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Eight wounded shell shocked soldiers take refuge in a castle in Belgium. There they begin a crazy 60s psychedelic take on WWII involving wanton women, booze, an impotent Count, a young barren Countess, a Volkswagen beetle, a Romantic US Army Major, a baker and a band of AWOL Born Again Christians....to odd to even begin to explain. I'm sure there is meant to be some parallel to the Crucifixion of Jesus and maybe even his birth and the destruction of Jerusalem in the 1st Century but I'm not entirely sure I got it. Certainly not for everyone but somehow I couldn't help but watch in order to see what strangeness would happen next. I couldn't help but think this reminded me of parts of Apocalysoe Now and Platoon. It also has something to say about how micro societies are affected by war (perhaps?) as seen from the view of a castle which has been held by the same family for 17 Generations and believes itself to be above the trivialities of others' wars.

I just finished watching this and couldn't help but notice all the small bits that must have influenced Lucus and Spielberg. This is a bit out there, but I'd recommend the film to Star Wars fans and you be the judge. (The film is great on its own merit,so you won't suffer watching it.) The following are a few Star Wars connections I noticed, did anyone see more? Let me know, I think I'm on to something...

1. Basic plot - 2 men, one a killer and one an idealist wrestle for control of the boy ("Short Round",) kinda sounds like Vader and OB1 fighting for Luke right? 2. The killer is also controlled by the commander, who uses him to do his evil bidding, i.e. the Emperor? 3. And oh, ya, "the killer," his name is Endore. I'm just saying...

This is a great film, Redford fans will especially love it (he plays catch...and is named Roy...oh The Natural). Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

A small group of survivors works through enemy territory to reach their HQ, along the way they meet a Sargent, a catatonic Colonel and their Jeep, who reluctantly join the fight. The 3 display heroics and are interesting characters who leave much for the viewer to consider long after the film. I found the lack of extras and huge enemy forces welcoming as it aided the sense of isolation and vulnerability the men feel. Also the metaphysical connection between the Jeep and the Colonal is a creative device. Not a great over all flick and it lacks some historical depth but it does have its powerful moments and does succeed at being what it is, a simple war story, not glamorous no glitzy.

Lost gem of a movie that is hard to find, that has an important take on war and reminds us that when we, the public, push for war, we should consider what we are really getting into, hell. Not so much a "war" battle type movie a war "soldier type" movie. This film is set during the war and deals with the affects on mankind, soldier and civilian, after repeated exposure to wars' violence, stress, excessive drinking and loneliness. It stares at the numbness. This has been called an anti-war movie, but I'm not so sure I agree, to me its more of an honest look at how wars affects people, soldiers and civilians, how they change their personal moral codes to survive the hell they are in, how mob violence, peer pressure and the silent majority allow good people to let bad things happen to each other. In the end war is shown to be a simple waste of effort as so often happens, enemies become friends and friends become enemies. In this film we see the change from Americans and Russians banding together to fight Germans in WWII to Americans and Germans banding together to fight Russians in the Cold War a few years later. Was the sacrifice worth it with the hindsight of the cold war?

Lt. Col. Fredrick is called upon by Army Top Brass to find a new way of breaking through the German lines in Norway. Fredrick recommends the creation of a new elite "special force" trained heavily in snow covered mountain combat. The brass agree and make Fredrick, an officer with no combat experience, its head. He accepts the task and brings Canadian troops fresh off the loss at Dunkirk together with outcast American troops, many of whom joined the new unit as an alternative to prison to form the first ever special force. The squad however, evokes no confidence from Command HQ and the Norway mission is called off but the unit before being totally disbanded, is allowed one chance to prove themselves in Italy. Great historical war film about the development of specialized infantry units in the US and Canadian armies.

How do you catch Carlos the Jackal? A Naval officer, CIA agent and a Mossad agent all work together to find out. See "Day of the Jackal" and "The Jackal" for alternative artistic impressions of the notorious terrorist, but see "The Assignment" for the best all around movie by far! The film is perhaps most notable for its harsh and honest look at the physical and mental training as well as personal sacrifices a spy must undertake in order to become "superhuman." Look out for the scene near Israel's Dead Sea where the hero undergoes special training... fantastic to see these exercises displayed in a film starring 3 great actors (in 4 roles) who compliment each other without overshadowing each other, maybe one of the best spy films of the 1990s!

A spy, thought for dead, but in reality alive, and suffering from amnesia, buys her cover story as her true reality and goes about life as a PTA volunteer/ homemaker for 8 years, before a bump on her head and a chance encounter with a past target, trigger memories of her earlier life as a top secret government assassin (Bourne Identity anyone?). Great pairing between Davis and Jackson, whose back and forth banter is a great throw back to the old Mae West comedies:

Samantha: Easy, sport. I got myself outta Beirut once, I think I can get outta New Jersey.

Mitch: Yeah? Well, don't be so sure. Others have tried and failed. The entire population, in fact.