Hans Landa
| Col. Hans Landa | |
|---|---|
| Inglourious Basterds character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Inglourious Basterds |
| Created by | Quentin Tarantino |
| Portrayed by | Christoph Waltz |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | "The Jew Hunter" |
| Occupation | Standartenführer |
| Nationality | Austrian |
Colonel Hans Landa is the primary antagonist[1] of the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds, portrayed by Austrian actor Christoph Waltz.
Character
Standartenführer (Colonel) Hans Landa is a cruel and ruthless but charming, polyglot and diabolically intelligent Austrian SS officer in the Sicherheitsdienst, who is nicknamed "The Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews hiding throughout France.[2] He speaks English, French, German and Italian. He is a high ranking member of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party holding the rank of Standartenführer (Colonel) in the SS. While interrogating Lt. Aldo Raine he mentions that he was once a police detective.
Awards and Decorations
Hans Landa appears to be the recipient of several high awards and decorations of Nazi Germany. He is seen wearing both the Golden Party Badge and the Blood Order, indicating that he either participated in Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, or that he had been a Nazi Party member since no later than 1932. On his dinner dress uniform, he is seen wearing the Golden Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords, the highest possible grade of this order.[3]
A listing of Hans Landa's decorations are as follows:
- Blood Order
- Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross (in Gold with Swords)
- War Merit Cross (First Class without Swords)
- Golden Party Badge
- Iron Cross (First and Second Class)
- SS Long Service Award
- Sudetenland Medal (with Prague Castle Bar)
- Germanic Proficiency Runes[4]
- Anti-Partisan Guerrilla Warfare Badge
- Honour Chevron for the Old Guard
- Sicherheitsdienst Sleeve Diamond
Conception and creation
Quentin Tarantino has said that Landa might be the greatest character he's ever written. He originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio for the part.[5] The director then decided to have the character played by a German actor.[6] The role ultimately went to the Austrian Waltz, who, according to Tarantino, "gave me my movie back," as he felt the movie couldn't be made without Landa as a character but feared the part was "unplayable."[7]
When Waltz auditioned for the role, he had no prior correspondence with Tarantino or producer Lawrence Bender, and believed that the character of Hans Landa was being used during the audition process to cast other roles. Waltz stated that he was most impressed with the dialogue and the depth of the character.[8][9] Waltz describes Landa's character as one who has an understanding of how the world works, stating that the swastika means nothing to him. He adds that he is not driven by ideology, and that if anyone were to call Landa a Nazi, he would clarify that he was not, stating that just because he wears a Nazi uniform does not mean that he believes in the Nazi ideology. In describing the ending between the Basterds and Landa, he describes him as "realistic to the point of being inhuman", adding that he understands that the world is not just one thing at a time, and even though these things may contradict each other, they do not necessarily have to.[8]
Reception
Waltz won the Best Actor Award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival for his performance. Due to his role as Hans Landa, Waltz has received many offers from directors to play roles in their films, enough for him to describe the situation as "wild."[8]
/Film editor Hunter Stephenson commented that international viewers, Americans more so, would be surprised by Waltz's talent in this role, adding that he expected Waltz to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[8]
In January 2010, Waltz won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same month he won a Screen Actors Guild Award in the same category. On February 2, at the announcement of the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, which he won on March 7th.[10] On February 21st he won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.[11]
Analysis
Hunter Stephenson of /film describes Landa's calabash as an unsubtle metaphor of masculinity, and describes his love of milk as being leftover from an age of innocence and a primal link.[8] His indifference to even the names of the subordinates around him, shown by his calling every driver, radio operator, waiter, etc. "Herrmann", could be construed as a testament to his superiority complex.
Hans Landa has been compared to several other characters in fiction. His "larger-than-life cunning" and "European sensibility" have been compared to that of a Bond villain. Waltz himself has compared the character to Sherlock Holmes, due to the meticulous, theatrical way Landa searches for Jews and traitors. Landa was also compared to Die Hard villain Hans Gruber, due to his disdain for the inferior intellect of those around him.[8]
References
- ^ "Nazis get their comeuppance, in brutal fashion author=Andrew Siddons". JooAng Daily. October 30, 2009.
{{cite news}}: Missing pipe in:|title=(help); line feed character in|title=at position 47 (help) - ^ "Kruger, Waltz join Tarantino film". www.variety.com. 2008-08-29.
- ^ The Golden Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross was never awarded with swords during World War II. Only two awards were ever made and both of these were without swords.
- ^ This decoration was only bestowed on non-German members of the Germanic-SS. For a German SD Colonel to possess this award would be highly unusual
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-07-15). "Quentin Tarantino seeks 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2008-08-05). "Eli Roth on deck for 'Bastards'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Variety.com
- ^ a b c d e f "Interview: Christoph Waltz on Playing Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, Working With Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt, and the Legendary Strudel Scene". Slash Film. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ "Meet Inglourious Basterd's Colonel Hans Landa - Christopher Waltz". ATN Zone. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ [1] Oscar Nominations
- ^ [2]. Official 2010 BAFTA results. 2010-02-21.