Inglorious Basterds
Screenplay Story Analysis
How scenes compare to the Scripts in our Library
Percentile | Before | After | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
High Stakes | 8.3 | 81 | Severance: 8.2 | Vice: 8.3 |
Originality | 7.02 | 76 | Mr Robot: 6.94 | Inglorious Basterds: 7.02 |
Character Changes | 6.5 | 75 | Breaking bad, episode 306: 6.4 | Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde : 6.5 |
Conflict Level | 8.1 | 71 | glass Onion Knives Out : 8.0 | Inception: 8.1 |
Plot | 8.3 | 71 | Mr Robot: 8.2 | Inception: 8.3 |
Engagement | 8.70 | 68 | Narcos: 8.69 | Inglorious Basterds: 8.70 |
Overall | 8.4 | 68 | Mo: 8.3 | Avatar: 8.4 |
Story Forward | 8.2 | 66 | Birdman: 8.1 | Arsenic and old lace : 8.2 |
External Goal | 8.11 | 60 | Scott pilgrim vs. the world: 7.98 | Severance: 8.11 |
Emotional Impact | 7.5 | 56 | Deadpool: 7.4 | Inception: 7.5 |
Characters | 8.2 | 51 | Mr Robot: 8.1 | heathers : 8.2 |
Dialogue | 7.6 | 47 | Shaun of the Dead: 7.5 | get out: 7.6 |
Pacing | 8.23 | 35 | Severance: 8.22 | Inglorious Basterds: 8.23 |
Structure | 8.11 | 28 | The usual suspects: 8.09 | Inglorious Basterds: 8.11 |
Internal Goal | 7.91 | 28 | Severance: 7.90 | Lucifer: 7.91 |
Concept | 7.6 | 28 | Birdman: 7.5 | face/off: 7.6 |
Formatting | 8.67 | 4 | Catch me if you can: 8.58 | Inglorious Basterds: 8.67 |
Story Content | Character Development | Scene Elements | Audience Engagement | Technical Aspects | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scene Number | Full Analysis | Tone | Overall Grade | Concept | Plot | Originality Score | Characters | Character Changes | Internal Goal | External Goal | Conflict | Opposition | High stakes | Story forward | Twist | Emotional Impact | Dialogue | Engagement | Pacing | Formatting | Structure |
1 | The German Arrival | suspenseful, tense, serious | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
2 | The Visit | Tense, Suspenseful | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
3 | In the Lion's Den | Tense, Suspenseful, Serious | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
4 | The Jew Hunter | Tense, Intimidating, Confrontational | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
5 | Escape from the Farmhouse | Tense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
6 | The Basterds' Mission | Intense, Dark | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
7 | Jew Hunter and Scalping | Dark, Intense, Tense, Serious, Disturbing | 8.5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
8 | The Basterds Recruit Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz | Suspense, Intense, Powerful | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
9 | Recruitment and Preparation | serious, humorous | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
10 | Donny's Mission | Intense, Determined, Serious | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
11 | Shosanna's Sanctuary | Dark, Suspenseful, Melancholic | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
12 | Shosanna at the Cinema | Suspense, Lyrical | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
13 | Shosanna's Encounter | Tense, Cautious, Intense, Melancholic, Confident | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
14 | Meeting in the Cinema | Cautious, Dismissive, Annoyed, Friendly, Teasing, Nostalgic, Exciting | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
15 | Shosanna's Encounter | Cautious, Dismissive, Intrigued, Skeptical, Arrogant | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
16 | Shosanna's Encounter | Cautious, Dismissive, Intrigued, Skeptical | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
17 | Encounter at the Cinema | Cautious, Dismissive, Intrigued, Skeptical | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
18 | Cafe Conversation | Cautious, Dismissive, Intrigued, Skeptical | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
19 | The Encounter | cautious, dismissive, intrigued, skeptical | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
20 | The Plan | Cautious, Dismissive, Intrigued, Skeptical, Relieved | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
21 | Meeting at the Estate | Cautious, Dismissive, Teasing, Intrigued, Skeptical | 8 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
22 | Operation Kino Briefing | Cautious, Dismissive, Teasing, Intrigued, Skeptical | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
23 | Sabotage Plans | Suspenseful, Tense, Dramatic | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
24 | German Soldiers' Meeting | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | |
25 | Scheming in the Tavern | Cautious, Intrigued, Skeptical, Relieved | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
26 | Maximilian's Autograph | Suspenseful, Tense, Dramatic, Satirical, Humorous | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
27 | The Gestapo Encounter | Suspenseful, Tense, Humorous | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
28 | A Friendly Game | Suspenseful, Humorous | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
29 | The Betrayal | Suspense, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
30 | Standoff | intense, tense, suspenseful, emotional | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
31 | Mexican Standoff and Veterinary Extraction | Tense, Shocking, Violent | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
32 | Betrayal and Bloodshed | Intense, Suspenseful, Emotional | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
33 | The Führer's Attendance | Suspense, Dramatic | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
34 | The Mexican Standoff | Intense, Suspenseful, Humorous | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
35 | The Meeting with Col. Hans Landa | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |
36 | The Mexican Standoff | Tense, Suspenseful, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
37 | The Betrayal | Suspenseful, Violent, Dramatic | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
38 | The Betrayal | Tense, Terrifying, Unexpected | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
39 | The Negotiation | Tense, Suspenseful, Negotiation/interrogation, Desperate | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
40 | Colonel Landa's Ultimatum | Tense, Suspenseful, Calm | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
41 | The Final Act | tense, suspenseful, serious | 9 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
42 | Betrayal and Bloodshed | Suspenseful, Intense, Dramatic | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
43 | The Final Showdown and Revenge | Intense, Dramatic, Suspenseful | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
44 | The Surrender | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
Scene 1 - The German Arrival
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN . . .
NAZI-OCCUPIED FRANCE
CHAPTER TWO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
CHAPTER THREE
GERMAN NIGHT IN PARIS
CHAPTER FOUR
OPERATION KINO
CHAPTER FIVE
REVENGE OF THE GIANT FACE
[1]
EXT—DAIRY FARM—DAY
The modest dairy farm in the countryside of Nancy, France (what the
French call cow country).
We read a SUBTITLE in the sky above the farmhouse:
CHAPTER ONE
“ONCE UPON A TIME IN . . .
NAZI-OCCUPIED FRANCE”
This SUBTITLE disappears and is replaced by another one:
“1941
One year into the German
occupation of France”
The farm consists of a house, a small barn, and twelve cows spread
about.
The owner of the property, a bull of a man, FRENCH FARMER, brings
an ax up and down on a tree stump, blemishing his property.
However, simply by sight, you’d never know if he’s been beating at
this stump for the last year or just started today.
JULIE
one of his three pretty teenage daughters, is hanging laundry on
the clothesline. As she hangs up a white bedsheet, she hears a
noise. Moving the sheet aside, she sees:
JULIE’S POV
A Nazi town car convertible, with two little Nazi flags attached to
the hood, a NAZI SOLDIER behind the wheel, a NAZI OFFICER alone in
the backseat, following TWO OTHER NAZI SOLDIERS on motorcycles,
coming up over the hill on the country road leading to their farm.
JULIE
Pappa.
The French farmer sinks his ax in the stump, looks over his
shoulder, and sees the Germans approaching.
The FARMER’S WIFE, CHARLOTTE, comes to the doorway of their home,
followed by her TWO OTHER TEENAGE DAUGHTERS, and sees the Germans
approaching.
The farmer yells to his family in FRENCH, SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH:
FARMER
Go back inside and shut the door.
[2]
FARMER
(to Julie)
Julie, get me some water from the pump to wash
up with, then get inside with your mother.
The young lady runs to the water pump by the house. She picks up a
basin and begins pumping. After a few pumps, water comes out,
splashing into the basin.
The French farmer sits down on the stump he was previously chopping
away at, pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, wipes sweat from his
face, and waits for the Nazi convoy to arrive. After living for a
year with the sword of Damocles suspended over his head, this may
very well be the end.
Julie finishes filling the water basin and places it on the
windowsill.
JULIE
Ready, Pappa.
FARMER
Thank you, darling, now go inside and take care
of your mother. Don’t run.
Julie walks inside the farmhouse and closes the door behind her.
As her father stands up from the stump and moves over to the
windowsill with the water basin . . .
. . . The SOUND OF THE ENGINES of the two motorcycles and car get
LOUDER.
The farmer SPLASHES water from the basin on his face and down his
front. He takes a towel off a nail and wipes the excess water from
his face and chest, as he watches the two motorcycles, the one
automobile, and the four representatives of the National Socialist
Party come to a halt on his property.
We don’t move into them but keep observing them from a distance,
like the farmer.
The TWO NAZI MOTORCYCLISTS are off their bikes and standing at
attention next to them.
The NAZI DRIVER has walked around the automobile and opened the
door for his superior.
The NAZI OFFICER says to the driver in UNSUBTITLED GERMAN:
NAZI OFFICER
This is the property of Perrier LaPadite?
[3]
NAZI DRIVER
Yes, Herr Colonel.
The Nazi officer climbs out of the backseat of the vehicle,
carrying in his left hand a black leather attaché case.
NAZI OFFICER
Herrman, until I summon you, I am to be left
alone.
NAZI DRIVER
As you wish, Herr Colonel.
The S.S. colonel yells to the farmer in FRENCH, SUBTITLED IN
ENGLISH:
NAZI OFFICER
Is this the property of Perrier LaPadite?
FARMER
I am Perrier LaPadite.
The S.S. colonel crosses the distance between them with long
strides and says, in French, with a smile on his face:
NAZI OFFICER
It is a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur
LaPadite. I am Colonel Hans Landa of
the S.S.
COL. HANS LANDA offers the French farmer, PERRIER LAPADITE, his
hand. The Frenchman takes the German hand in his and shakes it.
PERRIER
How may I help you?
COL. LANDA
I was hoping you could invite me inside your
home and we may have a discussion.
INT—LAPADITE FARMHOUSE—DAY
The door to the farmhouse swings open, and the farmer gestures for
the S.S. colonel to enter. Removing his gray S.S. cap, the German
steps inside the Frenchman’s home.
Col. Landa is immediately greeted with the sight of the farmer’s
wife and three pretty daughters standing together in the kitchen,
smiling in his direction.
The farmer enters behind him, closing the door.
[4]
PERRIER
Colonel Landa, this is my family.
The S.S. colonel clicks his heels together and takes the hand of
the French farmer’s wife . . .
COL. LANDA
Col. Hans Landa of the S.S., Madame,
at your service.
He kisses her hand, then continues without letting go of his
hostess’s hand . . .
COL. LANDA
Please excuse my rude intrusion on your
routine.
FARMER’S WIFE
Don’t be ridiculous, Herr Colonel.
Ratings
Scene 2 - The Visit
eyes, the S.S. colonel says:
COL. LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, the rumors I have heard in
the village about your family are all true.
Your wife is a beautiful woman.
His eyes leave the mother and move to the three daughters.
COL. LANDA
(CON’T)
And each of your daughters is more lovely than
the last.
PERRIER
Merci. Please have a seat.
The farmer offers the S.S. colonel a seat at the family’s wooden
dinner table. The Nazi officer accepts the French farmer’s offer
and lowers himself into the chair, placing his gray S.S. cap on the
table and keeping his black attaché case on the floor by his feet.
The farmer (perfect host) turns to his wife and says:
PERRIER
Charlotte, would you be so good as to get the
Colonel some wine?
[5]
COL. LANDA
Merci beaucoup, Monsieur LaPadite, but no wine.
This being a dairy farm, one would be safe in
assuming you have milk?
CHARLOTTE
Oui.
COL. LANDA
Then milk is what I prefer.
CHARLOTTE
Very well.
The mother of three takes a carafe of milk out of the icebox
and pours a tall glass of the fresh white liquid for the colonel.
The S.S. colonel takes a long drink from the glass, then puts it
down LOUDLY on the wooden table.
COL. LANDA
Monsieur, to both your family and your cows I
say: Bravo.
PERRIER
Merci.
COL. LANDA
Please, join me at your table.
PERRIER
Very well.
The French farmer sits at his wooden dinner table across from
the Nazi.
The women remain standing.
Col. Landa leans forward and says to the farmer in a low tone of
confidentiality:
COL. LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, what we have to discuss
would be better discussed in private. You’ll
notice, I left my men outdoors. If it wouldn’t
offend them, could you ask your lovely ladies
to step outside?
PERRIER
You are right.
[6]
PERRIER
(to his women)
Charlotte, would you take the girls outside.
The Colonel and I need to have a few words.
The farmer’s wife follows her husband’s orders and gathers her
daughters, taking them outside, closing the door behind them.
The two men are alone at the farmer’s dinner table, in the farmer’s
humble home.
COL. LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, I regret to inform you I’ve
exhausted the extent of my French. To continue
to speak it so inadequately would only serve to
embarrass me. However, I’ve been led
to believe you speak English quite well?
PERRIER
Oui.
COL. LANDA
Well, it just so happens, I do as well. This
being your house, I ask your permission to
switch to English for the remainder of the
conversation.
PERRIER
By all means.
They now speak ENGLISH:
COL. LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, while I’m very familiar with
you and your family,
I have no way of knowing if you are familiar
with who I am. Are you aware
of my existence?
The farmer answers:
PERRIER
Yes.
COL. LANDA
This is good. Are you aware of the job I’ve
been ordered to carry out in France?
[7]
PERRIER
Yes.
The colonel drinks more milk.
COL. LANDA
Please tell me what you’ve heard?
PERRIER
I’ve heard the Führer has put you in charge of
rounding up the Jews left in France who are
either hiding or passing for gentile.
The S.S. colonel smiles.
COL. LANDA
The Führer couldn’t have said it better
himself.
PERRIER
But the meaning of your visit, pleasant though
it is, is mysterious to me.
The Germans looked through my house nine months
ago for hiding Jews and found nothing.
COL. LANDA
I’m aware of that. I read the report on this
area. But like any enterprise,
when under new management, there’s always a
slight duplication of efforts. Most of it being
a complete waste of time, but it needs to be
done nevertheless.
I just have a few questions, Monsieur LaPadite.
If you can assist me with answers, my
department can close the
file on your family.
Taking his black leather attaché case and placing it on the table,
he takes out a folder from inside. He also extracts an expensive
black fountain pen from his uniform’s front pocket. Opening the
folder and referring to it:
COL. LANDA
Now, before the occupation there were four
Jewish families in this area, all dairy farmers
like yourself:
the Loveitts, the Doleracs, the Rollins,
and the Dreyfuses, is that correct?
[8]
PERRIER
To my knowledge those were the Jewish families
among the dairy farmers.
Herr Colonel, would it disturb you if
I smoked my pipe?
Looking up from his papers:
Ratings
Scene 3 - In the Lion's Den
Please, Monsieur LaPadite, it is your house.
Make yourself comfortable.
The farmer gets up from the table, goes to a shelf over the
fireplace, and removes from it a WOODEN BOX that contains all the
fixings to his pipe. He sits back down at the table with his Nazi
guest.
As the farmer loads the bowl of his pipe with tobacco, sets a match
to it, and begins slowly puffing, making it red hot, the S.S.
colonel studies the papers in front of him.
COL. LANDA
Now, according to these papers, all
the Jewish families in this area have been
accounted for—except the Dreyfuses. Somewhere in
the last year it would appear they have
vanished.
Which leads me to the conclusion that they’ve
either made good their escape
or someone is very successful hiding them.
(looking up from
his papers, across
the table at the
farmer)
What have you heard about the Dreyfuses,
Monsieur LaPadite?
PERRIER
Only rumors—
COL. LANDA
—I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading, where
rumors, true or false, are often revealing. So,
Monsieur LaPadite, what rumors have you heard
regarding
the Dreyfuses?
The farmer looks at Landa.
[9]
COL. LANDA
Speak freely, Monsieur LaPadite, I want to hear
what the rumors are, not who told them to you.
The farmer puffs thoroughly on his pipe.
PERRIER
Again, this is just a rumor—but we
heard the Dreyfuses had made their way into
Spain.
COL. LANDA
So the rumors you’ve heard have been of escape?
PERRIER
Yes.
COL. LANDA
Were the LaPadites and the Dreyfuses friendly?
As the farmer answers this question, the CAMERA LOWERS behind his
chair, to the floor, past the floor, to a small area underneath the
floorboards, revealing:
FIVE HUMAN BEINGS
lying horizontally underneath the farmer’s floorboards. These human
beings are the DREYFUSES, who have lived lying down underneath the
dairy farmer’s house for the past year. But one couldn’t call what
the Dreyfuses have done for the last year living. This family has
done the only thing they could—hide from an occupying army that
wishes to exterminate them.
PERRIER
We were families in the same community, in the
same business. I wouldn’t say
we were friends, but members of the same
community. We had common interests.
The S.S. colonel takes in this answer, seems to accept it, then
moves to the next question.
COL. LANDA
Having never met the Dreyfuses, would you
confirm for me the exact members of the
household and their names?
[10]
PERRIER
There were five of them.
The father, Jacob . . . wife, Miriam . . . her
brother, Bob . . .
COL. LANDA
—How old is Bob?
PERRIER
Thirty—thirty-one?
COL. LANDA
Continue.
PERRIER
And the children . . . Amos . . . and Shosanna.
COL. LANDA
Ages of the children?
PERRIER
Amos—six—I believe. And Shosanna
was fifteen or sixteen, I’m not really sure.
CUT TO
EXT—DAIRY FARM—DAY
The mother and her three daughters finish taking the laundry off
the clothesline.
They can’t hear anything going on inside.
The three Nazi soldiers watch the three daughters.
BACK TO LANDA AND PERRIER
COL. LANDA
Well, I guess that should do it.
He begins gathering up his papers and putting them back into his
attaché case.
The farmer, cool as a cucumber, puffs on his pipe.
COL. LANDA
However, before I go, could I have another glass
of your delicious milk?
[11]
PERRIER
But of course.
The farmer stands up, goes over to the icebox, and takes out the
carafe of milk. As he walks over and fills the Nazi colonel’s
glass, the German officer talks.
COL. LANDA
Monsieur LaPadite, are you aware of the
nickname the people of France have given me?
PERRIER
I have no interest in such things.
COL. LANDA
But you are aware of what they call me?
PERRIER
I’m aware.
COL. LANDA
What are you aware of?
PERRIER
That they call you “the Jew Hunter.”
COL. LANDA
Precisely! Now I understand your trepidation in
repeating it.
Before he was assassinated, Heydrich
apparently hated the moniker the good people of
Prague bestowed on him. Actually, why he would
hate the name “the Hangman” is baffling to me.
It would appear he did everything in
his power to earn it. But I, on the other hand,
love my unofficial title, precisely because
I’ve earned it.
As “the Jew Hunter” enjoys his fresh milk, he continues to theorize
with the French farmer.
Ratings
Scene 4 - The Jew Hunter
The feature that makes me such an effective
hunter of the Jews is, as opposed to most German
soldiers, I can think like a Jew, where they can
only think like a German or, more precisely, a
German soldier.
Now if one were to determine what attribute the
German people share with a beast, it would be the
cunning and predatory instinct of a hawk.
[12]
COL. LANDA
(CON’T)
Negroes—gorillas—brain—lips—smell—physical
strength—penis size.
But if one were to determine what attributes
the Jews share with a beast, it would
be that of the rat.
Now the Führer and Goebbels’s propaganda have
said pretty much the same thing. Where our
conclusions differ is I don’t consider the
comparison an insult. Consider for a moment the
world a rat lives in. It’s a hostile world
indeed. If a rat were to scamper through your
front door right now, would you greet it with
hostility?
PERRIER
I suppose I would.
COL. LANDA
Has a rat ever done anything to you to create
this animosity you feel toward them?
PERRIER
Rats spread disease, they bite people—
COL. LANDA
Unless some fool is stupid enough to
try and handle a live one, rats don’t make it a
practice of biting human beings. Rats were the
cause of the bubonic plague, but that was some
time ago. In all your born days, has a rat ever
caused you to be sick a day in your life? I
propose to you, any disease a rat could spread
a squirrel would equally carry.
Yet I assume you don’t share the same animosity
with squirrels that you do with rats, do you?
PERRIER
No.
COL. LANDA
Yet they are both rodents, are they
not? And except for the fact that one has a big
bushy tail, while the other has a long
repugnant tail of rodent skin, they even rather
look alike, don’t they?
[13]
PERRIER
It is an interesting thought,
Herr Colonel.
COL. LANDA
However, interesting as the thought may be, it
makes not one bit of difference to how you
feel. If a rat were to scamper through your
door this very minute, would you offer it a
saucer of your delicious milk?
PERRIER
Probably not.
COL. LANDA
I didn’t think so. You don’t like them. You
don’t really know why you don’t like them. All
you know is, you find them repulsive.
(lets the
metaphor
sink in)
What a tremendously hostile world a rat must
endure. Yet not only does he survive, he
thrives. And the reason for this is because our
little foe has an instinct for survival and
preservation second to none. And that, Monsieur,
is what a Jew shares with a rat.
Consequently, a German soldier conducts
a search of a house suspected of hiding Jews.
Where does the hawk look? He looks in the barn,
he looks in the attic,
he looks in the cellar—he looks everywhere he
would hide. But there are many places it would
never occur to a hawk to hide. However, the
reason the Führer brought me off my Alps in
Austria and placed me in French cow country
today is because it does occur to me.
Because I’m aware what tremendous feats human
beings are capable of once they abandon dignity.
(changing tone)
May I smoke my pipe as well?
The farmer’s cool facade is little by little eroding.
PERRIER
Please, colonel, make yourself at home.
[14]
The Jew Hunter removes both a pipe and a bag of tobacco fixings.
The pipe, strangely enough, is a calabash, made from an S-shaped
gourd with a yellow skin and made famous by Sherlock Holmes.
As the Nazi colonel busies himself with his smoking, he continues
to hold court at the Frenchman’s table.
COL. LANDA
The other mistake the German soldiers
make is their severe handling of the
citizens who give shelter and aid to
the Jews. These citizens are not enemies
of the state. They are simply confused
people, trying to make some sense out of
the madness war creates.
These citizens do not need punishing.
They simply need to be reminded of their
duty in wartime.
Let’s use you as a example, Monsieur
LaPadite. In this war, you have found
yourself in the middle of a conflict
that has nothing to do with yourself,
your lovely ladies, or your cows—yet
here you are.
So, Monsieur LaPadite, let me propose
a question. In this time of war, what is
your number-one duty? Is it to fight
the Germans in the name of France to your
last breath? Or is it to harass the
occupying army to the best of your
ability? Or is it to protect the poor, unfortunate
victims of warfare who can
not protect themselves?
Or is your number-one duty in this time
of bloodshed to protect those very
beautiful women who constitute your
family?
The Colonel lets the last statement stand.
COL. LANDA
That was a question, Monsieur LaPadite. In this
time of war, what do you consider your number-
one duty?
PERRIER
To protect my family.
COL. LANDA
Now, my job dictates that I must have
my men enter your home and conduct a thorough
search before I can officially cross your
family’s name off my list.
[15]
Ratings
Scene 5 - Escape from the Farmhouse
(CON’T)
And if there are any irregularities to be
found, rest assured, they will be.
That is, unless you have something to tell me
that will make the conducting of a search
unnecessary.
(pause)
I might add also that any information
that makes the performing of my duty
easier will not be met with punishment.
Actually quite the contrary, it will be
met with reward.
And that reward will be your family
will cease to be harassed in any way
by the German military during the rest of our
occupation of your country.
The farmer, pipe in mouth, stares across the table at his German
opponent.
COL. LANDA
You are sheltering enemies of the state, are
you not?
PERRIER
Yes.