Amazon.com video review:
A group of conscripted convicts, most already destined for
death row, are drafted to go on a near-suicide mission with the
understanding that if the Nazis don't kill them, the U.S. Army won't,
either. In the hands of hardboiled director Robert Aldrich and a
tough-as-leather cast headed by Lee Marvin (as a troublesome U.S. Army
major), that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring
World War II action flick. Marvin's mission is two-fold: first turn
his dozen prisoners into a fighting unit and then turn them loose on a
French chateau occupied by partying German officers. His crime-minded
charges include John Cassavetes as a chronic malcontent, Telly Savalas
as a ready-to-blow psycho, Donald Sutherland as a lame-brained lummox,
and Charles Bronson and then-just-retired NFL superstar Jim Brown as a
couple of clutch performers. The first half of the film allows the
colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their
tails whipped into shape and develop shaky bonds with their
commander. The second part is all action, as the culprit commandos
wreck havoc and then run for their lives. Despite the fact that few of
the "heroes" survive the bloodbath, the message here isn't that war is
hell. Rather, it seems to be: war can be a hell of a good time... if
you've got nothing to lose. --Steven Stolder
Amazon.com video review:
A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from \
1967
refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely
been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II
thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who
is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can
successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits,
killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialized
soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful
misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's
band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them
into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to
glory, but the men have no other choice than to accept and regain their lost
honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast
including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George
Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown,
Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the
Oscar-nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men,
but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of
Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The
script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M.
Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample
humor and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of
testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com video review:
A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office
hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly
familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this
action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a
down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and
professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a
squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths
into a first-rate unit of specialized soldiers, they'll earn a second
chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a
catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to
a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of
Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have
no other choice to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes
The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including
Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy,
Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint
Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar-
nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men,
but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails
direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity
crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from
the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star
lineup with ample humor and military grit, so if you're in need of a
mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for
you. The DVD extras are also a kick in the pants, including a
promotional featurette showing Marvin and his stylishly macho costars
enjoying some male bonding in the mod London bistros of the
1960s. (You almost expect Austin Powers to come speeding around the
nearest corner, making it a dirty baker's dozen! Yeah, baby, yeah!)
--Jeff Shannon
