The Dirty Dozen is a war movie that was released in an era when the country was divided on the war in Vietnam and it shows. Much of the dialogue throughout The Dirty Dozen is filled with shots at the brass who are making stupid decisions and wasting lives. The film is about a rebel major (Lee Marvin in another bad ass role) who is volunteered to lead an assignment behind the lines as a prelude to D-Day. He is to put together a small unit of soldiers from men sentenced to death or decades in prison for an attack on a French chateau that's full of German high command. The film feels as if it's trying to be The Great Escape, but doesn't quite get it. Yes, Charles Bronson is back playing another Polish character. Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, and Jim Brown are the highlights of the dozen with Ernest Borgnine playing the general that sends Marvin on his mission and George Kennedy as the major that seems to be the voice of reason between Marvin's charcter and the brass. It's a great cast and a good script, though it seems to lull during the initial training phase the film builds up into a harrowing climax that leaves you on the edge of your seat as they take the chateau. It's this 20 minute sequences that real makes this a great film.
The Dirty Dozen is one of those World War II films that raised its head from the pool of hundreds of WWII films that have been released during the last sixty years. The story is implausible, yet the characters are engaging with some wit thrown in for good measure. It may not be the greatest war film, but it deserves recognition as a film filled with action and a bit of sarcasm at the guys that make the decisions.
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