Director Brian G. Hutton's follow-up to Where Eagles Dare - another WWII secret mission starring Clint Eastwood, which even uses the same font on the credits) - Kelly's Heroes is a much greater entertainment. It's almost as long, but its set pieces don't suffer from tedious pacing, and most importantly, it has a CAST of characters, with PERSONALITIES. Eagles pinned everything on a rather serious Richard Burton, Kelly's Heroes has Eastwood as the central character, but he's outshined at every turn by the likes of Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, and Donald Sutherland. Even the bit parts in the platoon tend to be memorable in that Sgt. Rock and Easy Company way. Only Carroll O'Connor's cartoon general is irksome. The twist of course is that this "mission" is a bank heist behind enemy lines, and it's well done, with plenty of good tank action. And the tonal twist is that this is clearly a Vietnam-era story, and the characters, whether Savalas' cynic or Sutherland's burnout, feel like they were pulled from one war and thrown back into another. That's not a complaint, it makes for a lively and unusual WWII film. Damn though... I wonder how old (and thus historic) that Yugoslavian town they destroyed was...
It's not perfect but it will make you smile. The cast is great and the balance of action and comedy keeps a good pace. Nothing motivates quite like the yellow stuff.
2nd pairing of director Brian G Hutton and Clint Eastwood in another action packed warmovie.....nut hasn't aged that well and a bit too lightweight and long. But still lots of fun
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Warrison
Oddball is the best Sutherland character ever!Siskoid
Director Brian G. Hutton's follow-up to Where Eagles Dare - another WWII secret mission starring Clint Eastwood, which even uses the same font on the credits) - Kelly's Heroes is a much greater entertainment. It's almost as long, but its set pieces don't suffer from tedious pacing, and most importantly, it has a CAST of characters, with PERSONALITIES. Eagles pinned everything on a rather serious Richard Burton, Kelly's Heroes has Eastwood as the central character, but he's outshined at every turn by the likes of Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, and Donald Sutherland. Even the bit parts in the platoon tend to be memorable in that Sgt. Rock and Easy Company way. Only Carroll O'Connor's cartoon general is irksome. The twist of course is that this "mission" is a bank heist behind enemy lines, and it's well done, with plenty of good tank action. And the tonal twist is that this is clearly a Vietnam-era story, and the characters, whether Savalas' cynic or Sutherland's burnout, feel like they were pulled from one war and thrown back into another. That's not a complaint, it makes for a lively and unusual WWII film. Damn though... I wonder how old (and thus historic) that Yugoslavian town they destroyed was...neocowboy
It's not perfect but it will make you smile. The cast is great and the balance of action and comedy keeps a good pace. Nothing motivates quite like the yellow stuff.Earring72
2nd pairing of director Brian G Hutton and Clint Eastwood in another action packed warmovie.....nut hasn't aged that well and a bit too lightweight and long. But still lots of fun