Quentin Tarantino on the film that inspired Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds is considered to be a Quentin Tarantino masterpiece. With Brad Pitt leading a stellar cast, it’s a thrilling, violent and entertaining ride.

It tells an alternative history where a group of Jewish-American soldiers plot to assassinate Nazi leaders in occupied France during World War 2.

The 2009 film won multiple awards and nominations, including eight Academy Award nominations.

But where did Tarantino get his inspiration to deliver one of the all-time great war movies?

The Hollywood hitmaker says a 1942 film with a similar plot line called Hitler – Dead Or Alive excited him.

Set during the same time period, an American businessman promises a reward of $1m to anyone who would either kill or kidnap Adolf Hitler.

Tarantino spoke about the black-and-white film in a November 2012 interview with Playboy magazine.

“When it came to Inglourious Basterds, there was a movie done in 1942, Hitler – Dead or Alive,” he said. “It was just as America had entered the war.

“A rich guy offers a million-dollar bounty on Hitler’s life. Three gangsters come up with a plan to kill Hitler. They parachute into Berlin and work their way to where Hitler is.

“It’s a wacky movie that goes from being serious to very funny. The gangsters get Hitler, and when they start beating the f*ck out of him, it is just so enjoyable.

“They shave his moustache off, cut off that lock of hair and take his sh*t off so he looks like a regular guy. The Nazis show up, and Hitler, who doesn’t look like Hitler anymore, is like, ‘Hey, it’s me!’

“And they beat the sh*t out of him. I thought, wow, this is f*cking hysterical.”

Watch Hitler – Dead Or Alive.