Inglourious Basterds ending explained: Hitler has finally died and The Jew Hunter gets a Swastika on head

Quentin Tarantino's aptly misspelled Inglourious Basterds (2009) plays out in an alternate history, where a group called "Basterds" is out there instilling fear in Germans. The best part of this movie is that, at least, Adolf Hitler is confirmed to die in this version of history.

That's one part of the movie, but Tarantino gave this version of World War II its own cruel antagonist, who, like many of the most evil cinematic characters, prefers milk. Maybe that is why when Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) carves that Swastika on the forehead of Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) at the end of the film, he deems it as his masterpiece.

Brad Pitt's character is fun to watch, and so is his crew, consisting of Sergeant Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz (Eli Roth), Smithson Utivich (B. J. Novak), Corporal Wilhelm Wicki (Gedeon Burkhard), and more. And they certainly are the real heroes of this alternate Second World War.

However, the real antagonist of the film is Shosanna Dreyfus, played by Mélanie Laurent, who is hellbent on taking revenge on Nazis, especially Handa, who killed her family when she was just a girl, which happens at the beginning of the movie. The movie is basically her revenge tale.

Shosanna takes her revenge in Inglourious Basterds, but is also consumed by it

Mélanie Laurent plays Shosanna in Inglourious Basterds. (Image via Universal Pictures)

Inglourious Basterds begins with the tragic story of Shosanna and her family, who are Jews, and the Jew Hunter, Hans Landa. They are hiding beneath the floor of a wooden house, but the afraid owner of the house gives them up.

All of them are gunned down, but Shosanna escapes. Though Hans Landa watches her run and even points his gun at her while laughing as she runs for her life, he lets her go. This is his biggest mistake, which would later cost him his life.

A few years later, Shosanna runs a cinema and has changed her name to Emmanuelle Mimieux. She holds the premiere of a German propaganda film titled Stolz der Nation (Nation's Pride), with numerous Germans attending the premiere, including Adolf Hitler and Hans Landa.

However, nobody is aware of their cruel fate, and how this is going to be the last film they will ever watch. As the film's premiere ends in Inglourious Basterds, Shosanna's face appears at the end credits, informing them of the fate they are about to meet, which is burning to death.

That happens, but she is shot too, dying then and there with her theater. Before this, Hitler was also gunned down by a couple of Basterds.

Hansa Landa becomes Aldo Raine's masterpiece

Christoph Waltz got an Academy Award for his role in Inglourious Basterds. (Image via Universal Pictures)

While the theater has burned down, a few people are still alive, including Aldo Raine, Hans Landa, his radio operator, and Smithson Utivich. Landa and his radio operator surrender, thinking happily that they won't be killed.

However, Raine kills the operator as soon as he gets a gun from Landa and then goes on to craft his masterpiece.

In the final scene of Inglourious Basterds, which many have found unsettling, Raine carves a Swastika on the forehead of Hans Landa as he screams in pain. The camera angle then turns to Landa's POV, where Raine tells Utivich that this might be his masterpiece.