An absolute waste of money

Absolutely Fantastic

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

DESERT BATTLE is one of the less well-known WW2 movies made by the Italians, although the plot is very familiar to those who are au fait with the genre. A bunch of troops find themselves stranded in the desert and must work together in order to survive and return to inhabited lands. The twist here is that the British and German soldiers have to band together to battle a greater enemy, namely Mother Nature herself. Despite that engaging set-up, this is a sloppily-made little movie that lacks decent battle sequences and suffers a lot from poor picture quality and bad dubbing in the English version. It doesn't help that the light and limited storyline is constantly bogged down by endless flashbacks revealing the lives of the soldiers before the war; at times these seem to have been inserted for mere sexploitation value.

I'm not sure this film deserves a rave review, but it is certainly far better than the vast majority of Italian war movies from the period. The set-up is an interesting take on the existential dilemma--five British and two German soldiers find themselves in a co-operative struggle for survival in the North African desert, where they're running short of both water and petrol. Desert Battle benefits tremendously from an impressive cast of Euro-trash stars: Robert Hossein, George Hilton, and Frank Wolff are all talented actors, and Rik Battaglia is, well, Rik Battaglia. The film suffers when it goes into flashback mode--though it is certainly one of the few films in the genre to feature bare female breasts--but maintains interest to the end. Bruno Nicolai's score is excellent and is, if anything, underutilized. An unlikely but deserving candidate for DVD reappraisal.

One of the finest Italian war films, directed by the famed producer Mino Loy.Captain Bradbury (George Hilton) is assigned to lay mines to stop a German advance. His squad is made up of a crazed Canadian ex-con (Frank Wolff), a motorbiker (Rik Battaglia), and a young lover-boy (Fabrizio Moroni). They band together with survivors from a German tank (Robert Hossein and Ivano Staccioli) who have badly needed water.Okay. With the stage set, not much more has to be said. The film is basically one long trek across the desert, focusing on the characters and their emotions and personalities. While most war films of the era rely on big spectacle and action, here the producers rely on acting talent for success. The tension between these guys feels real, as the water and petrol run low and the sun becomes intensely hotter.Bruno Nicolai's memorable music score is haunting and fits the mood perfectly. Zanni's breathtaking photography captures the bleak desert with amazing authenticity, adding a degree of realism rarely seen in Italian war films of the time.While George Hilton (THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN) does a fine job as a stiff British officer, it's really Frank Wolff (A STRANGER IN TOWN) who steals the show. He's a crazed Canadian ex-thief who goes madder and madder until he meets his climactic fate. The rest of the cast all do a great job, especially Moroni as a fatally wounded grunt who is constantly flashing back to his pregnant wife back home. Staccioli (COMMANDOS) is also very good as a loyalist Nazi NCO, and Rik Battaglia (BATTLE FORCE) is decent in a small role as the one who goes along with the crowd. Goffredo Unger (THIRTY SIX HOURS TO HELL) is great as a burly, short-tempered career soldier. Loy uses the flashback technique again and again to paint his characters, and these scenes are appropriately edited either very choppily or very fluidly, depending on the intensity of what's going on in the present. Throw in some big tank battles near and the end and a slam-bang antiwar ending, and you've got a fine little film.I saw this on an old Interglobal Home Video. I had no idea this existed existed on video and was quite surprised when a contact was able to send me a copy. The film is titled DESERT ASSAULT and not the common title, DESERT BATTLE. The original credits have apparently been removed, and this print has cheap video-generated credits about 10 minutes into the film. It's presented full frame which is occasionally annoying, cutting both speakers out of frame in some scenes. The colors are pretty accurate and there is not too much print damage. FIND THIS ONE TODAY!Also of note: Lenzi uses a good deal of the tank battle footage for his later epic BATTLE FORCE.It's not often that I come across a gem like this. Definitely a must-see.

Every genre that the Italians turned their multi talented hands to, be they peplums, giallos,westerns, crime movies or horrors, you will find that the great and the good outweigh the bad. Sadly, the Italian war film cycle produced very few films that are of any great worth, there are exceptions to the rule however, the classic Orsini movie CORBARI springs to mind right away, one of the finest films i have ever seen, and this enthralling movie which after a shaky start soon becomes a quite compulsive piece of work. Hilton always gives good value for money, and Robert Hossein is wonderfully unlikeable, but it is the great Frank Wolff that steals the show, surely one of the best actors of his generation. Mino Loy keeps a tight rein on the direction, and the film plays almost like a parable on greed, jealousy and pride, the war simply being a background to a superb play on the human condition.A film to be treasured, you actually feel thirsty and dirty along with the flawed characters. A great viewing experience.