Students at San Luis Obispo High School are always told about the newest films, but the classics can provide an entertaining time as well. Movies such as “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “The Godfather” (1972), and “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) are beloved films that most could recognize, even if they have not seen them. One film that is not that well known but is a great film to watch nonetheless would be “Kelly’s Heroes”.
“I want to see it because it has Clint Eastwood in it, which I love Clint Eastwood, and is also about World War Two and that is a topic I have been interested in for a long time,” said Junior Chris Dzukole.
Directed by Brian G. Hutton and released on June 23, 1970, “Kelly’s Heroes” is a military comedy set in the Second World War about a small group of American soldiers during September of 1944. A former lieutenant, Private Kelly played by American Actor Clint Eastwood, discovers the location of sixteen million dollars worth of gold bars thirty miles behind enemy lines. Deciding he wants to get out of the bad position he is in with the army; he leads a small band of fellow soldiers to go AWOL and rob the bank.
In his crew, Sergeant ‘Oddball’, is a character played by Canadian Actor Donald Sutherland who can best be described as a laid-back hippie tank commander. With his dog impressions, famous lines like “why don’t you knock it off with those negative waves”, and laid back attitude makes the film a more memorable experience.
One of the most recognizable scenes of the movie is when Oddball and Kelly, driving in a Sherman tank, find a German Tiger tank driving down an alleyway in the final battle of the film. Seeing that they caught it from behind and can hit it in its engine compartment, the only place Oddball’s tank can kill it from, they take the shot. But instead of firing an armor-piercing round, they fire a round of paint, an item Oddball carries to strike fear in his enemies by painting pretty pictures. Now that they having given away their position, the Tiger tank attempts to turn its turret around to kill Oddball and Kelly. The barrel gets caught on a building to its right and a tree to its left, leaving it still exposed for Oddball to fire around right into the rear of the Tiger, killing the vehicle.
“Kelly’s Heroes” is not a historical film, but uses its setting of a war film to add to the comedy of the characters and helps make the plot and the heist more interesting. If you want to watch a good movie that has plenty of action, great characters, and that 1970s feel, then “Kelly’s Heroes” is a film to watch.
Stream it today or watch it on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
