Pitiful and Pointless.


This is such a pathetic effort considering the reputation of its cast and pretensions of being a sequel to an excellent Sam Peckinpah effort "Cross of Iron." Burton is only in his early fifties here but alcoholism had aged and stooped him into a stiff elderly visage. Sir Richard croaks out his lines belligerently and looks nothing more than a tired old thespian soldier going through the motions. Granted the plot is more concept than execution as the Hitler conspiracy idea and perpetual antagonist Captain Stransky are undeveloped and far from compelling.

It would have made more sense to make Burton a conscripted member of Hitler's Volkssturm where all men and boys age 16 to 60 were rounded up and marched into battle to feed the Fuhrer's delusions. Put Steiner in charge of a bunch of Hitler Youth and middle aged shopkeepers and have him try and keep them alive. Curt Jurgens looks like an elderly grandfather by 1979 and Bob Mitchum would not be in combat at his age. Only Rod Steiger can find a small edge of something to hone. The combat scenes are flat and devoid of intensity. Its looks a reenactment at the WWII remembrance weekend ( I have been to a few) with some explosions thrown in. They are a lot more fun than this empty movie. A fairly recent effort at the great World War II supported by a big name cast is nothing more than a waste of time. Forgettable junk. 2 stars.

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Agreed. The stars and the director, who have stellar pasts just wanted a paycheck I guess.

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