The Dirty Dozen

release year: 1967
genre: action
viewing setting: home DVD, 1/24/04

synopsis: A maverick officer is given a suicide mission and told to recruit from the dregs of the military's convicted prisoners.

impressions: Good old-style WWII action. All parts of this movie, whether the planning of the mission, the selecting of the people, their training, or the execution in Germany are well-done and entertaining. Unlike a lot of movies from the 1960s and 1970s, this one had clear dialogue, no mumbling. Another thing to remember is that the mission is basically a mass assassination. While I didn't feel like I got to know all of the twelve or could tell them apart from the others, there were some good, fun characters. There was also plenty of action!

things to watch for: The wargames against the idiot colonel's force, or the actual attack on the Nazis.

acting: Lee Marvin is excellent as a not-quote-by-the-book major who makes it his mission to rehabilitate and train the men. As I said, not all of the dozen were notable. I personally recalled these: Charles Bronson was a tough, quiet ex-officer; Clint Walker and Jim Brown were the big guys, John Cassavetes was the wisecracker; Telly Savalas was the religious nut; Donald Sutherland was the weaselly-looking one.

final word: Good war action, well worth seeing.

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