Assigned to lead a mission to destroy German fuel reserves in the African desert during World War II, inexperienced British Army captain Michael Caine finds himself overseeing a platoon of hardened ex-convicts. Forced to contend with an ornery ...
 |  Format : Color, DVD, NTSC Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD) Company : CAINE,MICHAEL List Price: Our Price: $7.12 You Save: $7.86 (53%) Used Price : $5.49 |
Product Description
Assigned to lead a mission to destroy German fuel reserves in the African desert during World War II, inexperienced British Army captain Michael Caine finds himself overseeing a platoon of hardened ex-convicts. Forced to contend with an ornery colonel and a traitorous brigadier, Caine struggles to ensure the safety of his men and complete his task. Thrilling wartime drama co-stars Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green, Harry Andrews. 118 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish.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 HortonSimilarProduct