Quentin Tarantino is sticking to his guns, literally and figuratively. He’s really going to stick with the spelling of Inglourious Basterds for his Brad Pitt-starring WWII film. It’s official, and now the film has an official release date – August 21, 2009. In the halcyon days of summer blockbusters, late August releases were considered a fate worse than death. All of the good summer movies were released in May, June and July, and by August people were tired of explosions and the kids were getting ready to go back to school. However, the times they are a changin’. And Inglourious Basterds isn’t the traditional summer-blockbuster fare.

Controversial director Quentin Tarantino’s take on World War II will hit movie theaters on August 21 2009, the studios behind the highly-anticipated film called “Inglourious Basterds” said on Wednesday. Tarantino often takes a long time between projects. His last movie was a 2007 combined feature called “Grindhouse” made with director Robert Rodriguez, but he has not single-handedly directed a film since the 2004 “Kill Bill: Vol. 2.”

The director’s oddly spelled World War II epic “Inglourious Basterds” stars actor Brad Pitt, and production began in Europe in October. Pitt plays a U.S. army lieutenant leading a group of soldiers operating behind Nazi lines, terrorizing the enemy.

“Inglourious Basterds” reportedly borrows from Spaghetti Westerns, the mostly Italian-made films of the 1960s and ’70s that combine brutal violence and lyrical, fairytale-like qualities in a different take on Hollywood cowboy movies. The film was inspired by the 1978 World War II movie “Quel maledetto treno blindato,” also called “The Inglorious Bastards,” from Italian director Enzo Castellari.

The August 21 release date of “Inglourious Basterds” is for the U.S. and Canada, and dates remain undetermined for its international release, said The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures, which are jointly presenting the film.

Tarantino, who won an Oscar for his 1994 “Pulp Fiction” movie script, made the martial arts epics “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003) and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2004). The first film made $181 million worldwide and the sequel grossed $152 million, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. Critics say Tarantino’s films trivialize and stylize violence, but the director has a devoted fan base and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival for “Pulp Fiction.”

[From Reuters]

I am one of those people in Tarantino’s “devoted fan base” but Tarantino’s films are often right on the knife’s edge of “too violent”. Some of the most violent stuff in the Kill Bill movies made me a little sick, but I got over it. Word around the Inglourious Basterds production is that Tarantino is still devoted to his particular brand of stylized violence, and that this is going to be one twisted, leave-it-all-on-the-field film. Some have even reported that Pitt’s character is some kind of “hillbilly sadist”, but as always, the production script and details have been kept tightly locked up.

Tarantino has often remarked on his love of Spaghetti Westerns, singling out Sergio Leone’s films with Clint Eastwood (Fistful of Dollars, etc). Blending that kind of Western anti-hero within a WWII film is interesting, and Tarantino will most likely make it work. The only question I have is whether people will be lining up for this film because it’s Brad Pitt, or Quentin Tarantino?

Production stills via Agent Bedhead