Dirty Dozen - Limited Edition Collector's Set

Starring:Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini LÃ³pez, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber, Tom Busby, Ben Carruthers, Stuart Cooper (III), Robert Phillips, Colin Maitland, Al Mancini
Director: Robert Aldrich
Studio: Creative Design Art
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialized soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have no other choice than to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar-nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men, but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample humor and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Pure Entertainment.......2007-05-06

The main problem with The Dirty Dozen is that is shown virtually every night on a TV channel somewhere, so its difficult to justify owning the DVD at all. However this is a good film (and the package would make it 4 and half stars for me) and one I have watched over and over again.

It's an 'A' list cast:
Lee Marvin
Ernest Borgnine
Telly Savalas
Donald Sutherland
Charles Bronson
John Cassavetes (who was nominated for Best supporting actor in 1967)
Robert Ryan

The first 2/3 of the film works best where The Major (Marvin) has to train his bunch of no-hopers. Of course they are under-cover so he upsets some of the top brass and this leads to some run-ins with Col Breed (Ryan). These scenes are wonderfully done and the acting and the script all work brilliantly. For me the last part of the film is less successful. This is where they go into battle. I'm not sure why I find this less interesting, but perhaps its because really the Army is fighting itself in the first part of the film and as soon as they are fighting the Germans I don't care as much.

The extras are worthwhile in this release. There are some interesting commentaries from members of the original cast and a few 'experts'. On the 2nd disc you also get the 1985 sequel movie "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission" (which still has members of the original cast in it), plus three documentaries.

So superb entertainment from director Robert Aldrich, which does hold up to repeated viewings - even if you have already seen it 25 times!

A classic for your collection.......2007-04-10

I finally had to own the classic after so many years of just seeing again and again on TV. One of Lee Marvin's better movies.

Great movie and interesting DVD extras!.......2007-02-11

Love this movie...one of my favorite war movies of all time. The DVD also has a great documentary that follows Lee Marvin around during the making of the film. Great insight into the movie as well as Lee Marvin, legendary tough guy.

Not bad.......2007-01-17

An adventurous Vietnam-era war movie with a definate cynical side. The Army chain of command is shown to be inept, out of touch, uncaring, etc. The surprising part is that this is supposed to be WWII, when even the Left thinks we were the good guys. For those with military experience, you will have to just turn off everything you know about how things are really done in order to enjoy this one. Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson are good. But the movie could've been much shorter or could've included more exciting parts-like how the survivors got back, etc.

A violent war film, and a great action-adventure entertainment..........2006-12-27

Robert Aldrich seemed torn between American heroism or to indulge in a celebration of violence with an intriguing angle on combat in World War II adventure...

A dozen dangerous criminals (thieves, murderers, rapists, psychopaths) - serving life sentences - offered a chance of pardon if they take part in a hazardous commando mission... They are trained to kill on a different level under the leadership of an insubordinate major, very short on discipline, and dropped in parachute near Rennes in Brittany to destroy a large fortified château used as a rest center and a conference place for general staff officers...

The initial tension between Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) and the convicts quickly collapses while Aldrich's ability was building considerable tough action scenes...

Aldrich didn't neglect the character development of his superb cast offering some insights into the personalities of this unusual recruits... His believes that self-interest is the motive of all human conduct... Aldrich filled the sense of outrage of his characters, a sense so brave and different in "Attack," in 1957.

The claims about capital punishment and the anti-militarism spirit were quickly discarded in favor of the terrific and cruel action scenes: the bloody climax which has a considerable number of German officers with the benefit of female companionship, all trapped in a bomb shelter...

Marvin and Oscar Nominee John Cassavetes stand out among the cast...

Lee Marvin creates the most interesting and influential violent hero: the sardonic major!

The game of death is played at its best in a powerful man's picture...

"The Dirty Dozen" formula was held later in André De Toth's "Play Dirty" in which a group of ex-criminals led by Captain Michael Caine, destroy a German oil depot in the North African campaign in World War II.

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