Play Dirty

Somewhat similar to "The Dirty Dozen," in that its plot features a group of convicts recruited for a deadly mission during WW 2, this fast paced war epic is much more stylish and unpredictable than that crudely made, if undeniably entertaining, Robert Aldrich blockbuster. With great performances from Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport, as well as able support from a cast of fabulous British actors, the film features one terrific action sequence after another, with plenty of surprises in store. To say anything more would surely ruin many of those surprises for the unsuspecting viewer, but it should be noted that the story comes to a screeching halt with what is possibly the greatest and most hilarious "Ooops!" in film history.

"Play Dirty" is one of those rare films that reassures you that some filmmakers are willing to try something different with a tired genre. The World War Two epic has been done a thousand times, but this one is different. Michael Caine is his brilliant self, supported ably by Nigel Davenport and Nigel Green in this film which has drawn comparisons to the "Dirty Dozen" but, I believe, strikes ground of its own. Andre de Toth directs with a style that was well before its time, giving this film something others lack - longevity. A top flick worth seeing. *Three and a half stars*

Play Dirty (1969)

You almost have to see this anarchic, nasty, selfish, brutal WWII movie as a comment on Vietnam, and on war. It's 1969. At first you think Michael Caine, for all his talent, is miscast, but the odd displacement of his character among a lot of very hardened, serious men is part of what works.

This is not like any WWII you've seen. It's an odd mixture of hardship, tedium, humor, and straight up masculine grit. It's set in the Sahara, so dunes and sand and dry nasty weather rules. There is a mission at hand, and these men have to be unorthodox and ruthless to succeed. But there are long stretches of just traveling and conquering the desert, of going day after day through storms and lack of storms. There is also fighting amongst the men, a somewhat horrifying (and unnecessary) attempted rape, some bloody carnage of natives, and of Germans, a long twenty minutes of Fitzcarraldo heroics with some cables, and so on.

But in the end, it really does capture something essential of war, including the nonsense of some of it, and the lack of rules, and the lack of personal safety that comes from chaos, and the difficulty of companionship and trust.

After yet another failed covert operation, a specialist unit is given one last chance to show success to account for losses. When the commander learns of an oil station many miles behind enemy lines it is selected for the mission. Capt Douglas is chosen to head the team of ex-criminals to carry out the destruction. However a large military unit is sent out behind them. When the military unit are all killed, Douglas is forced to abandon his training and become a little more like the un-gentleman-like Capt Leech, and play dirty.

I had only seen this film once almost 15 years ago and had reasonable memories of it. I watched it again today because of this memories and it goes to show that a good end to a film can wipe out everything else that you could remember. I loved the ending to this film – I won't even talk about why in case I spoil it because it loses it's impact after seeing it once. However the rest of the film isn't up to the same sort of value. As it is, the plot is very much a version of the Dirty Dozen but in reality it doesn't have any training or recruiting that film does but instead leaps straight into `the action'. I say `action' because, although it sustains the interest, it is a rather plodding film that is consistent but has no high points as a result.

The story is good but the delivery is one that is clearly meant to make a point rather than entertain in the way Dirty Dozen does. Caine is good in the lead – one of his `young officer' roles a la Zulu. However he doesn't have much in the way of chemistry with xxxx, really there needed to be a lot more friction and sparks between the two, sadly the tension between the two was only very basic. It is mostly Davenport's fault as I found him to be lacking in real screen presence. He easily had the best character but failed to dominate with it – also I found it distracting that he looked a little like Sean Connery, I assumed that Sean was unavailable. The support cast are unmemorable – whereas many people can name all the dirty dozen, none of these really make an impression – only the gay pair stick but mainly because of how surreal it feels in the setting.

Overall this is an OK film with a good ending. It is consistently fair and never really dips above or below that standard. Worth a watch once but don't expect it to bare anything other than a passing resemblance to the Dirty Dozen – certainly not in the same league entertainment wise.

Prescient, dark slice of a desert war campaign -- a band of jaded misfits is sent on a critical dangerous mission -- that you will not be able to erase from memory. The tension De Toth creates in one scene of a booby-trapped way-station, with long patient shots and close ups of sweat beads, surpasses any but the most masterful of Hitchcock. Michael Caine's role as a reluctant oil executive tagged on to the mission is a study in ambivalent survival. The characters are some you'd never expect.

De Toth is among the most interesting directors no one has ever heard of. His distaste for the studio system has meant that many of his movies have been overlooked. His style of storytelling is terse and sparse, almost unfinished, leaving the viewers to fill in their own ideas. Probably unsatisfying to some, but fascinating in his contrast to so many over-explaining movie makers.

Syriana owes much to the tenor of this story. It is the flip side of Band of Brothers. A story that today holds more lessons than ever.