It definitely makes sense that Tarantino has called this war movie one of his favorites.
The Big Picture
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The Dirty Dozen
is a refreshing war film that focuses on character development and storytelling rather than relying on audience investment in the war. - The movie elegantly balances a large cast of characters, giving each their time to shine and making them easily distinguishable from one another.
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The Dirty Dozen
shares aesthetic and narrative similarities with Quentin Tarantino’s films, as it aims to entertain and develop its characters rather than justifying its existence or pushing a sociopolitical agenda.
It’s easy to see why Robert Aldrich‘s 1967 WWII classic The Dirty Dozen is such an important film to Quentin Tarantino, not only because it is a great film, but also because the movie possesses many qualities that Tarantino has gone on to emulate in his own films, especially Inglorious Basterds. While it is a war film, The Dirty Dozen is first and foremost an ensemble piece that relies heavily on the likability of its characters in order to be successful. The movie is a refreshing take on the war genre as it doesn’t rely on the audience having a previous investment in the war at hand, and instead makes you care about what is happening by developing its characters and building a solid story from the ground up.
In The Dirty Dozen, the threat of perhaps the most famous war in history looms heavily over titular characters, and as a result, they have largely resigned themselves to either short deaths or lives as grunt laborers for the rest of their foreseeable futures. Despite having such a large cast, the movie elegantly balances all of their personalities; they each have time to shine and are easily distinguishable from each other.
The Dirty Dozen
During World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.
- Release Date
- June 15, 1967
- Director
- Robert Aldrich
- Cast
- Lee Marvin , Ernest Borgnine , Charles Bronson , John Cassavetes , Jim Brown , Donald Sutherland
- Runtime
- 150 mins
- Main Genre
- Action
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson , Lukas Heller , E.M. Nathanson
- Studio
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
What Is ‘The Dirty Dozen’ About?
The Dirty Dozen (aka the original Suicide Squad) tells the story of (you guessed it) twelve American soldiers, who have been found guilty of various egregious crimes and are facing either life sentences or execution, who have been selected to carry out a top-secret mission for the Allies. Those who survive will see their sentences revoked or drastically reduced. Major John Reisman, played by Lee Marvin, is a good-hearted OSS officer who has been put in charge of overseeing the mission, titled “Project Amnesty”. While the catalyst of the plot involves Project Amnesty, the movie is really about twelve men learning to live and work together to achieve a common goal. The movie also examines the roles of authority and discipline, especially in the context of the US Army.
The men selected are comprised of characters played by several iconic actors, several of whom went against type in The Dirty Dozen. The cast includes Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, and Donald Sutherland, all of whom prove to be highlights of the film in their own ways. Cassavetes, in particular, steals the show as the Franko, the most rebellious of the bunch whose refusal to obey orders costs the entire team their showering and shaving privileges, earning them the title of the “dirty dozen”. It is in their rebellion against Reisman, their commanding officer, that they become unified for the first time. Reisman cares less about their misbehavior and more that they are showing the capacity to work together. He recognizes a genuine sense of integrity in the men as well as a fighting spirit, and his mission shifts from training simple grunts to rousing a small army who care as much about the mission as he does himself, which is to say that the end goal for all of them is to see as many of them return to civilian life as possible. At first, the soldiers see their mission as one that will leave them just as dead as if they would be if just carry out their sentences. The struggle and central conflict is in Reisman trying to get these men who have been jaded beyond comprehension to realize that they can and will carry out their mission, for themselves and for their fellow soldiers.
How ‘The Dirty Dozen’ Is Similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Style
The Dirty Dozen has a ton of aesthetic and narrative similarities to some of Quentin Tarantino’s most beloved films. For one, the movie is a capital “M” movie. Its main purpose is to entertain and to provide the audience with a rollicking good time. It isn’t overly patriotic nor is it overly cynical. It hits that sweet spot where it doesn’t rely too heavily on any one sociopolitical idea, but instead uses the war as a backdrop, a canvas to develop its characters. It wants the audience to be right there with them, in the trenches, experiencing all the same fear, doubt, and excitement that its characters are feeling. Tarantino is notable for doing something similar, for making movies that don’t feel like they need to justify their existence.
As previously mentioned, The Dirty Dozen had a particular influence on Inglorious Basterds. Tarantino has openly acknowledged that he started writing Basterds because he wanted to do his own version, a more brutal version of The Dirty Dozen. He has mentioned that he always uses a specific genre as a jumping-off point for his scripts and that for Inglorious Basterds he employed the “man on a mission” genre, using The Dirty Dozen as a key reference. Inglorious Basterds even has narratively similar nods that Tarantino has said were meant as homages to The Dirty Dozen.
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Many of Quentin Tarantino’s most beloved films feel like he’s presenting his audience with an idea, deeply rooted in various tropes and in cinema history, saying “But wouldn’t it be cool if…”. Walking into a Tarantino movie you know that he isn’t there to give you a history lesson or bring you to some greater historical awareness, even though most of his films are period pieces. At the same time, a Tarantino film always carries with it a mark of quality in its writing and its execution.
What Makes ‘The Dirty Dozen’ Great?
The Dirty Dozen is incredibly similar in its aim. The movie is much more interested in the individuals than in the greater mechanics of World War II. There isn’t a single actual war scene until the third act. The majority of the first two acts are devoted to snappy dialogue that, while not always propelling the plot, gets in the heads and hearts of its characters. We learn very little about the war, but we learn a lot about Reisman and his squad, specifically what their wants, needs, and fears are. We see a comradery develop that wasn’t there at the beginning. There isn’t one singular main character, even if it can be argued that the movie does take place mostly from the point of view of Reisman. It is a true ensemble piece like many of Tarantino’s classic films, especially Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and The Hateful Eight, and it is easy to see how it influenced Tarantino. The Dirty Dozen also has quite a loose structure, unlike your typical war drama. It has many moments of levity that almost make it feel like a hangout movie at times. The climax is very reminiscent of Inglorious Basterds (or rather the other way around) and is a rousing piece of tension-building and damn-good action filmmaking. Because the movie doesn’t overly rely on action, it packs a huge punch when it does happen.
The Dirty Dozen is an incredible World War II film, but it is an even more incredible action drama aided by excellent writing, character development, and explosive set pieces. Fans of Quentin Tarantino will see many trademarks of his work and will likely gain an appreciation for how he continually reframes, recontextualizes, and modernizes the style of his favorite films. The movie is undoubtedly a must-watch along with The Wild Bunch and Lady Snowblood when it comes to films that will only make fans of the director appreciate his work more. The Dirty Dozen captures the same level of smart storytelling, dynamic filmmaking, and great writing that characterize Tarantino at his best. It’s no wonder that it’s one of the director’s favorite war films.
The Dirty Dozen is currently available to rent or buy on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com