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Rating:  -
I remember seeing this film when it originally played in the theaters in the summer of 1967 (the same summer as my favorite Bond Film, You Only Live Twice.) While I liked it a lot, especially the performances of Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, who I was already a big fan of from "The Great Escape" and "Battle of the Bulge," I was never that thrilled with the action sequences. I much preferred "The Devil's Brigade," which was a much more exciting film, much larger in scale and actually had some truth behind it (although, of course, many aspects were Hollywoodized.) It also had a terrific cast starting with William Holden and Cliff Robertson and was directed by action veteran, Andrew V. Mclaglen. It has always been unfairly accused of being a Dirty Dozen rip-off. As stated, I think it is far superior and would loved to see it released on blu-ray.
Rating:  -
Let's set the record straight. THE DIRTY DOZEN is not a great film, not even a great WW II flick. It is a fantasy on every level, from Donald Sutherland masquerading as a visiting general inspecting the troops to the impossible insubordination of the "dirty dozen" belting other G.I's and holding their commander at bay with machine guns. How about Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson passing themselves off as real Germans at a
Nazi chateau party without being detected. Or Lee Marvin, again, firing a real machine gun at a soldier's rear to train him to climb up a rope. Give me a break! What the movie is (if you are willing to suspend your belief) is simply a very fun entertainment. Everybody wants to root for the underdog and we, the audience, grow to sympathize with these down and out renegade soldiers, losers who blew it in life and get one more chance to redeem themselves. (Not to say, of course, that a suicide mission gives them much to look forward to). The cast is stellar, the acting competent and the dialogue is often over the top (John Cassavetes really gets into his role, like when he yells in defiance he will not obey an order to cold shave: "NO SIR! I WILL NOT SHAVE")! My satellite network shows this movie sometimes twice a week, yes, twice a week, and when it's on I'll invariably watch it. The story moves and although fanciful, you wonder what inane pranks will follow. Telly Savalas as the psycho GI is unique to WWII military movies as is Jim Brown doing what he did best on the football field.
I must add this. The Warner Brothers version I purchased was a disappointment. The print appears to be an old theatre print with faded
colour, magenta skin tones and numerous image sequences streaming with lots of dirt. WARNER, which typically has the highest DVD transfer standards in the industry, just didn't seem to care about getting this one right. From my reading of other reviews, however, the double DVD special edition set is superior. I suggest you buy that and not the WARNER 2005 version that I've just written about. Overall, THE DIRTY DOZEN is a real romp, kind of what HOGAN'S HEROES was as a German prisoner of war camp. Entertaining but YOU BELIEVE THIS?
Rating:  -
This is an excellent WWII movie. It has a marvelous cast and the characters are all "fleshed out". You know who and what they are. I have watched it numerous times on TV, and decided I needed it for my collection. Highly recommended.
Rating: -
This is a great movie, and probably the best it has ever looked. Given the age of the source material, I'm guessing it would be almost impossible to get a better transfer than what they have here. The sound quality is decent, too, assuming the same issues.
Rating: -
If you simply want to watch an average WWII movie, this is as good a choice as any. Lee Marvin does a good job and there is nothing really wrong with the movie. But I read the book when I was younger and it is MUCH better.
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