Quel maledetto treno blindato (1978)

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (story) &
Sergio Grieco (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

Whatever the Dirty Dozen did they do it dirtier!

Plot:

Set in Europe during WWII, a group of American soldiers are in the process of being shipped off to military prison for a variety of infractions...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Prisoner | Murder | Escape | American

Cast

Bo Svenson	...	Lt. Robert Yeager
Peter Hooten	...	Tony
Fred Williamson	...	Pvt. Fred Canfield
Michael Pergolani	...	Nick
Jackie Basehart	...	Berle
Michel Constantin	...	Veronique
Debra Berger	...	Nicole
Raimund Harmstorf	...	Adolf Sachs
Ian Bannen	...	Col. Charles Thomas Buckner
Flavio Andreini
Peter Boom	...	German Officer on Train
Vito Fornari
Manfred Freyberger	...	SS Commander
Joshua Sinclair	...	The Sergeant (as John Loffredo)
Mike Morris	...	Colonel Hauser
Donald O'Brien	...	SS Commander (as Donald O'Brian)
Gerard Schwarz
Bryan Rostron		(as Rostron Brian Torquil)
Massimo Vanni	...	French Resistance Member
Bill Vanders	...	German General on Train (as William Vanders)
Mauro Vestri	...	French Resistance Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Alexander	...	Examination Corporal (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Enzo G. Castellari	...	German Officer (uncredited)
Larry Dolgin	...	Marshall / Sachs (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Rocco Lerro	...	German Gate Guard (uncredited)
Edward Mannix	...	Redneck Bastard (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Pietro Plinio Quinzi	...	(uncredited)
Franco Ukmar	...	American troop leader (uncredited)

Directed by
Enzo G. Castellari

Writing credits
Sandro Continenza		(story) &
Sergio Grieco		(story) &
Romano Migliorini		(story) &
Laura Toscano		(story) &
Franco Marotta		(story)
Sandro Continenza		(screenplay) &
Sergio Grieco		(screenplay) &
Romano Migliorini		(screenplay) &
Laura Toscano		(screenplay) &
Franco Marotta		(screenplay)
Sandro Continenza		(dialogue) &
Sergio Grieco		(dialogue) &
Romano Migliorini		(dialogue) &
Laura Toscano		(dialogue) &
Franco Marotta		(dialogue)
Alberto Piferi		(Italian dialogue)

Original Music by
Francesco De Masi

Cinematography by
Giovanni Bergamini		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gianfranco Amicucci

Production Design by
Pier Luigi Basile		(as Pierluigi Basile)
Aurelio Crugnola

Set Decoration by
Pier Luigi Basile		(as Pierluigi Basile)
Aurelio Crugnola

Costume Design by
Ugo Pericoli

Makeup Department
Giancarlo De Leonardis	....	hair stylist
Giovanni Morosi	....	makeup artist (as Gianni Morosi)

Production Management
Ennio Di Meo	....	unit manager
Pino Mangogna	....	unit manager
Roberto Sbarigia	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mario Maffei	....	assistant director

Art Department
Enrico Sanchini	....	drapes

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	dubbing editor
Domenico Dubbini	....	sound recordist
Mario Ottavi	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Gino De Rossi	....	special effects

Stunts
Rocco Lerro	....	stunt coordinator
Angelo Ragusa	....	stunts
Clemente Ukmar	....	stunts
Franco Ukmar	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Gianfranco Massa	....	still photographer
Luciano Micheli	....	key grip
Silvano Michisanti	....	gaffer
Enrico Priori	....	assistant camera
Stefano Sbarigia	....	assistant camera
Otello Spila	....	camera operator
Gaetano Valle	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Otello Polci	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Roberto Amicucci	....	second assistant editor
Cesarina Casini	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Francesco De Masi	....	conductor

Other crew
Silvia Caperna	....	administrator
Gioia Donati	....	script supervisor
Armando Grilli	....	armorer
Egle Guarino	....	script supervisor
Alfonso Licata	....	administrator
Adalberto Spadoni	....	production accountant

Production Companies

• Film Concorde (as Film Concorde S.R.L.)

Distributors

• Capitol International (1978) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Alemannia-Filmverleih (1978) (West Germany) (theatrical) (cut)
• Universal Film Agency (1978) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (1978) (UK) (theatrical)
• American Transcontinental (1981) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Hokushin Audio Visual (1981) (UK) (VHS)
• Entertainment (1979) (UK) (theatrical)
• Valio-Filmi (1978) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Firebox (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• K & C Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Koch Media (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Severin Films (2008) (USA) (DVD) (3-disc explosive edition)
• Severin Films (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Cinecittà  sound post-production
• Vides Cinematografica  sound post-production (as Centro Cinematografico Vides)
• Elettronica Calpini  dubbing (as Sincronizzazione Elettronica Calpini)
• Società Attori Sincronizzatori (SAS)  dubbing collaboration
• Costumi d'Arte  wardrobe
• L.C.P.  footwear
• St. A.C.C.  weaponry
• Armando Grilli  weaponry
• Ditta Rancati  props (as Rancati)
• D'Angelo  props
• Set  props
• Sanchini  drapes (as Enrico Sanchini)
• Ditta Maggi  wigs (as Maggi)
• ATA  military vehicles furnished by (as A.T.A.)

Also Known As:

Bastardi senza gloria (Italy) (working title)
Counterfeit Commandos (USA) (reissue title)
Deadly Mission (USA) (video title)
G.I. Bro (USA) (recut version)
Hell's Heroes (USA) (video title)
The Dirty Bastard (Philippines: English title)
The Inglorious Bastards (USA)
Aquel maldito tren blindado (Spain) [es]
Assalto ao Trem Blindado (Brazil) (video title) [pt]
Bohaterowie z piekla (Poland) [pl]
Commando bastards (Norway) (video title) [no]
Ein Haufen verwegener Hunde (West Germany) [de]
Kelvottomat (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Med pansartåg till helvetet (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
O Expresso Blindado da S.S. Nazista (Brazil) [pt]
Oi iroes den koimountai pote (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Panssarijunalla helvettiin (Finland) [fi]
Saboteur horis doxa (Greece) [el]
Une poignée de salopards (France) [fr]

Runtime:

99 min | UK:90 min (cut version) | Germany:76 min (cut version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | German | French | English

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:(Banned) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (US version) | Sweden:15 (video rating) | Norway:15 (uncut DVD version) (2007) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2007) | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:18 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) | France:U | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1978) | USA:R | Norway:16 (video) (1981) (unrated video version) | Norway:(Banned) (1978-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Barbarano Romano, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Film Concorde

Trivia:

Fred Williamson is named as a co-writer on screenplay on deposit at the Library of Congress Copyright Office.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During several of the battles, the same actors can be seen dying multiple times, only from different camera angles.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Tony: Nicole! Nicole.
Nicole: Tony! Tony!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Conversation with Enzo Castellari and Quentin Tarantino (2008) (V)

Fun Italian War Adventure

Here's one the lightest, most fun Italian war movies I've come across. It features a top notch cast and some great action scenes.

Bo Svenson stars as an American officer who's thrown into a prison convoy with a murderer, Tony (Peter Hooten), Fred (Fred Williamson), a thief, Nick (Michael Pergolani), and a coward, Berle (Jackie Basehart). The convoy comes under attack by the Germans and the men escape across the French countryside. They enventually become wrapped up in an important Allied mission headed by Colonel Buckner (Ian Bannen).

The movie features a top notch cast. Peter Hooten is especially memorable as the bigot, Tony and Fred Williamson turns in a great performance. Bo Svenson, himself a renegade, still tries to do the decent job as an officer and keep these boys in line. Michael Pergolani has little to do in his role as the hippie/thief; he does have one great motorcycle stunt scene, though, a la Steve McQueen in THE GREAT ESCAPE. Watch for Michel Constantin (THE DIRTY HEROES) as a partisan leader; Donald O'Brien as a German officer and Enzo Castellari himself as a German officer.

The movie has some stunning action scenes; there are plenty of shootouts and explosions. The big gun battle amidst ruined German and American trucks and halftracks is especially impressive. The Partisan raid on the train near the end is well filmed, but features many repeated shots of the same action happening over and over again. The miniature work is not the greatest, but is much better than the later BATTLE OF THE EAGLES.

The plot is basically a combination of THE DIRTY DOZEN and BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS, but it's so fast-paced that you won't really care. Castellari lets only a few minutes go by before something important happens. He really develops his lead characters, which is another important feature we don't get to see much of in typical Italian war films.

Despite all of the good stuff, this movie has a few rough spots. For one thing, it's got a very needless love story sub-plot that never goes anywhere and has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Another complaint: there are some lengthy conversations between the German characters that weren't dubbed. It's impossible to understand what they're saying.

The movie is not for young kids. It features graphic violence, plenty of profanity and even *full* female nudity in one scene.

The version I saw was from Lightning Video, entitled DEADLY MISSION. The source print was of top quality, with fresh picture and good sound. The opening and closing titles, however, were apparently new material and feature some music that isn't heard anywhere else in the feature.

Overall, this is a fun-to-watch Italian adventure piece. For the great cast, production values and action scenes, I'll give a 6/10.