Hans Landa
Encyclopedia
Colonel Hans Landa is the primary antagonist of the 2009 Quentin Tarantino
film Inglourious Basterds. He is portrayed by Austrian
actor Christoph Waltz
.
(Colonel) Hans Landa is an Austrian
SS
officer assigned to the Sicherheitsdienst
. He is nicknamed "The Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews
hiding throughout Occupied France. Egotistical and ambitious, Landa takes a great deal of pride in this reputation and its associated nickname. Landa is cruel and ruthless, but charming, extremely polite, and diabolically intelligent. Besides German
, he fluently speaks at least three other languages: English
, French
and Italian
. Despite several loyalty awards within the SS, Landa has no real faith in Nazism
or loyalty to the Third Reich. Landa is driven by sociopathic ambition alone. By the end of the film, he opportunistically switches sides and assists the Basterds in assassinating Adolf Hitler
and his inner circle. Landa even manages to negotiate a hefty deal including a house on Nantucket Island, his military pension, public recognition as an operative working with the America
n Office of Strategic Services
and to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Ultimately, Landa is punished for his actions by Lt. Aldo Raine, who carves a swastika
into his forehead with a Bowie knife
. This is always a trademark which Raine and his men always bestowed on captured Nazis whom they choose to spare. After listening to Landa scream in agony, Raine turns to his sole surviving soldier and proclaims, "You know something, Utivich? I think this just might be my masterpiece."
, indicating that he either participated in Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch
, or that he had been a Nazi Party member since no later than 1932; his status as a veteran Nazi is reinforced by the Golden Party Badge
, only worn by the first 100,000 NSDAP members, and the Honour Chevron
, indicating Party membership before 1933. On his dinner dress uniform, he is seen wearing the Golden Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords
, the highest possible grade of this order.The Golden Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross was never awarded with swords during World War II. Only two awards were ever made and both of these were without swords, and both only at the very end of the war on 20 April 1945.
A listing of Hans Landa's decorations are as follows:
has said that Landa might be the greatest character he's ever written. He originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio
for the part. The director then decided to have the character played by a German actor. The role ultimately went to the Austria
n Waltz, who, according to Tarantino, "gave me my movie back," as he felt the movie could not be made without Landa as a character but feared the part was "unplayable."
When Waltz auditioned for the role, he had no prior correspondence with Tarantino or producer Lawrence Bender
, and believed that the character of Hans Landa was being used during the audition process to cast other roles. Waltz stated that he was most impressed with the dialogue and the depth of the character. Waltz describes Landa's character as one who has an understanding of how the world works, stating that the swastika
means nothing to him. He adds that he is not driven by ideology, and that if anyone were to call Landa a Nazi, he would clarify that he was not, stating that just because he wears a Nazi uniform does not mean that he believes in the Nazi ideology. In describing the ending between the Basterds and Landa, he describes him as "realistic to the point of being inhuman", adding that he understands that the world is not just one thing at a time, and even though these things may contradict each other, they do not necessarily have to.
The character Col. Hans Landa was named after one of Tarantino's repeat customers when he worked at Video Archive, a now defunct video rental store in Manhattan Beach
. The customer, Hans Landa, was an Austrian immigrant. Tarantino bonded with Landa over their mutual love of foreign films. Upon hearing of Landa's death, Tarantino paid his respects to him by naming the character after him.
for his performance. Due to his role as Hans Landa, Waltz has received many offers from directors to play roles in their films, enough for him to describe the situation as "wild".
Film
editor Hunter Stephenson commented that international viewers, Americans more so, would be surprised by Waltz's talent in this role, adding that he expected Waltz to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
.
In January 2010, Waltz won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same month he won a Screen Actors Guild
Award in the same category. On February 2, at the announcement of the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards
he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor
, which he won on March 7. On February 21 he won the BAFTA
for Best Supporting Actor.
Hans Landa has been compared to several other characters in fiction. His "larger-than-life cunning" and "European sensibility" have been compared to that of a Bond
villain. Waltz himself has compared the character to Sherlock Holmes
, due to the meticulous, theatrical way Landa searches for Jews and traitors. Landa was also compared to Die Hard
villain Hans Gruber, due to his disdain for the inferior intellect of those around him.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
film Inglourious Basterds. He is portrayed by Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
actor Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...
.
Character
StandartenführerStandartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
(Colonel) Hans Landa is an Austrian
Austrian
Austrian can refer to:* Someone from Austria or of Austrian descent. See Austrians.* Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen. See Austrian nationality law.* Something associated with the country Austria...
SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer assigned to the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
. He is nicknamed "The Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
hiding throughout Occupied France. Egotistical and ambitious, Landa takes a great deal of pride in this reputation and its associated nickname. Landa is cruel and ruthless, but charming, extremely polite, and diabolically intelligent. Besides German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, he fluently speaks at least three other languages: English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. Despite several loyalty awards within the SS, Landa has no real faith in Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
or loyalty to the Third Reich. Landa is driven by sociopathic ambition alone. By the end of the film, he opportunistically switches sides and assists the Basterds in assassinating Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and his inner circle. Landa even manages to negotiate a hefty deal including a house on Nantucket Island, his military pension, public recognition as an operative working with the America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Ultimately, Landa is punished for his actions by Lt. Aldo Raine, who carves a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
into his forehead with a Bowie knife
Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its...
. This is always a trademark which Raine and his men always bestowed on captured Nazis whom they choose to spare. After listening to Landa scream in agony, Raine turns to his sole surviving soldier and proclaims, "You know something, Utivich? I think this just might be my masterpiece."
Awards and decorations
Hans Landa appears to be the recipient of several high awards and decorations of Nazi Germany. He is seen wearing the Blood OrderBlood Order
The Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...
, indicating that he either participated in Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
, or that he had been a Nazi Party member since no later than 1932; his status as a veteran Nazi is reinforced by the Golden Party Badge
Golden Party Badge
The Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
, only worn by the first 100,000 NSDAP members, and the Honour Chevron
Honour Chevron for the Old Guard
The Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, or in German Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer, was a political decoration of the Nazi Party in Germany. It was authorised in February 1934, as a silver chevron to be worn on the upper right arm, by all members of the SS, who had joined the SS, NSDAP or any other...
, indicating Party membership before 1933. On his dinner dress uniform, he is seen wearing the Golden Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
, the highest possible grade of this order.The Golden Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross was never awarded with swords during World War II. Only two awards were ever made and both of these were without swords, and both only at the very end of the war on 20 April 1945.
A listing of Hans Landa's decorations are as follows:
- Blood OrderBlood OrderThe Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...
- Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross (in Gold with Swords)
- War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
(First and Second Class with Swords) - Golden Party Badge
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(First and Second Class)Possibly from World War I, given Landa's age (actor Waltz was 52), the unlikelihood of an SD agent receiving a combat decoration, and his lack of other WWII combat awards such as the InfantryInfantry Assault BadgeThe Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
or General Assault BadgeGeneral Assault BadgeThe General Assault Badge was awarded to personnel of the German Wehrmacht who were not in infantry or tank units during World War II.Instituted on 1 June 1940, the General Assault Badge was awarded to assault engineers as well as to those troops who supported infantry and armor units in combat...
s. - SS Long Service AwardSS Long Service AwardSS Long Service Awards were given in grades of four years, eight years, twelve years, twenty-five years, and forty years. On its reverse side, each award had emblazoned the inscription, in German: "Für treue Dienste in der SS"...
- Sudetenland MedalSudetenland MedalThe The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:...
(with PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
Castle Bar) - Germanic Proficiency RunesGermanic Proficiency RunesThe Germanic Proficiency Runes was a decoration of the German SS, issued as a type of sports badge to members of the Germanic-SS...
.This decoration was only bestowed on non-German members of the Germanic-SSGermanic-SSThe Germanic SS was the collective name given to SS groups which arose in Occupied Europe between 1939 and 1945.The units were modeled on the Allgemeine-SS in Nazi Germany... - Anti-Partisan Guerrilla Warfare BadgeAnti-Partisan Guerrilla Warfare BadgeThe Anti-Partisan Guerrilla Warfare Badge was an award of the German military of the Third Reich. Personnel of the Heer, Luftwaffe, and Waffen-SS were eligible to receive it...
- Honour Chevron for the Old GuardHonour Chevron for the Old GuardThe Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, or in German Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer, was a political decoration of the Nazi Party in Germany. It was authorised in February 1934, as a silver chevron to be worn on the upper right arm, by all members of the SS, who had joined the SS, NSDAP or any other...
- SicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
Sleeve Diamond - Reichssicherheitshauptamt Cuffband
Conception and creation
Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
has said that Landa might be the greatest character he's ever written. He originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
for the part. The director then decided to have the character played by a German actor. The role ultimately went to the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Waltz, who, according to Tarantino, "gave me my movie back," as he felt the movie could not be made without Landa as a character but feared the part was "unplayable."
When Waltz auditioned for the role, he had no prior correspondence with Tarantino or producer Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender is an American film producer. He rose to fame by producing Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and has since produced all of Quentin Tarantino's films with the exception of Death Proof....
, and believed that the character of Hans Landa was being used during the audition process to cast other roles. Waltz stated that he was most impressed with the dialogue and the depth of the character. Waltz describes Landa's character as one who has an understanding of how the world works, stating that the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
means nothing to him. He adds that he is not driven by ideology, and that if anyone were to call Landa a Nazi, he would clarify that he was not, stating that just because he wears a Nazi uniform does not mean that he believes in the Nazi ideology. In describing the ending between the Basterds and Landa, he describes him as "realistic to the point of being inhuman", adding that he understands that the world is not just one thing at a time, and even though these things may contradict each other, they do not necessarily have to.
The character Col. Hans Landa was named after one of Tarantino's repeat customers when he worked at Video Archive, a now defunct video rental store in Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach may refer to:PlacesIn the United States:* Manhattan Beach, California* Manhattan Beach, Minnesota* Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York...
. The customer, Hans Landa, was an Austrian immigrant. Tarantino bonded with Landa over their mutual love of foreign films. Upon hearing of Landa's death, Tarantino paid his respects to him by naming the character after him.
Reception
Waltz won the Best Actor Award at the 2009 Cannes Film FestivalBest Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
for his performance. Due to his role as Hans Landa, Waltz has received many offers from directors to play roles in their films, enough for him to describe the situation as "wild".
Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
editor Hunter Stephenson commented that international viewers, Americans more so, would be surprised by Waltz's talent in this role, adding that he expected Waltz to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
.
In January 2010, Waltz won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same month he won a Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Award in the same category. On February 2, at the announcement of the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, which he won on March 7. On February 21 he won the BAFTA
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for Best Supporting Actor.
Analysis
Hunter Stephenson of /film describes Landa's calabash as an unsubtle metaphor of masculinity, and describes his love of milk as being leftover from an age of innocence and a primal link.Hans Landa has been compared to several other characters in fiction. His "larger-than-life cunning" and "European sensibility" have been compared to that of a Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
villain. Waltz himself has compared the character to Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, due to the meticulous, theatrical way Landa searches for Jews and traitors. Landa was also compared to Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
villain Hans Gruber, due to his disdain for the inferior intellect of those around him.