The story is constructed brilliantly, beginning with an introduction to the assignment and the dirty dozen, detailing their training, showing their first "mock" operation, and climaxing with their final mission. The cast is a superior mix of established stars and then-newcomers, including Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland. Special cudos go to Lee Marvin, who is terrific as the renegade Major, and John Cassavetes as the rebellious Franco; Cassavetes received his first Oscar nomination for the role (he later received one for writing and one for directing his own films).

Director Robert Aldrich does his best-ever work (he was nominated for best director by the Director's Guild of America), building on such earlier hits as "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte." His skillful direction manages to make us care deeply and root for a collection of violent offenders. Overall, "The Dirty Dozen" is a first-rate action movie - one of the most enjoyable ever made.

Extras: Included is a fascinating short (9:15) featurette, which was made at the time of release for promotional purposes. The short film presents the actors making the film and then relaxing in "swinging" London, shopping on King's Row, and so forth. A most fascinating time capsule! The building of the chateau for the film is also detailed; it was one of the largest sets ever built for a movie and was blown up for the climatic scene.


The ultimate World War II classic   May 25, 2002
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

The mission: Train twelve military convicts to go behind enemy lines.

The objective: Destroy a French chateau and kill the Nazi officers occupying it, causing a major disruption in the German Army ranks. If mission is successful, prisoners will be pardoned for all crimes under the Visiting Forces Act in Britain.

Easier said than done. However, for U.S. Army Major John Reisman, it is a task that he will accomplish by any means necessary. And that sets in motion one of the greatest World War II films ever made for the cinema screen. Released in 1967 by MGM, The Dirty Dozen changed the way we looked at soldiers and war heroes. Instead of the clean-cut types we have been used to watching in war films, we are introduced to the most psychopathic, anti-social bunch of soldiers ever to take on the Third Reich.

Nevertheless, the film is still entertaining, and explosive to boot. With a cast that includes Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, the great Donald Sutherland, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Ryan, George Kennedy, and the late John Cassavetes (in a hateful role that earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor), The Dirty Dozen proves that you can find heroes in the most unlikely of all places.

These twelve men fight like twelve hundred when it comes to taking on the Imperial German Army, and in the end, it becomes an explosive confrontation between two forces that are bent on annihilating each other. If you enjoy war movies, you'll enjoy The Dirty Dozen.

Trivia note: The movie was filmed on location at MGM British Studios in Borhamwood, England.

Lee Marvin appeared in another classic WWII movie thirteen years later. The 1980 classic The Big Red One.

Both Jim Brown and Ernest Borgnine appeared in the classic 1968 Cold War Thriller Ice Station Zebra. Like in The Dirty Dozen, Brown's character gets killed off. Apparently, some execs were a bit racist.


War Classic Stands Test of Time...   July 29, 2006
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

"The Dirty Dozen", Robert Aldrich's 1967 adventure classic, would redefine a whole genre of films, as public attitudes towards warfare and heroism changed, due to Vietnam. With 'heroes' who were certainly not noble, a mission that would require a level of cruelty film audiences had never before seen from American fighting men, and graphic language and bloodshed, the impact of the the film was both immediate (despite huge 'box office', many critics panned the film as 'disturbing' and glorifying violence), and continuing (influencing films as diverse as "Patton" and "Saving Private Ryan"). It can be viewed at many levels, as a crackling good adventure yarn, an 'anti-establishment' and anti-war statement, the ultimate 'buddy' film...few films have generated as much controversy, or stood the passage of time, better!

Based on E.M. Nathanson's novel (of rumored 'Death Row' convicts offered a pardon or reduction of sentence for volunteering for a suicide mission), with a large dash of the Pathfinders' legendary "Filthy Thirteen" of WWII tossed in, the property was purchased as a potential starring vehicle for John Wayne. The Duke passed on the project, however (choosing to make "The Green Berets", instead). Director Aldrich never envisioned Wayne in the lead, preferring WWII Marine vet Lee Marvin in the complex role of maverick Maj. John Reisman, and the actor, fresh from winning an Oscar for "Cat Ballou", was dead-on perfect in the part. Veteran stars Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Ralph Meeker, Robert Webber, George Kennedy, and Richard Jaeckel were cast as Marvin's military allies and adversaries.

For the "Front Six" of the Dozen, sullen Charles Bronson (another WWII vet), John Cassavetes (who would garner an Oscar nomination), Telly Savalas (in the most 'whacked-out' role in his career), Clint Walker (of "Cheyenne" TV fame), football legend Jim Brown (in only his second film), and popular singer Trini Lopez (in his film debut) would dominate the screen time, with a "Back Six" of character actors in much smaller roles, simply filling out the rest of the twelve parts. But a movie 'miracle' occurred; when Walker objected to a scene where, as a bogus 'General', he would idiotically review an Airborne unit (feeling it demeaned Native Americans, who his character portrayed), Aldrich passed the scene to "Back Six" actor Donald Sutherland...and the scene would spectacularly launch his career, leading to his starring role in "M.A.S.H."

Aldrich's meticulous shooting style, and the often rainy British weather (where the film was shot), more than doubled the shooting schedule, and after seven months on location, Trini Lopez (on the advice of friend Frank Sinatra), informed Aldrich and the producers that he was missing singing dates, and would need a pay hike to continue. To Lopez' surprise, Aldrich 'dropped' him, having him die in the climactic parachute drop!

The director was warned that if he didn't eliminate the film's most controversial scene (pouring gasoline and dropping grenades on the women guests, as well as the Nazi officers seeking refuge in the bomb shelters), he would lose any chance of a 'Best Director' Oscar. After soul-searching, he left the scene in ("War is Hell, and HAS to be portrayed that way"), and while he sacrificed the prize, Robert Aldrich gave the film a brutal honesty that subsequent wars would sadly verify.

With loads of Disc Two Special Features that open up the film and gives an insight into why it has become a 'classic' (including the first "Dirty Dozen" TV 'sequel', a Lee Marvin Marine 'Leadership' training film, and an astonishing documentary on the "Filthy Thirteen"), it is absolutely an essential for any 'War Film' library.

"The Dirty Dozen" survived contemporary criticism, and has proven to be one of the most enduring war films of all time, as fresh today as when it debuted in 1967.



Wow!   January 22, 2006
 12 out of 17 found this review helpful

Story: During World War Two, the Allies wanted to severely damage the Nazi leadership, by going after a group of German generals holding a big gala in an occupied French chateau, which means putting a commando team behind enemy lines, knowing that survival is unlikely. Who would do such an ugly, high-risk job? A group of ugly (in character), high-risk men with nothing much left to lose. The group is found -- amongst military prisoners -- and is comprised of men who are looking forward to extremely long prison terms, if not worse. But, who shall lead them? A no-nonsense major who is inches away from getting booted out of the military for insubordination, defying his superiors, and generally shooting his mouth off.

That story could have ended up being all-action-and-minimal-plot, and it could've ended up boring. It was neither, and the reason was the cast. Lee Marvin was perfect as the hard-as-nails but insubordinate major, wanting to salvage his career. John Cassavetes was nominated for an Oscar as a chronic malcontent. The two best performances though were, in my opinion, by Telly Savalas as a psychopathic killer, eager for a chance to kill again, and by Clint Walker, as the soft-spoken giant with a deeply-buried but uncontrollable fury.

The dozen convicts are not seeking glory; they just want a possibility at freedom. They are not seeking redemption, as I think they are beyond that, and I think they know they are beyond that. I think they are seeking the freedom, and possibly one moment of knowing they can be, and could have been, better men than who they had been.

The first part of the film focuses on the selection of the team, and how Marvin melds them into a team with at least a tiny chance of success and even survival. The second part is about the seige of the chateau, and is all tension, furious action, and carnage.

With one of the greatest ensemble casts ever, this film is brutal, ugly, furious, taught, tense, and tragic. And, it shines.


still a great movie   April 19, 2007
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

the blu ray edition is ok. there are grainy spots and parts of the movie the sound does not sync with lip movement of actors. The blu ray that works is fabulous but if you own it on dvd dont upgrade.