pvilleguy

(2013-05-23 06:57:59)

Anti-war war movie

This is a fine little film, well worth a rental from your localmerchant. The plot is fairly simple: World War II era American GI'slearn of a large supply of gold in a bank behind enemy lines and makethe decision to heist the stash regardless of the danger from the enemyand from their own superiors. The film, however, is only loosely set inWorld War II. Donald Sutherland's "Oddball" might as well be wearingtie-dyed t-shirts and grooving to the Grateful Dead. The underlyingmessage is anti-war in the sense that, at the end of the day, lookingout for number one is more important and more worth the risk than anymilitary objective invented by so-called superior officers. The onlyfight really worth fighting is the fight one defines for oneself.Though not nearly as sharp in its criticisms of the militaryestablishment as "M*A*S*H," that same spirit of criticism is present in"Kelly's Heroes," particularly in Carroll O'Connor's loopy Gen. Colt.This is one of Clint Eastwood's better early performances in the titlerole, and Telly Savalas is quite convincing as the NCO career militaryman who makes the momentous decision to buck his superiors for thefirst time in his career.

(2013-05-22 13:17:15)

Excellent Work

Kelly's Heroes is a great piece of work and one of the best world war II movies. Must be in your collection

Tommydevito

(2013-04-26 15:03:36)

My favorite War movie.

I first saw this movie when I was 12, around Memorial Day of 1998. I soongrew tired of it coming on TV all the time. Well, 4 years later I ranacrossit again and decided to rent it. I am literally addicted to to Kelly'sHeroes. Its a one of a kind war film.

(2013-04-25 17:46:32)

This film is absolutely worth seeing

I was really shocked that film has been absolutely forgotten. It's definitely not a M*A*S*H (although it was made in the same year), but has really got its moments. Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland play together , which is unique. The story is about a private action during the WW2. It describes the army as a corrupt, meaningless thing but in a very funny way. Sutherland will definitely give you "those positive rays" END

(2013-04-16 18:06:59)

The Best!!!

This is a very good movie. It has a great cast and acting. O'Conner and Clint are good in this movie. OddBall and Crapgame are good comic relief. I really enjoy this movie. If you are a fan of Clint then you need to get this movie. It is one of his best.

grahamsj2

(2013-04-16 07:07:11)

Positive waves!

This is a truly humorous film. A drunken German Officer reveals theexistence of 16,000 gold bars to a US soldier and the word gets aroundthat it's there for the taking. There's just one problem - the gold isbehind German lines and in a bank. So what? Off our guys go to liberatethis gold from the Nazis. By the middle of the film, there are a fairnumber of hangers-on who also want some of this gold. One of them isOddball, played by Donald Sutherland. His is the funniest part and hischaracter's name is well deserved. Even during some of the definitelynon-funny combat scenes, he provides some comic relief. Also starringare Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles and Carroll O'Connor.This is one film to buy and keep. Pull it out a couple times a year,pop some corn and enjoy!

(2013-04-05 02:24:59)

A fantastic laugh, a classic, definitely good for the soul..

This review is from: Kelly's Heroes (DVD) This is probably my very favorite film of all times..I remember this one when I was 16 years old or so, my parents just purchased a video recorder (VCR as it is called in the US), which was at the time a luxury thing in your house - this is the mid-80's.. This is one of the first films we recorded, that we kept on showing to people visiting us: look at this awesome film, this is what you can do with a video..I saw this film dozens of times, and I can dream the dialogues, the swearing of Big Joe (Telly Savallas), the determined Kelly (Clint Eastwood) who is set to go for the gold, the nutty Oddball - played brilliantly by Donald Sutherland (Jack Bauer's - from 24 hours - dad), the greedy Crapgame (Don Rickles).It's a story about heroes who go for their own sake regardless, of the 'rules of war', which I can imagine can become pointless anyway when you are out there naked at the front. This is WW-II, obviously for good reasons we were fighting, but I think can so much relate to the pointlessness you feel when you're out there. Then suddenly Kelly bumps into this enemy officer, he decided to get him drunk and hear him out that there is a bank full of gold 14000 bars of them, behind enemy lines, in a French village called Clermont.. Let's just go for gold, "On a private little enterprise". They don't go without loss, some guys from the gang don't make it, which makes it incredibly realistic.. In the end, they make a 'Deal-deal' with the enemy officer in the village after heavy fighting, have him take his share and leave the bank with a note 'Up yours'. They eventually leave with the general following their path received as the hero, who came to set the village free from the enemy. They don't even realise who actually brake through.. They were Kelly's Hero's.An asset with big names Telly 'Kojak' Savallas, Clint 'The Good' Eastwood, Donald 'WrrrafWaf' Sutherland.Classic..

(2013-04-04 21:36:27)

Best Heist Movie Ever

A family friend, a retired colonel recommended this movie to me, and I have to say its a classic. Many old war movies have a hokey feel to them, this one doesn't. Kelly (Clint Eastwood) gets wind of a large shipment of gold in the hands of the nazis. He gets his captured german drunk to get more information, and sets about assembling the most ragtag team imaginable for a bank heist- in the middle of a war no less! They quickly find out that pulling bank job in a warzone is both easier and harder than normal. This movie has some familiar faces besides Eastwood; Telly Savalas, Carrol O'connor, Don Rickles, and Donald Sutherland playing a tank commanding hippie type about 30 years before his time. Quentin Tarantino said in a interview this was one of his favorite WWII movies of all time, and if you notice the tense music in the end fight of this film is the same music from the end of Inglorius Basterdes. There aren't many WWII comedies. While I wouldn't call this one 100% funny, it has its funny moments. For its humor, authenticity, and plot, this movie is one of the best "heist" movies you will ever see.

(2013-04-03 23:42:50)

Eastwood hated it, but you won't

This review is from: Kelly's Heroes (DVD) Clint was reported to be unhappy with the way the film was edited at the time of it's release. I'm sure he has softened on it over the years, because there is no other WWII film quite like it. It's odd serio-comic tone, well played by a superb cast, is priceless. Donald Sutherland's anachronistic character is an absolute howl, and an oddly cast Don Rickles works just fine. The musical soundtrack, however, is often dreadful. But that is a petty quibble, and fails to prevent me from highly recommending the movie.

Big Cat 12

(2013-04-03 09:31:13)

Good movie that in its own way was an anit-Vietnam war movie

Kelly's heroes was, in its own way, an anti-Vietnam war movie. It takesplace in World War 2 where Kelly (Clint Eastwood) leads a bunch of othersoldiers behind enemy lines to try to steal gold (this is not a spoiler, asyou will know this fact in the first part of the movie).The reason it was an anti-Vietnam movie was (keep in mind it was filmed in1970-71-height of the war) that every officer (representing theestablishment) is seen either as an idiot or a gung holunatic.It even had a hippie (Donald Sutherland) in the movie (I didn't know therewas hippies in World War 2).I thought it was an entertaining movie and rate it quitehigh.

(2013-03-16 08:17:21)

This Time We Are Doing It For Us...!

This review is from: Kelly's Heroes (DVD) Lt. Kelly goes behind German lines to bring back an important German officer, the mission is simple. What he doesn't know is that the German has a gold bar in his case, and there is alot more where that came from. After Kelly (Clint Eastwood) gets the German officer drunk and gets all the information he needs, Kelly is bent on getting some men from his unit to go with him, far behind enemy lines to steal the gold. The only problem is that Joe (Telly Savalas) is not so sure the plan will work. And it takes some smooth talking to get him to go in on the plan. Along with the help of Oddball (Donald Sutherland) and his tanks, the plan is a go. With all the supplies they need and intel thanks to Crapgame (Don Rickles) who will go along to protect his investment, the unit tries to get the job done. But the plan that was perfect doesn't go the way they had hoped, after several men are killed and, more have to be brought in from the rear to help build a bridge. Kelly still wants to keep the unit as small as possible, but they get a little spread out and have to fight hard to get to the town with the gold. The final is worth seeing after a long hard fight and the arrival of General Colt (Carroll O'Connor) to liberate the town. Good acting and a clever script make this worth the time. Not to mention the good action as well.Grade:B+

(2013-03-15 21:19:24)

A fantastic laugh, a classic, definitely good for the soul..

This is probably my very favorite film of all times..I remember this one when I was 16 years old or so, my parents just purchased a video recorder (VCR as it is called in the US), which was at the time a luxury thing in your house - this is the mid-80's.. This is one of the first films we recorded, that we kept on showing to people visiting us: look at this awesome film, this is what you can do with a video.. I saw this film dozens of times, and I can dream the dialogues, the swearing of Big Joe (Telly Savallas), the determined Kelly (Clint Eastwood) who is set to go for the gold, the nutty Oddball - played brilliantly by Donald Sutherland (Jack Bauer's - from 24 hours - dad), the greedy Crapgame (Don Rickles). It's a story about heroes who go for their own sake regardless, of the 'rules of war', which I can imagine can become pointless anyway when you are out there naked at the front. This is WW-II, obviously for good reasons we were fighting, but I think can so much relate to the pointlessness you feel when you're out there. Then suddenly Kelly bumps into this enemy officer, he decided to get him drunk and hear him out that there is a bank full of gold 14000 bars of them, behind enemy lines, in a French village called Clermont.. Let's just go for gold, "On a private little enterprise". They don't go without loss, some guys from the gang don't make it, which makes it incredibly realistic.. In the end, they make a 'Deal-deal' with the enemy officer in the village after heavy fighting, have him take his share and leave the bank with a note 'Up yours'. They eventually leave with the general following their path received as the hero, who came to set the village free from the enemy. They don't even realise who actually brake through.. They were Kelly's Hero's.An asset with big names Telly 'Kojak' Savallas, Clint 'The Good' Eastwood, Donald 'WrrrafWaf' Sutherland. Classic..

(2013-02-28 21:12:23)

Greatest War Comedy

This review is from: Kelly's Heroes (Amazon Instant Video) This is a great movie, regardless of your generation and regardless of your understanding of the Army or World War II

(2013-02-28 17:16:54)

The Dirty Dozen

This review is from: TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: World War II - Battlefront Europe (Kelly's Heroes / Where Eagles Dare / The Dirty Dozen / Battleground) (DVD) Of the four movies in this collection, The Dirty Dozen DVD is bad. Would like to get a good DVD. The others are in good condition

(2013-01-27 19:19:33)

KELLY'S HEROES on Blu-ray

Warner Bros. will celebrate Clint Eastwood's 80th birthday on May 31 by releasing a Blu-ray double feature of KELLY'S HEROES and WHERE EAGLES DARE on June 1. Both Eastwood World War II movies were directed by Brian Hutton.

(2013-01-27 08:29:37)

Excellent Work

This review is from: Kelly's Heroes (DVD) Kelly's Heroes is a great piece of work and one of the best world war II movies. Must be in your collection

john.foulks

(2013-01-23 13:38:36)

Great Movie

Clint Eastwood is portrayed as a private in this picture, but because of hisability to lead men and command, there most of been some reason he was notan officer (which gave the reason in the movie)in this ready packed, actionand funny world war ll movie, Don Rickles was superb as crabgame, DonaldSutherland was great as oddball, and Telly Savalas was fantastic as big joe.The whole picture circulated around robbing a bank behind enemy lines, Iguess Don Rickles gave the perfect line in the beginning scenes when he saidthat this could be the perfect crime.

(2013-01-22 23:41:37)

flawed but good overall

Many reviews are billing this as a funny World War II film. I'm not sure I agree, if only because 1) I don't remember laughing one time, and 2) its attempts at humor are interspersed with scenes of grave seriousness. Regardless, not a bad movie, but various devices leave you scratching your head and wondering why they bothered to put that in the film.The film immediately opens with a cheesey chorus penned by Mike Curb, the Nasvhille record mogul. The music is so out of place I think the irony of it is completely lost. It doesn't fit at all - imagine watching Patton with the soundtrack to The Graduate, and you will know what I mean. The viewer will be tortured with the reprises of the opening music twice more.The plot is a little goofy but believable and enjoyable. However, Sutherland's performance grates on the nerves after a little while (maybe because he does it so well). He portrays a hippy tank commander 25 years before his time. This is presented as social commentary from the perspective of 1970, but it seems just too out there to be accepted. His character is the most prominent comic foil. The other actors do stellar jobs, with maybe Savalas' portrayal of the gritty platoon sergeant the most enjoyable. Carroll O' Connor debuts an early version of Archie Bunker as the theater general. Despite the inclusion of this title in the Clint Eastwood collection, Clint is little more than a cardboard loner-hero type with a weak back story. Savalas, Sutherland, and Rickles have the better developed characters.Cinematography is quite good. The movie was shot in Yugoslavia and makes full use of some stunning topography and burnt-out urban areas.A silly Leone-style face-off at the end is another stab at "humor" that wasn't really all that funny and just seemed awkward and interrupted the flow of the rest of the movie. The highlight of the movie is a harrowing minefield scene.

(2013-01-20 09:11:24)

"Don't hit me with them negative waves!"

Kelly's Heroes has been one of my favourite movies for a long time now, ever since I first saw it on WTBS. I finally broke down and bought the video tape a few years ago, and then just last year, decided to buy the DVD.Am I glad I did. This movie, great before, got even better when I watched it on DVD. It looks very crisp and clean, and having it letter-boxed is a definite plus. I never realized how much of the movie I was missing before. Also, while there isn't too much language, and no sex or nudity, it was still nice to see it uncut. The DVD is rather bare-bones, only including the trailers and cast lists in addition to the movie, plus a French version. You can also do scene selection, which is nice but I hardly ever use it.The movie itself, though, is great. I love all the characters, and even the minor ones are distinctive enough that you can tell them apart and they have their own personalities. Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles are the real stars, though. Clint plays Kelly, who used to be a lieutenant until he was busted back because somebody had to take the blame for attacking the wrong hill. He's been screwed up by officers enough, so he is willing to take things into his own hands and do his own thing. When he gets wind of the gold that's behind German lines, you can almost see his eyes light up. He's the leader of the mission, even if Savalas is the leader of the men.Savalas has a great role as the crusty, war-weary sergeant. His men give him the utmost respect, and all of them are very glad when Kelly finally convinces him to join in the raid. He's hard-nosed, but you can tell he cares about his men. He's affected when one of them dies, as he wants to get through the war with all of them intact.Sutherland plays a great tanker named Oddball. Some have complained he's too anachronistic, being a hippy in 1944. If this were a serious war movie, I would agree. However, this is a caper film, and thus I think his character works. It fits in well with the humour in the rest of the movie.Don Rickles plays the greediest of the bunch, Crapgame. He's the logistics officer who can get anything Kelly needs. He decides to go along to protect his investment, but he quickly regrets doing that. He's sarcastic, a bit of a coward (but not too much), and a complainer. He and Oddball are the main sources of laugh-out-loud humour, though the rest of them certainly have their moments.This cast, along with Carroll O'Connor (who is wonderful as the General, though he does get a bit over the top sometimes) and Gavin McLeod (looking completely different from his Love Boat days a few years later), and many others, just add so much colour to the film.If you like war movies at all, you have to get this film. Even if you don't, I think you will still appreciate it. My wife hates war movies, but she still enjoyed it. You can't do wrong with buying this film.

(2013-01-19 14:56:53)

One of my favs!

Received quickly and in very good condition. One of my most fav movies ever!