Why I hate the movie "The Dirty Dozen"

[Brian37]

Of course those old enough to remember the Nazis hate them, as any sane person should. But in this movie the cast corners Nazis at palace forcing them into a bomb shelter in the basement. Ok I get it, you kill in the heat of battle face to face. But in this movie the "Dirty Dozen" trick the Nazis into the basement, and lock them in. 

In REALITY of course I am glad that the Nazis were defeated. But the story line of the movie makes no sense to me now looking back at it. The target, in the movie was a castle where there was a huge party with civilians in the castle. I can understand the ambush on our part. But what makes no sense now watching the movie is AFTER they get the drop on the bad guys, they still pour gas on them, and drop hand grenades into the vents to the basement to kill them.

If anyone has seen this movie, am I the only one?

I hate Nazis, but I also hate harming someone after you have the drop on them no matter what.

[Minimalist]

I've seen most of it over the years and I dislike it for a very different reason.  It's asinine and stereotypical American horseshit.  The proverbial group of misfits who are thrown together to get a big job done.  As if the fucking army ever entrusts a major mission to a group of misfits! 

In the military, misfits are assigned to clean the fucking latrines or peel potatoes. 

But 'Murricans seem to love that genre.

[Rev. Rye]

Yeah, the Dirty Dozen are morally ambiguous; that was kind of the whole fucking point of the movie. They're 12 convicts ranging from nice guys who were in the wrong place at the wrong time to utter sociopaths, and pretty much all the groups (with the exception of Lee Marvin, who is pretty much in a category of his own) has a very unsavory personality, the Dozen, the Nazis, and the Army Brass who signed off on the mission in the first place. I've looked deeper into the film, and the unsympathetic nature of the Dozen is entirely intentional; it's a reflection of the horrific nature of war itself disguised as a badass action film.

And, yes, I am well aware that, in real life US military, a real "Dirty Dozen" team would never be allowed to assemble, and the Nazi variation of the concept shows why.

[Silver]

Never seen the movie.

[Rev. Rye]

Never seen the movie.

I'd personally recommend it. If you're looking for a simple WW2 action movie, you might like it. If you're looking for a film that can show how horrible both sides in a given conflict can be terrible (also deflating the myth of the Allies as the goodies in the conflict), it might work even better. If you're not looking for either, well, your mileage may vary.

[Little lunch]

I liked the song at the end, Kelly's Heroes.

[Brian37]

Again, I didn't know any better growing up when I first watched it, but looking back at it now, there is just no way you can morally justify putting someone in a cage then lighting them on fire, which is what they did. As the plot goes they trick the Nazis whom were with civilians, who followed them into the bomb bunker in the basement of the castle, then they poured gas down the air vents and dropped grenades.

But yea, our right wing gung ho nuts love this kind of garbage.

[tjakey]

Still, it had one of the best movie lines ever....

"Killing generals could get to be a habit with me"

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The point of the movie is that a small force can create a real shit-storm if used right. The mission is to debilitate the Heer's command structure. The force is small because that's what could be inserted without tipping off the operation. Being small and behind the lines meant they couldn't take all those people prisoner. Yes, there were civilians among them, and being invited to that party meant you were 100% behind the Nazi program, so I didn't feel sorry for them. (Kitchen staff and the like wouldn't have been allowed into the bunker IRL, some of them might have been part of the op.)

[Court Jester]

The goal is to destroy your enemy. They met that goal.
That wouldn't be permissible in today's day and age, but back then it wouldn't have been all bad or necessarily shunned. The only glory found of a war is winning in the end anyway.