IN THE first year of the German occupation of France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of a Nazi colonel. She narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. E

IN THE first year of the German occupation of France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of a Nazi colonel.

She narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organises a group of Jewish American soldiers to perform swift, shocking acts of retribution.

Later known to their enemy as "the basterds," Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich.

Fates converge as Shosanna prepares to carry out a revenge plan of her own....

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (18) is Quentin Tarantino's tribute to the war film genre and stars Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger.

Producer Lawrence Bender says: "It was at least 10 years ago that he (Tarantino) was in my office, reading scenes that just blew me away. I thought, 'We've got to make this'."

But he had to wait. The script went through many incarnations over the next decade, plot lines came and went, and Tarantino tinkered with the idea of presenting the project as a television mini-series or writing it as a novel.

Tarantino was delighted to get Pitt to play Aldo Raine : "He's wonderful. We've wanted to work together for a long time and this was just the right one, completely. I really didn't consider anybody else."

French actress Melanie Laurent plays Shosanna, while German-born Kruger is von Hammersmark.

German Daniel Bruhl and Austrian Christoph Waltz add to the multi-national cast - something Kruger found marks a refreshing change for world cinema.

She said: "Being from Europe, I really appreciate it. I think it's great that Quentin has the guts to do it. It adds authenticity."

Mike Myers and veteran Rod Taylor have cameos.