Ein Haufen verwegener Hunde

I viewed this movie because the QT movie of the same title came out in 2009. I enjoyed the drama of this movie, the plot twists, and action. I was raised in the era of Clint Eastwood's Italian westerns and while this was a low budget Italian made film, it contains some of the elements that makes those movies so great.

Slightly like the Dirty Dozen this movie remains true to history and looks deep into human nature. There is a lot of good action scenes and the acting is great for the style. There are better action war films to watch but few that will remain a classic like this one.

While I did not enjoy the 2009 movie by QT, I must thank him for directing my attention to this title. Enzo Girolami Castellari is by far a much better director from viewing both movies of the same title. My advice is to rent both and come to your own conclusions.

For my 1,000th user-comment on IMDb, I wanted to write about something that I not only enjoyed, but something that summed up or represented my feelings about and tastes in movies. You know, something that has my name written all over it. I considered a number of films - some bad - some good - but in the end, I decided to go with The Inglorious Bastards. Not only is it a great example of the kind of movie I go for, but I've been wanting to write something about it for a while now. And with Tarantino's re-imaging set to open this year, I definitely wanted to get my user comment written beforehand. So here it is, #1,000.

As the film opens, a group of WWII era soldiers are being transferred to a military prison to await decision on the many crimes they've committed. Murder, theft, robbery - these aren't your typical, clean-cut, all-American GIs. On the way, the MP convoy is attacked by a German plane and a band of five prisoners escapes. They immediately decide to head to neutral Switzerland and the freedom it offers. On the way, they have plenty of opportunities to kill and maim Nazis. But when they accidentally shoot a group of American paratroopers disguised as German soldiers, the Bastards decide to stand in and complete their compatriots' mission. And what a mission it is - steal a train carrying a V2 rocket.

If director Enzo G. Castellari is known for anything, it's action. And in The Inglorious Bastards, he outdoes himself. It's a testosterone injected ride from start to finish! Gun battles, explosions, vehicle wrecks, fights, falls off castle walls, motorcycle stunts - if it involves action, you'll find it here. Castellari somehow manages to keep the film well paced throughout. While the action does admittedly slow a tad in the second act, the film never bogs down and is always enjoyable. The Inglorious Bastards also features some really nice miniature work. The film's finale is especially memorable on that front. The cast is first rate. Fred "the Hammer" Williamson may be third billed, but he's the real star. Williamson's character is appropriately named Fred. Appropriate because he's pretty much playing himself - a cigar-chomping, one-line spewing, gun-toting badass. Surprising to me is that Bo Svenson is able to match Williamson scene for scene. I've never thought much of his other work that I've seen, but here, Svenson is very believable as the in control leader of the Bastards. The rest of the cast provide equally enjoyable performances. It's an excellent job by all involved.

While I can see why The Inglorious Bastards might not appeal to everyone, for me, it's a near perfect movie. I've seen some reviews nit-pick the lack of realism. Relax, this was never intended to be a documentary. It's about having a good time and enjoying yourself. Just go with it and quit being so uptight. As for those who complain about the dialogue or the editing, you're obviously not familiar with Euro movie making from the 60s and 70s. Again, just go with it. Like I said, it's almost perfect to me. In fact, I've got no problem at all rating The Inglorious Bastards a 9/10, verging on a 10/10.

So here's to 1,000 user comments. For those of you who have read and maybe even enjoyed some of what I've written, I say thanks. And look forward to more to come. On to 1,001!

The Italian industry from the 50's to the late 70's thrived by imitating big Hollywood box office hits and even though The Inglorious Bastards came a good 10 years after the WWII action cycle of the 60's, it's still a welcome addition to the genre. Two years after his spaghetti western masterpiece Keoma, director Enzo G. Castellari gathers a cast of b-movie stalwarts spearheaded by Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, a couple hundred disposable extras in Nazi uniforms and unleashes hell.

There's no sophistication or Spielberg-ian schmaltz here. It's an action-er through and through with a comedic touch and lots of gunplay. Castellari is no hack though and you can see flashes of his directorial brilliance in the slow-motion intercutting shots in the train, which rival anything Sam Peckinpah has done with the same technique. He knows he's not doing Citizen Kane though so he doesn't let his "artistry" get in the way of making an entertaining picture. Not a masterpiece by any means and it will probably seem outdated to anyone used to modern CGI work and Matrix stunts. This is old school action.

Tarantino is preparing a remake of sorts for 2009 but The Inglorious Bastards has enough going for it to warrant a watch not just so you can brag to your friends on opening day that you've seen the original. Action fans will get a kick out of it.

Here's one the lightest, most fun Italian war movies I've come across. It features a top notch cast and some great action scenes.

Bo Svenson stars as an American officer who's thrown into a prison convoy with a murderer, Tony (Peter Hooten), Fred (Fred Williamson), a thief, Nick (Michael Pergolani), and a coward, Berle (Jackie Basehart). The convoy comes under attack by the Germans and the men escape across the French countryside. They enventually become wrapped up in an important Allied mission headed by Colonel Buckner (Ian Bannen).

The movie features a top notch cast. Peter Hooten is especially memorable as the bigot, Tony and Fred Williamson turns in a great performance. Bo Svenson, himself a renegade, still tries to do the decent job as an officer and keep these boys in line. Michael Pergolani has little to do in his role as the hippie/thief; he does have one great motorcycle stunt scene, though, a la Steve McQueen in THE GREAT ESCAPE. Watch for Michel Constantin (THE DIRTY HEROES) as a partisan leader; Donald O'Brien as a German officer and Enzo Castellari himself as a German officer.

The movie has some stunning action scenes; there are plenty of shootouts and explosions. The big gun battle amidst ruined German and American trucks and halftracks is especially impressive. The Partisan raid on the train near the end is well filmed, but features many repeated shots of the same action happening over and over again. The miniature work is not the greatest, but is much better than the later BATTLE OF THE EAGLES.

The plot is basically a combination of THE DIRTY DOZEN and BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS, but it's so fast-paced that you won't really care. Castellari lets only a few minutes go by before something important happens. He really develops his lead characters, which is another important feature we don't get to see much of in typical Italian war films.

Despite all of the good stuff, this movie has a few rough spots. For one thing, it's got a very needless love story sub-plot that never goes anywhere and has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Another complaint: there are some lengthy conversations between the German characters that weren't dubbed. It's impossible to understand what they're saying.

The movie is not for young kids. It features graphic violence, plenty of profanity and even *full* female nudity in one scene.

The version I saw was from Lightning Video, entitled DEADLY MISSION. The source print was of top quality, with fresh picture and good sound. The opening and closing titles, however, were apparently new material and feature some music that isn't heard anywhere else in the feature.

Overall, this is a fun-to-watch Italian adventure piece. For the great cast, production values and action scenes, I'll give a 6/10.

We can't deny the fact that some of our American actors travelled overseas to appear in foreign-produced motion pictures. HELL'S HEROES (the video title) stars Fred Williamson and Bo Svenson, who were notably cast together in DELTA FORCE COMMANDO. Italy is by no means similar to Hollywood, and this won't appeal to war film buffs who watch THE GREEN BERETS on TNT. This one gets a lot of credit for actually willing to deliver a good amount of action right until the explosive finish. The violence is rather graphic, noticing soldiers falling out of trains and hitting landfall, but that heightens the reality of the war experience. It isn't rare to find Italian movies sleazy no matter how serious a situation is, and it's best kept that way. Fred Williamson, known for BLACK CAESAR and other "blaction" films, isn't at all a complete waste here, as long as naked broads in the water gain some vengeance in return for him stepping into the party. Well done for an actor known to possess the "mean" image, but he's fair enough as a guy smoking a cigar out to do battle. Enzo Castellari's direction comes to as a surprise for a few "trash" fanatics, just when realizing how he would soon manage to go full force on 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS and GREAT WHITE. A pretty good war flick from Pizzaland. Remember to take it with caution if you've seen Oscar-winning war battles.