Question: Why did Hans Landa kill Bridget von Hammersmark if he was just going to betray the Nazis anyway?
lionhead
3rd Aug 2019
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Answer: Because Landa planned his escape from the moment he heard about the venue change. Theater: Hammersmark -> Landa "If the shoe fits" Restaurant: Aldo -> Landa "Shoe's on the other foot." We find out Landa knew about the Basterds from the interrogations of their "Swastika-marked survivors." From the shoe, he strongly suspects Hammersmark had tried to set up the Basterds at the bar. So he killed Hammersmark to tie up that loose end to allow the plot, his bargaining chip, to survive. Fun fact: we never know if Hammersmark was a triple agent or just screwed up with the bar location.
Answer: I always took it he admired her so much and maybe even pursued a relationship with her that never came to pass. Her lying to him was a personal betrayal that drove him to strangle her. Crime of passion. Just always has been my theory.
19th Dec 2010
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Question: Why does Hugo Stiglitz kill the German officers in the first place? The film mentions his enlistment, but how is this related to his killings?
Answer: Based on his willingness to join the Basterds, we can assume he killed them because he didn't believe in what the Nazis were doing.
There is a cut of him being whipped during the bar scene. I think he was taking revenge for harsh and perhaps undeserved punishment.
No, the whipping is how it feels in his mind sitting next to that SS officer and having to pretend to like him and be a Nazi. He's ready to snap.
14th Jun 2019
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Question: How did Landa know that Shoshanna's family were hiding under the floor in the beginning?
Answer: Several thing need to be taken into account. He explains he can think like people who are desperate and would do anything to avoid capture, it is logical for him they would resort to hiding under the floor. He is looking for this family specifically, meaning he knows they are hiding, probably the last Jewish family in the region. Thirdly, this is probably the last farm he checks, having looked underneath the floors of any other farm in the region, he knew this was the only place they could be. It's also possible he noticed small things that told him that this farmer was hiding people, having experience with this sort of situation.
Answer: Because she was a loose end who could have conceivably undermined his carefully-constructed lie that he was working for the Allies all along.