The Dirty Dozen

One of the smash hits of its year, this action-packed war movie is violent and amoral, and fans would say all the better for it. Whatever your tastes, there's no denying director Robert Aldrich's consummate skill with such pugnacious material or the powerhouse impact of the starry all-male cast headed by Lee Marvin. The movie carried an X certificate on release and though its violence is not so extreme by today's standards, it still leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. The story has Marvin assemble a group of convict sociopaths - including Charles Bronson, Jim Brown and Telly Savalas - for a suicide mission to assassinate a group of Nazi officers in a heavily fortified French chateau. John Poyner won the best sound effects Oscar for his superb work here.