Inglourious Basterds: parents' guide
Best for ages 17 and up. Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.
A stylish, talky World War II revenge fantasy from Quentin Tarantino, best for older teens and adults. Long, tense conversations erupt into shockingly bloody violence: Nazi soldiers are scalped, a captive is beaten to death with a baseball bat, swastikas are carved into foreheads, and a Jewish family hiding under the floor is machine-gunned in the opening scene. Expect about two dozen f-words, ethnic slurs, heavy drinking and smoking, and a brief clothed sex scene played for laughs. The gore and cruelty, even when aimed at Nazis, are why we suggest 17.
What's in it
Violence
StrongGraphic scalpings, a man's skull bashed in with a bat, a throat slit, a woman strangled and point-blank shootings. A man digs his finger into a woman's bullet wound, swastikas are carved into men's foreheads, and a packed theater is shot up and burned.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted about two dozen f-words and six s-words, plus motherf-, goddamn, bitch and bastard. Nazis use antisemitic insults and racist language about Black people.
Sex and nudity
ModerateA brief scene shows a Nazi official having clothed sex with an assistant, played for comedy. There is some suggestive dialogue and low-cut dresses, but no nudity.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateCharacters drink wine, beer, champagne and liquor throughout, and German soldiers in a tavern get visibly drunk. Nearly everyone smokes cigarettes, cigars or pipes, and one character snorts snuff.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongSeveral scenes build agonizing tension before sudden bloodshed, including a farmer questioned while a family hides beneath his floor and a tavern standoff. Close-ups of scalping and the bat killing are genuinely disturbing.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a parent
- Racism
Worth talking about
The film invites the audience to cheer while Nazis are brutalized. Does revenge feel different when the target is clearly evil, and should it?
On our lists
Similar picks around 17+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.