Robert Aldrich’s action movie “The Dirty Dozen” returns to DVD in a 2-disc special edition packed with additional cool special features and an upgraded transfer. Set during WW II our hero (or anti-hero in this case) is Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) who is assigned to break in twelve army prisoners including some that are so hardcore they should probably stay in prison(John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas). Reisman has to turn these ex-cons into top notch soldiers for a dangerous mission behind enemy lines just before D-Day. Prior to going behind enemy lines the men must prove their ability to work together as a team and face off against one of the toughest group of soldiers commanded by Colonel Breed (Robert Ryan). ***

“The Dirty Dozen” was truly Aldrich’s break through film and he continued to mine a similar niche in future projects. Aldrich’s film came at a perfect time—American audiences were weary of the Vietnam War and recognized that war had fallen from its noble purpose to becoming nothing more than politics with guns—there was no good guys or bad guys just political ideology sold by a war machine increasingly out of touch with the nation’s goals and values. ---

Image & Sound:

Presented in a very nice anamorphic transfer the film looks far from “dirty” with vivid colors and a cleaned up print that looks extremely nice. The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix sounds quite good highlighting Frank DeVol’s memorable score.

A compilation commentary tracks features actors and production crew from the film giving everything from background on the production to the challenges they face shooting the film. We also get commentary by Captain Dale Dye who acts as a military advisor on films. I personally could have done without his comments but it didn’t detract from the overall quality of the commentary. We also get “Operation Dirty Dozen” a vintage featurette that is carried over along with the trailer from the previous edition. Actor Ernest Borgnine who plays Major General Worden in the film also offers a brief introduction. ***

The second disc has some of the new material for this set including a recruitment film narrated by Lee Marvin (!). We also get a featurette on novelist E. E. Nathanson’s inspiration for “The Dirty Dozen”. “Armed and Deadly” is the best of the extras featuring interviews with cat members and production crew discussing the making of the movie and gives Aldrich his due as a director. ***

We also get a TV movie sequel “The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission” which was made in 1985. It’s an awful TV movie and the only highlight is seeing Lee Marvin in action again although he clearly isn’t in the best of health. It’s a forgettable movie that will be essential for those that never saw the TV movie or want this rarity (and there’s a reason it’s rare) on DVD. ---

Final Words: