yet now she was openly defying him, working with the enemy, rather clumsily, at that, and ridiculing him in front of other people.... not smart...
I think he killed her so that he could get all the credit for the plan to kill Hitler. If she had lived, she would have also been rewarded for the plan and she could have said that Hans had nothing to do with the plan. With her dead, he could take all the credit.
I feel like Tarantino spent the 00's developing his idea of the antagonist (Elle Driver, Bill, Stuntman Mike) and this was the culmination of that idea.
I think you can see this earlier than that. Jules from Pulp Fiction and Hans have the same sort of presence and control of a scene. You can see that Jackson plays this type of character again in Django a couple of years after this film.
In the strudel scene, he ordered her milk, then, he didn't finish his strudel, didn't finish his cigarette, AND didn't finish his thought. I think these are all hints to him not finishing the job the day she ran from him.
Well, that’s where you’re wrong. He doesn’t make it so.. evil IS inherently elegant and perfect, that’s why Landa (or rather Christoph Waltz’s sublime performance of the character) is the most perfect personification of evil.
@@allminegod The beginning scene when Hans is talking to the French dairy farmer. Initially, he was kind and courteous. Then eventually he gets into why he's really there and you can see the warmth from his face disappear in favor of a cold, emotionless stare. It's very subtle, but when you notice it it's pretty chilling.
Landa knew exactly who she was. But two things: 1) Zoller was smitten with her, and Goebbels was smitten with Zoller. Landa had no interest or anything to gain by causing waves; 2) Honestly her continued existence didn't really threaten him. She wasn't an assignment anymore. But, he did want her to know that HE knew exactly who she was. Intelligence is a game of chess to Hans. Intellectual and strategic chess, and he revels in his opponents' fear. He had her at checkmate, and she knew.
if he caught her as a jew it would be an achievement but with her new papers there was no need to expose her. He was career driven and as the guy said he wasnt really interested in harming individuals
@The Ol’ Babaganoush That's not really a fit of homicidal rage. As you said, he conclusively revealed her to be a double agent. He killed a traitorous woman that had deceived him, and countless others, contributing to the deaths of a Major (a ranking officer only two ranks below Hans himself) and multiple other German soldiers both specifically in the room, and likely hundreds of others from previous situations she may have been involved in. While he obviously wasn't married to the SS, and ended up turning traitor himself, he may have very well believed that while things were going great for his career that they likely were not going to win, and as such saw an opportunity to secure a way out for himself that basically freed him of any responsibility for the atrocities he had committed.
What makes Landa scary to me is that in all his scenes he knows pretty much everything people are trying to hide from him, and always more than he lets on, and he's very careful in how he doles out information about just how much he knows. And when he's finally played his full hand, it's like a switch flips, his cheeriness vanishes, and you see just how dangerous he truly is.
The scene in Django when Schultz kills Candie, theres a whole speech about the difference between the type of goodbyes in german and how auf wiedersehen basically translates until I see you again - Tarantino is an absolutely insane writer
I agree that he knew who she was, and I think the reason he didn't arrest her is because he knew she would be useful to him. The scariest thing about Landa is that we're kept in the dark about what he does and doesn't know. And he plays with the other characters, letting them think they're safe when they aren't. Waltz really played this part perfectly.
He did not. It makes no sense. I keep seeing this type of comment everywhere under Inglorious Basterd videos and it is outright stupid. He likes milk himself and he is playing games testing suspected Jews (milk is not necessarily koscher and a more traditional Jew would not simply drink a glass of milk in 1940). Landa did nothing out of the ordinary here which would justify saying that he identified Shoshanna. He didn't even know her until he sat on down that table.
The opening scene of this movie has a 15 minutes conversation between Hans and Mr. LaPadite, in any other movie this would have been boring, but i can safely say that i'de rather watch a 1 hour conversation of Waltz's Hans Landa than to watch a 2 min MCU superheros bad jokes
@@Maxrepfitgm It's nour art, which according to google means light. Also i see it more as a comparison/ opinion. Couldnt agree with his OP more however lol.
@@Maxrepfitgm box office earnings dont mean a lot, commercialy it can be a, succsess but if people liked it cant be magicaly seen from it. As there are flops that become favored so are blockbuster movies that are forgotten after a year. You do realize that marvel universe is based on comics. From that whole hodge podge of movies i can take ragnarok, first 2 iron man movies, 1st guardians of the galaxy movie and doc. Strange as something thats good the rest is just lukewarm water to me. Comic to movie isnt easy. The marvel universe to me is action split by dad jokes. It is funny for a time but it does not age well. These movies are very different but people will compare them becouse they can and make peace with that. Inglorius bastards has substance to it, you can olways find a part of it thats fun to dissect while marvel is just nostalgia and eye candy.
wait.. how is there no mention of the 'Cream'? He orders the stroodle without the cream at first. then, he sais something like "Oh, I forgot to order the cream" knowing, that Jews don't eat cream because apperantly it's not kosher. So he commands her to wait for the cream, just to read her. At least that's my guess.
You are correct. Depending on how you view the strudel scene, Landa is either testing or taunting Shosanna by forcing her to eat non-kosher whipped cream.
@Mike Litoris Well, I'm not Jewish, but I'm familiar with kosher rules. Landa may be evil, but he's also highly intelligent and well-educated. He certainly knows a great deal about Jewish culture, since such knowledge would aid him as a "Jew hunter." Even if Shosanna doesn't betray herself by rejecting the cream, Landa takes pleasure in watching her choke down a non-kosher dish.
Hans is the standard by whom all writers should measure their "polite villains." Here in one person we see intelligence, class, and pure savagery. Currently, only Hannibal Lecter can compare. No one else comes close.
I can’t think of a character that was better played than this. The fact he speaks 5 different languages while also playing a role as well as he did literally blows my mind
At the dairy farmer’s house, when Lands is meeting the girls, notice how he holds their hands, and later wrist before he orders the milk. That’s feeling out their pulse. A human lie detector.
More like a fear detector and I don't think a visit from an SS colonel (which Landa is) in an occupied country would be regarded as a calming social occasion.
@@firearmsstudent Dude, its a Nazi in your house in Nazi occupied France. They absolutely have reason to be nervous regardless of whether they are hiding anything at all. He could order them to be killed at a whim.
That stood out to me more than anything in that scene was at 6:32 the way you can literally see his eyes change is unreal. Also the actor who played the father did an amazing job as well. One of my all time favorites. Christolph is a treasure.
@@Jelorm2 but if a person wasnt guilty of anything, what's there to be afraid of? Did the germans have a history of rolling up on random french families and killing them for no reason?
@@KingEli exactly, I get it was done to add to the intrigue and intensity of the scene but the likelihood of a working class French farmer in the 40s being able to hold at least a conversational level of English is unlikely. Maybe he knew an English speaker or has a higher level of education than other farmers but he’s inconsequential to the plot so who knows?
The german version makes it muuch better. Him switching to german makes more sense and its save to assume that a french farmer in occupied france has to speak german is plausible.
Hans 100% knew who Shoshana was in the cafe scene. Ordering milk for her was not just some mere coincidence. He was toying with her, it’s fun for him as you say. Even the look he gives her at the end, the same look he gave Pedite before calling him out for hiding her family. The smile fades into the cold dead eyed stare. He doesn’t arrest her because he wants to keep playing with her. Hans killed Bridgette (I believe) because he not only was mad at her for betraying Germany and the Nazis, but that he also may of had some fantasy feelings for her sexually and that was him expelling them in disgust.
There’s a thought I had that he didn’t exactly knew who Shoshana was but that in fact he knew she was jewish. Because he could have most likely asked for milk in any houshold he visited. Like that he could just observe who ever he is talking to if he orders milk and their reaction to that as he triggers their memories.
My God man, every scene with him was incredibly uncomfortable and tense. Even him telling to kindly wait for cream feels creepy. But I also have a weird admiration for him as he’s fluent in many languages and wants to learn the lingo more intimately: he asks the saying of “bingo.” It just shows his fascination with language, and care and attention to detail.
Uncomfortable and tense - that's exactly how I felt during his scenes. Hans is like the coiled snake that could strike you at any moment, but you just don't know when. Then you're uncomfortable because he takes up all the space in the room and you know he's in charge. Not you. At all. I also admired his fluency and curiosity. He wants to fit in wherever he goes and rise to the top. He is pure evil. And Christof Waltz was genius casting.
that's something that was kind of decided after the fact. I watched an interview with Tarantino where he was talking about Waltz in this role, and he said Waltz approached him during production and asked "does Landa really smoke, or is it intimidation?" and Tarantino said something like "i'm not sure". the two of them talked about it and together came to the conclusion that Hans Landa doesn't smoke recreationally, only in situations like this. Tarantino really likes smoking in movies, as you can see in any of his films, so i'm betting he just wrote Landa smoking a pipe without thinking *too* much about until Christoph was trying to get into character.
@MyEverythingBurrito The reason I believe Landa smokes for only show purposes is because of two key points 1) Landa is a high ranking member of the SS, he’s even recognised by Goebells in the restaurant, therefore because of this it is highly likely he is a non-smoker as Hitler detested and ordered for people in the Reich not to smoke 2) He’s playing that detective role, and the fact that he’s solved the crime and that the pipe is the same one used by the likes of Sherlock Holmes points to it being a part of an act rather than Landa being a smoker, there’s also a rumour I’ve heard that he reveals a bigger pipe because of what it says about a certain part of his anatomy being bigger than LaPadite, but that’s just a rumour
Hans is the perfect example of a cat enjoying playing with it's food more than the meal itself. He's the kind of man who kills or spares you as easily as he presses a button and solely depending on which brings him the greater benefit. But i promise he'll be enjoying every second his finger gets to float over the button!
That’s my favorite part of the movie too you can see the ice in his veins turn solid when his face turns menacing when he says, “You’re hiding enemies of the state, are you not?” The sheer terror displayed and he gives off is one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long time in a movie definitely Oscar worthy
When he meets Shoshanna, its a direct mirror of his scene with Lapedite. The drinking of the milk, the smoking, and then the cold dead eyes. It all happens in the same order. But its almost like he realizes Shoshanna isn't even worth his time.
Still my favourite on screen villain, he's just so charismatic and likeable which makes him so much more dangerous. You expect a nazi to be terrifying and ruthless yet Hans is able to hold a conversation and make you feel like your not in any danger. Perfect acting from Christoph and perfect casting choice from Tarantino!
For real. You get the sense that if it wasn’t for the uniform, he’d be a perfectly affable, likable guy. Hence why it’s so important that the basterds give him “something he can’t take off”
They were going to give up making the film and just publish the script because they couldn't find their Hans Landa. So they went scorched earth looking for him and when Christoph did his audition, QT knew he was gonna get to make his movie.
What I love most about Hans Landa is that last scene. Throughout the film he is seen as being in complete control of the situation he is placed in, or so he believes. Everyone, from the LaPadites to von Hammersmark falls into his well-played traps, and even the American generals cooperate with him in a way that lets him go scott-free. Aldo Raine challenges this control by headbutting him even while captured, but Landa simply orders his men to carry the Basterds away. Even at the end, Landa is acting as if he is in control of the escort situation and simply points out in a casual manner how pointless it is to handcuff them. Raine pulls out the rug from under him by shooting the escort while declaring that he is a slave in appearances only, to which Landa completely loses it. Landa is a man who excels at manipulating social rules to his advantage, but against a foe who does not play by those rules he is powerless. As the camera closes in on his face right before he gets a swastika carved into his forehead he finally realizes that there is no longer any escape from his actions, no way for him to talk his way around it, and that he will suffer the same fate as those Nazi survivors he interrogated. The look of utter despair says it all. And then there's the utter catharsis from the actual carving scene itself, gory as it is.
His medals also say a lot about him. While it probably wasn’t intentional, the ribbon on his right breast is known as the Blood Order, which was given at large to members of the Beer hall putsch who were injured, which displays that he has been indeed with the movements since it’s beginnings It probably was unintentional and just another medal, but, either way says a lot if you know what it is.
Which would be even more confirmation of his total opportunism. He either joined in with the nazis early, reasoning that they would eventually come to rule Germany (despite the setback of the Bierkeller Putsch) and his long-standing loyalty to the party would be rewarded, or he stole/forged the medal because it would give him more credibility among the higher-ups and old guard of the Reich.
@@thomaskole9881 The only people who would've been at the Beer Hall Putsch were genuine Nazis who believed in the cause when no one else did. If Hans truly was there, then he was an adamant Nazi from the beginning, which I find hard to believe given how brutish and dim-witted the Old Guard were. They just don't strike me as the company he'd surround himself with. Big fish in a small pond. Hans may have faked the medal but that seems too unescessary a risk. The only other way of seeing it is that Hans was so incredibly intelligent, he, as a pure opportunist, was able to predict the Nazis coming to power years before anyone else even considered it a possibility.
What’s wild about the character is that he pulled off that “cool, relaxed bully.” Like, from the outside he’s the well-mannered man mentioned and onlookers etc don’t see anything happening at first, but in his mind, he’s relishing your discomfort. He was portrayed so well.
It's a well known plague, same with Daniel Radcliffe, once you've taken a good role that blows up your career, it's all people will ever see you as. Like when Harry Potter went into the Klu Klux Klan
I feel like Hans killing Bridget was not out of character. It was simply his more brutal, feral side. He could have killed her by shooting her, but he chose not to: he put her through the whole ordeal of slowly dismantling her lies, and while he was doing that he was also losing his amiable facade. The strangling was simply the culmination of his anger, which he had so carefully hidden before.
And additionally, I think that he felt some extra grudge against the actress. Look, he did not against Americans or Shoshanna. They were just enemies, so it was natural for them to fight. But the actress, a traitor? I think that he felt disgust towards her and probably he, and the officer killed in the bar were really close. Suming it up, he hated her, beat her on every front of this spygame and murdered her with pure joy, as he unleashed his worst side on her. This is why he just strangeled her, he indeed was a cruel monster inside- but with respect towards his enemies.
@@jupnik5318 Just watched movie. You said he felt disgusted bcz she was a traitor. But he betrayed germans himself siding with americans. So why would he kill her for doing the same? Sorry for my bad english
@@kanhakun4323 i think its adds to him being a narcissist he sees what he's doing as something that will help Germany where he sees her as just a traitor
I love how he tells Perrier that he’s struggling with speaking French, but while he’s spouting this absolute bs, he is speaking so articulate and well-mannered that you know he can speak it just fine!
Let's be honest its not a power play its a hey we will make money in the American audience and staring at subtitles might mean lack of intrest. Just like every other movie
@@Pes._ in the Mel Brooks movie "To Be or Not to Be", they start out talking (and singing!) in Polish, but they make a joke out of cutting over to English because of how tiresome and irritating it would be to everyone.
@@Pes._ except it is explained that they speak English so the people under the floorboards can't understand them. My mum speaks French and the first thing she picked up on was his perfect French - Landa is one-upping mouissier la pedite in every way and is using his actions and the people around reactions ro gauge the situation
I thought it spoke volumes about Hans’ character and standards when he became genuinely angry when Aldo shot Hans’ assistant because “his safety was a part of the deal.”
It was because each interrogation was a performance. Hans abilities let him literally set a stage for success in his operations. Although cunning and able to think many stages in advance, sometimes the unexpected has a way of revealing those who think themselves more clever than most. He thought everything was within his control, and that he could leverage whatever, whenever because that's how it played out until then as he predicted and shaped. By brokering that deal he put his power so to speak in the hands of others, where before he was a high ranking official, now he was essentially a clever silver tongued traitor and was exposed by his deal.
@@andrewcarson5850 I don't know mate, I interpreted it as the contrary. I took Hans Landa as an evil professional who had principles. Don't get me wrong I'm not defending who his character was, but the character stuck to his principles.
I personally think Hans chose not to kill Shosanna because it would not benefit him. It benefitted him when he was killing Jews in hiding under Nazi Germany, but it's going to be over soon and he knows it. What he does is terrorize her, because he wants to revel in her misfortune. Hans definitely enjoys getting as much as he can from torturing others mentally, but it does not seem he kills for no reason. When he interrogates Von Hammersmark, he picks apart her story until she admits defeat. Which is why he kills her, she's a loose end. She was "bought" by the Allies into betraying her own country, so who's to say she won't rat on him when the war is over. He knows the Allies are going to win so it does not benefit him to kill Shosanna, but to protect himself he kills Von Hammersmark. He's a monster, but he's has a reason for doing things.
So why didn't Tarantino write any of that into the script? I mean not a single scene shows him messing with her in anyway past the cafe scene. It's just a poorly written lose end to you?
@@kyle6899maybe because shosanna was responsible for the film,hans didn't want a black person doing that.Also it is worth pointing out that Hans had in his mind going out of the war.
What I appreciate about Hans Landa's facade are the layers of passive-aggression. He's well aware that he's making people uncomfortable, but they don't realise he's doing it intentionally, in the knowledge that they can't stop him, just to toy with them and assert his dominance over them. The fact that his victims don't realise that he's just messing with them due to the polite, somewhat bumbling facade gives them a glimmer of false hope that they can bluff their way out of the situation by playing along, when of course they're already doomed and should be trying to cave Landa's skull in. I don't think Landa is a particularly strong example of the banality of evil. For one, he's too directly involved in the execution of evil. He's not signing orders to be carried out hundreds of miles away, he's personally involved in the capture and execution of jews. Beyond that there's the issue of what motivates him to do these things. He's not some bureaucrat looking for a promotion for the sake of prestige or a higher paycheck, Landa's primary motivation seems to be the joy he gets from being able to dominate others psychologically in direct interactions. If he were offered a higher-paying desk job I don't think he would accept it as it would rob him of the opportunity to play sadistic little psychological games with his victims.
I had a half-German Grandpop and he loved strudel - my Grandmom learned how to bake it and it's an amazing pastry if baked properly - flaky, never soggy
Brilliant analysis! Landa's gentlemanly polite manners while carrying out the most despicable crimes exacted against humanity in the 20th century heightens the tension. Christoph Waltz deftly delivered this portrayal of evil to the highest level.
This makes his defeat at the end all the more sweet. He's a predator who doesn't act like a predator, and now that he's marked, the whole world is going to see through all of his guises. At this point it doesn't matter if he's killed, he's trapped by his own nature. And to him, that is a fate worse than death.
Wow, fantastic writing and incredibly intricate analyses of Hans Landa. Just rewatched the film because of your video and it really elevated the experience and my understanding of Hans' character development!
He is that rarest of theatric creatures, a truly _memorable_ villain. I honestly think he's one of the few fit to stand alongside the great Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the cinematic pantheon.
I get the feeling someone would feel either extremely safe or extremely unsafe in his presence, depending on their position in his life. There would be no inbetween.
In presence of such a person, regardless of gender, one is only safe till that person can get something out of them; something that benefits the person in some way. A charming intelligent person without morals is more dangerous than we give them credit for.
Loved this, Hans is probably the most chilling villain on screen. Couldn't have been done better. Please do fire lord Ozai. He comes in late in the series but his presence is so strong through the entire series
for me the most intensive scene is the "Strudel" scene. Milk is of course a metaphor for the milk farm at the begining. Much more important, however, is that milk is not kosher. Shosanna could not drink the milk, but it is impossible to eat the strudel without the cream. He just wanted to test her limits and make her aware that he knows her identity, but he would be pleasant to play the cat and mouse game with her for his own advantage.
Where'd you get that milk is not kosher? As far as I know it is, it is only not kosher if you eat it alongside with meat. That's why many orthodox jews won't even drink milk after they ate meat.
As much as I love Cristoph Waltz in this film, Mélanie Laurent's performance needs to be recognised as well, because without her, there wouldn't be the tension that was so palpable in the scene.
A bit more to that: Strudels at that point in time would have been made with pork fat. This would make it both meat and non-kosher, and from memory, you're not allowed to drink milk while eating meat in Kashrut, but someone more educated on it would be able to confirm that.
An unbelievably solid character. My first time watching this movie, the first scene had me legitimately on the edge of my seat.after the first scene I was hooked and ready to have my eyes glued to the screen for the next 2 hours. Tarantino is a cinema genius man
@@shahbajkhan9508 Very well. Went to an excellent plastic surgeon who turned the swastika scar into a spinning rotor scar. No affiliation to the Third Reich whatsoever anymore. You would be amazed what you can buy in America.
The fact Waltz goes from being one of the best villains in Bastards to one of the best heroes in Django whilst always being German As Fuck just shows his range and Tarantino being a great director letting him do what he needs to do for the role
Waltz actually is Austrian as fuck as was Hitler an Austrian originally too. Didn't really had to act that.
@@Max.Hartmann If you use "didn't" you usually don't use "had", rather "have".
@@goofygoober779 sry for my german grammar
@@Max.Hartmann Austria and Germany are so similar, it's really hard to tell the difference from an Austrian and a German.
@@crummyclub9344 yes but somehow no
The scariest part about him is that you never know exactly what he knows. You can't tell if he has the upper hand or not until he's where he wants to be
Its part of his bluff to gain power, we don’t know if he has knowledge of the situation or not. This makes us think that he knows whats going on even if he doesnt.
Acting like you know everything but not revealing what you actually do or don’t know is a very effective technique. It’s pretty good for parenting also. 😂
Sounds like my grandma
We always have that Hans in the office.
I think the scariest part of him is that he’s not really. He’s fake.
Two things you missed in the café scene. He orders milk for her, knowing that it will not be kosher. When she accepts it without a problem, he increases the pressure by ordering apple strudel. In that period, dairy products were in short supply, and pork fat was used as a substitute in pastries like this. He already knows who she is, so this isn't a test, it is just sadism.
Yeah but I really don't believe if he definitely knows that he's talking to the one Shoshanna Dreyfuss. He's simply just baiting some jews, but that's really where it all end imo
@@Raver-1601 He also chose milk because she had been hiding on the dairy farm. He knew!
I really don't think he knew. If he did, he would have factored that in for his get-away scheme.
Hans often talks in double meaning. Half of which is politeness, the other half with threatening undertones. You see this when he says "May I call your Emmanuelle?". I'm 100% certain he know who she is.
If you strictly look at the scenes, it's impossible for Hans to recognize her. He never saw her face, he only knew her name. For me, it's one and done with this fact alone. Unless I'm missing something.
Can we also give due to the amazing acting of the man who played La Paditte? Almost wordless, so much conveyed in his expressions and movements, extraordinary.
His other movies are phenomenal.
Why do you insist on needing to ask for permission?
@@IHWKR it’s a rhetorical sentence structure, chill out
@@hurana795 what’s his name?
@@TT-mr8ly a great actor named Denis Ménochet
Christoph Waltz's Oscar for this role was well deserved
From the very first scene it was clear he was gonna win. He was incredible in this role and really made you wonder where Tarantino found him
So true!
Agree...his acting of this character is *ON POINT*
It sure is
Agreed this dude can act.
i remember reading somewhere that if u look carefully you'll notice Hans doesn't just take the girls hands, he takes them by the wrists an studys their pulse to get a feeling of their true reactions
It's more than that. You can gauge a pulse, breath, look for pupilary dilation, and the "blush response" but also trembling, goosebumps, and perspiration. The man was a detective
That’s a bingo!
@@carlosspeicywiener7018 a maniac for sure, in the true sense, not crazy but maniacal and methodical
@@standartenfuhrerhanslanda343 Ya just say bingo...🤣😘
Damn this movie is so full of details!
He also plays Dr. Shultz perfectly in Django except he's a good guy in that one. He's a fantastic actor.
*Schultz
Thank you for reminding me to download that 1.
After watching the Basterds, I'm digging for Waltz, I do remember him from Alita battle only
Hes kind of a good guy in this movie too. Yeah he killed hella people BUT they ended up killing Hitler. And he helped them pretty much cut the head off the snake as far as nazis go. For a price of course.
@@GawlJoey Yeah in the movie, he did the most of any charakter to stop the Nazis.
@@mam0lechinookclan607 Nah, Landa never gave Aldo Raine his 100 Nazi scalps. As far as I can tell hes useful for only selling out his allies.
I always felt Hans strangling her was a personal thing. They seem to have known each other for years (as when the two of them meet at the party they greet each other like old acquaintances) and i feel that him not knowing she was a spy was a shot to his intelligence as a detective. Which is also why her death is as brutal and anger filled as it is shown.
Her poor excuse makes me doubt she ever could have outsmarted Landa. I'm thinking he was offended by how pathetic they were
@@marco7563 That could also be an additional factor on top of everything, I agree.
I think it's a bit of both. He never suspected her of being a spy, but then, in the cinema, she insults his intelligence with terrible excuses
Maybe she was never in a situation with him where she had to give a poor excuse or come up with an impromptu one. Maybe whenever he met her, he took her for a dumb celebrity actress and he might have never thought of a well known star to be involved.@@marco7563
Of course it was personal. Von Hammersmark indirectly threatened to expose his homosexuality and her charade was an insult to his intelligence. She has the fame he desires, even though she is a much worse actress than he is. He fears that as a celebrity she will take the credit for the plot against the Nazi leaders that he claims for himself.
I think Hans strangled the girl, strictly because he felt his intelligence was so blatantly insulted with her bs story of the rock climbing and that she actually believed a man of his infamy and status would believe such an idiotic excuse. Simply hurt his pride too much.
I think there's more to it - envy. See my latest comment:
RE: "You get what you paid for" - that's basically him saying "you should have paid ME to run this plot of yours instead of paying some stupid actress, who got so easily caught by ME". And as we saw later - he would have been 100% game. It's essentially grandiosity and envy. That's why he killed her - pure murderous envy.
He kills her because he knows shes a spy! But interesting interpretation
@@jacobavakian5893 Both are probably true to some degree, he was probably going to kill her regardless but wounding his ego gave him the extra venom he needed. He could of killed her any which way but he chose an extremely intimate way to kill her which deterred from his usual efficiency. Sadist or personal slight?
you've convinced me.
@@lufsolitaire5351 i think he plays games with his prey bc he is sadistic! He also plays games with von to match the shoe of the crime scene to his suspicions!
I like the small detail that whenever Landa is in control of a situation, he usually takes his hat off. But in the ending scene where he was helpless, his hat stayed on
Interesting, and a good idea to put forth. Thank you for that. But, this could also be explained away by saying that a gentleman takes his hat off when he is indoors.
He was also handcuffed in the last scene
you never wear a military cover indoors.
That’s good observation that I did pick up
@@themagpie_1 Very true and you ALWAYS wear your cover outdoors.
When his neutral expression goes into visible distaste in the opening scene you damn well know, this guy is no joke. It's such a subtle change, but done so perfectly that your heart just drops the way LaPadite's does.
i mean when the "friendly" ss nazi after drinking your milk and making smalltalk goes full death stare and says outright "your haboring jews...do you not"
its clear he doesnt play around anymore,either you cooperate and save yourself or your in with them.
@@marxel4444 of course not. All I was saying is, his face conveys the message before he has to speak.
@@herschelschueler yeah. he made it quite clear without even saying a word that the charade is over.
@@herschelschueler the way he was able to emote pure fury with just a stare was frightening. I saw this in the movie theater on opening day and during that scene you could hear a pin drop.
i don't agree it's subtle, but it is indeed a very great nonverbal acting. a wunderbar one.
I think Hans absolutely knew who Shoshanna was in the restaurant, but didn't give her away for two reasons: one - he sometimes likes to play with his toys, and two - she obviously didn't come to own a theater all on her own. There were people helping her and he wants to weed them out too.
He never saw her face, so how could he?
@@Some_Guy6said this somewhere else but he knew it was shoshanna running away without seeing her face, he must of known what she looks like
I think he definitely knows but he also doesn’t care
He is not a real nazi as in “a fanatical believer”, the ending tells us this, he is not attached to the ideology personally, he doesn’t hate jews specifically, he just does his job to his fullest and thrives on power
I think he knows its Shoshanna but he is no longer hunting jews, today he’s just organising security for the theatre and watching her squirm and knowing he has total power is amusing to him
@@ceaselessroad9294 that is because he had a file w/ their names and she was the only teenage girl in the family.
he's satisfying his kink of 'politely terrorizing his victims' more than doing complex detective work. his real smarts is his uniform and the terror it inspires.. there's nothing genius in finding the hiding spot for example, he just makes it sound like he's smarter than his predecessors when in reality they just didn't do a proper job for whatever reasons... this motif repeats a few times thru-out the movie
He knew about the inglorious basterds and there plan. By not telling anyone about it he knew her theater wil be the best fit to wipe out the entire third reich. So he needed soshanna to help carry out his plan to help the basterds and to defect to the Americans. That’s why he didn’t do anything to her. If he did then his plan would’ve been busted
I love how Hans Landa, in accordance with his obvious intelligence, has shown not to be ideological in any meaningful sense. It's almost as though he privately knows that the politics of the Third Reich are absurd, but he doesn't care because it's an opportunity for him to flex his intellectual prowess as a detective and hunter.
Would've worked more in his favor he started working with the winning side
Thats why he DID start working for the winning side.
He pretty much told us this himself when disregarding the title of Jew Hunter.
He pretty much explicitly states in the first scene that he is in it because he enjoys the process of investigating and tracking down people. He is good at it, and the ideal scenario for him to exploit his talent presents itself - in the form of the SS. As Vile Eye says, the perfect oppurtunist.
@@frogglen6350 That's stupid, if a war breaks out you are gonna work and fight for your country, you don't have the resources to contact a foreing country. By winning side you mean America? America wasn't in the war, they just came to it at the end to take the spoils and only because they were dragged into it. People play the cards that they have, people like Landa play it well, they are only there for their self interest, they were winning until the USSR beat them in Stalingrad, the movie show us the moment that he can access to new cards. People don't predict the future, maybe all the people working for the US are stupid for not working for the chinese under that logic. The world is full of people like Landa, that's the scary thing, most of them maybe are not that smart. The people that think of themselves as heroes maybe are the incarnate evil of the future, the people want to be a hero now, but they want to be cheered for that, not punish. The nazis thought (and in their logic it has sense) that they were the salviors of the world and that their cause was fair and noble, if you really belive in what you say you stay untill the end, Hitler was one of this people, he could have scaped Berlin and he didn't because he believed in what he said, even if for us his way of thinking was monstruous. But most people even whith the greatest words just want to float above the shit, just a few have the skills and the resources to do it.
Hans Is scary because he’s not impulsive or easily angered, he’s so level headed and calculated it makes him seem like he already knows all your secrets. A lot of movies show nazis/ cops as stupid or incompetent but Hans is clever, and has a cold pressure to him
Like Thrawn but more sadistic
@George Thomas Yep!!! Adolf Eichman. Read "Eichman in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt.
@George Thomas It's easy to be superior if you actually think you are. A lot of confidence for Nazis, the opposite for others.
Thank you for you kind compliments. I do am the best in my work, if i may humbly admit so.
They was never stupid.who you think teach American about astronomy.they was way infront of america.hitler lost the was it's just because he was saw bigger than is belly.hes mistake is not supposed to attack Russia.
Hans stared at the youngest daughter because he knew she would reveal where the Jews were hiding. She revealed it the second she glanced towards the floor whereupon she immediately looked at her father in fear because she knew what she did. Her father knew it too and you could see he had already decided to tell Hans the truth to protect his daughters. The rest of their conversation was entirely theatre because Hans enjoys his job.
Not necesarily, alot of people look down when they are in a state of fear and submission, which the Nazis would obviously cause in any sensible person.
Nop it was because She was the only girl with aryan like looks. The others had Brown hair.
@Pop Corn Of course he did, he just needed to know where to shoot
@@ThiaZdk
That would explain the first greeting. But the persistent looks seemed to actually have a goal. Not just staring at her for her blondish hair
With relish
Another crazy thing about his interrogation with Lapadite:
Lapadite definitely speaks some pretty good English, but it's not his native tongue. That means it's significantly more difficult to lie/hide details than if he were speaking French, and Hans exploited that as well when he switched to English. He might have had suspicions, but that could be how he 100% confirmed Lapadite was hiding the Dreyfuses
Lapadite's actor also needs some serious props. He spoke English just fine and you see him maintaining kind of a stone cold persona of his own but clear nervousness. Something that a genius like Landa would notice, especially if he's speaking a language he's less comfortable with
Well the fact that he switches to English (specificly) is because an US audience dont wonna read an entire scene in French. In the german Version they switch to german which, in fact, makes much more sense that a SS officer speaks german instead of English.
@@tombkingsethbattlechannel9419
What most people miss is how the pos measures a pulse by asking for a handshake or holding the hand.
He said himself, he's a detective not a hunter.
@@tombkingsethbattlechannel9419I don’t think it’s that far fetched that a well educated, intelligent, and decorated German military officer knows English. It’s completely plausible that Hans Landa studied abroad and learned English that way. Also, you are wrong about the whole language switch to cater to English speaking audiences. First off, it’s not done for no reason, it’s done because the Dreyfus’ did not speak English at all so they were unable to understand what they were talking about. Secondly, only about 30% of the entire film is in English while the rest was either in German, French, or Italian. There were plenty of scenes in the film that were spoken exclusively in German or French, or at least for the majority of the time. This includes the famous basement bar scene, which is more than 20 minutes long and only switches to English near the end when the protagonists covers are blown and the actual English speaking characters enter the picture. So trying to say this “caters to English speaking audiences” is just completely wrong. Lastly, it is technically an English film created by an English director, obviously there is going to be English in it, but Tarantino went the extra mile and used actual Native speakers for the German and French parts (Other than Michael Fassbender).
@@u121386 hi, think u are missing my point a bit. what i ment is that, when they switch the language to cater to the local audiene. So in the english version they switch to english, in the german version they switch to german and i guess in italy they switch to italian. and yes ofc a person like landa would speak several languages but certainly not a french farmer. so storywise it makes more sense that they use german instead of english because german was the language of the occupiers at that time. and if u ever go to france u will notice that they flat out refuse to use any other language except their own^^
Hans’ use of subtle actions, questions, etc. that let his victims *know* they’ve been caught is what makes him the perfect villain to me. He lets you know you’re doomed but instead of just ending it, he toys with his victims just for fun... he may even just say “Au Revior” and let you live in fear indefinitely. Beautifully written and performed.
Agreed. You always know where you stand with Hans. Not a good place. Ever.
You'd think Hans would instantly figure out at the end of the movie that he can just say a Nazi marked him before he left Germany. It's way more believable than anything Pitts shitty character does
au revoir, not "revior"
A big tell in the interview with La Padite , is early on, Landa says that he understands that La Padite can speak English. From La Padites perspective, he realizes that Landa already knows things about him.
Some of the best acting I've ever seen. Dialogue and mannerisms are what make Tarantino and Scorsese so damn good and rewatchable
His claim that he has exhausted his usage of the French language, after several minutes of fluent, errorless conversation, was always a huge red flag to me.
Agreed.
the way that he so verbosely claimed that he couldn’t speak the language is paradoxical 😛
Exactly
It's the same with Germans now days. They speak fluent English all day only to claim that their English is terrible.
And better yet, later in the movie he speaks fluent French with Shoshanna in the cafe and at the movie premiere
anybody that downs a cup of milk while making eye contact is a threat
That's so true. It was actually disturbing
My kids can be somewhat threatening. ;-)
@@triphophoney2981 string bones = strong fear
I'm sorry I come off as threatening for liking milk
@@Jordan-rn4kp it's too late, milk boy.
Hans also has a thing for linguistics. He always wants to know the exact phrase and accent in the native speakers’ tongue, indicating an extraordinary punctuality
Punctiliousness.
Maybe you could switch off autocorrect; it can make us look like real ignorami.
@@bootstrapperwilson7687 Maybe you could turn off the pretentiousness while on TH-cam. It makes *you* look like someone who cannot identify TH-cam "decorum".
Hans speaks French only at the beginning of the film in the first chapter when he presents himself to the LaPadites before switching to English for most of the sequence. He then only speaks French in the third chapter when he reencounters Shosanna posing as Immanuel Mimieux. He speaks English in only the first and final chapter. German is the language he most speaks throughout the film when he talks to Goebbels and Zoller in Chapter 3 before talking to Shosanna, Chapter 4 when he examines the corpses at the tavern and discovers Bridget von Hammersmark's handkerchief with an autograph and missing shoe. Then in Chapter 5 when he's being the security at the Premier he speaks German when talking to the Nazis, his comrade and Bridget von Hammersmark as well as Italian when talking to the disguised Basterds to show off his skills and detect that they're fakes before concocting his plan to ally with them.
Literal grammar Naz1
When Hans takes her wrist, he's actually checking her pulse. Her heart was pounding which was his first real clue the La Padites were hiding something...or someone.
that's a bingo
@@iannamico “...ye just say bango.”
eh, i'm not sure that's what he was doing. Unless you're specifically trained not to, the human heart can fluctuate because the person is being touched. Given the fact he was almost certain that the jews were already there it then became a question of getting the occupants to reveal it was so.
Sounds legit.
Holy shit dude...
Christoph Waltz is one of the best actors in the scene right now. He nails EVERY role he plays. So talented.
@leah rose I get what you mean. Not every movie can be a smash hit and that’s why it’s hard for actors sometimes. You could jump on a role that launches you into the top 10 or the movie you play in could be SO BAD that is just destroys your personal image.
@leah rose Spectre is quite old now, it was 5 years ago already. Better watch more recent movies such as Alita Battle Angel - he has a much better role in this movie.
@@Rocky-oq9cy But it's difficult to know which movie is worth playing in or not. Like, Bond movies are famous, if not for their quality, then for being popular and well-received by the public. So it's not that surprising actors are willing to play in those movies as they are fairly reliable. But, as it turns out, even well-established franchises have their bad eggs. On the other hand, some low-budget and not well-known movies can actually turn into something good, if they are written well.
the director had no idea what he was doing; he made Christoph Waltz do an impression of himself
@leah rose So what was your point then?
Man, not many people in the world could play Hans like Christoph.
Let me second this. There is no one who could play him like Walz. In my opinion the mo is should be watched in German. Christoph synced him self in French, English, Italian and German.
Production was almost pushed back because Tarantino couldn't find the right person to play Landa.... until Christoph waltz auditioned
@@AleXxTM123 yeh. The dude is fuckin impressive 👏
@@becksimilian2955 i saw Tarantino talking abt that on a documentary
Adam Harmon -I cannot imagine anyone else having such an effect on so many. He completely encapsulates menacing evil. He is mesmerizing.
The shot of Hans and his facial expression in the house as he makes his coup de grace is duplicated with Shoshana at the end of her interrogation . Then at the last second he claims to forget what his last question was, and forcefully extinguished his cigarette in the creme. He knew exactly who she was. I thought the reason he decided to let her go was hinted at in the start of the scene when they were discussing rank. To kill her would jeopardize the event being planned by his superiors. There was also the complication of harming the "girlfriend" of the German soldier who was being honored at the film event. There were too many complications and he kept his cool. Those kind of elements make him my favorite villain.
Everyone Gangsta until Hans Stop Smiling
My sentiments exactly! It's all fun and games until Hans stops smiling and locks his eyes
The only look that could stop Mike Tyson's left hook
Yup!! hahaha
You mean when he was getting a swastika carved on his skull ? I'm pretty sure he wasn't smiling in that scene.
@@AnthonyKravitz when does he get scalped dumbass?
I've always loved that he was not particularly loyal to the Nazis, more just an opportunist. Everything he did was for himself. He would have played a flute if that was the key to his own success.
I think the character in the movie ( not the actor ) DID play the flute. If you know what I mean. Evidence: He " made arrangements " to take his aide with him to safety in America. I think there was more than a bit of a BROMANCE going on there.
@@MC-yy2bx Poor Herman
@@MC-yy2bx ha. Imaginative. Thanks
I would say that’s the worst aspect of his character. To a certain extent I feel bad for the people who were taught antisemitism and authoritarianism since they were young and became Nazis. But if you’re smart enough to know antisemitism is stupid and that what you’re doing is wrong but you do it anyway, you’re worse than the idiots you work for
Bingo
I've always been of the opinion that Landa knew that Emmanuelle was Shoshanna when they spoke, but deliberately spared her because she had a believable and consistent backstory for her current identity. As you say in your video, much of Landa's presence and interrogation throughout the film has to do with performance, and the performances which turn sour and violent only do so the moment he's broken through the façade of the people he's been interrogating. I believe that he knows Shoshanna's identity is a falsehood but doesn't care to pursue her on that note both because it wouldn't be of any personal gain to him and because he respects the work she's put into the lie. Had anyone aside from Landa been there he would've been fooled entirely, and Landa sees pride in a good performance.
I don't think that his murder of von Hammersmark is out of character for that exact same reason. He doesn't kill her because it would necessarily be beneficial to him or his plot, but because he's outraged by the pathetic story they've come up with and clearly put no thought or rehearsal into, and because they thought it would be enough to fool him, specifically. It's a disrespect to both his intellect and his craft and so he sees it as the ultimate insult. Thus the "you get what you pay for" remark - she was an actress, and obviously he believed her to be a very poor one.
Thus also why the scarring of his forehead was the ultimate insult, since he can no longer pretend he was anything else.
I believe this was the case too, Landa deliberately orders milk for Shoshanna.
i am mindblown by how accurate this analogy is and that i never saw it this way. amazing
Oh man when you put it that way the carving is such perfect punishment for Hans; The man so expert in theatre can now only play one character ever again, a Nazi failure.
Wow...excellent analysis.
Astute observation, my dear Chasey.
Hans is like Lalo Salamanca. Charming, charismatic but so sinister.
Very true. He also had that charming, very dangerous aura around him. You never knew where he stood. He like Hans didn't need to be violent or aggressive to get the point across.
@@huldu but hans would know that gus is full of shit
Hans salamanca
Finished this movie and you're so right!
The other way around
I watched the opening scene with the Frenchman a dozen times and still am enthralled by Hans’s psychotic charisma
Sociopathic actually.
@@therev2100 Normies have made them to be the same, so there's no distinction
Tarrantino was definitely doing an homage to the opening scene of Sergio Leone's _The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly_ with Angel Eyes' (Van Cleef) introduction.
he is most definitely not psychotic. People with psychosis have enough problems without being compared to Nazis.
High functional sociopath WITH definite sadistic drives.
Where the hell does Tarantino find people like these? Their acting is so good many celebrities become famous because of him.
Well, notice how every actor PEAKS under his direction, he doesn’t find them, he MAKES them.
Waltz it’s ducking amazing
@@everydaygaming496 duck yeah!
Well... Considering the fact that he's widely considered the finest director that's ever lived, I'd say credit is due. Sure, the actors are phenomenal, but it's his DIRECTION that makes the film.
He has a knack for making the darker aspects of history hilarious. Plus wanton violence “is so much fun”.
I think the reason he singles out the daughter Charlotte when he is looking at the Lapetite daughters is because unlike her sisters she has blonde hair and blue eyes, a perfect 'Aryan' girl.
She has red hair tho
@Thomas he fancies her exactly for that reason, she looks German
He singles her out because of how nervous she was compared to the rest. Her eyes kept darting around so Landa knew something was up. Charlotte gave them up because of how she was acting
Was she not ginger?
@@dawsynasay4841 exactly. They were at Hanz' mercy the moment he stepped foot in their property. It's often revealed that people like Hanz don't really view other people, even the perfect Aryan girls, as their equals. I believe he singles her out because she seemed the most nervous out of the three. He knew they were hiding Jews in their property. But he didn't know where. But Hanz is investigating like Sherlock Holmes. He singles Charlotte out because he knew she would crack sooner or later under pressure. Which she did. Before that uncomfortable exchange of Charlotte with her father, she shifted her eyes for a split second to where the Jews were hiding. Hanz most certainly noticed that. And Charlotte and her father's uncomfortable exchange was like Charlotte saying, “I am sorry dad” and her father saying, “What have you done?!”
I heard someone make a great description of Hans.
“He holds your hand just a second too long, he stares just a beat more than he should, and he drags the breathe of his words just a moment more than he should”
I’m still waiting for you to analyze the evil of my mother in law. Thanks.
😂😂
The tools simply don't exist. Good luck
You too?
Hitler was imposed on you, you've only got yourself to blame for your mil.
will that do for analytical starters? (keep smiling)
😂😂😂
I remember a theory why he killed the actress was that he becomes enraged when she stops playing the game with him. When she admits she’s a spy and “you got me” (pretty sure she says something to that effect) he is enraged because she broke the “rules” of the game.
In that she gave up.
I forgot that part. I was thinking it was because she ruined her own alibi with her mountain climbing in France excuse
She says "So what happens now?". And maybe you're right.
I always thought he knew German high command in one spot to be killed and win the war would absolve his war crimes . Instead of a spy like the actress to get credit for ending the war
I figured it had to do with him still having a strong sense of national pride and he was an anti semite so vanhammersmark working with the hastards wasnt only a betrayal to germany but to her "German race"
@@josethebioform7519 that's real dumb.
I really think Landa spared the La Padites family. Looking at him innocently surrendering his weapons to the Basterds despite being an extremely clever and cunning man shows that Landa is someone who truly respects agreements. To him everything is business, his killing of the actress is simply a business, he wants to complete his businesses before switching sides.
It would be nice to think he did spare the family...
@@weirdshibainu Honestly, it wouldn't be much of a stretch. Even evil bastards understand that people become less inclined to make deals with you once you develop a reputation for killing people who make deals with you.
@@MrClickity I'd say it's a coin toss. The entire family could just disappear, with neighbors racing to snitch on one another. When the Germans invaded Poland and then Russia, neighbors turned on one another in a vain attempt to curry favor with the Germans
It would also be in character. Himmler stressed in one of his speeches, that 'keeping word' is one of the highest virtues for a member of the SS. Even if an SS-man gives his word to a scoundrel (in the eyes of Himmler), he has to keep it.
I actually can't see him as a villan. He is just doing his job. Not trolling here.
The opening scene is one of the greatest scenes ever. Christoph Waltz was the perfect choice for such an amazing villain
That first 20 minutes with him and the farmer are terrifying, especially when the farmer realizes there’s nothing gonna stop him from finding those people
You could also have to hope he won't find them
@@jasonjamrs7413 hope is a good tthing but at the expense of your daughters? i dont think so, Hans clearly new he was hiding them somewhere
OOOOO ZATS A BINGO!
.... is zat how you say it? Thats a bingo?
"... you just say Bingo"
Ahhh.... Bingo....
How fun!
I wonder if even that mistake wasn't deliberate on reflection. The psychology behind every one of Landa's actions can measured and weighed for motive.
He wanted to concede some power to his "captives", knowing that they would soon hold his life in the balance once he surrendered to them. The "mistake", softens his arrogance and superiority a little, making him less menacing and more childlike in the eyes of these Nazi-killers.
It's another subtle and nuanced move in the masquerade-driven chess match he's playing towards the end-game.
@@carvedouttastone hans is definitely a multilayered character who it appears has motives beyond the base motivation to his character
Bringo ya dangus!
I thought the scene beautifully illuminated the contrast between European sophistication and American pragmatism.
He's the best villain because he's so much damn fun to watch. The scene where he bursts out laughing at Bridget's ridiculous story is gold!
After the first scene at the movie i could never call watching him fun. Awesome acting but fun wasn't the emotion i felt
@@goldengun9970 in the cinema when brad Pitt says "arrivederci" which means bye bye in Italian with that shitty accent i almost passed out by how much I laughed my god i had a lung hanging out of my throat
Lavrenty Beria would have raped the girl before he killed her, and disposed of everyone else in this movie in the most brutal manner imaginable. And all before lunch.
th-cam.com/video/aHQo8mjMge0/w-d-xo.html
the way he stirs his beverage is great acting
When he holds the wrists of the girls in the beginning on the farm, he's actually checking there pulse to see if it is raised / panicked, you can see it if you look closer he is pressing into the underside of the wrist, knowing full well how everyone is freaking out and he's is just there cool, calm and evil.
It was most definitely not out of character for him to kill her. She was lying to his face and taking him for a fool. He greets her as an old friend but knows full well what she's up to. That won't sit right with a man like Landa who needs everyone to know he is the smartest, most perceptive man in the world. "You get what you pay for" indicates his disdain for her botched plan that was poorly thought out, including that they hadn't even bothered to practice any Italian. To Landa, it's all about competence, professionalism and respect and he has no problem showing his deep disdain for those who he seems don't show it.
Yeah, I think that scene was Tarantino showing us that no, this charming, well spoken man is in fact a narcissistic sociopath. And it wasn't just murder, Landa tackles, straddles and strangles her with this bare hands. His hair is even stringier from the sweat and exertion when he goes to the phone - he put everything he had into killing her - because she insulted his intelligence by her lame excuse and the fact they didn't even practice basic Italian. Then her arrogant "what now colonel?", basically saying "what you gonna do about it?" pushed him over the edge.
You are 100% right about it not being out of character - they insulted his intelligence from the moment he stepped up and he needed to put SOMEONE in their place. Or in this case, their grave.
Because culture is his weapon and what keeps him empowered. His victims are forced to engage with him because of societal rules, they can't simply tell him "sorry I have to go". They are playing his game, and he is good at it.
His ultimate threat are people rejecting culture, like in the end scene where the basterds just throw aside all professionalism and simply kill him.
@@DallasGreen123 They did not kill him, they just carved a swastika in Landa's head so everyone back in the states would know he was a Nazi. They wanted him to live and live with that mark. The proverbial mark of Cain for a man who was in practice, Cain.
Yeah, that was a weird observation: Landa had already shown he could kill - ordering the soldiers to shoot the cabin/family - didn't he shoot at fleeing Emanuelle, in the field? Also, it was war - she was the enemy. He strangled her, not causing a mess or the shot being heard. I wonder if he not secretly (had) desired her - yet now she was openly defying him, working with the enemy, rather clumsily, at that, and ridiculing him in front of other people.... not smart...
I think he killed her so that he could get all the credit for the plan to kill Hitler. If she had lived, she would have also been rewarded for the plan and she could have said that Hans had nothing to do with the plan. With her dead, he could take all the credit.
Christoff waltz was great in Django Unchained too.
Has he ever been anything other than great?
True...but i would say in evil antagonist roles is where he really shines imo like here!
Phenomenal actor to say the least
@@SAIIIURAI agreed, it was strange to see him so upbeat in Django.
His talent was wasted in The Musketeers though
I feel like Tarantino spent the 00's developing his idea of the antagonist (Elle Driver, Bill, Stuntman Mike) and this was the culmination of that idea.
As opposed to just having all of his characters being antagonists?
I think you can see this earlier than that. Jules from Pulp Fiction and Hans have the same sort of presence and control of a scene. You can see that Jackson plays this type of character again in Django a couple of years after this film.
Jacky brown has a very similar scene
In the strudel scene, he ordered her milk, then, he didn't finish his strudel, didn't finish his cigarette, AND didn't finish his thought. I think these are all hints to him not finishing the job the day she ran from him.
Not to mention he made her wait for the cream which contained pork. As a Jew Shoshanna could not eat pork
@@frost5711how do? Cream is dairy, milk comes from cows
Very very good!!!
You sure you aren't reaching a little there, bud?
@@damilolaamusan6395 bless your heart pal
What is "evilest" about him, is that he makes evil elegant and perfect.
That’s 💯 what I love about him.
I think he was a hero, fighting for the fatherland
And very efficient.
@@Gigipretty64 😞 if only they had won
Well, that’s where you’re wrong. He doesn’t make it so.. evil IS inherently elegant and perfect, that’s why Landa (or rather Christoph Waltz’s sublime performance of the character) is the most perfect personification of evil.
Waltz earned his Oscar on that subtle face transition in the first scene alone
Exactly, that is the sign of pure evil .
what moment are you talking about?
@@allminegod The beginning scene when Hans is talking to the French dairy farmer. Initially, he was kind and courteous. Then eventually he gets into why he's really there and you can see the warmth from his face disappear in favor of a cold, emotionless stare. It's very subtle, but when you notice it it's pretty chilling.
@@davidmartinez52420 thank you I will watch it again
This was my first thought...
Landa knew exactly who she was. But two things: 1) Zoller was smitten with her, and Goebbels was smitten with Zoller. Landa had no interest or anything to gain by causing waves; 2) Honestly her continued existence didn't really threaten him. She wasn't an assignment anymore. But, he did want her to know that HE knew exactly who she was. Intelligence is a game of chess to Hans. Intellectual and strategic chess, and he revels in his opponents' fear. He had her at checkmate, and she knew.
if he caught her as a jew it would be an achievement but with her new papers there was no need to expose her. He was career driven and as the guy said he wasnt really interested in harming individuals
This just proves a point how he’s 2 steps ahead. Damn
@The Ol’ Babaganoush That's not really a fit of homicidal rage. As you said, he conclusively revealed her to be a double agent. He killed a traitorous woman that had deceived him, and countless others, contributing to the deaths of a Major (a ranking officer only two ranks below Hans himself) and multiple other German soldiers both specifically in the room, and likely hundreds of others from previous situations she may have been involved in. While he obviously wasn't married to the SS, and ended up turning traitor himself, he may have very well believed that while things were going great for his career that they likely were not going to win, and as such saw an opportunity to secure a way out for himself that basically freed him of any responsibility for the atrocities he had committed.
Duh
Hans Landa is one of my all time favorite characters. Manners, etiquette, well spoken. He had it all.
It's a bingo 😂
What makes Landa scary to me is that in all his scenes he knows pretty much everything people are trying to hide from him, and always more than he lets on, and he's very careful in how he doles out information about just how much he knows. And when he's finally played his full hand, it's like a switch flips, his cheeriness vanishes, and you see just how dangerous he truly is.
The scene in Django when Schultz kills Candie, theres a whole speech about the difference between the type of goodbyes in german and how auf wiedersehen basically translates until I see you again - Tarantino is an absolutely insane writer
he orders her a glass of milk. he knows EXACTLY who she is, it was never up for debate in my opinion.
I agree that he knew who she was, and I think the reason he didn't arrest her is because he knew she would be useful to him. The scariest thing about Landa is that we're kept in the dark about what he does and doesn't know. And he plays with the other characters, letting them think they're safe when they aren't. Waltz really played this part perfectly.
Quite impressive observation
He did not. It makes no sense. I keep seeing this type of comment everywhere under Inglorious Basterd videos and it is outright stupid. He likes milk himself and he is playing games testing suspected Jews (milk is not necessarily koscher and a more traditional Jew would not simply drink a glass of milk in 1940). Landa did nothing out of the ordinary here which would justify saying that he identified Shoshanna. He didn't even know her until he sat on down that table.
I'm such a dunce, I never picked that up. Great observation.
Maybe milk, as a typical baby food, is meant as a ridiculous counterpoint to his predator nature.
The way his face changes in the opening scene is masterful and the tear rolling down the cheek is heart-rending.
The opening scene of this movie has a 15 minutes conversation between Hans and Mr. LaPadite, in any other movie this would have been boring, but i can safely say that i'de rather watch a 1 hour conversation of Waltz's Hans Landa than to watch a 2 min MCU superheros bad jokes
You are so right.
@@Maxrepfitgm sometimes insults are just straight up facts, and no decent person can aford to lie am i wrong?
@@Maxrepfitgm It's nour art, which according to google means light.
Also i see it more as a comparison/ opinion. Couldnt agree with his OP more however lol.
@@Maxrepfitgm Don't cry. MCU shit is a phenomenon that's practically taken over the film industry, people can contrast and critique.
@@Maxrepfitgm box office earnings dont mean a lot, commercialy it can be a, succsess but if people liked it cant be magicaly seen from it. As there are flops that become favored so are blockbuster movies that are forgotten after a year.
You do realize that marvel universe is based on comics. From that whole hodge podge of movies i can take ragnarok, first 2 iron man movies, 1st guardians of the galaxy movie and doc. Strange as something thats good the rest is just lukewarm water to me. Comic to movie isnt easy. The marvel universe to me is action split by dad jokes. It is funny for a time but it does not age well.
These movies are very different but people will compare them becouse they can and make peace with that. Inglorius bastards has substance to it, you can olways find a part of it thats fun to dissect while marvel is just nostalgia and eye candy.
wait.. how is there no mention of the 'Cream'? He orders the stroodle without the cream at first. then, he sais something like "Oh, I forgot to order the cream" knowing, that Jews don't eat cream because apperantly it's not kosher. So he commands her to wait for the cream, just to read her. At least that's my guess.
You are correct. Depending on how you view the strudel scene,
Landa is either testing or taunting Shosanna by forcing her to
eat non-kosher whipped cream.
@Mike Litoris
Well, I'm not Jewish, but I'm familiar with kosher rules.
Landa may be evil, but he's also highly intelligent and
well-educated. He certainly knows a great deal about
Jewish culture, since such knowledge would aid him
as a "Jew hunter." Even if Shosanna doesn't betray
herself by rejecting the cream, Landa takes pleasure
in watching her choke down a non-kosher dish.
Why do you think cream isn't kosher? It's a component of milk, which is kosher. She is from a family of dairy farmers, after all.
@@jbrothman often gelatin (a pork product) is added to stabilize whipped cream. That's the potential issue.
I did not know this, thanks for sharing !
Hans is the standard by whom all writers should measure their "polite villains." Here in one person we see intelligence, class, and pure savagery. Currently, only Hannibal Lecter can compare. No one else comes close.
I agree but I still think lector is definitely more intelligent then landa
Oh for sure. And thank the gods for that, no one needs Col. Lecter running around France hunting jews with total impunity.
@@peterjackson6011 i was thinking that exactly. holy hell. little bit more blood in his discussions over milk.
@@peterjackson6011 colonel lector has a ring to it though lol
Anton Chigur from no country for old men is up there too.
Competence is scary.
This was tarantinos take on "the benality of evil". And he crafted one of the most evil characters in cinematic history. So well written and acted
Such a great movie
You can say that again. Forever one of my favorites
Would be arguably better if they cut the Brad Pitt crew part out of it.
The European cast made that movie
@@mouloudo this
same shit propoganda
One of the baddest movies ever made. Idiotic premise, bad bad acting and an even more stupid plot. QT copying himself once again
I can’t think of a character that was better played than this. The fact he speaks 5 different languages while also playing a role as well as he did literally blows my mind
Im sure for german, english, italian and french, whats the 5th one?
@@Benjamin-od8od I thought I read somewhere he spoke 5. I guess it’s only those 4 so my mistake
@@Benjamin-od8od He's not actually completely fluent in Italian
At the dairy farmer’s house, when Lands is meeting the girls, notice how he holds their hands, and later wrist before he orders the milk. That’s feeling out their pulse. A human lie detector.
More like a fear detector and I don't think a visit from an SS colonel (which Landa is) in an occupied country would be regarded as a calming social occasion.
@@stevekaczynski3793 True but if they didn't have anything to hide the discomfort would have subsided, which is why he does it twice.
Thats just stupid, any girls heart would pound like crazy if ure being held by a nazi officer in war time
that was denied by tarantino - ppl tend to over analyze movies
@@firearmsstudent Dude, its a Nazi in your house in Nazi occupied France. They absolutely have reason to be nervous regardless of whether they are hiding anything at all. He could order them to be killed at a whim.
That stood out to me more than anything in that scene was at 6:32 the way you can literally see his eyes change is unreal. Also the actor who played the father did an amazing job as well. One of my all time favorites. Christolph is a treasure.
When he takes their wrists he's checking on their pulse
nice catch... never thought of that
I thought he was looking for the tattoo you get in the concentration camps.
@@curlsforthegirls6598 Maybe. Not many people escaped those camps though.
@@garymartens9151 wait a second.They were afraid to begin with, irrespective of being guilty or not, pulse wouldn’t have made any difference.
@@Jelorm2 but if a person wasnt guilty of anything, what's there to be afraid of? Did the germans have a history of rolling up on random french families and killing them for no reason?
He didn't switch to English because his French was bad he did it cuz the likelihood of them understanding English was slim to none. Clever on his part
holy shit bro ... u figured it all out.... no shit dude did u not even watch the movie? he literally says it lmao what a dumb comment
Still it's unlikely that a farmer knows English that well or even any...
@@KingEli exactly, I get it was done to add to the intrigue and intensity of the scene but the likelihood of a working class French farmer in the 40s being able to hold at least a conversational level of English is unlikely. Maybe he knew an English speaker or has a higher level of education than other farmers but he’s inconsequential to the plot so who knows?
@@CodenameHaswelly Why u mad?
The german version makes it muuch better. Him switching to german makes more sense and its save to assume that a french farmer in occupied france has to speak german is plausible.
Hans 100% knew who Shoshana was in the cafe scene. Ordering milk for her was not just some mere coincidence. He was toying with her, it’s fun for him as you say. Even the look he gives her at the end, the same look he gave Pedite before calling him out for hiding her family. The smile fades into the cold dead eyed stare. He doesn’t arrest her because he wants to keep playing with her.
Hans killed Bridgette (I believe) because he not only was mad at her for betraying Germany and the Nazis, but that he also may of had some fantasy feelings for her sexually and that was him expelling them in disgust.
There’s a thought I had that he didn’t exactly knew who Shoshana was but that in fact he knew she was jewish. Because he could have most likely asked for milk in any houshold he visited. Like that he could just observe who ever he is talking to if he orders milk and their reaction to that as he triggers their memories.
He also asked for Apple strudel, and during the time pork fat was used as an additive.
@@Autistic_Cl0wn good observation
Makes no sense for him to be mad at her betraying the Nazis when he was fine with doing the same thing
When he came to terms that they would never win the war, yes. @@roronoalaw7772
My God man, every scene with him was incredibly uncomfortable and tense. Even him telling to kindly wait for cream feels creepy. But I also have a weird admiration for him as he’s fluent in many languages and wants to learn the lingo more intimately: he asks the saying of “bingo.” It just shows his fascination with language, and care and attention to detail.
Oooh that's a bingo....
The bingo part wasn't interest. It was confirmation
Uncomfortable and tense - that's exactly how I felt during his scenes. Hans is like the coiled snake that could strike you at any moment, but you just don't know when.
Then you're uncomfortable because he takes up all the space in the room and you know he's in charge. Not you. At all.
I also admired his fluency and curiosity. He wants to fit in wherever he goes and rise to the top.
He is pure evil. And Christof Waltz was genius casting.
I never realized the pipe smoking scene was Hans flexing that he had it all figured out. It makes perfect sense now.
that's something that was kind of decided after the fact. I watched an interview with Tarantino where he was talking about Waltz in this role, and he said Waltz approached him during production and asked "does Landa really smoke, or is it intimidation?" and Tarantino said something like "i'm not sure". the two of them talked about it and together came to the conclusion that Hans Landa doesn't smoke recreationally, only in situations like this.
Tarantino really likes smoking in movies, as you can see in any of his films, so i'm betting he just wrote Landa smoking a pipe without thinking *too* much about until Christoph was trying to get into character.
@MyEverythingBurrito The reason I believe Landa smokes for only show purposes is because of two key points
1) Landa is a high ranking member of the SS, he’s even recognised by Goebells in the restaurant, therefore because of this it is highly likely he is a non-smoker as Hitler detested and ordered for people in the Reich not to smoke
2) He’s playing that detective role, and the fact that he’s solved the crime and that the pipe is the same one used by the likes of Sherlock Holmes points to it being a part of an act rather than Landa being a smoker, there’s also a rumour I’ve heard that he reveals a bigger pipe because of what it says about a certain part of his anatomy being bigger than LaPadite, but that’s just a rumour
Hans is the perfect example of a cat enjoying playing with it's food more than the meal itself.
He's the kind of man who kills or spares you as easily as he presses a button and solely depending on which brings him the greater benefit.
But i promise he'll be enjoying every second his finger gets to float over the button!
That’s my favorite part of the movie too you can see the ice in his veins turn solid when his face turns menacing when he says, “You’re hiding enemies of the state, are you not?” The sheer terror displayed and he gives off is one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long time in a movie definitely Oscar worthy
When he meets Shoshanna, its a direct mirror of his scene with Lapedite. The drinking of the milk, the smoking, and then the cold dead eyes. It all happens in the same order. But its almost like he realizes Shoshanna isn't even worth his time.
I’m pretty sure Hans just wanted to actually figure out some hole in her cover story to show of his intellect instead of remembering who she was
Still my favourite on screen villain, he's just so charismatic and likeable which makes him so much more dangerous. You expect a nazi to be terrifying and ruthless yet Hans is able to hold a conversation and make you feel like your not in any danger. Perfect acting from Christoph and perfect casting choice from Tarantino!
For real. You get the sense that if it wasn’t for the uniform, he’d be a perfectly affable, likable guy. Hence why it’s so important that the basterds give him “something he can’t take off”
They were going to give up making the film and just publish the script because they couldn't find their Hans Landa. So they went scorched earth looking for him and when Christoph did his audition, QT knew he was gonna get to make his movie.
What I love most about Hans Landa is that last scene. Throughout the film he is seen as being in complete control of the situation he is placed in, or so he believes. Everyone, from the LaPadites to von Hammersmark falls into his well-played traps, and even the American generals cooperate with him in a way that lets him go scott-free. Aldo Raine challenges this control by headbutting him even while captured, but Landa simply orders his men to carry the Basterds away. Even at the end, Landa is acting as if he is in control of the escort situation and simply points out in a casual manner how pointless it is to handcuff them. Raine pulls out the rug from under him by shooting the escort while declaring that he is a slave in appearances only, to which Landa completely loses it. Landa is a man who excels at manipulating social rules to his advantage, but against a foe who does not play by those rules he is powerless. As the camera closes in on his face right before he gets a swastika carved into his forehead he finally realizes that there is no longer any escape from his actions, no way for him to talk his way around it, and that he will suffer the same fate as those Nazi survivors he interrogated. The look of utter despair says it all.
And then there's the utter catharsis from the actual carving scene itself, gory as it is.
Very well summarized! 👍🏻
His performance in that opening scene is haunting, but the scene with him and the girl at dinner asking about the theatre was incredible.
His medals also say a lot about him.
While it probably wasn’t intentional, the ribbon on his right breast is known as the Blood Order, which was given at large to members of the Beer hall putsch who were injured, which displays that he has been indeed with the movements since it’s beginnings
It probably was unintentional and just another medal, but, either way says a lot if you know what it is.
Which would be even more confirmation of his total opportunism. He either joined in with the nazis early, reasoning that they would eventually come to rule Germany (despite the setback of the Bierkeller Putsch) and his long-standing loyalty to the party would be rewarded, or he stole/forged the medal because it would give him more credibility among the higher-ups and old guard of the Reich.
It's Tarantino. You know every single thread on every costume was placed there with intent.
@@thomaskole9881 The only people who would've been at the Beer Hall Putsch were genuine Nazis who believed in the cause when no one else did. If Hans truly was there, then he was an adamant Nazi from the beginning, which I find hard to believe given how brutish and dim-witted the Old Guard were. They just don't strike me as the company he'd surround himself with. Big fish in a small pond. Hans may have faked the medal but that seems too unescessary a risk. The only other way of seeing it is that Hans was so incredibly intelligent, he, as a pure opportunist, was able to predict the Nazis coming to power years before anyone else even considered it a possibility.
Hans is an austrian, he wouldn't have been in munich
@@tedarcher9120 Hitler was Austrian too. Even back then people could travel from one country to another you know...
The dude was a force of nature in this movie, one of the best performances I've ever seen.
What’s wild about the character is that he pulled off that “cool, relaxed bully.” Like, from the outside he’s the well-mannered man mentioned and onlookers etc don’t see anything happening at first, but in his mind, he’s relishing your discomfort. He was portrayed so well.
What's even sadder is you don't realize your wife is a mini version of her that will one day take up place.
I always found Hans Landa pretty intimidating in how calm and fearless he could appear in the scenes.
I cant get the image of ryan from the office killing nazis out of my head.
I like to think that’s why he went on a power trip as VP of Dunder mifflin. His past life as a Nazi hunter took over
Yeah I keep seeing actors from the office in everything
It's a well known plague, same with Daniel Radcliffe, once you've taken a good role that blows up your career, it's all people will ever see you as. Like when Harry Potter went into the Klu Klux Klan
@James Bond I've not seen it, I'm only aware of it's existence
I can't help but see the comparisons between this guy , and both of my parents , interrogations , traps , and even his subtle threathing gestures lol.
I feel like Hans killing Bridget was not out of character.
It was simply his more brutal, feral side. He could have killed her by shooting her, but he chose not to: he put her through the whole ordeal of slowly dismantling her lies, and while he was doing that he was also losing his amiable facade. The strangling was simply the culmination of his anger, which he had so carefully hidden before.
And additionally, I think that he felt some extra grudge against the actress.
Look, he did not against Americans or Shoshanna. They were just enemies, so it was natural for them to fight. But the actress, a traitor? I think that he felt disgust towards her and probably he, and the officer killed in the bar were really close.
Suming it up, he hated her, beat her on every front of this spygame and murdered her with pure joy, as he unleashed his worst side on her. This is why he just strangeled her, he indeed was a cruel monster inside- but with respect towards his enemies.
Yup Hans is a coward deep down.
@@KingEli yeah totally! Used power against weak, but when they started losing immidately looked for his way out
@@jupnik5318
Just watched movie.
You said he felt disgusted bcz she was a traitor. But he betrayed germans himself siding with americans. So why would he kill her for doing the same?
Sorry for my bad english
@@kanhakun4323 i think its adds to him being a narcissist he sees what he's doing as something that will help Germany where he sees her as just a traitor
I love how he tells Perrier that he’s struggling with speaking French, but while he’s spouting this absolute bs, he is speaking so articulate and well-mannered that you know he can speak it just fine!
Lol he did the same thing speaking Italian lmao.
Let's be honest its not a power play its a hey we will make money in the American audience and staring at subtitles might mean lack of intrest. Just like every other movie
@@Pes._ in the Mel Brooks movie "To Be or Not to Be", they start out talking (and singing!) in Polish, but they make a joke out of cutting over to English because of how tiresome and irritating it would be to everyone.
@@Pes._ Good point.
@@Pes._ except it is explained that they speak English so the people under the floorboards can't understand them. My mum speaks French and the first thing she picked up on was his perfect French - Landa is one-upping mouissier la pedite in every way and is using his actions and the people around reactions ro gauge the situation
Nearly every scene with him produced wonderful suspense. Truly a master of the "bomb under the table" style of risk elevation.
I thought it spoke volumes about Hans’ character and standards when he became genuinely angry when Aldo shot Hans’ assistant because “his safety was a part of the deal.”
RIP Herrmann
It was because each interrogation was a performance. Hans abilities let him literally set a stage for success in his operations. Although cunning and able to think many stages in advance, sometimes the unexpected has a way of revealing those who think themselves more clever than most. He thought everything was within his control, and that he could leverage whatever, whenever because that's how it played out until then as he predicted and shaped. By brokering that deal he put his power so to speak in the hands of others, where before he was a high ranking official, now he was essentially a clever silver tongued traitor and was exposed by his deal.
He realised that the deal was broken and he personally was at risk. Nothing to do with compassion, my friend.
@@andrewcarson5850 I don't know mate, I interpreted it as the contrary. I took Hans Landa as an evil professional who had principles. Don't get me wrong I'm not defending who his character was, but the character stuck to his principles.
@@evan5944 i completely agree
Christoph is a master of his craft. He makes that wicked character so real, so terrifying.
@Mike Litoris troll somewhere else
A funny wicked...
I personally think Hans chose not to kill Shosanna because it would not benefit him. It benefitted him when he was killing Jews in hiding under Nazi Germany, but it's going to be over soon and he knows it. What he does is terrorize her, because he wants to revel in her misfortune. Hans definitely enjoys getting as much as he can from torturing others mentally, but it does not seem he kills for no reason.
When he interrogates Von Hammersmark, he picks apart her story until she admits defeat. Which is why he kills her, she's a loose end. She was "bought" by the Allies into betraying her own country, so who's to say she won't rat on him when the war is over. He knows the Allies are going to win so it does not benefit him to kill Shosanna, but to protect himself he kills Von Hammersmark. He's a monster, but he's has a reason for doing things.
Exactly!
So why didn't Tarantino write any of that into the script? I mean not a single scene shows him messing with her in anyway past the cafe scene. It's just a poorly written lose end to you?
@@kyle6899maybe because shosanna was responsible for the film,hans didn't want a black person doing that.Also it is worth pointing out that Hans had in his mind going out of the war.
@@kyle6899because exposition is for morons and Tarantino makes interesting films.
Such a clear pronunciation and detailed speech! Can't get tired of rewatching it again and again
Thanks for an amazing content!!!
Hans is like the classic situation of how a cat plays with a mouse both before and after killing it. For no other reason than the joy of it.
What I appreciate about Hans Landa's facade are the layers of passive-aggression. He's well aware that he's making people uncomfortable, but they don't realise he's doing it intentionally, in the knowledge that they can't stop him, just to toy with them and assert his dominance over them. The fact that his victims don't realise that he's just messing with them due to the polite, somewhat bumbling facade gives them a glimmer of false hope that they can bluff their way out of the situation by playing along, when of course they're already doomed and should be trying to cave Landa's skull in.
I don't think Landa is a particularly strong example of the banality of evil. For one, he's too directly involved in the execution of evil. He's not signing orders to be carried out hundreds of miles away, he's personally involved in the capture and execution of jews. Beyond that there's the issue of what motivates him to do these things. He's not some bureaucrat looking for a promotion for the sake of prestige or a higher paycheck, Landa's primary motivation seems to be the joy he gets from being able to dominate others psychologically in direct interactions. If he were offered a higher-paying desk job I don't think he would accept it as it would rob him of the opportunity to play sadistic little psychological games with his victims.
He would politely decline because, as he would explain, his strengths would be best applied away from a desk
@Ali thats pretty accurate, good comment
He made strudel , whipped cream and milk seem even more delicious after this film
Underestimated comment
@@adrian0soares *underappreciated
Don't forget the espresso
Quentin Tarantino has a knack for making food look delicious. Like when Jules had that burger in Pulp Fiction or that beer on tap in Django etc
I had a half-German Grandpop and he loved strudel - my Grandmom learned how to bake it and it's an amazing pastry if baked properly - flaky, never soggy
Brilliant analysis! Landa's gentlemanly polite manners while carrying out the most despicable crimes exacted against humanity in the 20th century heightens the tension. Christoph Waltz deftly delivered this portrayal of evil to the highest level.
This makes his defeat at the end all the more sweet. He's a predator who doesn't act like a predator, and now that he's marked, the whole world is going to see through all of his guises. At this point it doesn't matter if he's killed, he's trapped by his own nature. And to him, that is a fate worse than death.
I was hyperventilating throughout the whole first scene without even knowing if the guy was going to do something, his presence alone is that ominous
I would argue that Hans Landa being an excellent interrogator / investigator actually spares him from using excessive violence.
Wow, fantastic writing and incredibly intricate analyses of Hans Landa. Just rewatched the film because of your video and it really elevated the experience and my understanding of Hans' character development!
He is that rarest of theatric creatures, a truly _memorable_ villain. I honestly think he's one of the few fit to stand alongside the great Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the cinematic pantheon.
I get the feeling someone would feel either extremely safe or extremely unsafe in his presence, depending on their position in his life. There would be no inbetween.
No one is actually safe in his presence though
.
In presence of such a person, regardless of gender, one is only safe till that person can get something out of them; something that benefits the person in some way. A charming intelligent person without morals is more dangerous than we give them credit for.
Narcissists can't perceive you as equal. They either above you or below
Nice notion.
His performance was incredible, unpredictable and unsettling
Loved this, Hans is probably the most chilling villain on screen. Couldn't have been done better. Please do fire lord Ozai. He comes in late in the series but his presence is so strong through the entire series
for me the most intensive scene is the "Strudel" scene.
Milk is of course a metaphor for the milk farm at the begining. Much more important, however, is that milk is not kosher. Shosanna could not drink the milk, but it is impossible to eat the strudel without the cream. He just wanted to test her limits and make her aware that he knows her identity, but he would be pleasant to play the cat and mouse game with her for his own advantage.
Milk is kosher
Where'd you get that milk is not kosher? As far as I know it is, it is only not kosher if you eat it alongside with meat. That's why many orthodox jews won't even drink milk after they ate meat.
Verdict?
As much as I love Cristoph Waltz in this film, Mélanie Laurent's performance needs to be recognised as well, because without her, there wouldn't be the tension that was so palpable in the scene.
A bit more to that:
Strudels at that point in time would have been made with pork fat.
This would make it both meat and non-kosher, and from memory, you're not allowed to drink milk while eating meat in Kashrut, but someone more educated on it would be able to confirm that.
I love how the nicest people usually play the best villains, what an artist.
Christoph Waltz's performance here made me a die-hard fan for life... Such a powerfully chilling performance.
He’s such at good actor that I realized I had seen a lot of his movies without recognizing him.
An unbelievably solid character. My first time watching this movie, the first scene had me legitimately on the edge of my seat.after the first scene I was hooked and ready to have my eyes glued to the screen for the next 2 hours. Tarantino is a cinema genius man
I feel honoured that you devoted this analysis to my character and one must say, you got close. With best regards from Nantucket island.
How’s the weather over there Herr Colonel?
How's the mark on your head?
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
@@bravosixgoing_gay8595 Bright and sunny. Just how i pictured it. Feels like Germany.
@@shahbajkhan9508 Very well. Went to an excellent plastic surgeon who turned the swastika scar into a spinning rotor scar. No affiliation to the Third Reich whatsoever anymore. You would be amazed what you can buy in America.