Les roues de la terreur

You need real talent to make a movie of Sven Hassel's comrades during WWII. The talent was not there. It would also be high budget with an incredible screenplay. As to Oyster's comments (or whatever your name is)you are badly misinformed. Because of incosistencies in his books? Oh, boo hoo! Look for some in The Holy Bible - ever heard of it? Go on Yahoo and search for Sven Hassel: whooomp! - There it is! A picture of him in a German Army uniform. Standard archives shot. A lot of right-wingers in Europe have tried to discredit Hassel with "documented" proof of his "lies." He didn't lie: Hitler's War Against Civilization was horrifying-- especially to the guys who had to fight it. I have always wondered if the guys were real. Hassel has said that they were real and that most died in the war. Tiny and the Legionairre, now very old, are living on retirement pay from the French Foreign Legion. What I wouldn't give to meet them!

For almost two years I successfully resisted renting this movie. That resistance was certainly aided by the cheap looking case of the video, and the fact that director Gordon Hessler is known (if at all) in the US only for a trio of cheap, British, AIP horror flicks, "Scream and Scream Again" being marginally the most watchable of the lot. But the desire to see what Hessler and his mostly American TV actor cast would do with such material, and the need for relief from a recent diet of "serious" indie film viewing, pushed me over the edge to spend the whole one dollar rental fee. Obviously "the Misfit Brigade" is no masterpiece, but it was far better than I expected, and, as others have pointed out, occasionally rises to the level of pretty damn good. I loved, for instance, the sequence in which the misfits watch a Soviet propaganda film projected on a large screen across the front line. I don't know if this ever happened, and if it did, I doubt he films would have had the big studio production values of the one presented. The bordello sequence was also funny, and reminded me of the humor in some of the better Italian westerns. There was also the occasional visually striking shot. I particularly liked the long tracking shot that begins on a Russian peasant coming to a road, then follows a Russian military vehicle through the gates of a compound, then swoops up on a crane to the roof, where a German soldier is observing the vehicle. Then, in subtitled Russian, someone yells, "There's a Kraut on the roof," and we cut to a shot of the rest of the misfits (some distance away) as we here automatic weapons' fire on the soundtrack. This is damn good sequence. I've read in his mini biography here on Imdb, that Hessler worked for Hitchcock's TV unit at Universal before directing features. This long tracking shot is certainly similar to one of Hitch's, and even shares a bit of the master's dark humor. But, OK, this film is not art. It is somewhat choppy (at least in the U.S. video version), and the low budget shows in some of the action sequences. Still, it's a fun little movie if one can accept its limitations. Even David Carradine seems to be enjoying his minor role as an uptight German officer. Oliver Reed is not on screen very long as a pompous German general who arrives at the end of the film to decorate the misfit heros. I cannot agree that his attitude during the air raid which follows detracts from the film's "realism." This is all slapstick anyway, which accounts for the film's final cut, before some graphic violence would have betrayed it's lighthearted mood.

Well it isn´t quite Saving Private Ryan, but that is no surprise I guess. However, the fact that I watched Spielbergs masterpiece, only a few weeks before I layed my eyes on this rather unknown WW2 movie, have contributed greatly to my sense of what you have the right to expect. So bear that in mind when you read the rest of this gibberish.

"Wheels of Terror" or "The Misfit Brigade"(The most suitable title if you ask me) is based on the books by Sven Hazel about a group of "criminal elements" in a german penal regiment. The books are entertaining and highly recommendable, so I had high hopes for this movie. It kicks of in 1943 with "our" platoon returning from the battle of Stalingrad, in a tank that is as post-war as the media you are reading this through. Well I can´t avoid mentioning just a few more flaws:

The russians speak russian as they should, however the germans speak english.

Try to picture this: You are a german commander. You have two tank destroyers in a good hulldown position. In your binoculars you see some T34´s approaching your position. What seems to be the right thing to do?

A. Wait until the T34´s are within, a you can´t miss kindda range, and then destroy ´em.

B. Order your tank destroyers to move forward, in an attempt to outmanoeuver the extremely fast and turreted T34´s.

A few minutes into the battle a T34 crushes your command vehicle beneath its tracks. What is your initial reaction?

A. Disbelief.

B. Disbelief and a feeling that maybe you shouldn´t have driven your green american Jeep onto the battlefield anyhow.

Well now try to picture this: You are a general in the german army standing in a german camp in russia. Suddenly eight russian planes start strafing the area. What would you do?

A. Try to find some cover ASAP.

B. Walk over to a slow, unarmed recon-plane and complain that there is no pilot to get you the hell out of there.

If you feel deep in your heart that B,B and B are the right answers, then you will probaly regard this, as one of the most realistic war movies ever made.

Please don´t think that this is an all bad movie. The dialogue and portrayal of the soldiers in the platoon are caught spot on and stays true to the books. Especially the performance of Jay O. Sander as "Tiny", the big dum demolition "expert", is worth mentioning.

Watch this if you liked the books or are a big fan of war movies. 5/10

A very watchable low budget WWII action adventure in the same vein as Kelly's Hero's. You could say it's a cross between Kelly's Heros and the Dirty Dozen. It's a light-hearted adaptation of a Sven Hassle novel about a German penal tank crew sent to the Russian Front. On their return they are sent on a mission to destroy a train behind enemy lines with the promise of retirement if their mission is successful. The tone is one of anti-war and anti-nazism, with the laid back crew pushing insubordination to the limits. The movie has a good cast and characters. David Carradine is superb as the nazi Col. Von Weisshage; and indeed one of the things that make it enjoyable is that all the actors seem to be enjoying their roles. The other thing that makes it enjoyable is the solid humour that keeps a steady pace.

Entertaining but average WWII film with lots of humor , battles , explosions , tongue-in-cheek action and sheer amusement ; being really a takeoff on ¨Dirty Dozen¨ style . Spectacular War film with a touch of irreverence about a reckless group of German soldiers , 27th Panzers , Hitler's heavy-duty combat regiment . As a group of inmates find themselves recruited into the military undertaking a dangerous mission behind enemy lines , as they sneak on Russian territory to get blowing-up a train . Exciting film with a truly silly formula about a misfit team led by Capt. Erich (D.W. Moffett) who carries out a suicide mission behind enemy lines . Captain Erich and Cpl. Joseph Porta (Bruce Davison) and their buddies are assorted criminals from a Nazi penal bunch . An equipment of two-fisted soldiers formed by a misfit band with egoistic aims are drafted to go on a near-suicide mission and attempt to explode some installation , on a zone occupied by the Soviets . As they are offered their freedom if they carry out a risked assignment : to destroy a train and subsequently survive . This strange , motley platoon is formed by hustler , anachronistic , lame-brained , and oddball characters ; the team and their tanks Panzer will take on tanks T 34 . ¨The misfit brigade¨ is an entertaining as well as amusing film with the ordinary squad of renegade soldiers of World War II . In the hands of hardboiled director Gordon Hessler and a tough-as-leather cast , that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring wartime flick . The mission is two-fold and in violent and cynical style : the selfish and mean group undergoing across a dangerous territory and executing hazardous feats , they then turn loose on Russsian territory where cause destruction . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their tails whipped into shape and develop shaky relationship among them . The final part is all action, as the brave commando wreak havoc and then run for their lives . Despite the fact that most part of the "heroes" survive the bloodbath , the message here isn't that war is hell . Rather, it seems to be : war can be a hell of a good time... if you've got nothing to lose . This is a rugged WWII actioner concerning a squadron of dispensable characters with no past and no future and other rare roles .

The dangerous mission includes a selected group formed by a motley and varied but disreputable squadron played by notorious secondaries playing Privates who are an oddball , rag-tag and undisciplined gang . Bruce Davison as Cpl. Joseph assumes the character of commando leader in this regular wartime movie , being professional though middlingly directed by Gordon Hessler . This clichéd ¨Kelly's heroes¨, ¨Dirty Dozen¨ variation packs frantic thrills , lots of familiar faces , perilous adventures , lighthearted comedy , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action . The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring scenes on the tanks battles , including some spectacular shootouts . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by D.W. Moffett into his rebel group , the film is full of feats , humor with tongue-in-check and thrills . Bruce Davison is good as leader of the motley pack together thwart the enemy schemes , as well as the largely secondary cast who has a lot a fun as David Patrick Kelly , Jay O Sanders , and cameos by Oliver Reed , David Carradine . The film is based on Danish writer Sven Hassle's 1979 war novel Wheels of Terror. In fact , it is Sven Hassle's second book, and takes more of a fictional slant over his first one . Hassle said the following : ¨ My books -and this Misfit brigade- are strictly anti-military. They correspond to my personal view of what I experienced. I write to warn the youth of today against war. I am writing the story of the small soldiers, the men who neither plan nor cause wars but have to fight them . War is the last arm of bad politicians¨ . Other works Sven wrote are : Novel "Legion of the Damned¨, ¨Comrades of War¨, ¨March Battalion¨ , ¨Assignment Gestapo¨, "Monte Cassino", ¨Liquidate Paris¨, among others .

Atmospheric and functional musical score as well as evocative cinematography . This is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨warlike commando genre¨ , in USA style which also belong the American classics from the 60s as : ¨Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich) , ¨The Kelly's heroes¨ (Brian G.Hutton) , ¨ Where eagles dare¨ (Brian G. Hutton) , ¨Tobruk¨ (Arthur Hiller), ¨Devil's Brigade¨ (Andrew V McLagen) and many others . The motion picture was ordinarily handled and professionally directed by Gordon Hessler, and achieved limited success and cash . His first feature film as a director was Catacombs (1965) . When production of the AIP Edgar Allan Poe series was shifted to Britain, Hessler collaborated with producer Louis Heyward and horror enthusiast/ screenwriter Christopher Wicking on three Poe films and on the sci-fi shocker : Scream and scream again , The oblong box and Murders in the Rue Morgue . Carrying on in the fantasy field, he also directed the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion swashbuckler Golden voyage of Sinbad (1973) and additional small-screen suspense : Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973) with Bette Davis . Of course , this ¨The misfit brigade ¨ in which added humor to the warlike action.