Cheap Attack (DVD) (Jack Palance, Lee Marvin) (Robert Aldrich) Price

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Customer Reviews of Attack

One of the most underrated war movies ever!
I have to concur with the other reviews written here: "Attack" is a great war film. Although most people have never heard of it. One of the reasons for that is the cast: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, and Buddy Ebsen do not exactly bring to mind a group of actors who created one of the grittiest war movies ever made. Instead most people will think of pushups at the Oscars, Arnold the talking pig, and Jed Clampett. Yet anyone who ignores this film because of its cast are doing themselves a disservice.

"Attack" is one of several films that was ignored by critics in their rush to dimiss any WWII movie made before "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Thin Red Line" as a patriotic flag waver that was guilty of sanitizing the horrors of war. "Attack" was one of the first war movies to show that not all WWII commanders were worthy of the men they lead. Some commanders were incompentent and got their men unneccessarily killed. Others had no leadership skills and created animosity and divisions within their unit. Others were cowards who would not do what they ordered their men to do. Eddie Albert's company commander in "Attack" is all the above. What does a unit do when its own commander is its worst enemy? That is the story of "Attack."

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A Neglected Classic
Many of the friends with whom I share "Top Ten" lists do not include Attack! among their favorite war films. In fact, few of them have seen it and that's a shame. Perhaps its title (like Zulu's) deters them. Perhaps the cast lacks appeal. Who knows? Perhaps even they don't. In any event, I think this is a brilliant screen adaptation of a play written by Norman Brooks (The Fragile Fox) which focuses on a cowardly officer, Captain Erskine Cooney (Eddie Albert). What is even worse than entrusting him with his command is allowing him to continue with it despite evidence of incompetence. For that, Colonel Bartlett (Lee Marvin) must be blamed. (Of course, he has his self-serving reasons which are revealed in the film.) Brilliantly directed by Robert Aldrich, Albert and the other cast members are first-rate but Jack Palance as Lieutenant Joe Costa is the gravitational center of the compelling narrative. It is almost possible to hear his teeth grinding as he endures Cooney throughout much of the film. Finally....

At first glance, the cast consists of an odd combination which includes Palance, Albert, Marvin, Buddy Ebsen (Sergeant Tolliver), Robert Strauss (Private Bernstein), Richard Jaeckel (Private Snowden), and William Smithers (Lieutenant Woodruff)...most of whom (notably Albert and Marvin) portray characters unlike most with which they are usually identified. Obviously, a major war creates odd "trench fellows" but, thanks to the talents brought to bear by Aldrich and his cast, this film has credibility and authenticity throughout its running time of less than two hours. Tension is inevitable in combat. Our emotional involvement is increased and enhanced by curiosity as to how much damage Cooney's inadequacies will eventually cause, and, whether or not his cowardice will be punished. In many instances, screen adaptations of plays seem talky, "staged," confined, etc. Not so with Attack! It can be fully appreciated without knowing that it is based on The Fragile Fox whose clever title is probably inappropriate title for a film.

Those who share my high regard for Attack! are urged to check out Paths of Glory (1957), Breaker Morant (1980), and Gallipoli (1981).

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Great plot for its time, but a horrible movie
Having read the reviews posted here, I had to respond. This movie is one of the worst examples of war movies I have ever seen. Yes, the tension is seething between the two antagonists, but the sets are cheap, the dialogue laughable, and the acting hilarious. Jack Palance would do most any movie great credit with his performance, but with the rest of this cast so pathetic, he comes off as completely overacting.

Everything about this movie is Hollywood garbage. Defiant, cruel Germans. Tough, willing Americans. The tactics are laughable, and the lingo is inaccurate.

Yes there is some gore and this is not a rally-round-the-flag, patriotic entertainer, but this is a script that should have stayed on a stage. Perhaps the only saving grace is that while they used U.S. tanks to portray the Germans, they at least had the decency to visually modify them to look somewhat like German vehicles.

Also, the DVD has a skip in the final battle, and the final scene is offset on your screen so you can't view it all.