''The Real Inglorious Bastards'' is a Canadian television documentary film, directed by
Min Sook Lee
Min Sook Lee ( ko, 이민숙; born 1969) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, academic, and political activist. She was the New Democratic Party candidate for Toronto—Danforth during the 2019 federal election. She ran primarily on ...
and released in 2012. The film depicts Operation Greenup, a real-life World War II mission in which the American
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
parachuted Jewish agents
Frederick Mayer
Frederick Mayer (11 August 1921, Frankfurt, Germany – 26 June 2006, Vienna, Austria) was an educational scientist and philosopher of the University of Redlands, California and one of the leading creativity experts. One of his most important a ...
and Hans Wijnberg, and German Army deserter Franz Weber, into Austria to spy on the
Brenner Pass
The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...
.
Background
Following the success of her 2010 film ''The Real M*A*S*H'', which profiled some of the real-life staff of the 8055th
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals were U.S. Army field hospital units conceptualized in 1946 as replacements for the World War II-era Auxiliary Surgical Group hospital units, which had become obsolete. MASH Units were in operation from the Korean ...
which had inspired the popular ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
'' media franchise, History asked Lee to make a similar film exploring a real story with connections to Quentin Tarantino's recent hit film '' Inglourious Basterds''.Michael Oliveira, "'The Real Inglorious Bastards' recounts war story reminiscent of Tarantino flick".
Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
, November 6, 2012. She had not seen the film, but after viewing it she identified the themes of resistance and fighting back as being what had most resonated with audiences, and found the story of Operation Greenup after some research.
The film featured interviews with both Mayer and Wijnberg; Weber had already died by that time, but some of his surviving relatives shared their knowledge of his experiences. The film also blended original newsreel footage from the war, and dramatic re-enactments of some events with the trio portrayed by actors Steve Shand as Mayer, Eric Markewich as Wijnberg and Sean Connolly Affleck as Weber.
Distribution
The film premiered November 8, 2012 on History.
It was screened theatrically at the 2013
GI Film Festival
The GI Film Festival (GIFF), a 501c3 non-profit organization founded by Army veteran Laura Law-Millett and her husband Brandon Millett, is "dedicated to preserving the stories of American veterans past and present through film, television and li ...
, an American film festival devoted to military-themed films.
Awards
The film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best History or Biography Documentary Program or Series at the