Inglorious Basterds & Miracle at St.Anna - Compare & Contrast

'Inglorious Basterds' is a 2009 action/comedy film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, the film follows a multi protagonist vigilante group of jewish men and women named 'The Basterds' as they seek revenge on Nazi's during the WW2 time period. The themes displayed in Inglorious Basterds include violence, revenge , and war, despite the film being about a serious topic matter in WW2 ( the mass slaughter of Jewish people ), in true Tarantino style comedic elements are placed in the individual characters through out the film in order to make this film unique to many other classic war films, each of the characters in the film contributing to the grand finale where the true horrors of war are shown in the form of an on screen blood bath. With a production budget of $75,000,000 and a profit of $325,000,000 worldwide the film was a massive success. Tarantino's first war film was well received by its audience as his brutal story featuring the group of Jewish vigilantes clearly appealed to many people as the dramatic violence inflicted on many Nazi's in the film may be seen as well deserved after the utter devastation they caused many people during WW2. 

'Miracle at St.Anna' is a 2008 action/crime drama directed by Spike Lee, this film takes a different approach to the horrors of WW2 as a much more realistic display of War is shown (due to the narrative,violence and characters) after a group of African American Soldiers (known as the Buffalo Soldiers) are ambushed by Nazi troops, consequently ending up fleeing to and becoming trapped in a small Italian village in the year of 1944. The film explores themes of prejudice, survival, loss and war as we view the 'Buffalo Soldiers' attempt to keep their lives after becoming outnumbered and surrounded by the unforgiving nazi troops. With a production budget of $45,000,000 the film was clearly not as well received as it only achieved a profit of $9,000,000 worldwide, many audience members and  critics put this down to its unclear narrative as the non-linear structured film features episodes of war at different time periods possibly leading to confusion among audience members.  

It is very clear having watched films from both directors including these two that they are both auteurs in there own right due to there films being recognisable, distinguishable techniques and characteristics of their films make ever film made personal to them.
Obvious comparisons of the two films can be made immediately as they both focus on particular events (fictional and non fictional) that accurately display the unforgiving brutality of the Nazis in the time period of WW2, consequently leading to a strive for revenge in the characters featured in both films. The awaited revenge in both films is also centred around characters of particular ethnic groups (African American men in 'St.Anna' and Jewish men and women in 'Basterds'), this element making both films unique as the perspective of both ethnic groups is not usually explored in this way (revenge narrative) in many war films. Other elements such as the use of foreign language becomes evident when watching both films. Also the clear display of violence is used in both films in order to accurately display the brutality of the Nazis through out WW2, I think gore (which Tarantino is well known for) is dramatically used in his fictional interpretation of revenge in WW2 in order to create a glorious victory for the Jewish vigilantes featured in the film, as the onslaught of Nazis is displayed in this fictional take that many people will enjoy due to the harsh reality of this particular war resulting in the complete opposite for many people (in particular Jewish) in the historical event of WW2. Spike Lee approached the factual event of the horrific onslaught of many Italian people by the Nazis in a different manner, visuals in the film were more realistic as he accurately portrayed the fear of the people, and the dominant brutality many Nazis possessed as they continued to slaughter the people outside a church in the town St.Anna.Differences in the films were evident due to budget of 'Inglorious Basterds' being around $40,000,000 larger than 'Miracle at St.Anna' , this leading to less effective/realistic action sequences displayed in the lower budget film, possibly resulting in its small turnover in comparison to the large success gathered in 'Inglorious Basterds'.