Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
***1/4
Four unlikely soldiers team together during the middle of war to sneak behind enemy lines and pull a heist on a cache of gold. Sound familiar? Well, the 1999 film Three Kings wasn't based on it, but they sure are second cousins. Strangely, though, Kelly's Heroes struck me as being far more similar to . . . (wait for it) . . . Saving Private Ryan. Several scenes (especially the Act Three town), characters, plot movements, etc. — I'm convinced screenwriter Robert Rodat was a fan of this one. Clint Eastwood leads the cast as the hard-bitten private who starts the chase, and Donald Sutherland stands out as the goofy, effeminate hippie who also happens to command three tanks. Fairly funny, pretty enjoyable, and definitely influential.
"I'm drinking wine and eating cheese and catching some rays, you know."
Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who has seen this film. It's such an odd idea for an action/comedy and yet such a blast!
Posted by: Jordan Poss | 24 April 2008 at 12:45 PM