Good start, ugly end

Rating: 1/10 (24 May 2002)

The first 1½-2 hours of "The Dirty Dozen" are generally good, with some highly entertaining moments, but it is the ending that turns it into a disgusting display of macho bloodthirstiness. As several have commented before me, it is the gasoline-and-grenades scene, where a large number of women are incinerated together with the real targets for the operation that gets me. Someone commented that "they deserved it". People thinking that are likely to be the ones voting for the next Hitler, as they are devoid of any empathy. Perhaps director Aldrich did that scene in order to show the thuggish Dozen as what they really were - murderers and rapists. A truly repulsive movie, and typical for the brain-dead "war" movies churned out by Hollyweird in the 50's and 60's. 2½ hours wasted.