10 Unforgettable Character Introductions In Movies
4. Col. Hans Landa - Inglorious Basterds
Easily the greatest opening to any of Tarantino’s movies, the introduction of Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds is an excellent example of how to hook viewers through intelligent screenwriting and a frighteningly good performance.
The "Jew hunter” arrives at the house of a farmer to interrogate and see if he is sheltering “enemies” of the state and what follows is a long conversation in which Landa toys with the farmer until he caves in and confesses to hiding the missing family.
There’s plenty of memorable moments such as Landa smoking a stupidly large pipe, requesting a cup of delicious milk like a child and comparing the Jews to rats, but what makes the long sequence an unforgettable nightmare is Christoph Waltz’ gentle voice and his creepily smooth demeanour.
No matter how many times you see it, it always verges on claustrophobic...