Real-life stories of WWII

MANILA, Philippines - In the first year of the German occupation of France, Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish American soldiers to perform swift, shocking acts of retribution. Later known to their enemy as “the basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquis, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own.

Employing pulp and propaganda in equal measure, the Inglourious Basterds weaves together infamous, oppressed, real and larger-than-life stories of World War II.

The cast also includes Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers and B.J. Novak.

Inglourious Basterds is produced by Lawrence Bender and written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Rated R-18 (without cuts), Inglourious Basterds opens Nov. 4.