Commandos (film)
| Commandos | |
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| Directed by | Armando Crispino |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | A short story by Menahem Golan[1] |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Benito Frattari[1] |
| Edited by | Daniele Alabiso[1] |
| Music by | Mario Nascimbene[1] |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes[1] |
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Commandos a.k.a. Sullivan's Marauders is a 1968 Italian-produced war film starring Lee Van Cleef and Jack Kelly and directed by Armando Crispino.[1] The film is set in North Africa but was shot in Sardinia.[2]
Dario Argento is credited as co-screenwriter.
Plot
[edit]The film is set in the middle of World War II, and in the deserts of Africa, Sgt. Sullivan puts together a group of Italian-Americans into disguise as Italian soldiers in order to infiltrate a North African camp held by the Italians. Sullivan, along with Dino, was one of three that survived from the Pacific War against the Japanese, although Lieutenant Freeman was killed in his last mission. Their Captain in charge of the mission, Captain Valli, has several soldiers with special training.
Cast
[edit]- Lee Van Cleef as Sgt. Sullivan
- Jack Kelly as Captain Valli
- Giampiero Albertini as Aldo
- Marino Masé as Italian Lt. Tomassini
- Götz George as Oberleutnant Rudi
- Pier Paolo Capponi as Corbi
- Romano Puppo as Dino
- Ivano Staccioli as Rodolfo, Radio Man
- Marilù Tolo as Adriana
- Joachim Fuchsberger as Oberleutnant Heitzel Agen (called "Professor")
- Heinz Reincke as Unteroffizier Hans
- Helmut Schmid as Sergeant Miller
- Otto Stern as Sergeant Braumann
- Pier Luigi Anchisi as Riccio
- Gianni Brezza as Marco
- Duilio Del Prete as Bruno
Release
[edit]Commandos was released in Italy on 19 November 1968.[1] It was released in West Germany as Himmelfahrtskommando El Alamein in several cities on 8 August 1969.[1]
Reception
[edit]In a contemporary review in the Monthly Film Bulletin, Richard Comb commented that the conclusion of the film was "the kind of meaningless apocalyptic moment much favoured when international producers get together to meditate over mutual insanity in war", and that Commandos was "rife with such rhetoric, interspersed with all the action cliches of the war movie and fitfully jerking its line with type" [3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Himmelfahrtskommando El Alamein". Filmportal.de. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ "Commandos film review - The Grindhouse Cinema Database". www.grindhousedatabase.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- ^ Combs, Richard (1972). "Commandos". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 39, no. 456. pp. 68–69.
External links
[edit]- 1968 films
- 1968 war films
- North African campaign films
- Italian World War II films
- German World War II films
- Films set in deserts
- West German films
- Films directed by Armando Crispino
- Macaroni Combat films
- Films with screenplays by Dario Argento
- Films scored by Mario Nascimbene
- Films shot in Almería
- Films with screenplays by Menahem Golan
- 1960s Italian films
- 1960s German films