A satire that uses a war to criticize all wars.

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2020)

This is one of the strangest war films I have ever seen. It is a strongly ironic comedy, where a group of American soldiers practically deserted from the ranks to pursue a German column that they know is carrying an astronomical value of gold bullions. This is, of course, a major parody of World War II, made in the context of the 1970s, the sexual revolution and protests against another war: Vietnam. In fact, this is the only way for this film to be understood.
I read some criticisms and texts by other authors (I sometimes do that to document myself, and learn more about the film I am going to see) and some of them qualified this film as an anachronism, or using a lot of anachronisms. I don't fully agree. In fact, the film presents several anachronisms, such as the amount of military material used that was made after World War II, but what stands out is the general environment of protest or neglect of the war, and anti-patriotic insubordination. For me, an anachronism happens when something from another time period is used in a film as if it were really a thing that existed at that moment... but if those soldiers had done, in real life, half of the things they did or said in the film, would have been taken to Court Martial and maybe even executed. This is so obvious to me that I don't even consider it an anachronism. It is, instead, a satire. Satire happens when we distort a reality for the purpose of humor, or humorous criticism. This film took advantage of the World War to convey criticisms against the war and to question the value and importance of war ... a somewhat discreet way to align with the anti-war thinking of most young Americans, to whom the film is directed. The character Oddball, by Donald Sutherland, is the one that most embodies the spirit of this generation, thanks to his relaxed and negligent manners, abstaining from fighting, in addition to his long hair (unacceptable in a military environment) and even exchanging uniforms with SS soldiers.
Sutherland is a good actor and clearly stands out throughout the film, making a good counterpoint to Clint Eastwood, who is more serious. I confess that I am not a fan of Eastwood, but he was fine. Don Rickles, Telly Savalas and Stuart Margolin also do a good job and help the two main actors to shine. At a technical level, the film has some problems, starting with the exaggerated length. I would have taken advantage of the editing to remove about 45 minutes from the film. Cinematography is good and there was clearly an effort to use military material and credible props, but that effort was not always successful. Finally, we must mention the good special and sound effects and a very interesting soundtrack, all in the style of the 70s.
This is a satirical comedy film. As such, we have to dissociate him a little from the historical truth and open ourselves to what he brings us. It is the easiest and most sensible way to understand it. It's not a good movie, and there are much better comedies out there. But it is not terrible.