The quintessential all male action-adventure film. 12 prisoners convicted of violent crimes, can save themselves by volunteering for a suicide mission. Innovative and influential, this war film was rather progressive for its time in both attitude and brutality. Actor Lee Marvin as Major John Reisman is not your typical OSS officer. Cynical and rebellious, he’s placed in charge of a rag tag group made up of murderers and psychopaths that he champions. What’s interesting is how director Robert Aldrich somehow manages to balance this depraved lot with enough good old-fashioned fun to make an entertaining bunch that we actually root for. The cast is uniformly excellent. John Cassavetes received the Oscar nomination, but Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Trini López, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Clint Walker all contribute significantly to the film. A rousing adrenaline rush.
Menu
2 Responses
What a great movie. I cringed when I saw that it was 2 1/2 hours, but the time flew by. It’s such a fun and entertaining movie, I would watch it again.
I liked how the film was divided into three parts: (1) recruiting the prisoners, (2) the military exercise to prove their worth as soldiers, and (3) the attack on the chateau. Each part unfolded like a separate film. I enjoyed them all.