Competes with "The Great Escape" for "Best All-Star Cast"

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2006)

Many of the World War II films contemporary to the War are finely acted, or full of carefree sing-and-dance numbers. Un-bitter pieces with clear conflicts and villains.
This film is released in 1977...the same year Star Wars came out - and allows for a different mood. Having sufficient distance from the World War, with two other American conflicts in between, a more ambiguous view of both the Allies and the Axis powers emerges. Not that the Nazis are suddenly good guys, but they have their problems too.
The plot is influenced by the point of view of all of those having to take orders from above and follow those orders to their best ability. Even when they know failure is more likely than not, even though "what was supposed to happen" didn't happen and now they have to improvise, not only to save themselves, but to save the other guys that are counting on them.
To my eye, this film combines old-school film-making, real craftsmanship in both scale and detail, while navigating the plot's tightrope of tough decisions and lucky breaks. Beautifully illustrated for both the Good Guys and the Bad Guys is the notion that the men in the field suffer when commanders have lost situational awareness. A degree of satisfaction may be removed for some viewers due to the absence of a clear hero,winner, or lesson learned.
All-star casts don't always "work" but this one does and I would argue it contends with The Great Escape just on that particular point. Jamming all those jewels into one setting sometimes makes for gaudiness, more than elegance. Not so for either film! Like a good chocolate chip cookie, with chips in every bite, there is star power enough in every scene to make each worthwhile to consume, just on performances alone.