The Dirty Dozen (1967)
August 23, 2020 5:54 PM - Subscribe
An all-star cast featuring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Tríni Lopez, and others murders the absolute shit out of a bunch of Nazis.
Directed by Robert Aldrich. Available streaming in the US via HBO Max or for rental via various options.
Directed by Robert Aldrich. Available streaming in the US via HBO Max or for rental via various options.
Honestly, it was just fatigue. A person could spend forever listing the stars in this picture.
The thing I love about this movie is that they unambiguously murder the Nazis. It's not presented as a sad fact of war or a grim bargain that had to be made.
Nope, they trap them in a basement on vacation and kill them dead, because fuck Nazis.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:07 AM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
The thing I love about this movie is that they unambiguously murder the Nazis. It's not presented as a sad fact of war or a grim bargain that had to be made.
Nope, they trap them in a basement on vacation and kill them dead, because fuck Nazis.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:07 AM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Honestly, it was just fatigue. A person could spend forever listing the stars in this picture.
haha, no, just messing with you, no problem.
I think it's hard for me to appreciate the fact they are outrageously assassinating the officers and their wives. I've been watching this movie, in full or in bits and pieces, since I was a little kid. I just accepted the objectives of the mission. Decapitating their high command just before D-Day... Why not?
posted by Fukiyama at 8:34 AM on August 24, 2020
haha, no, just messing with you, no problem.
I think it's hard for me to appreciate the fact they are outrageously assassinating the officers and their wives. I've been watching this movie, in full or in bits and pieces, since I was a little kid. I just accepted the objectives of the mission. Decapitating their high command just before D-Day... Why not?
posted by Fukiyama at 8:34 AM on August 24, 2020
I think it's hard for me to appreciate the fact they are outrageously assassinating the officers and their wives.
Part of the reason why the Dozen is made up of the horrible people it is, I think, is exactly the nature of the mission. They are disposable, yes, but also the group that is not going to flinch at burning the Nazi high command and their wives/ girlfriends/ whatever while they are trapped in the bomb shelter, helpless. I suspect there is a line to be drawn between this film and Inglorious Basterds, but I'm not the one to draw that line today or likely in the the near future.
I saw this movie a lot as a kid, and never flinched...As I've gotten older, I appreciate the film for how much fun it is right up until that final sequence, when it maybe becomes something else.
Roger Ebert's review
And this paragraph from Common Sense Media amuses me in what it mentions and doesn't:
posted by nubs at 2:06 PM on August 24, 2020
Part of the reason why the Dozen is made up of the horrible people it is, I think, is exactly the nature of the mission. They are disposable, yes, but also the group that is not going to flinch at burning the Nazi high command and their wives/ girlfriends/ whatever while they are trapped in the bomb shelter, helpless. I suspect there is a line to be drawn between this film and Inglorious Basterds, but I'm not the one to draw that line today or likely in the the near future.
I saw this movie a lot as a kid, and never flinched...As I've gotten older, I appreciate the film for how much fun it is right up until that final sequence, when it maybe becomes something else.
Roger Ebert's review
And this paragraph from Common Sense Media amuses me in what it mentions and doesn't:
Parents need to know that this classic WWII action movie from 1967 was considered extremely violent when released, though it's tamer than many PG-13-rated movies of today. It includes a hanging, fighting, kicking, shooting, and explosions (though there's very little blood), plus a man stabbing a woman to death. In one scene, the men spend an evening with some "hired girls," though nothing more than dancing is shown. Language is light, but includes some gateway words like "damn," "hell," "bitch," and "bastard. There is also some drinking and smoking.The slaughter of Nazis in the basement doesn't count, apparently.
posted by nubs at 2:06 PM on August 24, 2020
Part of the reason why the Dozen is made up of the horrible people it is, I think, is exactly the nature of the mission. They are disposable, yes, but also the group that is not going to flinch at burning the Nazi high command and their wives/ girlfriends/ whatever while they are trapped in the bomb shelter, helpless.
I agree with this. But I think Reisman was the craziest of the bunch when it came to the mission. He ordered the grenades thrown down the air vents. Then he ordered the gasoline and Bowren asked, "Are you sure?" He wanted to make sure. Both Bowren and Jefferson standing next to him look like, uh, right...
Any of you have an idea why after Pinkley dies at the chateau, every time someone runs past his body in the driveway, they stop a moment to look at him?
posted by Fukiyama at 4:05 PM on August 24, 2020
I agree with this. But I think Reisman was the craziest of the bunch when it came to the mission. He ordered the grenades thrown down the air vents. Then he ordered the gasoline and Bowren asked, "Are you sure?" He wanted to make sure. Both Bowren and Jefferson standing next to him look like, uh, right...
Any of you have an idea why after Pinkley dies at the chateau, every time someone runs past his body in the driveway, they stop a moment to look at him?
posted by Fukiyama at 4:05 PM on August 24, 2020
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Lee Marvin played a lot of classic characters over the years, but Major Reisman is probably the one I remember him for the most. Reisman as a character is a very interesting individual navigating through a system that doesn't appreciate his style of getting things done.
Ernest Borgnine as General Worden is a lot of fun. He gets a bit testy with Reisman a few times, but it's clear he appreciates him and is willing to give him some slack to get the job done. He even comes across as preferring Reisman over the likes of Colonel Breed, though obviously as a general, he has to maintain the system.
George Kennedy's character is very important to the plot. He's obviously on Reisman's side and is key at certain points in helping along the plan when others want to shut it all down.
Robert Ryan as Colonel Breed as the stuck-up by-the-book type who wants to see Reisman drummed out of the Army is great. He's a detestable character and Ryan plays him so well.
Robert Webber, who plays General Denton, General Worden's wingman, is always a lot of fun to watch. In the beginning and through the movie he detests Reisman just as much as Breed, but by the end of the movie, he is forced to eat crow and suck up hard.
The Dirty Dozen... The scenes in the prison where Reisman interviews them one by one... They are a great ensemble. Obviously the stars among them get a lot more screen time, but as a group, they all have their places.
And Richard Jaeckel as Bowren goes from prison guard to commando. He does a lot of work in the movie.
Out of all the movies that get shown just about every year for Memorial or Veterans Day, this one is probably the most rewatchable for me. I can jump in at any point.
posted by Fukiyama at 7:35 PM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]