Commandos

See This Movie!!! As for all the nay sayers on this site, it doesn't sound like they actually saw the movie or watched it all the way through.

If you love WWII films or action films, make this a must see. The action is so intense it's difficult to believe this was made way back in 1968. The production quality is very high.

How intense is the action? Well, I've seen this movie twice and I've yet to find a rifle on screen! (no kidding) Every character is armed with a submachine gun. Just as 'Die Hard' tought us, SMGs make for the best action scenes no matter how unrealistic it would be to actually hit a target at 100 feet. (or 50 feet) The plot: October 1942, North Africa. Lee Van Cleef leads a band of New York Italian American paratroopers whom must raid and hold an Axis water supply depot. Most importantly they must be about to pass for Italian solders in order to fool their German comrades.

The oasis depot proves to be a very elaborate but well fortified Axis hotel. There's even a bar and grill and a prostitute.

The GIs do their best to fool the Germans but inevitably the situation cannot hold. Their Italian prisoners escape, more and more German squads keep visiting and worse yet Van Cleef himself is a deranged and unstable veteran of Bataan who hates all superior officers as glory hounds carelessly putting his men at risk.

The final scene is a really great one. I've never seen anything like it in any war movie! It's the perfect conclusion.

For those of you not familiar with the "Spaghetti WWII" film 'Commandos' is a great place to start.

No, "Spaghetti WWII" is not part of the "Nazisploitation" films made in Italy during the 70s and 80s. (remember 'Salon Kitty' 'Last Orgy of the Third Reich' or the Elsa films?) "Spaghetti WWII" films are an overlooked genre that embodied much of what we love about American WWII films. The brotherhood of solders, the hell of war, and the glory of combat. These films were told from either the Axis or Allied side and just like traditional WWII films the Nazis always lose. Even if they are the main characters.

Unlike neutered German WWII films like 'Stalingrad.' The Italians got it right. No drama or romance, just guts and glory.

'Desert Commandos' is a perfect companion piece to this film.

Who would of thought that a low budget Italian/U.S. war drama with no big stars would be one of the best films of 1968? Certainly not me. I saw "Commandos" on the budget video shelf in a closeout store. The price was right ($.99) and it said "Letterboxed Edition" on it. So I figured, it's less than the price of a rental, so why not?

What surprised me is what an exciting and thoughtful film this was. In an era of glamourized war films (The syrupy "McConnell Story" and ludricous "Sands of Iwo Jima" come to mind), a gritty film like "Commandos" is a real pleasure indeed.

It stars Lee Van Cleef, who you may remember from "A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." He was sort of the Harvey Keitel of that time, an actor who took risks and made unconventional films for the time. This is one of his very best performances. How many actors other than Lee Marvin would take such a risky role? He is heroic, but not by choice.

The plot is not really important. It's your standard search and decease mission film that's been used many times before and after. What makes "Commandos" special is its' focus on two things: mind boggling action sequences and characterizations.

I would like to make everyone aware that for a budget video copy, the video transfer is excellent. The colors are vibrant, the sound is exceptional and the full CinemaScope image (2.35:1)is very revealing in its' compositions. Front Row Entertainment has made this one in a series of films that include "Zulu", the two Chinese made Bruce Lee films "Fists of Fury" and "The Chinese Connection" and the Jackie Chan epic "Drunken Master" ("Legend of Drunken Master" is the sequel)that get the full letterbox treatment. Congratulations are in order and I hope I see more in the series.

"Commandos" is one of those films that either grab you or they don't. It grabbed me. It was not destined to receive any Oscar nods, but since when does Hollywood ever honor a truly deserving film. Look at this year's winner, "Gladiator". I rest my case.

**** out of 4 stars

As I mentioned in my board comment, I found this film to be entertaining overall and was intrigued by the portrayal of "shell shock" and the "friends vs military obligation" themes. Not to mention Mario Nascimbene's mono-chordal, analog synthesizer sound track that, while annoying at times, really does create a creepy atmosphere of suspense. Lee Van Cleef can really frighten the audience while maintaining a good guy innocence at the same time. Although the Echo Bridge DVD claims the movies are "digitally remastered" and "Enhanced 5.1 Audio", the picture and sound were drive-in quality at best. I managed to butter up the sound with my Sony Surround Receiver, but I can't help but wonder what the experience of a film like this would be like if it were truly restored with the latest in film restoration technology.

Another fantastic slice of war drama from the Italians, who were at their best filming on a tight budget in the middle of the African desert and blowing up shedloads of jeeps and tanks along the way. Following in the footsteps of dozens of similar offerings post-DIRTY DOZEN, the simplistic plot line tells of a small group of American soldiers who capture an Italian base in the middle of the desert (what for is never quite explained) and then who have to pretend to be Italians when the Germans show up looking for a good time. An excellent script with full-on characterisation, a few moral messages about the nature of war and comradeship, and heapings of suspense (realised through a monotonous but effective chordal note on the soundtrack) make for one heck of a film.

The film is based on a short story by notorious exploitation producer Menahem Golan, with the script co-written (with three others) by none other than Dario Argento, who later found fame as the "Italian Hitchcock". Argento brings his trademark touch of strong characters and violent situations into the story with the direction left in the more than capable hands of genre director Armando Crispino.

The cast is outstanding, with notable performances from all the major players. Lee Van Cleef handles the part of his tough sergeant as well as you would expect, and as a bonus gets extra psychological torment via some Filipino flashbacks. Jack Kelly is equally good as the determined captain who leads the group into disaster. Everyone else is perfect, especially the German actors, and there's a good turn from Giampiero Albertini (ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON) as a loyal fighter. The action sequences are mostly saved for the finale, but what a finale it is: packed with gunfire, explosions, destruction, mayhem and death, this easily rivals much more lavish productions and is the best battle I've seen in a long time. COMMANDOS is a hard film to fault which is why I award it full marks for effort and execution.

Decent Italian/German co-production with enough action and dramatic events to make it worth looking in on . It concerns about the usual commando operation against Rommel 's forces in North Africa , October 1942 , about the Operation Torch . It deals with the inexperienced but stalwart Lieutenant Valli (Jack Kelly) who puts together a group of Italian-Americans (Giampiero Albertini , Pier Paolo Capponi , Ivano Staccioli) led by a tough sergeant (Lee Van Cleef) . They have to take an oasis where there is an indispensable water depot and subsequently they must secure this desert base in advance of Allied landings .All the while these Italian- Americans pretend to be Italian soldiers , disguising as Axis soldiers . After the soldiers have knifed the Italians in their beds , they take the strategic location and meet a beautiful prostitute (Marilu Tolo) living at the base. Sullivan's commandos are to hold this camp and its weaponry until an American battalion arrives . But there is a hidden man (Helmut Smith) on the fort , and problems emerge and things go awry.

It follows the commando-sub-genre with familiar plot and cliché-filled, as an expert group of soldiers into disguise as Italian soldiers in order to infiltrate a North African camp held by the Italians and often hosting the enemy , but things go terribly wrong after that .It displays thrills, noisy action, extreme violence, fatalism and impressive final battle . Violence is extended throughout , as commando members kill in cold blood , point blank , while enemy sleeping and back . Moving and stirring screenplay plenty of twists and turns , written by 6 screen-writers , including the famous Dario Argento and Menahem Golam . Nice acting by Lee Van Cleef as unsettling sergeant who has a war trauma and constantly argues with his superior and fine performance from Jack Kelly as a green by-the-book officer . Support cast is frankly excellent , full of secondaries usual in co- productions (Spaghetti , Eurospy , Peplum) such as Giampiero Albertini , Marino Masé , Götz George , Pier Paolo Capponi , Duilio Del Prete, Ivano Staccioli , Marilù Tolo , and Joachim Fuchsberger from Edward Wallace series , among others .Evocative and atmospheric cinematography in Cromoscope, being shot during July , August 1968 in Cerdeña.Enjoyable and adequate musical score by Mario Nascinbene.

The motion picture was well directed by Armando Crispino . Armando was a good craftsman who written/directed all kinds of genres as Spaghetti , Wartime , Nunexploitation , Thriller and Gialli such as ¨John Il Bastardo¨, Requiescant¨, ¨Rififi in Asterdam¨, "The Castro's Abbess" , ¨Dead or alive¨ ,"auptopsia" and several others