Inglorious Basterds Scene Analysis

The scene starts with a backwards tracking shot of a man walking through a corridor. A lot of the scene's meaning is created through the mise-en-scene. For example, the man is dressed in a white army outfit. It is decorated with medals which shows the man's status and also that he is a man of honor. There are red roses at either side of the hallway, which gives a connotation of danger, maybe implying that something bad is about to happen. The colour red is a running theme throughout the scene. The scene then shows a sequence of detail shots that introduce the audience to a female character and also establishes what her role is through the shots of the film being run and her pulling a lever: she is in charge of projecting the film. Throughout the clip, there is music playing that is usually associated with other war films, and there are also diegetic sounds such as the film being played and the woman pulling the lever, which emphasizes the action.

Then there are a few close up shots of a man smoking a cigarette while watching the movie that has just been played by the woman. Due to the mise-en-scene, you can decode that the film is set during World War two, and you can assume that there is racial division during the film. He is alone, which may relate to his race, and not being allowed to see the film at the normal screening. Then there is a back tracking shot of him with the screen in front of him. The shot shows the man in relation to the screen, as we see him gazing up at it. You also see a pile of something, and the man is aware that it is there, so he may have put it there. This is followed up by a bird's eye shot of him with the pile, and he is highlighted by a spotlight, surrounded by darkness. This helps to show his isolation, and how lonely he seems. There is a progression throughout the last few shots, we start out with close up shots of the man, then we progress to mid shots and end up with this final bird's eye view of him, the pile and the screen.

Then we see the man from earlier walking up stairs, accompanied with a tilting shot. This is to show him ascend, and you can say that him walking up stairs shows him in a superior way. There is a red curtain to the man's left, which again you could argue is purposely included to represent love, passion or upcoming danger. The man walks with a very proud posture and gesture, which may indicate that he is a man of power, or of a high position. Also, the man straightens out his jacket before entering the room, which gives you a hint that he wants to make a good impression to whoever is in the room. This suggests that the character cares about the person or cares about his appearance.

Then the film cuts back to a shot of the woman earlier (also in a red dress). The shot is a mid reaction shot, showing how she responds to the door knocking. She looks distressed, which tells me that she either isn't expecting somebody, or is worried about who it could be.

Throughout the duration of the clip, music has been playing, and in this scene it crescendo's and then stops playing, setting up a very tense mood for the clip. This editing technique also allows you to focus solely on the dialogue between the two characters, rather than having to take in and pay attention to the other elements of the scene.

As Fredrick advances towards the woman, the camera tracks the characters movement, imitating it. This shows the movement but doesn't alter the focus on the two characters. Also, it helps to give a sense of how much he is intimidating her. Fredrick speaks in a bitter tone and with a harsh dialogue, suggesting that he is a person that she should be scared of, but the woman maintains a calm, collected tone and demeanor and ultimately it seems like she is more in control of the situation, outwitting him by shooting her.