Quel maledetto treno blindato (1978)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (story) &
Sergio Grieco (story) ...

Release Date:

December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

Whatever the Dirty Dozen did they do it dirtier!

Plot:

Set in Europe during WWII, a group of American soldiers are in the process of being shipped off to military prison for a variety of infractions...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Prisoner | Murder | Escape | American

Cast

Bo Svenson	...	Lt. Robert Yeager
Peter Hooten	...	Tony
Fred Williamson	...	Pvt. Fred Canfield
Michael Pergolani	...	Nick
Jackie Basehart	...	Berle
Michel Constantin	...	Veronique
Debra Berger	...	Nicole
Raimund Harmstorf	...	Adolf Sachs
Ian Bannen	...	Col. Charles Thomas Buckner
Flavio Andreini
Peter Boom	...	German Officer on Train
Vito Fornari
Manfred Freyberger	...	SS Commander
Joshua Sinclair	...	The Sergeant (as John Loffredo)
Mike Morris	...	Colonel Hauser

Also Known As:

Bastardi senza gloria (Italy) (working title)
Counterfeit Commandos (USA) (reissue title)
Deadly Mission (USA) (video title)
G.I. Bro (USA) (recut version)
Hell's Heroes (USA) (video title)
The Dirty Bastard (Philippines: English title)
The Inglorious Bastards (USA)

Runtime:

99 min | UK:90 min (cut version) | Germany:76 min (cut version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | German | French | English

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:(Banned) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (US version) | Sweden:15 (video rating) | Norway:15 (uncut DVD version) (2007) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2007) | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:18 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) | France:U | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1978) | USA:R | Norway:16 (video) (1981) (unrated video version) | Norway:(Banned) (1978-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Film Concorde

Trivia:

Fred Williamson is named as a co-writer on screenplay on deposit at the Library of Congress Copyright Office.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During several of the battles, the same actors can be seen dying multiple times, only from different camera angles.

Quotes:

[first title card]
Title Card: FRANCE 1944

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Conversation with Enzo Castellari and Quentin Tarantino (2008) (V)

Gloriously unhinged Exploitation from Castellari.

I wonder if a movie can possibly offer more adrenalin-rushing entertainment and genuine thrills than "The Inglorious Bastards" does. It's very, very doubtful. This movie – basically a blunt imitation of "The Dirty Dozen" but who really cares – is an unceasingly exciting and outrageously badass gem of an exploitation flick, with a tremendous ensemble cast and explosive testosterone-laden action. My mate and I watched this movie in a series of War movies but deliberately saved it for last because we presumed it would turn out the most fun one to behold. And we were right, too! "The Inglorious Bastards" centers on a handful of American misfit soldiers who are gathered together to get shipped off and face court martial for a variety of crimes and desertion. During a German Luftwaffe attack, however, the quintet escapes and together they decide to flee to neutral Switzerland on foot. They encounter a series of obstacles along the way, but then they accidentally kill a squadron of American soldiers dressed in Nazi uniforms for a specific mission. Tired of running away, the crazed band of bastard brothers decide to take over the mission that exists of preventing a train, with destructive of missile and a whole bunch of Nazis on board, from reaching its destination. The action in "The Inglorious Bastards" is plentiful and far out! Straight from the beginning, with the fabulously energetic music playing throughout the opening credits, you just know this will become a non-stop smörgåsbord of violence, excitation and sheer kicks! This is Z-Grade/exploitation heaven, with specialist director Castellari shamelessly borrowing elements from the greatest war movies ever made (the motorcycle stunt near the end seem to come straight out of "The Great Escape") but also adding a lot of his very own and creative ideas and humorist elements. The main characters are stupendous and impossible not to cheer for. Bo Svenson as the ultra-cool leader, Fred Williamson as the cigar-chewing killing machine and Michael Pergolani as the kleptomaniac hippie … You hate to love them all, and vice versa! The film is fast-paced from start to finish and actually an unbreakable chain of extravagant and impressively staged action stunts. Particularly the entire climax in and near the train station and the escape from the Nazi occupied château are brilliant; period! In spite of the reasonably low budget, the film contains some very adequate special effects and detailed miniature sets that explode into little pieces quite wondrously! And just when you think the movie you are watching have practically everything except gratuitous female nudity, the characters stumble upon an assemblage of skinny-dipping German chicks with machine guns! Is this movie the total definition of perfection, or what? No wonder Quinten Tarantino is an avid fan and even working on some sort of remake/tribute.