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Dirty Dozen - Limited Edition Collector's Set

Dirty Dozen - Limited Edition Collector's Set

List Price: $79.98
Your Price: $71.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A classic war movie
Review: Back in the days before you had to blow something up every fifteen minutes in an action movie, there were films like The Dirty Dozen. Oh, there's plenty of action here, but not by today's standards. Still, this movie is fast-paced and very entertaining, despite its 2 1/2 hour length.

Lee Marvin shines as the tough (and sometimes insubordinate) Major Reisman, a man given the unenviable task of training 12 hard-case convicts for a suicide mission with promise of their freedom later. Some of them are good men who had bad things happen to them, others are just plain insane (like Maggot, for example). But Reisman rises to the challenge, and manages to train his men for the dangerous mission ahead.

As I said, Marvin is great. He is supported by a great cast which includes Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, and Donald Sutherland. This is not the best war movie ever made, but it certainly is one of the truly great war films.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A classic war movie
Review: Back in the days before you had to blow something up every fifteen minutes in an action movie, there were films like The Dirty Dozen. Oh, there's plenty of action here, but not by today's standards. Still, this movie is fast-paced and very entertaining, despite its 2 1/2 hour length.

Lee Marvin shines as the tough (and sometimes insubordinate) Major Reisman, a man given the unenviable task of training 12 hard-case convicts for a suicide mission with promise of their freedom later. Some of them are good men who had bad things happen to them, others are just plain insane (like Maggot, for example). But Reisman rises to the challenge, and manages to train his men for the dangerous mission ahead.

As I said, Marvin is great. He is supported by a great cast which includes Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, and Donald Sutherland. This is not the best war movie ever made, but it certainly is one of the truly great war films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MY FAVORITE WWII MOVIE
Review: Dirty Dozen doesn't presume to tell a gritty, realistic story of WWII. No, this is a pure popcorn, shoot-em up action film that just happens to be set in WWII and is one of the finest examples of the action genre, even almost 40 years later. Lee Marvin stars as Major Reisman who is assigned the impossible task of taking a group of army convicts, most sentenced to death or life in prison, and lead them on a daring mission behind enemy lines to kill off a number of German high-ranking officers who gather at a posh castle.

This movie featured literally a cast of thousands: Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Jim Brown, John Cassevetes, George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Clint Walker, and Telly Savales.

Reisman accepts the mission only after getting some assurance that his men's sentences will be commuted if the mission is successful...and if they live. Thus begins the meat of the movie as the men begin training at a secret facility that even a Col. Breed (Ryan) knows nothing about. Reisman has to deal with insubordination from Franco (Cassavetes) who protests everything and tries to escape. But if anyone escapes, all the prisoners are sent back to prison and Franco learns his lesson after Wladislaw (Bronson) and Jefferson (jim Brown) beat the hell out of him.

The movie provides a great blend of humor and action as these well known names try to one up each other. Savalas is particularly chilling as a bigoted, Christian nut case named Maggott.

The movie climaxes as the troop make their jump behind German Lines and trap dozens of officers inside the castle retreat and load it with explosives to blow. From beginning to end this is a fantastic action movie on a parallel with anything done in the last 20 years. A superb cast make this a movie that I can enjoy over and over again.

The DVD comes with a decent documentary, trailer, and great looking transfer

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: War it's FANTASTIC
Review: Dirty Dozen will show you a diffirent perspective on World War 2.Great Cast , Great Script, Great Film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: And where is Donald Duck?
Review: Ever since I was first exposed to 'Full Metal Jacket', I've been a big follower of military action flicks that contain or showcase the element of the Group Leader shaping up and shipping out his raw recruits for the big battle. 'The D.I.', 'Biloxi Blues', 'Heartbreak Ridge'... heck, even 'Starship Troopers' are just a few that come to mind. But for the ultimate classic 'Whip-em-into-shape' movie, 'The Dirty Dozen' is the one I turn to first.

Be sure to select the DVD's English subtitles feature during the team's infiltration and assault on the Nazi-held chateau. There are some parts where the German-speakers' dialogue is actually translated to English in the subtitles (the parts that don't already have their own subtitles, that is).

The only major drawback I see in this movie is the editing. There were some places where a character's dialogue was slightly clipped at the end when the movie abruptly cuts to the next scene. How it got an Oscar nomination for film editing is beyond me. But then again, it kinda makes you wonder about the cutting-room skill displayed in all the other movies released in '67!

'Late

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The first Rambo Movie
Review: First over-rated all shooting and no plot film of Lee Marvin leading a bunch of misfits behind enemy lines to kill many nazi leaders at a war conference. Weak plot is not helped by a cast of either weak or medicore actors. We have this film to thank for the Rambo and other guys who act like jerks films.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Classic
Review: Great war film. Superb casting, the world war 2 version of the magnificent seven, and then some. Marvin as always the gruff outsider trying to corral a bunch of misfits into going on a one way mission to wipe out German generals. This is what other war films try to live up to.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic WW2 film with great cast.
Review: Great WW2 film about a group of misfits, rapists, murderes, etc. Funny, though sports some suprisingly graphic violence at the end. Really great.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Over-rated Dozen
Review: Having heard about this movie for many years I finally got around to seeing it. As I suspected its another super-commando saga. Hollywood seemed enthralled with this theme in the late 1960s with clunkers like "Devil's Brigade" "Guns of Navaronne" etc. These films seemed to extol the adventure and action element with scant regard for any history. I fail to see what has made this movie such a classic. I guess people like to see all the big shot actors in it being tough guys. Personally I never got much out of GI locker room comraderie in any of these films. The whole idea of a bunch of criminals being used to launch a silly raid to kill German officers seems ridiculous, and I am sure was never done. I am glad I just took this one out of the library. Personally I wouldn't waste my time or money on it, unless you like the style of acting or the actors in it. Much better commando flicks are out there if you this kind of genre. Try "The Eagle Has Landed" which truly is fantasy as well, but at least it shows a German commando group for a change, and is well done. The Dirty Dozen has to be one of the all time worst WW2 movies ever made. View it if you want a laugh. Nothing more.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Average
Review: I remember loving this movie as a young boy. The underdog winning against the odds, etc. But as an adult, it seems to pale in relation to other films on the genre and period. 'Kelly's Heroes' comes to mind. None-the-less, I think the all-star cast brings this film up a notch. The DVD is average to below average with some scratches and floating hairs to be expected of older non-restored films. The documentary was produced more as a promotional and only gives limited info on the making. A documentary to be seen once and never again. Overall decent value but one I wouldn't have in my collection unless you absolutely love WWII films.


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