Commandos (1968)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Armando Crispino

Writers:

Menahem Golan (short story)
Don Martin (story) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

Seven men who stood between Rommel's Afrika Korps and ultimate victory.

Plot:

Sgt. Sullivan puts together a group of Italian-Americans into disguise as Italian soldiers in order...

Plot Keywords:

WWII

Cast

Lee Van Cleef	...	MSgt. Sullivan
Jack Kelly	...	Captain Valli
Giampiero Albertini	...	Aldo
Marino Masé	...	Italian Lt. Tomassini
Götz George	...	Oberleutnant Rudi
Pier Paolo Capponi	...	Corbi
Ivano Staccioli	...	Rodolfo, Radio Man
Marilù Tolo	...	Adriana
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Oberleutnant Heitzel Agen (Professor) (as Akim Berg)
Heinz Reincke	...	Offizier Hans
Helmut Schmid	...	Sergeant Miller
Otto Stern	...	Sergeant Braumann
Pier Luigi Anchisi	...	Riccio
Gianni Brezza	...	Marco
Duilio Del Prete	...	Bruno

Also Known As:

Himmelfahrtskommando El Alamein
Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern
Sullivan's Marauders

Runtime:

Germany:88 min | USA:82 min (as Sullivan's Marauders) | USA:98 min | Italy:110 min | France:95 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:18 (nf) | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Sardinia, Italy

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Goofs:

Factual errors: Hopefully, they were wearing their Italian badges of rank more properly than than as yanks. Captains bars are never worn centered on the epaulet of a dress uniform. Only a General's star is ever worn centered at this location. All others are worn out on the sewed-down part. If Italians were dropped behind American lines as a "captain" was wearing his that way, they would have been suspect immediately.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La legione dei dannati (1969)

OVERLOOKED WAR DRAMA

Who would of thought that a low budget Italian/U.S. war drama with no big stars would be one of the best films of 1968? Certainly not me. I saw "Commandos" on the budget video shelf in a closeout store. The price was right ($.99) and it said "Letterboxed Edition" on it. So I figured, it's less than the price of a rental, so why not?

What surprised me is what an exciting and thoughtful film this was. In an era of glamourized war films (The syrupy "McConnell Story" and ludricous "Sands of Iwo Jima" come to mind), a gritty film like "Commandos" is a real pleasure indeed.

It stars Lee Van Cleef, who you may remember from "A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." He was sort of the Harvey Keitel of that time, an actor who took risks and made unconventional films for the time. This is one of his very best performances. How many actors other than Lee Marvin would take such a risky role? He is heroic, but not by choice.

The plot is not really important. It's your standard search and decease mission film that's been used many times before and after. What makes "Commandos" special is its' focus on two things: mind boggling action sequences and characterizations.

I would like to make everyone aware that for a budget video copy, the video transfer is excellent. The colors are vibrant, the sound is exceptional and the full CinemaScope image (2.35:1)is very revealing in its' compositions. Front Row Entertainment has made this one in a series of films that include "Zulu", the two Chinese made Bruce Lee films "Fists of Fury" and "The Chinese Connection" and the Jackie Chan epic "Drunken Master" ("Legend of Drunken Master" is the sequel)that get the full letterbox treatment. Congratulations are in order and I hope I see more in the series.

"Commandos" is one of those films that either grab you or they don't. It grabbed me. It was not destined to receive any Oscar nods, but since when does Hollywood ever honor a truly deserving film. Look at this year's winner, "Gladiator". I rest my case.

**** out of 4 stars