Watch Commandos For Free

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Copyright 1968 by P.E.C./C.C.I. (Rome) and C.C.C. (Berlin). Dubbed English-language version released in the U.K. and Australia through 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. Not released in the U.S.A. Released in the U.K. in April 1972 in a version cut to 8,000 feet or 89 minutes. The Australian version was 20 minutes longer at 10,688 feet. IMDb tells us there is also an 82-minutes version entitled "Sullivan's Marauders".NOTES: I believe this was Fox's final "official" CinemaScope release in Australia. I know the process was labeled Cromoscope in the U.K., but in Australia Fox billed it as CinemaScope and advertised it as such. Unfortunately the 119-minute Australian version is no longer available. The following review is based on the British print.VIEWERS' GUIDE: The 119-minute version is not suitable for children. The 89-minute version is most strictly adults only.COMMENT: "Commandos" suffers from a director who insists on getting far too close to the action. True, this approach is moderately effective in the action sequences where the spectacularly staged battles are observed at such disconcertingly close range they are difficult to take in — but they are also of course uncomfortably real. Unfortunately this elephantine television handling is downright disastrous in the dialogue scenes in which the clumsily atrocious dubbing hurts the eye as well as the ear. At least Van Cleef and Kelly mouth their own lines, but the problem is compounded by verbosity. Yet despite all the talk, the plot is a little difficult to follow — what is the purpose of the mission, for instance? — and the characters remain stubbornly superficial. And in the print under review, Miss Tolo unaccountably simply disappears.

Lee Van Cleef and Jack Kelly are the two American stars of this European made war film with an Italian and German cast. Van Cleef is a combat veteran of the Pacific and Kelly is a Captain in his first mission. That mission is a gem.Kelly and Van Cleef head a team of picked Commandos all of whom have an Italian background and speak fluent Italian. Their mission is to take a desert waterhole over from a company of Italian soldiers and hold it until Eisenhower's army, landing in Morocco can reach it. In the meantime the group is to kill all the Italian soldiers and take over their command like a relief unit and keep their cover under the watchful eyes of the Germans. Van Cleef is convinced that Kelly is incompetent and Kelly proves him right. Their bickering also endangers the whole mission. The story is interesting, but the production is truly shoddy. Not more to be said about Commandos.

I got this as part of Millcreek's 50 Combat Classics for under 20.00 at Amazon. It has some decent movies on it and is worth the purchase. My experience with Italian war movies are that most made in the 60's (well just about all) are comic book with the exception of the one about the Naples uprising and the one about the Battle Of El Alemain, both are good for a couple of viewings before you see some pretty bad flaws with the acting. I had low aspirations for Commandos but the print on this public domain set was so good, and Lee Van Cleef is so warped that I started to get into it and was ready to give this a 8 star review. Then something happened, actually that was incorrect, nothing happened. You can pretty much skip the middle 1/3 and not miss anything, I wish I had. Its a shame too because this film print is really decent and a really wide format wide screen, plus you've got two actors you will recognize, Van Cleef and the German guy who flew the fighter plane over Omaha beach in The Longest Day movie (among other recognizable roles he has played to American audiences). Production values are really decent here, the problem is the script, its pretty bad. The story curiously enough was written by someone with a Jewish sounding name, I find that curious since it's a joint Italian/German production and clearly puts both of their armies in a good light were as the Americans kind of stink. 5 of 10 only for hard core war film buffs. Go in with very low expectations and you will be happy.

"Commandos" was released in 1968 and has been in circulation on public domain home video (and now DVD) in the United States and abroad since the early 1980s. A great widescreen print has now surfaced on DVD, one from the Platinum Disc Corporation and another from St. Clair Vision. This is one of the easiest to find Italian war films, and it's really not too shabby, either… On the eve of the American landings in North Africa, a band of Italian-American soldiers are recruited for a special mission behind the enemy lines. They will capture and hold a vital oasis the day before the Allies land. Unfortunately, the garrison of Italian soldiers and a German Panzer unit will do anything to stop this takeover. Director Crispino is all about style, and just about everything else is disregarded here. The main conflict is between Sergeant Sullivan (Lee Van Cleef, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") and Captain Valli (Jack Kelly, "To Hell and Back"). Sullivan is an experienced veteran, and Valli is a rear-echelon officer who really shouldn't be in charge. Sullivan questions Valli's authority every step of the way. Unfortunately, this conflict remains shallow throughout, and the characters do little besides yell at and threaten each other. As an individual, however, Sullivan is a fleshed-out, battle-scarred veteran who's haunted by images of a failed campaign in the Pacific. Sadly, Van Cleef overacts through every scene, chewing up the scenery so much that it's hard to take him seriously. The kudos go to the supporting cast, who manage to put on a convincing show from start to finish. Joachim Fuchsburger is fabulous as Lt. Heitzel, a German professor who is now drafted as a Panzer officer. He hates the war, but does his duty for country. Heitzel's character draws sympathy from the audience is his character is naturally fleshed out over the course of a long dinner scene with Valli and Tomassini. It's very nice to see a late-1960s war film in which a German character has a sympathetic role, rather than a clichéd "evil Nazi" part which was so common in other action films produced during the era. On the other hand, Götz George is equally good as Lt. Rudi, a dedicated Hitler Youth-type. The Germans and Americans discuss culture and politics over dinner in one long scene, and this makes their face-to-face encounter during the final battle all the more moving. Finally, there's Marino Mase ("The Five Man Army") as Lt. Tomassini, who commands the Italian garrison and will stop at nothing to escape with the survivors and liberate what's rightfully his. Add to this long list some excellent small roles filled by Ivano Stacciolo, Pier Paolo Capponi, Heinz Reincke and Romano Puppo. Crispino's focus is on the action, and makes the characters just believable enough to appreciate the big, explosive proceedings. The American takeover of the Italian garrison is excellently shot and finely edited, and the climactic tank battle in the oasis is purely awesome. It's filled with great shots of people getting shot, tanks exploding, bullets kicking up puffs of dirt – there are some shots with action going on in both the background and foreground, making for interesting composition. The movie has a very realistic look and feel to it, as well. The Americans and Germans are appropriately armed and clad for the time period. The sweltering sun and dry desert are completely convincing. The oasis set is massive and Crispino makes use of every part of it. The interiors, particularly the big dining room, are well-captured with wide shots and pans. At night, the set is well-lit and the action is completely clear. "Commandos" is a well-written, well-shot and action-packed war drama with a fine supporting cast and some nail-biting combat sequences, which put it a notch above many other Italian war productions in the same vein. 7/10