Product Description: The Dirty Dozen meet the Stiff Upper Lip. A British Petroleum executive (Michael Caine) is assigned to work with the British Army in North Africa handling port duties for incoming fuels. This gives him the official rank of Captain in the British Army. The Colonel (Nigel Green) in charge of the Dirty Dozen is told he must have a British officer accompany his men on a dangerous mission 400 miles behind the German lines and is saddled with the Petroleum executive who tries to argue his way out by saying that his contract states he is to only work port duties. That argument is lost on the Brigade Commander (Harry Andrews) who simply points out that the executive is wearing a British uniform. The real leader of the Dirty Dozen (Nigel Davenport) a released prisoner himself doesn't need or want the British officer who's supposed to be in charge but he's promised an extra 2000 British Pounds if he gets him back alive. Disguised as Italians their trek across Rommel's Africa includes meeting and battling many kinds of enemies and the plot twists at the end will keep your interest.System Requirements:Run Time: 117 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 027616073914 Manufacturer No: M107391
Amazon.com: There's no mistaking the 1968 mood of Play Dirty: this cynical war movie could only have been made during the disillusioned Vietnam era, despite its WWII subject. Michael Caine plays a British captain in North Africa, tapped to lead a suicidal mission across the desert to destroy a German fuel depot. He's got a scurvy band of mercenaries to help him (this was a year after The Dirty Dozen, so keep that in mind), although most of the time they seem indifferent to both the job and Caine's survival. Nigel Davenport plays Caine's black-hearted yet lethally competent assistant, possibly the most nihilistic character on the side of the good guys in any war movie. Large patches of the film play without dialogue, including a grueling sequence in which vehicles are winched up the side of a hill, but somehow this adds to the grim, fatalistic atmosphere. The hard edge suits the style of director Andre De Toth, veteran maker of many a B-picture (this was his next-to-last effort). Caine plays it repressed and close to the vest, the better to contrast with Davenport's Mephistophelian soldier of fortune. Oh, and the ending--well, you'll want to stick around for the ending. It was 1968, after all. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Never heard of it before? Well there is a reason
Quite in the same line as the Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes I was surprised never to have heard about this film and seeing that it had great reviews I bought a copy.
Rating: - Michael Caine does another bang up job on this movie
I've always been a fan of Mr Cains as far as I can remember, this movie is very good. Well worth owning to your WW2 collection, I like this movie very much and I'd say go and buy this too. You will enjoy it, ... Read More
Rating: - "Play Dirty"
Not Michael's best, I found it a little confusing. The mission seemed to be a waste of time. May be it was supposed to be, but I couldn't see why. Good desert scenes, more real than many. Good interpretation ... Read More
Rating: - Dirtier Than The Dozen
Here's another underated Caine winner. He's a nice-guy engineer leading a band of criminals through the desert to blow up Rommel's fuel supplies. These guys aren't the leering whackos or lovable losers of The ... Read More
Rating: - WWII film made in the anti-war Sixties has disappointing ending
The best thing about this film is Michael Caine's performance, but if you know Caine's film history, he's been in some clunkers. As the other reviews allude to, this is a pseudo "Dirty Dozen" clone. The plot's pretty ... Read More
- Never heard of it before? Well there is a reason
- Dirtier Than The Dozen
- WWII film made in the anti-war Sixties has disappointing ending