I loved this. Right up there with my favourite Aldrich films (though maybe 'Kiss Me Deadly' is still my number one), and of the greatest performances of both Lee Marvin and John Cassavetes (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at both the Golden Globes and Oscars for his work here).This hearkened back to the heady times when if you got a great cast and director together, you were virtually guaranteed you'd come out of it, because of comparatively little studio interference, with a bonafide classic piece of cinema. People thought the studio system was broken and needed fixing, by films such as 'Easy Rider'? THIS, along with other fine Aldrich works from this period, age a lot better and hold up much finer today than Dennis Hopper's so-called 'masterpiece' and its ilk.

This entertaining, tense, yet very cynical view of war is as subversive in it's own quiet way as M*A*S*H is overtly. To take a bunch of murderers, rapists, thieves, then make us root for them as war heroes, and laugh at their antics, then get caught up in their mission but (if we catch it) feel an unease at how that mission quietly echoes the gassing of Jews in concentration camps leads to high number of levels at which to take the film leads to a very complicated movie experience masquerading at 'fun' entertainment. And it IS fun -- that's where Aldrich pulls you in. Yet to admit even subtly (as he also did in 'Attack') that even a war as 'good', just and necessary as WWII was still an act of insanity on all sides may be even more brave than Altman's more overt counter-culture skewering of the Korean War, a war more 'acceptable' to ask moral questions about. All that said, as often happens for me with Aldrich, it lost a bit on second viewing. The humor felt more juvenile, the ironies a bit easy. Still a cool, subversive film, but I'd hoped it would grow, not fade.

During the World War II, Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) is a tough and efficient military with problems with his superiors. He is assigned by General Worden (Ernest Borgnine) for an almost impossible top secret suicide mission: to kill as much senior German officers as possible in a retreat on the eve of the D-Day. He must train twelve undisciplined convicted soldiers, most of them sentenced to death, to accomplish the mission. He joins the twelve men under the positive leadership of Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson) and the negative leadership of the insubordinate Victor Franko (John Cassavetes) and tries to form a team. He makes General Worden to promise to release them all if they are well succeeded. Meanwhile his enemy Colonel Everett Dasher Breed (Robert Ryan) tries to make his life more difficult but Reisman and his twelve men prove that they are efficient. Will they succeed in their mission? "The Dirty Dozen" is one of the best movies about war, with the perfect combination of action and comedy. Despite the 2h 30 min running time, this film is never boring; indeed it is highly entertaining. Director Robert Aldrich makes another masterpiece and the performances of the magnificent cast are top-notch. The conclusion is quite moralist and predictable with most of the soldiers dying but it is part of the American culture in the 60's, since it would be unjustified killers convicted to death by hanging be proclaimed national heroes and stay alive. My vote is ten.Title (Brazil): "Os Doze Condenados" ("The Twelve Convicted")

This classic war caper starts off as a human drama - laced with comedy - before moving into action territory, where a surprising amount of pathos creeps in as the initially unstoppable dozen are picked off one by one by the Nazi enemy. The all-star cast, involved direction from Robert Aldrich and the high budget make this one to watch, as long as you forget about those insipid television movie sequels which followed in the '80s.Just about every actor on screen impresses, the following in particular: Charles Bronson, his usual stony-faced self as the dozen's most courageous and heroic member; John Cassavetes as an edgy, dangerous prisoner who comes through in the end; Telly Savalas as an uncontrollable rapist and murderer who can't contain himself; Donald Sutherland as a young recruit who has no idea what he's in for; and Clint Walker as a strong man with a heart. Plus, Lee Marvin is superb in the lead role as the gruff but caring major, Ernest Borgnine enjoys himself in a cameo as the major general, cult fans will enjoy the presence of George Kennedy in a minor role, while Richard Jaeckal and Robert Ryan have strong supporting roles. It's unusual for nobody to put a foot wrong with the quantity of actors here.Although it lasts for a long time - nearly two and a half hours, to be exact - THE DIRTY DOZEN (so called because of their refusal to wash or shave) never becomes boring. The training scenes which take up the first hour and a half are inspired, unpredictable and very entertaining, with the ensemble cast acting their socks off and trading great dialogue with one enough. There is enough comedy to make this work for even non-action fans. The final hour, which sees the dreaded mission - an assault on a German château - begin, is gripping stuff, with plenty of explosions and shooting to keep action fans happy, plus a fair smattering of thrills and suspense for those looking for something deeper. THE DIRTY DOZEN is an unpredictable, brilliant movie which simply HAS to be see by all war film fans.