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| “ | I love my unofficial title, precisely because I've earned it. | „ |
| ~ Landa speaking about his nickname to Perrier LaPadite. |
Colonel Hans Landa also known as the Jew Hunter is the main antagonist of the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds. He is a Standartenführer in the Schutzstaffel (SS) and was one of Adolf Hitler's best agents before betraying the latter, as well as Aldo's arch-nemesis.
He was portrayed by Christoph Waltz.
His Qualities[]
What Makes Him Entertaining?[]
- He is a very intelligent and skilled "hunter", spending years working for the Nazi regime by hunting and finding Jews.
- He is charismatic and charming, speaking in a very polite yet extravagant tone, allowing him to manipulate several of his victims like Perrier LaPadite. Christoph Waltz's performance makes him even more entertaining to watch.
- He has some comedic moments, like his forced maniacal laughter when Bridget lies to him about her broken foot, or his "that's a Bingo!" line to Aldo and Utivich.
- His entiere scene with LaPadite at the beginning of the film is considered to be one of the greatest opening scenes of all time, because of the sheer amount of tension and pressure building up as Landa slowly reveals to LaPadite that he knows he's been hiding Shosanna's family all along.
- He managed to trick Shosanna's family by speaking english with LaPadite when he reveals his true intentions, since it's a language unbeknownst to them, and then gives them false hope by making them thinking he's leaving before his soldiers enter the house and kill the family.
- His scene with Shosanna at the restaurant is very tense too, as it's unknown whether he knows it's her or not, and his sudden appearance is surprising and utterly terrifying.
- He practices a lot of languages else than German, such as French, English, and even Italian. He also toys with the disguised Aldo, Donny, and Omar, who are supposed to be Italian by showing his prowess with the Italian accent, which catches the three Americans off-guard.
- He leads Bridget into his office where he reveals to her he has her shoe she forgot at the bar shootout, and once he's killed her, he has Aldo and Utivich arrested.
- He puts a dynamite behind Hitler and Gobbels, successfully killing them both at the same time that Donny and Omar kill them.
- He switches sides by siding with the Basterds and assuring the full success of Operation Kino to avoid punishment for his crimes. While it was a cowardly move, it was also genius, since Landa managed to get both Hitler and Gobbels killed and end the war. He was also very close to get away with his crimes until Aldo and Utivich betrayed him and carved a swatsika on his forehead with a knife.
- He's often considered to be the best character from Inglorious Basterds because of how malicious and intimidating he is, and Quentin Tarantino himself says Landa is the best villain he's ever written.
What Makes Him Detestable?[]
- He is a Nazi, which means he is anti-semetic and racist, comparing Jews to rats and calling Marcel the n-word.
- He is sadistic as he enjoys toying with people like LaPadite before revealing he knew their intentions all along, psychologically tormenting them and forcing them to give in.
- He mentally breaks LaPadite and forces him to give away where Shosanna's family was hiding, and then had his soldiers kill them all, which included a young child among them. He also causes LaPadite to break down in tears of guilt at being forced to let them get massacred.
- He spares Shosanna when she survives and escapes while taunting her, leaving her with survivor's guilt and to live with the loss of her family.
- After finding out Bridget works with the Basterds, he strangled her to death and also taunted her at the same time. While she was guilty of treason, Landa had no right to torture and kill her without permission.
- He is a selfish opportunist who purposely allies with Operation Kino to avoid being punished for his crimes, showing he never was loyal to anyone but himself.
[]
- Hans Landa on the Villains Wiki
- Hans Landa on the Near Pure Evil Wiki