What makes Kelly's Heroes an essential WWII movie?
For a farcical World War II comedy with an absolutely absurd premise and characters, there's something about this film that manages to capture certain aspects of the actual war in Europe that makes it a real gem.
Clint Eastwood stars in this wartime comedy-adventure as a U.S. Army lieutenant--busted down to private--who leads a ragtag band of soldiers on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. But their motives aren't so much patriotic as greedy as it turns out they're looking to steal a fortune in Nazi gold.
This tongue-in-cheek 1970 variation on The Dirty Dozen looks less fresh than it did in the year of its release, but it still has some enjoyable moments. Clint Eastwood stars along with Donald Sutherland, Harry Dean Stanton, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, and Gavin MacLeod in the story of American soldiers who try to steal gold behind enemy lines in World War II. Sutherland's hippie G.I. doesn't have the sardonic and timely appeal he did during the Vietnam War, but the film's irreverence and several of the performances are worth a visit. --Tom Keogh
143 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French; theatrical trailer.
