Directed by Robert Aldrich, The Dirty Dozen tells the story of Major Reisman (Lee Marvin) and the twelve hardened convicts he selects to join him on a suicide mission behind German lines in 1944. The Dirty Dozen remains an interesting and popular film, as it is meticulously crafted, deftly edited, and features several future stars at the beginning of their careers (including Donald Sutherland, Charles Bronson, and Telly Savalas).
Although released in 1967 at the height of the anti-Vietnam war movement, The Dirty Dozen was nevertheless a success, becoming one of the biggest box-office hits in MGMs history. War protesters readily accepted the films depiction of officers as indiscriminate killers, while more militaristic moviegoers approved of the films brutal combat scenes. To continue, it is an important film, because it was the first one to acknowledge one fact, often ignored by the militarists and other war apologists – one of the character traits essential for being a good soldier is the lack of any moral inhibitions towards killing another human being. Aldrich presents that fact by portraying the Dirty Dozen as a bunch of sociopath, raving murderers, rapists, religious fanatics and idiots; their characters are totally undesirable in any civilized society, and in civilian life they would all probably end up in jails, death rows or lunatic asylums. But in the context of war, those character traits prove quite useful and are actually encouraged by their less hypocritical superiors.
The Term Paper on War And Psychology Ondaatjes Character
The experience of war places stresses on the human spirit that can scarcely be imagined in peacetime. Dilemmas that can be largely avoided in time of peace must be faced in a time of war. Concern for ones own physical safety is often at odds with concern for the wellbeing of ones countrymen. The dictates of the mind often fight the dictates of the emotions. In such a tug of war situation, where ...
Aldrich shows that ironic fact with a hard contrast between the Dirty Dozen, unshaved, dirty soldiers that resemble barbarians and their more civilized counterparts- first US paratroopers led by uptight Colonel Breed (played by Robert Ryan), then finally German soldiers, all in neat uniforms and probably much nicer human beings than any of Reismans group. In the end, during the final battle, we actually see Dirty Dozen as group of remorseless, stone-cold killers that brutally massacre whole bunch of harmless old men, including their wives and girlfriends; in time of peace, such action, that painfully resembles Columbine High School shooting, would bring universal condemnation; in time of war it would actually bring decorations, promotions and heroic attributes. The plot, based on the novel by E.M. Nathanson, is set in Spring of 1944. Allied forces in England are preparing for the D Day, and American top brass is planning to paralyze German command-and- control system by the behind-the-lines raid on French chateau that is always full of top German officers. The chateau is, however, fortified and heavily guarded and only the most expendable men could be used for this nearly suicidal mission. Major Reisman is an officer short on discipline, but with reputation of man who gets job done.
He is given the task of selecting group of twelve soldiers, court-martialed and convicted for murder, rape and similar offences and offering them full pardon in exchange for their participation in the mission. Since the alternative is decades behind bars, or, in some cases, even the death penalty, they all accept the offer. But that is the easy part for Reisman; being notoriously short on discipline they prove almost impossible to train. Despite that, Reisman is patient and his group, nicknamed The Dirty Dozen, soon begins to function as an effective military unit. Reisman’s superiors, on the other hand, are having second thoughts and the unit must convince them of their abilities before being sent to combat. All this irony is, of course, very cleverly disguised in the form of extremely entertaining action picture. The action element, on the other hand, comes relatively late in the film, but we are instead introduced to the multitude of extremely colorful and interesting characters.
And those introductions are perhaps even better than the final actions; we see whole bunch of very capable character actors in some of the most memorable roles of their entire careers. John Cassavettes is excellent as mean and mutinous petty gangster Franco; Telly Savallas shows evil charisma as murderous religious fanatic; young Donald Sutherland is good as units idiot. But the best performance comes from Lee Marvin, as tough, cynical officer who sees the world as it is; he doesn’t need his MP Sergeant Clyde Bowren (played by Richard Jaeckel) to remind him that all those sweet-talking convicts happen to be rather mean characters..
The Essay on Member Of The Group Gaz Man Strip
The Full Monty The Story is laid in Sheffield, 25 years after the big successful industrial time. The biggest problem today in Sheffield is the unemployment. The leading actors are: Gaz and his son Neven. Gaz needs money, to get the custody back from his wife to live together with Neven. David is the best friend of Gaz and is a little bit bulbous. Most of the time they are spending together. ...
