Review of The Dirty Dozen (1967) by Brad H — 16 Aug 2009

The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 World War II war film directed by Robert Aldrich, based on the novel by E. M. Nathanson and starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson and Jim Brown.

One of the finest war movies ever made. This is your daddy's Classic, all-star action film, Just a whole lot of good, gritty fun. One of those movies in which you ask yourself, "So, who isn't in this movie?" The answer? Not many. John Wayne was the original choice for Reisman, but he turned down the role because he objected to the adultery present in the original script. I love the Duke but the script needed to be hardcore, so i'm glad the charismatic Lee Marvin was cast. Jack Palance refused the "Archer Maggot" role when they wouldn't rewrite the script to make his character lose his racism; Telly Savalas took the role instead. Again, im glad some original casting was done. This script is full of nasty men, a gangster (John Cassavetes), a psychopath (Telly Savalas), a cynical ex-officer (Charles Bronson) and a black activist (Jim Brown),just to name a few. Dirty Dozen is one of the fims, that has inspired Quentin Tarantinos Inglorious Basterds. For the 1960s, The Dirty Dozen was an unconventional, extremely violent war film and still is today. Did I mention that this movie has balls? The ending is bloody exciting and one of my favorite endings ever, The score has that old movie sound, to go along with its long forgotten technicolor vibe .One of the best ensemble casts, along side greats like The Magnificent Seven and the Great Escape. I say see it.

You've got one religious maniac, one malignant dwarf, two near idiots and the rest I don't even want to think about - Army Psychologist's Report on the Dozen.

Well, I can't think of a better way to fight a war - Major Reisman.