Review of Kelly's Heroes (1970) by Tim H — 01 Jan 2008

This is (ahem) pure gold. An anti-Vietnam movie of sorts (although set in WWII) in the same mode as M*A*S*H*, it actually holds up better as a comedy today. Its major strengths derive from playing off perpetual straight-man Clint Eastwood against the comedian-filled cast ( but especially Donald Sutherland's anachronistic acid head tank commander - a clear nod to the influence of Vietnam on portrayals of war on film) and from its cinematic and technical prowess, which serve up exiting set-pieces without sliding into glorification - the film's constant emphasis is on the contrasting incidence of farce, brutality and tradgedy thrown up in wartime.

That said, the technical accuracy of the setpiece battles, relative to other films of its day, are comparable (if less bloody and steadicam-intensive) to contemporary 'serious' war films. If some of the humour is dated, there's a load more that's still hilarious.

Sutherland is a riot and Eastwood hams up his silent-type image to great effect, taking himself off in the climactic Western-style showdown...with a German tank. It's telling that, thirty years later, the writers and director of Three Kings ripped off almost the entire plot to create another great movie in the same vein (Three Kings) but couldn't quite produce as good an ending.