User reviews

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.

In 1944, in France, the rogue American soldiers Lieutenant Robert Yeager (Bo Svenson), Private Fred Canfield (Fred Williamson), the murderer Tony (Peter Hooten), the thief Nick (Michael Pergolani) and the coward Berle (Jackie Basehart) are transported to a military prison. However, the convoy is attacked by the Germans and they survive and flee with the intention of cross the border of Switzerland.

Along their journey, they fight against a German platoon and capture the German prisoner Adolf Sachs (Raimund Harmstorf) that offers to guide them to the Swiss border. When they meet a German troop, they kill them but sooner they discover that they actually were and American commando in a mission headed by Colonel Buckner (Ian Bannen) to steal a German V2 warhead. Lt. Yeager, Fred, Tony and Nick offer to risk their lives to accomplish the mission.

"Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato" is the original "The Inglorious Bastards" that Quentin Tarantino repeated the title in his film. The story is a sort of rip-off of "The Dirty Dozen", with delightful characters and non-stop action and hilarious sequences. This B-movie is entertaining parody of movies of war. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Expresso Blindado S.S." ("The Armored S.S. Express")

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.

A group of American convicts in WWII Europe escapes in transport and makes their way for the Swiss border. Along the way they encounter German platoons -- lots of shoot outs ensue. Eventually, they come across another American contingent and are mistaken for a special ops team whose plan is to bomb a Nazi train carrying some sort of big fancy weapon. More shoot outs ensue.

Leave your hat and your desire for plot logic at the door if you want to enjoy this bargain-bin version of "The Dirty Dozen." Much of this film doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but you won't realize it doesn't make sense until after the movie's over, because while you're watching it it's easy to be distracted by the energy of the storytelling and film-making. One thing this movie has is style.

Bo Svenson heads the cast of mostly unknowns, though Ian Bannen (who has an Academy Award nomination to his credit, though not for this) brings some actorly street cred to the film as a general. The movie makes no effort whatsoever to capture the period feel of 1944 Europe. The various pornstaches on display are pure 1978.

Grade: A-

It is well set in 1944 France . Five convict soldiers (Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson , Basehart , Pergolani) in WWII French territory led to martial court escape from lock-up and head to Switzerland . They are commanded by a con-lieutenant (Bo Svenson) . They , then , mistakenly attack an allied command suited as Nazis . Shortly after , the motley gang assigned by an Allied colonel (Ian Bannen) pull off a daring assault on a Nazi-held stronghold , the most heavily guarded base . To add intrigue , a female (Debra Berger) and French resistance (Michel Constantine) have joined the ranks of the rag-tag , tough outfit ; besides , a rebel Nazi (Raimund Harmstorf) has also infiltrated the band . After that , they participate on a suicidal task to thwart the Nazi schemes by blowing up a train containing V2 head-rockets in a decisive battle for winning the war .

The movie packs noisy action , slow motion explosion , shootouts , bombing and results to be quite amusing . It's well-made war-action/thriller/adventure/ Eurotrash film , it is a standout in its genre : ¨The Spaghetti-Italian warlike¨ . Relentless plot twists , in spite of some flaws , the warlike action keeps you breathless ; dealing with a peculiar band to steal the Nazi's most precious military hardware , and bring it back to the allies without getting arrested again by their own side . Rough , elegant Bo Svenson is fine as the group leader of the motley pack , he leads the misfit band of crooks from behind enemy lines . Remainder cast formed by Fred Williamson , Michel Constantine , Debra Berger (William Berger's daughter) , Enzo G. Castell himself in a brief cameo and Peter Hooten as an assassin convict are nice . The film takes part from American classic movies , just like :¨Dirty dozen¨ , ¨Kelly's heroes¨ and ¨ Where the eagles dare¨ but is actually its origin an Italian movie in similar plot , titled ¨ Hell commandos¨ (1969) .

Inglorious bastards¨ had a special remake directed by Quentin Tarantino , in fact several scenes had to be re-scripted and/or shot differently as during filming the Italian Government, in response to increasing activity by the terrorist Red Brigade, drafted a law prohibiting the holding of weapons in case they fell into Red Brigade hands . The castle rescue scenes originally featured a massive shoot out, but were rewritten into the covert attack and escape featured, using knives, catapults and crossbows instead of firearms . The picture was professionally directed by Enzo Girolami Castellari who previously had made another good war film : ¨Eagles over London¨ . Besides , Enzo usually worked with Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson (who is even named as a co-writer on screenplay on deposit at the Copyright Office) in Italian ¨B¨ films such as : ¨Delta Force commando¨ ,¨Deadly impact¨, ¨ Tides of war¨ ,¨Bronx warriors¨, and ¨Warriors of the wasteland¨ .

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.

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.

The Inglorious Bastards (1978)

Well, first I watched the Tarantino Inglourious Basterds (2009) and just saw Wellman's Battleground (1949) which is another kind of rag-tag predecessor. This 1978 one fits between somehow, a rollicking, no holds barred Italian-made, low budget, WWII rebel movie. That says it all, in a way.

Or not. First, it's not a "good" movie in the usual sense. Even if you hated Tarantino's, you have to admit it had high production standards. This however does not, and that's part of what makes it interesting. The soldiers are bad the way we imagine rebels from Vietnam were "bad," and of course this is a post-Vietnam movie in many ways, with lack of real accountability and lots of senseless bloodshed. I guess the title makes this clear, but if not, be warned.

So why watch it? For it's irreverence (always healthy) and its odd mixture of period attitudes (none of that too-holy WWII cant here, even when a little might be in order, and there are some rock and rolling haircuts). You have to admit at some point this gang of males are little too male for a lot of tastes (like mine), but they hang together like miscreant frat boys on and off, and help each other survive, and so that's appealing even when it's absurd. It never gets sluggish, and you know what? They're Americans fighting Nazis. You know who to root for.

You also need to get half way to see a major (and somewhat humorous) twist that gives the whole thing life. And then it accelerates and takes on a lot of flavor, as well as genuine heroism.

Not bad at all. Give it a go, with all this in mind!

I wasn't sure at first what to expect from director Enzo G. Castellari. I saw his film 1990: Bronx Warriors and it was a lot of fun, but in that way that comes with knowing a man made a no-holds-barred exploitation rip-off on the Warriors that, truth be told, was barely even shot in the Bronx. But, of course, movie-PHD Quentin Tarantino held up this man's work, particularly this film, to such high esteem he took the title (if not the skeleton of the subject matter) for his latest opus. Why not give a late 70s war movie a shot featuring Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, one of those unsung bad-asses, and Bo Svenson, an underrated actor-cum-star, a shot? Turns out, the shot was a big surprise. In the best possible way.

Inglorious Bastards is made by a real professional, not by some slacker just looking to slap together some used sets and flunky character folk for roles. This is the real deal; if it's not one of the very best war films, it's certainly one that is one of the best you haven't heard of (least until recently thanks to the aforementioned PHD-in-film-incarnate). It's one of those "guys-on-a-mission" movies where it features a tag-line "Whatever the Dirty Dozen did – they do DIRTIER!" and with, from the looks of the trailer, either very good or very shoddy fx and a lot of ammo. Basically, a bunch of US soldiers, on their way for court-martial/execution, somehow, escape after an incident, and go on the run... only to find themselves getting embroiled in a mission involving a train, a whole s***load of Nazi's, and perhaps a few casualties here and there – few dozen to few hundred give or take.

There's barely a line wasted in this flick, barely a scene that doesn't actually try and provide its actors like Svenson and Williamson – also other very good players like Peter Hooten and Jackie Basehart and Ian Bannen as the tricky Colonel Buckner – some good meaty dialog to chew on when they're not blowing stuff up to bits (written, and I was even more surprised by this than you, by five writers). Oh, sure, you could argue that it's violent, maybe needlessly so. But that is part of the point. It actually doesn't go *too* over-the-top, not as far as I expected given its Italian-cult credibility and that of Castellari's speckled career.

The action is shot and edited with the great ferocity possible when a crew gets enough money and enough verve to push buttons. It does get bloody, and there's a pile of bodies that reaches up to a small skyscraper. But it's also a lot of fun to watch it, and it even goes beyond being a guilty pleasure into being just plain awesome. You lose yourself with these guys on their mission, with Williamson gritting and showing off why he is "The Hammer", or how Svenson could be such a persuadable star in good hands. And, yes, it probably does crib from the likes of the Great Escape (motorcycle jumps, anyone) and Bridge on the River Kwai (bridge blow-up, anyone), and at the same time it holds its own as a legitimate effort.

I imagine that's what Tarantino saw in it, its own sense of paying tribute to so many other war pictures while holding its own for a bunch of dudes watching a bunch of dudes go to extreme in Nazi-occupied France. It's surprisingly tense, terrific genre film-making that doesn't force the Platoon treatment – it just asks you go just a little "Dirtier" with the flow of the average war flick, like Sam Fuller with a face full of pasta yelling out orders.

Oh my. "A cult classic," I'm told. Oh my. Where does one begin? The acting? The directing? The screenplay? The cinematography? Basically, this looks like a film out of Film 101. Unconvincing, not funny (when it's supposed to be), unrealistic (when it's supposed to be), melodramatic (who WROTE these scenes?). It is easy to see Brad Pitt and gang (and Pitt probably belonged in this version anyway--sigh. What's with the bogus Hollywood accents of Southern folks!) But in this version, verisimilitude is out the window (does ANYBODY believe this is "France, about 50 miles from Switzerland? Pul-eeze. It's a Sergio Leone setting for a World War II "scene"! One could go on and on. Back to the "cult classic" label--always identified by the "literary" and "intellectual" crowd--like they do with the book "Finnegans Wake"! ONe can see where Bo Svenson's career didn't leap forward after this film and can anyone identify anyone else, save Ian Bannon, with another dreadful British "version" of American lingo. But I won't keep beating a dead horse. My time would have been better spent trying to read "Finnegan's Wake"!

Inglorious Bastards, The (1978)

*** (out of 4)

Italian rip off of The Dirty Dozen has a group of American solders on their way to face a firing squad when they break free and head off to Switzerland to get their freedom. Along the way they kill some German soldiers but it turns out these were American's on a secret mission. The ground of misfits are them given the shot of freedom by carrying out this secret mission on their own. We can just get it out of the way that this film is no where near the classic that The Dirty Dozen is but as with a lot of these Italian cash ins this one here is at least fun and has a great cast of actors. Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson lead the cast and both men are fun watching as they go through one battle sequence to the next, which leads up to the climax where they must try and stop the German's from building a bomb by blowing up a bridge. There's no deep messages or speeches about the evils of war but instead director Castellari just keeps blowing things up and piling bodies up left and right. The movie somewhat gets a tad dry in the center section but this picks up int he final act as the action goes non-stop and doesn't let up for a moment. The special effects dealing with the explosions are very well done and they're certainly good enough to make you forget that this is a rather low-budget film. The stunts are also very nice and it appears that a lot of the cast members, especially Williamson, are doing their own work. There's some nice comedy thrown around but I think this is one area where the film could have been better. There's really no logic to the film and once really shouldn't try thinking too hard because this is clearly a movie where you just turn your brain off and have a good time. By now everyone knows that Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of this film and has decided to remake it for his next movie. I don't think Tarantino will have any trouble making a better movie than this but we'll have to see if it can come anywhere near The Dirty Dozen.

In a nutshell, Enzo G. Castellari's legendary 1978 Eurocult classic "The Inglorious Bastards," which brought together "Walking Tall" star Bo Svenson, blaxploitation legend Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, and a whole lot of dead Italians is a naked chick war film that was an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino.

In fact, there is supposedly footage in Quentin's film borrowed from this one (I haven't seen the new version yet), and Director Castellari (Keoma, Cold Eyes of Fear) is an actor in the new film.

To say that the body count in this film is high is a misnomer; almost as many people died in this film as in the whole war.

Like The Dirty Dozen, it is about a misfit group of deserters that is charged with an extremely dangerous mission to capture a German rocket.

One heck of a bang up ending.

Quentin Tarantino was already interested in re-making this when it was shown (as part of the Italian B-movie retrospective presided over by the geeky QT himself) during the 2004 Venice Film Festival; what I vividly recall, however, is that I wasn't all that impressed by the film…though I guess this had more to do with its being a midnight screening (having already spent most of the day watching movies) and in Summer to boot! Still, with all the hullabaloo the remake news is causing, when I happened upon the 2-Disc German edition at my local DVD rental outlet, I opted to give the film another look sooner rather than later (and I must say that our own Michael Elliott's recent viewing of it also had a hand in this!).

Anyway, the second-time around, the film proved more rewarding: my opinion of director Castellari's work runs hot and cold (for what it's worth, he personally asked me to photograph him with a gushing fan as soon as that Venice screening was over – but, being the seasoned tough-guy, he was displeased with how the digital photo came out and promptly ordered another 'take'!) but this can now be seen as one of his more satisfying efforts, if still far from a classic (of either the war genre or the "Euro-Cult" style). While it was clearly modeled on THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967), the film's plot is quite original as a quintet of soldiers being transported throughout France to be tried for various crimes find themselves at large (after the convoy suffers an aerial attack by the enemy); they try to make it to the neutral Swiss border but, along the way, encounter first a sympathetic German and then an American commando unit dressed up as Germans – unaware of the ruse, they simply fight for their lives and this would-be professional outfit is effortlessly slaughtered by our desperate heroes!

Eventually, they meet a band of French partisans (led by Michel Constantin) who take them for the undercover Americans – when the leader of the operation (Ian Bannen) turns up, he's furious but the officer among the group (Bo Svenson) offers to do the job themselves, assuring Bannen that his team has proved to be equally resilient! Apart from providing the necessary exposition for all five characters – also including an imposing black man (Fred Williamson), a handsome but pushy type (Peter Hooten, from John Derek's horrid FANTASIES [1981]!), a shell-shocked mechanical expert, and an Italian 'hippie' (inspired, no doubt, by Donald Sutherland from KELLY'S HEROES [1970]) acting as comedy relief – the first half of the film sees the protagonists getting into various scrapes with their superiors, themselves, various German soldiers (naturally) but also a group of nurses skinny-dipping and who promptly turn their guns on the sex-starved men when they realize (upon catching a glimpse of Williamson) that they're the enemy!

The last act, then, involves the deadly mission (one of the film's myriad alternate titles, by the way) itself – Svenson and Bannen are to board a train disguised as German scientists (the former happens to be fluent in the language) in order to steal a prototype of the V2 bomb, while the young soldier is to replace the machinist; Hooten is in charge of blowing up a bridge, so that the train will be derailed where it will then be ambushed by the partisans (Williamson among them); the hippie is to give the go-ahead for the demolition (if anything goes wrong, the train will be allowed to step on the bridge so that it will go down with it). The first 70 minutes of the film or so are generally easy-going, sparked by the hippie's irreverent humor (often breaking into heavily-accented English – for the record, I watched the film in Italian); this, however, leads somewhat jarringly into the tragic denouement as most of the gang lay down their life for a just cause (presumably, the rather unsympathetic Hooten is allowed to survive merely because he has been redeemed after falling for a French nurse serving with the partisans!).

As expected, the film is packed to the gills with exciting action – even if Castellari seems overly fond of the obviously choreographed stunt-work (parading it right from the animated opening credits sequence); still, one other definite asset here is a rousing (if repetitive) score courtesy of the ubiquitous Francesco De Masi. Finally, one anticipates Tarantino's remake will be much different (full of the director's individualistic touches to begin with) and far more graphic (as news of script leakages have already intimated); having said that, the names currently being banded about as potential cast members – Brad Pitt(!), Eli Roth(!!), Mike Myers(!!!) – are a far cry from the "Planet Hollywood" trio which were first rumored as being a cinch (I bet the prospect of having Myers as a villainous Jew-hunting Nazi seems so cool to Tarantino that he gets frostbite just thinking about it)! If anything, the interest engendered by the 'remake-in-nothing-but-name' has served to give an otherwise little-regarded item such as the enjoyably unpretentious Castellari effort a new (and not undeserved) lease on life

I was craving for an action-kick and something that would give me a lot of bang for my buck. Enzo G. Castellari's late 70s rough 'n' tumble, yet carefree Spaghetti war adventure "INGLORIOUS BASTARDS" delivered in spades. I must admit with that title, I was expecting something fairly cutthroat, but the tongue-in-cheek style was enjoyable nonetheless. Led by ultra-smooth Bo Svenson, ice-cold Ian Bannen and badass Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, a group of American soldiers in war-torn Europe are in the process of being escorted to military prison, when they're attacked by German artillery enabling five of the prisoners to escape. Their only hope of freedom is to get to neutral Switzerland; but their plans hit a snag when they find themselves mistaken for an American force made up for a deadly commando mission by the French underground.

Castellari's sturdy, up-tempo handling makes sure the screen is lit up with frequent explosions, hardy stunts and ferocious firefights amongst a country side of carnage and destruction; bodies, vehicles and infrastructure. Such a beautiful sight when glorious slow mo, and Francesco De Masi dynamic score gratuitously finds its way into back-to-back assault sequences and characters going out in a blaze of shot-up glory. Things don't always go to plan, just means there's more chaos ensured. Surprisingly though, it's compelling and well-written too. There's a little more meat to the wily plot, snappy humor done with a smile, strong characters with more than just black and white shades, believable camaraderie where dialogues are chewed up and spat out with conviction. In a way it gives you a bit of everything in this milked out men on mission formula, yet the spin on it is that it doesn't start out like that and that's where it's at its most effective.

Once we suspend every ounce we have of disbelief, go along for the cartoon-like ride. Five guys with checkered pasts kill about 10,000 Nazis. There are explosions, nuclear weapons potential, romance, on and on. Let's face it. It's really a bad exploitation film. But it does have a moral sense about it. The heroes are guys who were being brought up for courts martial and then would probably be executed. But circumstances release them and they need to form a sort of trust, although they aren't exactly the cream of the crop. I forget what the remake was all about but I know it wasn't like this one. Of course, there was plenty of blood and guts in that one as well. If you just want to have fun and not think, take a gander at this old film.

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!

This is another embarrassingly bad attempt by the Italians to produce a WWII movie - this time inspired (if that's the right word) by 'The Dirty Dozen'. The action - and I use the word in its loosest possible sense - is reminiscent of the Keystone Cops. Hand grenades are thrown and bodies pop up into the air like champagne corks in the most absurdly comic fashion. The most - make that the only - interesting thing about this film is the appearance of Ian Bannen. I imagine he is still trying to live down his part in this absolute dog. I can only assume he needed the money. If you insist upon watching this appalling piece of drivel, I would strongly recommend a full lobotomy beforehand - it may make the experience less painful.

An entertaining action-war movie. I remember i bought this movie the in a video-store back in 1986-87. It was an old English video-version from the early 80's (from that time when video-stores in my country imported video-movies direct from England without giving them subtitles)

The movie have some similarity's with "The Dirty Dozen" and it's obvious that the film-makers got much inspiration from this great hit from the 60's. Acting and plot is not the greatest in history, but it's still a very exiting film. Not so much indifferent action-scenes here, like there are in many other movies of this type.

8 out of 10

Note: This movie has nothing to do with the similarly titled Tarantino film that was released this year other than the fact that they both were set during WWII and were both very fictional accounts of American soldiers on a mission.

In many ways, this film is like an impromptu Italian-produced version of THE DIRTY DOZEN. A group of American soldiers during WWII are being taken back to headquarters to face court martials for a variety of crimes. However, on the way, the caravan carrying them is attacked by the Germans and the prisoners are able to escape. Since they all are wanted for a variety of crimes (some of which might even get shot), the men make for the Swiss border. On the way, however, they become involved in a variety of fire fights and adventures--including fighting with naked Nazi babes (this sounds like a dream I had when I was 14, but this is neither the time nor place to talk about this further).

Eventually, the men manage to get mistaken for a group of commandos sent by the US to help the French resistance. Unable to escape, the men decide to pretend that they are indeed the men and decide to go with it. When the Colonel arrives, the prisoners tell him who they are and he doesn't have much choice but to accept their offer to fulfill the mission.

Overall, it's like a poor man's DIRTY DOZEN, with the action and acting a bit over the top, some very clichéd characters (such as the coward who suddenly becomes a super soldier) and not nearly as convincing as the original. Still, for a cheap knockoff, it is a good one--exciting to watch brain candy and not a film for people who think too much! So, just turn off your brains and enjoy.

Not that it really mattered, but a few mistakes made it into the film. First, there is one scene where Fred Williamson throws a grenade at a group of soldiers. If you look carefully, you can see the wire on one of the Germans as he's being pulled up--simulating being catapulted by the explosion. It's a sloppy stunt, but you have to look carefully--it's at about the 32 minute mark. The second is less a mistake and more just sloppy writing. In a castle, Fred Williamson takes an officer by surprise and holds a sword on him. The officer then orders his men to drop their weapons. It's doubtful if the soldiers would have done this but what bothered me is that none of them yelled or sounded any sort of alarm to let the other soldiers know what was happening. Duh!! A third problem was the hhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076584/usercomments-enterippie member of the group. He was an even bigger anachronism than the beatnik-like guy in KELLY'S HEROES. No one had long flowing hair back in WWII except women. This pony-tailed soldier who was fond of "flipping the bird" just doesn't fit into the film and is pure 1960s-70s. Heck, for that matter, Bo Svenson's hair was also too long, but at least it was kind of close. But again,...this film wasn't intended to be exactly a realistic view of the Second World War.

By the way, I think the man who came off best in the film was the Swedish-born Svenson. He was a pretty hardcore guy and I am surprised his career seemed to fade by the 1980s. Read his IMDb biography--he is a very, very impressive guy in real life.

I was so disappointed in "Inglorious Bastards," that I couldn't even finish it. The acting was wooden, the action was cheesy, nothing compared to war movies like Peckinpah's "Cross Of Iron," which is more like QT's "Inglorious Basterds" than this shlock. I really liked Castellari's "Street Law," so I was surprised that this flick was so lame, but they can't all be winners. The high reviews are mostly people thinking they are cool for liking Italian Cult cinema, but not all of the genre is worth watching, as you'll find out if you view them with unbiased eyes and without worship for your hero Tarantino.