Battle of the Commandos – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Spain/West Germany, 1969
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Writers: Stefano Rolla, Romano Maschini, Dario Argento, Rolf Grieminger, Eduardo Manzanos, Ugo Moretti
Cast: Jack Palance, Thomas Hunter, Robert Hundar, Wolfgang Preiss, Helmuth Schneider, Guido Lollobrigida, Aldo Sambrell, Diana Lorys, Curd Jürgens

Release Date: November 26th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 56 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $24.95

"Grizzled Jack Palance (Shane) puts on a roguish brogue as Scottish Colonel Charley MacPherson, who’s just had his platoon of 28 massacred by the Germans. Furious at his superiors for this suicide mission, he assembles a dirty half-dozen convicts for his next one, along with American explosives expert Major Burke (Thomas Hunter, The Hills Run Red), to clear a path for British commandos through a minefield off the Normandy coast on the night of June 4th, 1944." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2023 HD Master by Paramount Pictures - From a 4K Scan".

Battle of the Commandos comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.7 GB

Feature: 28.5 GB

This transfer was recently sourced but hasn't been cleaned up yet, with nicks, scratches, and other debris still present. Colors look good, the image looks crisp, black levels fare well, and there are no compression issues. That said, despite its shortcomings, this transfer always retains an organic look.

Audio: 3/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Though there are some minor moments of background hiss, dialog comes through clearly. Unfortunately, when it comes to range, this audio track lacks oomph.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and trailers for Attack!, Ten Seconds to Hell, Kill a Dragon, Chato’s Land, God’s Gun, The Hills Run Red, Navajo Joe, and Nightmare Beach.

Summary:

Umberto Lenzi was a chameleon filmmaker who effortlessly worked in whatever genre was popular at that time. His workmanlike approach to filmmaking sometimes draws criticism, but his most celebrated films feature distinctively his own moments. That said, when it came to unflinching moments of brutality and carnage, he had few rivals.

An Army colonel is forced to assemble a new group of commandos from soldier convicts after his platoon is slaughtered for a suicide mission.

Italian cinema is known for its film cycles that are spanned from popular films. One of these film cycles is Macaroni Combat; its genre drew inspiration from Hollywood war films. Though this genre started as early as the 1960s, it hit its stride during the latter half of that decade. And like other Italian film cycles, Macaroni Combat would evolve when new inspirations came along. In all, it's a film cycle that spanned three decades, culminating in the late 1980s.

Most Macaroni Combat films at their core sum up as the insurmountable odds being overcome by the good guys. Another element that many of these films have is that they feature a colorful cast of characters most of whom have a history of not following orders. Both of these things are front and center throughout Battle of the Commandos.

Like most Italian films from this era, Battle of the Commandos features an international cast filled with familiar faces. The main draw of the cast is Jack Palance (Compañeros), who portrays Charley MacPherson, a no-nonsense colonel with a mean streak. Another performance of note is Wolfgang Preiss (The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse), who portrays a Nazi colonel named Ackerman. MacPherson and Ackerman have a history; their disdain for each other leads to many tense moments.

When it came to budgets, this was one area where Italian genre cinema could not compete with Hollywood. Though Italian cinema would take inspiration from the latter, they would make their film at a fraction of the cost. Fortunately, Italian cinema made up for its financial lacks with creativity.

From a production standpoint, Battle of the Commandos is a film that often exceeds its resources. The narrative does a great job building tension and maintaining momentum, and it effectively uses flashbacks to fill in MacPherson’s backstory. A majestic main theme anchors an exemplary score by Marcello Giombini (Waves of Lust). Another strength is the action sequences, which are all well-executed. Ultimately, despite its familiarity, Battle of the Commandos is an entertaining film that fans of Macaroni Combat films should thoroughly enjoy.

Kino Lorber gives Battle of the Commandos a serviceable audio/video presentation.

Written by Michael Den Boer