The Desert Rats
by Robert Wise
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DVD details
Actor: James Mason, Richard Burton, Robert Douglas, Robert Newton, Torin ThatcherDirector: Robert Wise
Brand: TCFHE
Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard
Editor: Barbara McLean
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Writer: Richard Murphy
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Desert Rats
DVD Review: Australians at the Siege of Tobruk
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent movie about the Siege of Tobruk during WW2 and some of the Australians who fought in it. A true classic and if you're a fan of war movies, it's a must buy!!DVD Review: The Desert Rats
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a fine WWII drama with plenty of action. Mason and Burton's acting is surpurb. Burton is the British commando who becomes obsessed with stopping Rommel in north Africa. Mason plays the role of Rommel as if he was made for it. This is based on the true account of the British army prevailing over overwhelming odds at a high cost. WWII buffs will like this film.
The Movie Nut in Idaho
DVD Review: Not Quite As Impressed
Summary: 3 Stars
I wasn't quite as impressed with this film as the rest of the reviewers here. The Desert Rats was a rather quickly slapped together sequel to The Desert Fox, which I enjoyed much more. For anyone expecting to see much of James Mason as Rommel, don't hold your breath. At most, Mason's work added up to maybe 6-7 minutes of footage, about 90% of which takes place during a single scene. Parts of his appearances in the film could have just been outtakes from the Desert Fox, as they seemed rather disjointed and seemingly unrelated to the rest of the movie. His sole scene in English was not that impressive, and his German accent seemed to fall apart at the end of every sentence. Mason is one of my favorite actors, but this was definitely not one of his better performances.
Richard Burton puts in his usual, outstanding performance. He is in nearly every scene in the movie, it seemed, so the film would have gone downhill quickly without him propping it up. There were no other major stars in the film, so I'm guessing that it was no accident that he was so heavily relied upon.
As World War II movies go, this one was fairly fast-moving, with little time for character development outside of Burton's role. The Australian Army seems to be characterized as an extremely undisciplined, disorganized and stubborn lot, who couldn't have lasted five minutes in the war without Burton. How true that is to the original story, I have no idea. It certainly wasn't very flattering to the Australians though.
Unlike quite a number of other WWII films, this one seemed to forego any attempt to explain what the war was about, what the men were personally fighting for or who the enemy was. There is only a single scene of interaction with the Germans that involves any (English) dialog, so there really isn't much perspective insofar as the war itself goes.
If you want to see a great tour-de-force performance by Richard Burton, then by all means, go rent or buy the movie. If you are looking for an epic World War II movie, this probably wouldn't be my first choice.
DVD Review: A GREAT MOVIE
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great WWII movie. Richard Burton at his best. VHS tape was received in very good condition.DVD Review: Good Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
A bit on the hammy side, but still a very enjoyable movie, depicts a true event during WWII and how war can make strange bed fellows. Good action and good effect for the time.
Description of The Desert Rats
Richard Burton stars in this exciting story of the stubborn, courageous men who held Rommel at bay in North Africa despite hopelessly outnumbered. The year is 1941, and Rommel has the British in full retreat. All that stands between him and the Suez Canal is the fortress of Tobruk, manned by a small army of Australian troops who are ordered to hold this vital position at any cost. Many of the men are green recruits, and it falls to Capt. MacRoberts (Burton) to whip them into shape. A bold tactician who realizes they will soon be overwhelmed if they do not take the offensive, MacRoberts leads countless daredevil raids that keep the superior enemy off-balance and earn his men the famous nickname they "won with blood and bore with pride." Directed by Robert Wise and co-starring James Mason in a reprise performance as Field Marshall Rommel (whom he first played in "The Desert Fox"), this stirring blend of action and history pays tribute to the heroic men known in the annals of war as The Desert Rats.In his second Hollywood role (between Oscar-nominated turns in My Cousin Rachel and The Robe), Richard Burton stars as a Scottish commando put in charge of a battalion of the 9th Australian Division defending Tobruk. The Aussies don't like him, and with a year of grim North African duty already under his belt, he's not too crazy about his new responsibilities either. The outfit is charged with staving off the battering assaults of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for two months, to give the British Army time to regroup in Cairo and prepare for a counterattack. In the end, the "desert rats" play hell with the Desert Fox for 242 days, during which they and their commander develop some mutual respect.
This is a solid, workmanlike World War II picture that, having been made in 1953 rather than 1943, can acknowledge a degree of eccentric humanity and soldierly professionalism in the enemy. Featured guest star James Mason reprises his Rommel from The Desert Fox (1951)--playing all his scenes in German except for a scene of ironical repartee with Burton. Another distinguished Brit, Robert Newton, gets costar billing as a boozy, self-confessed coward who used to be Burton's schoolmaster once upon a time. However, a goodly number of Australians--including Chips Rafferty and Charles "Bud" Tingwell (still going strong nearly 50 years later in Paul Cox's wonderful Innocence)--rate at least as much screen time. Robert Wise directed, with a trimness that reminds us he started out as an editor, and the pungent black-and-white cinematography is by Lucien Ballard. --Richard T. Jameson
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