If all movies followed the same physical laws as the real world, they wouldn't be a lot of fun -- we don't want action heroes to break their legs every time they jump off a bridge and into the top of a speeding truck, we want them to roll over painlessly and continue with the chase scene (or, alternatively, to explode for no reason).
However, once you've established the rules of your movie universe, the only thing we ask is that you follow those rules. Don't say that your time traveling robot unicorn is powered by ice cream in one scene and blowjobs in the next. That's just sloppy writing.
And yet, you'd be surprised at how many classic movies break their own rules when it's convenient to the writers, like in ...
6
Inglourious Basterds -- Nobody Recognizes the Extremely Famous German Soldier
![6 Movie Heroes Saved by Gaping Plot Holes]()
What the Movie Tells Us:
"Everyone in the German army has heard of Hugo Stiglitz."
Inglourious Basterds is about a World War II Nazi-killing squad composed of several Jewish-American soldiers and one incredibly famous German, Hugo Stiglitz. Why is he famous? Because as a soldier in the German army he murdered 13 Gestapo officers and was caught. Eventually he broke out of jail to join the Basterds.
![6 Movie Heroes Saved by Gaping Plot Holes]()
The German media was scandalized by his Lebron-like betrayal.
Stiglitz's celebrity has spread to the point where even a lowly soldier posted in France immediately recognizes him, stating that "everyone in the German army" knows him.
![6 Movie Heroes Saved by Gaping Plot Holes]()
"Hey, who's that guy with Hugo?"
So, it's established that Stiglitz is well known in Germany and that the Nazis know he's running with the Basterds now. He isn't just a notorious serial killer; he's a serial killer who's still out there, killing officers, so it would be in the best interest of the Germans to remember his face. Especially if they're wearing a Gestapo uniform.
The Convenient Lapse in Logic:
Hugo Stiglitz is the most notorious member of the Basterds, so what do they do? They choose him for an undercover mission that absolutely depends on him not being recognized ... and he isn't.
The Basterds are recruited for a mission to infiltrate a film premiere attended by several high-ranking German officers, and Stiglitz is among those chosen to impersonate German officials, since he actually was one. Even if his face wasn't in the newspapers (it was), that's still a dumb plan, because all it takes is one person at the premiere who served alongside Stiglitz, was present during his incarceration or simply witnessed him scalping a fellow officer to ruin the entire carefully orchestrated plan.
![6 Movie Heroes Saved by Gaping Plot Holes]()
It doesn't help that his name and theme song tend to magically appear anywhere he goes.
1853 Comments