10. Cat People (Putting out Fire) - David Bowie - Inglourious Basterds
Inglourious Basterds takes a huge turn at this point. The film takes place during (Tarantinos fictionalised version of) World War II and until this point has been treated with a certain degree of seriousness. Yes, Brad Pitts portrayal of Aldo Raine is akin to a cartoon character, but for Shosanna (Melanie Laurent), the stakes couldnt be much greater. Shes preparing to avenge the death of her family by the Naziscue chapter five, Revenge of the Giant Face. As chapter five fades in, so does the David Bowie song, Cat People, a song released in 1982. Now despite the somewhat disjointed tone of the movie, it has most definitely been contained in a historical setting with no prior use of pop music, making the appearance, and the choice, to use this song somewhat surprising, but very deliberate. Tarantino uses the gradual build of the song to slowly introduce the climactic act of the movie. It is essentially a montage, but its a Tarantino montage. Dimly lit, the scene is dominated by red; the red dress, the red Nazi flags, the lipstick, the nail varnish, red wine etc. As Shosanna puts on her makeup as if it was war paint, Tarantino increases the intensity before fading the volume while he fetishistically films Shosanna making her film, then back to the present again as she pulls down her veil as if attending a funeral. The decision to use the song is a statement by Tarantino, a baffling one to some, but an entertaining one to those who take it with a pinch of salt. The film takes a very different tone after this, but lets not forget, this is a film made by the most famous of film geeks, in which film is essentially responsible for ending the Nazi party, so a pinch of salt is perhaps what is required. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdItU5jCCM0