The Dirty Dozen (DVDrip - 1967)

In late March 1944 a rebellious US Army Major is "volunteered" to train twelve convicted military criminals for a suicide mission - to parachute to a heavily-guarded Nazi general staff officers' retreat to try and assassinate German officers on leave. To get his unorthodox assignment done the Major must convince Army brass to grant pardons to the men, then try to mold the twelve recidivists into a functioning unit, a task made more daunting by the doubts of a by-the-book General and by the suicidal nature of the mission.






During World War II, Major Reisman is called to a high level meeting to discuss his next mission – to train a group of soldiers and prepare them for a mission behind enemy lines. However the `soldiers' that Reisman has been assigned are all sentenced to death or life in prison for their crimes. The mission is a suicide mission on a French chateau where German top brass will be, the aim being to kill as many as possible. But before the mission, the group must pass a training to be considered for pardoning.

Well known by all men everywhere, this is less a serious war movie and more an enjoyable ensemble romp through a training camp, with the final third being the mission itself. This is the film's strength – the training sections are very enjoyable and good fun to watch. The mission is punchy and dramatic and works very well as the conclusion to the film rather than the whole film itself (which other `mission' films have to do). The training is slick and enjoyable, not only it is occasionally quite funny but it is also consistently amusing and exciting at turns.

The film's main selling point (increasingly so) is the all star cast, all of whom do really good work. Marvin is tough in the lead and he is well supported by Borgnine, Kennedy, Ryan and Jaeckel playing the other officers. Of the prisoners Cassavetes steals the show with his cocky Franko although he is not short of famous support. Sutherland (although not well known at the time) is good comic relief, Savalas is a little too heavy for the film but adds menace, Bronson is good value, Brown is strong and is well known due to a weepy Billy Crystal! The rest of the dozen give good performances, but I'll be honest and say that the famous faces stuck in my mind more.

Overall this is not a wonderful film and, as a war movie it isn't the best `mission' movie you could find (simply cause the mission is quite short and straightforward. However it is a fun movie that never drags despite the slightly longer than normal running time for this type of movie. The training section and the mission itself combine to form an enjoyable film that is driven by a great cast playing good characters. IMDB comment






Los Doce del patíbulo. El mayor Reisman (Lee Marvin), un militar indisciplinado, recibe la orden de realizar una misión suicida, consistente en asaltar una mansión en la que el ejército alemán tiene instalado un puesto de alto mando. Para ello deberá reclutar prisioneros militares condenados a muerte o a cadena perpetua. Una vez ha seleccionado sus hombres, el mayor los entrena con mano dura pero justa, con lo que se gana la confianza del grupo. Cuando llega el momento, todos están preparados para llevar a cabo la misión.






Les Douze salopards. En 1944, le commandant Reisman, un officier réputé pour son insubordination se voit confier une mission déplaisante: entraîner un groupe de prisonniers militaires condamnés à de lourdes peines à devenir une unité de commando solide pour une mission périlleuse en France occupée. N’ayant pas le choix, Reisman accepte. Avec une discipline stricte et un caractère quasi-intransigeant, Reisman parvient à s’imposer à ses hommes. Avec l’aide de quelques officiers de la police militaire, Reisman entraîne les douze salopards qui deviennent en 6 mois des soldats efficaces. Ayant encore cependant contrevenu aux ordres de ses supérieurs, Reisman passe prêt de perdre son commandement. Il demande néanmoins la chance de faire la preuve que sa nouvelle unité est prête au combat et à partir en mission. Il obtient cette chance au cours de manoeuvres d’entraînements où les douze salopards parviennent sans trop de problèmes à prouver leur valeur. Ils sont alors parachutés au-dessus d’un château près de Rennes avec pour objectif de massacrer des officiers supérieurs allemands en repos à cet endroit. Cette mission s’avère cependant périlleuse.