Best movie ever!

Admirable film.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When Enzo G. Castellari – acclaimed Italian director of polizia flicks – took the helm of this DIRTY DOZEN rip-off Italian war movie, you could be forgiven for expecting clichéd slow-motion shoot-outs and machine guns aplenty. You'd be right, because that's exactly what the film delivers – and great stuff it is too! The thin plot sees a bunch of disparate soldiers deep behind enemy lines, fighting both the Allies and the Germans as they wreak havoc across a lush green landscape. Essentially, this is a string of spectacular set-pieces, from bombing raids to ambushes, vehicle chases, and more besides.The film has a great B-movie cast with many stalwart veterans popping up. Whether it's Dr Butcher himself, Donald O'Brien, as a nasty Nazi officer or Ian Bannen as a stiff-upper-lip British officer, this is a film of familiar faces. The leading roles are taken by Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, both playing exceptionally cool hero types who it's fun to root for.But Castellari is the real star here. The director has a knack of injecting his action sequences with a kind of limitless energy that others – even Tarantino – just can't reach. There's not a great deal of slow motion here, but lots of cheesy machine gun battles of the kind that became popular when Stallone and Schwarzenegger did it in the 1980s. The low budget is evident in the use of repeated locations and lack of squib hits, but even so the greenery provides an attractive backdrop for the war-time hijinks. The best bit is at the end, in which our heroes attack a train, but a sequence in which they storm a Nazi-occupied castle is also a highlight. Generally this is a fun-filled and entertaining movie that aims and hits the B-movie mark.

The Inglorious Bastards is an action / comedy directed by Enzo G. Castellari in 1978 and is set in France during World War II. Bo Svenson plays Lt. Robert Yaeger, a combat pilot who is in trouble for using his airplane to take vacations. He is grouped together with fellow derelict soldiers Pvt. Fred Canfield (Fred Williamson), Nick (Michael Pergolani), Tony (Peter Hooten), and Berle (Jackie Basehart) for transport to a military prison. As the main characters are brought to the truck and during the ride, we are introduced to their personalities. Pvt. Canfield is a tough guy who looks out for the weak, Bearle is a coward who deserted, Nick is a thief and Tony is a loudmouth troublemaker. Lt Yeager is a no-nonsense even-keeled leader who stands up for what's right.On the ride to prison, their truck is attacked by Germans and they overcome their guards in the confusion. Still wanted, they hatch a plan to flee for the nearby Swiss border. Instantly, Lt. Yeager becomes their leader and they manage to capture a German soldier named Adolph Sachs (Raimund Harmstorf) who is also an escaped prisoner. After surviving several hostile encounters, the group kills a small German detachment who turns out to actually be an American Special Operations unit in disguise. When they are mistaken for the Special Ops unit, they decide to go along with the ruse and take on the mission the Americans were there for. They meet with Col. Buckner (Ian Bannen), confess and offer to complete the mission for him in return for their freedom. He agrees and in taking on the mission whole heartedly, they rise above their sordid past and perform heroically. The theme of this film is then that people can overcome their bad reputations and habits to become admirable.The large gorilla in the corner of the room is obviously that the plot and theme bear striking similarity to the earlier film Dirty Dozen. The Inglorious Bastards not only recognizes that but the tagline on the DVD release even says "Whatever the Dirty Dozen did, THEY DO IT DIRTIER!" This is not a complex film, it is an Action / Comedy with an emphasis on the action. Interspersed with tons of action, there is some character development that supports the theme. Shortly after the group wins its freedom, they come across a battle field and hide as a German unit sets up a hasty ambush for an American unit. Lt. Yeager immediately suggests that they help the Americans and although Pvt. Canfield initially refuses, it takes very little besides Lt Yeager's example to set him in action. Berle crumbles into a shivering cowards and Tony would rather harass the German prisoner while Nick just observes. In contrast, by the end of the film, everyone plays their part, even Berle who manages to take over a train engine killing German soldiers rather than shake in fear in the corner.The Cinematics in this film are not complex or deep. There is no deep symbolic imagery. The editing is traditional and to the point. The camera work is very well done but also very practical. The acting is passable but not award winning. The film does not try to be something larger than what it is and that is a fun action film about a group of misfit soldiers who overcome their own obstacles to achieve greatness.

In a nutshell, Enzo G. Castellari's legendary 1978 Eurocult classic "The Inglorious Bastards," which brought together "Walking Tall" star Bo Svenson, blaxploitation legend Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, and a whole lot of dead Italians is a naked chick war film that was an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino.In fact, there is supposedly footage in Quentin's film borrowed from this one (I haven't seen the new version yet), and Director Castellari (Keoma, Cold Eyes of Fear) is an actor in the new film.To say that the body count in this film is high is a misnomer; almost as many people died in this film as in the whole war.Like The Dirty Dozen, it is about a misfit group of deserters that is charged with an extremely dangerous mission to capture a German rocket.One heck of a bang up ending.

Enzo Castellari's B movie "Quel maledetto treno blindato" is nowadays probably most recognizable because its English title "The Inglorious Bastards" inspired the title of Quentin Tarantino's 2009 movie. Castellari's movie contains a similar plot, with American GIs killing Nazis. In this case, our heroes are about to get taken to prison at the beginning, when their captors get killed by Nazi gunfire. So, the now free convicts decide to make their way to neutral Switzerland. Along the way, there's plenty of goose-stepping goons to shoot, and there's even some hot women. The main point of the movie is to show Fred Williamson off as a cool tough guy.So, this isn't one that you're supposed to interpret as a Fellini-style film. This is pure, unadulterated fun. Really cool.I bet that Brad Pitt's comment at the end of Tarantino's version not only reflected what Tarantino probably assumed about his movie, but what Castellari probably assumed about this one.