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I love this movie so much

Sorry, this movie sucks

Just perfect...

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

***SPOILERS***Excellent portrayal of the 242 day siege of Tobruk with Richard Burton as British Captain Tommy MacRoberts holding the line against wave after wave of attacking German and Italian assaults on the Lybian port city of Tobruk. There's again James Mason as German General Irwin Rommel leading the charge against the port city that he needs to supply his troops for his planned capture of Egypt and it's Suez Canal that can knock Great Britain out of the war.With almost 90% of the troops under his command being Australians the British Captain MacRoberts needs to win their respect before their willing to risk their lives for him. One of those Aussies is MacRoberts former school teacher Tom Bartlett, Robert Newton, who's now a helpless drunk but wants MacRoberts to put him on the front lines to both overcome his drinking problem as well as get his courage back.Ordered by the nameless general in charge-Leslie Morshead-in the films closing credited played by Robert Douglas to hold Tobruk at all costs and promoted to Let-Coronal MacRoberts is almost killed and eventually captured by the Germans and gets to have a chat with the German General Rommel about how helpless his situation is. That's before he and fellow British POW Sgt. Blue Smith, Chips Rafferty, escapes when the truck he's on is strafed by the RAF on it's way back to German controlled Benghazi. Back to the British lines Let-Col. MacRoberts now waits for the final attack by German/Italian forces on "Fortress Tobruk" knowing that if he and his men, who he has now gained their respect,can't repel their advance Britain and its both colonies as well as Commonwealth is kaput!P.S The British and Australian troops do hold off Rommels assaults on Tobruk and eventually were relieved on November 27, 1941 in "Operation Crusader" lead by British General Auchinleck-Known as the "Auk"-after suffering some 6,000-Mostly Australian- casualties in the 242 day siege. With the Afrika Korps losing almost twice and many men in the desert fighting.

The Desert Rats is directed by Robert Wise and written by Richard Murphy. It stars Richard Burton, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas, Torin Thatcher, Chips Rafferty and James Mason. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Lucien Ballard.The follow up to The Desert Fox (it's not a sequel) from two years earlier, was in essence an attempt to readdress the balance after The Desert Fox annoyed certain quarters with its admiration for what a great soldier Field Marshal Rommel was. So here we have the battle of Tobruk orchestrated by the astute Robert Wise, the plot is simple, but the characterisations are most certainly not, with lead men Burton and Newton terrific.This important part of the war is given mature treatment, with the battle sequences realistically staged and the tactical nous of allied force leaders rightly given credence. Sadly Mason is barely in the picture, which is more frustrating when you witness the extended scene that is shared between Mason and Burton, a British film fan's dream right there. While elsewhere it should be noted that this is, perhaps inevitably, not an accurate history lesson, so students of Tobruk don't be basing your thesis on this telling.Still, a good quality war pic for sure. 7/10

The Desert Rats is a very enjoyable WWII film dealing with a portion of the war that may seem alien to those in America. Americans are accused, and sometimes rightly so, of thinking WWII began and ended with America's involvement. But it didn't. The Desert Rats is the story of the Allies last stand in Northern Africa at Tobruk. Rommel and the Nazis would have clear sailing to the important Suez if Tobruk fell. It's up to Capt. MacRoberts (Richard Burton) and his band of green Aussie replacements to stop the advance of Hitler's army.When you read comments about war movies, you always read complaints about historical accuracy. Is The Desert Rats true to history? I'm not a student of history, so I wouldn't know. Furthermore, I don't really care. To me, it's about the entertainment I get from a film and I've always found The Desert Rats entertaining. The authentic looking sets, the tremendous ground shaking explosions, the plot that focuses on a small band of men, and the action sequences are all highlights of the movie for me. Robert Wise's direction and Lucien Ballard's cinematography put the viewer in the middle of the action. You can all but feel the rocks pounding down as each Nazi shell hits. It's very well done.My only complaint about The Desert Rats is in the overall construction. I realize that it's a result of attempting to be historically accurate, but history doesn't always put events in the most exciting sequences. The film opens with its best moments. The battle scene between the dug-in Aussie's and Rommel's tanks is as exciting and well filmed as I've seen in a war movie. Unfortunately, the movie (as dictated by history) cannot keep up this pace. The ending, as the now battle-hardened Aussie hold a hill waiting for replacements, is anticlimactic.

Desert Rats is a 'good old stiff upper lip' yarn with angry young man, Richard Burton, putting in a blinder. The film is set in WW2, North Africa and Rommel has swept across North Africa. The film is about Tobruk and how the German Army were held back. Burton leads ANZAC troops through the trenches of warfare. Good fighters those ANZAC's it appears and the film is a real tribute to them. This is reinforced by the movie being in black and white and quite informative. The action is OK and I especially liked the black outfit Richard Burton dons for that gritty commando raid. There is also a top encounter between Burton and James Mason - Pacino and De Niro in Heat - but with Burton's angry young man act.I would recommend it if only for Richard Burton.