Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 7, 2025

That noted philosopher Cher once addressed a certain need by many to revisit history and change things, but vis a vis "turning back time", it's long been a conceit of various writers or even just postulators to craft works around someone taking out one Adolf Hitler as a baby, before any real carnage ensued. Of course Quentin Tarantino wasn't about to follow "tradition", so to speak, and so while Inglourious Basterds is another concoction by the famed auteur that rejiggers the actual historical record, in this case Tarantino allows Hitler to get to adulthood and actually begin his reign of terror before he's dispatched. That's just one of many outrageous elements in a film that remains one of Tarantino's most distinctive accomplishments. Arrow Video is now re-releasing the film in both 1080 and 4K UHD formats, with their usual supply of excellent on disc supplements and deluxe packaging with some fun non disc swag. And actually given the fact that both the 1080 and 4K feature masters offered by Arrow were provided by NBC Universal and so are similar if not identical to Universal's own releases, it may be the supplements, packaging and non disc swag that at least some potential consumers may find to be of greatest interest.

As alluded to above, Inglourious Basterds has already had both 1080 and 4K UHD releases by its home studio Universal. Both Ken Brown's Inglourious Basterds Blu-ray review and Martin Liebman's Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray review provide a ton of information, both plot wise (Ken's review especially) and with regard to technical merits and supplements.

Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: While this is a standalone 4K release without a 1080 disc, I am offering screenshots from Arrow's standalone 1080 release as I think it actually provides a better representation of the look of the palette in particular, rather than offering screenshots from the 4K disc which are by necessity downscaled to 1080 and in SDR. Because this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Inglourious Basterds is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following generic information on the presentation:

Inglourious Basterds is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with 5.1 sound. The 1080p / 4K HDR10 feature master was supplied by NBC Universal.

If both the 1080 and 4K releases by Arrow are unavoidably duplicative of Universal's own releases, that's not a bad thing, given the largely positive responses Ken and Marty had to those earlier outings. And in fact I think most would be hard pressed to find any significant differences between Arrow's versions and the Universal releases. The 4K UHD version takes what I consider to be an already excellent 1080 presentation and immediately delivers new nuance and vibrancy to the palette courtesy of HDR, with a rather commendable uptick in fine detail. As Marty mentions in his review of Universal's own 4K release, if you have the ability to do a side by side or at least back and forth comparison between the 1080 and 4K UHD versions, noticeable improvements in detail levels in even some wide framings can be discerned. The oversaturated quality that Ken mentions in his review (of the 1080 version) is only exaggerated here courtesy of HDR, but as I mentioned in my review of Arrow's 1080 version (are you keeping track?), I think that "look" is just part of Tarantino's typical stylistic quirkiness. The vibrancy of the palette in this 4K UHD version is one of its strongest assets in my opinion. Grain offers an organic viewing experience without ever getting to splotchy or swarming levels.

Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mimicking the video side of things is the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on this disc, which again is arguably identical to the tracks found on Universal's own 1080 and 4K releases. This is a really nicely rendered surround track, with regular engagement of the side and rear channels, notably in many of the bustling action scenes, but also with regard to some really smartly placed discretely channelized effects in even some of the relatively quieter moments. LFE gets an explosive burst or two, especially in the calamitous climax. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available, and per the film's original presentation, there are occasional burnt in yellow English subtitles.

Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One (4K UHD)

• Audio Commentary by film critic and author Tim Lucas

Disc Two (1080)

• What Would Sally Do? (HD; 11:08) is a new interview with assistant editor Fred Raskin. The Sally of the title refers to Raskin's mentor Sally Menke.


• Doom Struck (HD; 11:24) is a new interview with actor Omar Doom.


• Blood Fiction (HD; 22:12) is a new interview with special makeup effects supervisor Greg Nicotero.


• Making It Right (HD; 22:04) is a newly produced visual essay by film critic Walter Chaw which perhaps unexpectedly centers on the perceived "kindness" of Quentin Tarantino.


• Film History on Fire (HD; 19:49) is another newly produced visual essay, this time by historian, curator and critic Pamela Hutchinson, addressing that "if I could turn back time" element, with Hutchinson focusing on the film's use of film history itself and/or allusions to other films (as in the title).


• Filmmaking in Occupied France (HD; 15:42) is a really interesting newly produced piece featuring French film scholar Christine Leteux discussing the French film industry during the occupation.


• Archive Extras port over most of the previously released supplements. Ken's review has more information on many of these:

  Roundtable Discussion (HD; 30:47) features Elvis Mitchell hosting Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt.

  
  

  Nation's Pride (HD; 6:13) is the unedited film within the film. This has two different audio track options.

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  The Making of Nation's Pride (HD; 4:02)

  
  

  The Original Inglorious Bastards (HD; 7:41) is a brief overview of the film whose title at least inspired this film.

  
  

  A Conversation with Rod Taylor (HD; 6:45)

  
  

  Rod Taylor on Victoria Bitter (HD; 3:21)

  
  

  Quentin Tarantino's Camera Angel (HD; 2:44)

  
  

  Hi Sallys (HD; 2:11)

  
  

  Extended and Alternate Scenes

  Lunch with Goebbels - Extended Version (HD; 7:12)

  
  

  La Louisiane Card Game - Extended Version (HD; 2:09)

  
  

  "Nation's Pride" Begins - Alternate Version (HD; 2:06)

  Film Poster Gallery Tour with Elvis Mitchell (HD; 11:02)

• Trailers

  Trailer 1 (HD; 1:47)

  
  

  Trailer 2 (HD; 2:25)

  
  

  Trailer 3 (HD; 2:10)

  
  

  Trailer 4 (HD; 1:19)

Additionally this is another gorgeously packaged release from Arrow. An outer O ring encloses a limited edition "Operation Kino" slipbox which itself encloses the keepcase, an insert booklet, a coaster (beermat), and a double sided fold out poster. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and holds three postcard sized double sided art cards, a strudel recipe card and a supposed replica Nation's Pride premiere programme booklet. The collector's booklet has some really interesting writing by Dennis Cozzalio and Bill Ryan along with stills and the usual cast/crew and technical information.

Inglourious Basterds 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you already have Universal's releases, you may still want to check Arrow's versions out for their newly produced supplements, deluxe packaging and non disc swag (I mean really, can you live without a strudel recipe?). If you don't already have Universal's releases, the 1080 and 4K releases from Arrow duplicate Universal's excellent technical merits, along with the aforementioned "extra bits". I'd personally advise those considering both formats to opt for Arrow's 4K UHD release over its 1080 release. One way or the other, this release comes Highly recommended.