SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

GUENOT PHILIPPE I won't add many things to the other users have already said. Just here, Steve mc Queen had - SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS - a death very similar to the one he will have several years later in THE SAND PEEBLES, where, at the end, he is shot in the back whilst he runs to get covered under the enemy fire. He is shot, he falls down and his face looks surprised. Except that in this film, he is not quite dead and has still the strength to get up, take the grenade or explosive purse and throw himself into the German blockhaus to get exploded with the enemy.

Fella_shibby This n blob were among the first few films of McQueen which i saw during school days n i became a fan of him. I saw his magnificent seven n others after these two. The future king of cool played an angry, morose, detached loner in this flick. McQueen being the best reason to see this movie. James Coburn was good too. Bob Newhart in his very first movie role. Its a very good film, not quite in the league of Platoon, Apocalypse Now or Thin Red Line. But fans of the genre, the director and/or the star should definitely check this one out. I am fascinated by World War II, but i think a lot of 1950s and 60s WWII movies are too cheesy to be believed except a few. Also, Hell is for Heores has got one of the best directors of his time, Don Siegal, director of Dirty Harry. This one of Steve McQueens best performances and if you like war films and you haven't seen this film, then see it.Spoilers ahead, the death scene of McQueen was brutal n memorable. A wounded Mcqueen blowing up enemies fortification n its occupants and himself. The same scene's deja vu effect was in the bollywood war movie Border, (my fave bollywood war movie ) when during the climax akshay khanna does a la McQueen way of blowing up himself n the enemies.

mrb1980 Lots of WWII films were made during the 1950s and 1960s. There were low-budget films with unknown casts, there were big-budget blockbusters, there were dumb movies with German officers speaking in perfect, clipped English, and there were lots of flag-waving films in which the U.S. Army can do no wrong. Don Siegel's "Hell is for Heroes" isn't like any other WWII movie I've ever seen. It's tough, cynical, realistic, and has a top cast of young Hollywood stars.The plot is about a small U.S. infantry force that must hold out against a much larger, stronger German company in 1944 near the Siegfried Line. Steve McQueen plays Reese, a troubled soldier who nonetheless is a brutally efficient fighting man. Harry Guardino and Fess Parker play his superior officers. Among the fine cast are Mike Kellin, Bob Newhart, Nick Adams, James Coburn, and Bobby Darin.Don Siegel punches the movie across without clichés, and Steve McQueen is chillingly believable as Reese, the killing machine. The only part I didn't like was the subplot about milquetoast clerk Bob Newhart taking a wrong turn and ending up in the middle of the fighting; I thought that little subplot distracted from the film. You should make a point to watch "Hell is for Heroes" to see the late Steve McQueen in a good early-career role, and to see the rest of the powerhouse young cast.

Spikeopath Autumn 1944, and the powerful Nazi army moves along the Siegried Line. With immense firepower and a high volume of soldiers, it's only a matter of time before they break thru the line. In their way is a small band of GIs, who thru sheer guts and ingenuity, devise a ruse to fool the Nazis into thinking a huge Alied Task Force is holding the line. But just how long can they keep up the pretence?Directed with unfussy and straight know how by Don Siegel, Hell Is For Heroes is an adaptation of Robert Pirosh's script titled Separation Hill. Very much a tale of brains to go with courage, it's actually a picture that is grounded in fact. There really were seven men who used the ruse that is the centre of the film. Very much an ensemble picture, it wasn't without problems during production. Robert Pirosh was actually meant to direct the film, but after headliner Steve McQueen voiced opinions and requests, Pirosh was promptly fired. Enter Siegel, who quickly earned McQueen's respect and crafted the intended ensemble film and not the one man story that McQueen had openly coveted. The final result is a rewarding one on both counts. McQueen does dominate the film by putting an edgy believability to his character Reese, but we do come away knowing that this film is about a group of men coming together under duress.In spite of favourable reviews on its release, Hell Is For Heroes wasn't particularly fancied by its studio {Paramount}. Releasing it as a double bill with the Yul Bryner yawner, Escape from Zahrain, Siegel's picture sadly vanished from view and judged a failure. But as the years have passed, the film, and McQueen's excellent performance, has grown in stature and garnered a new generation of fans. Director Stanley Kubrick {Full Metal Jacket} even going so far as to say McQueen's turn was "the best portrayal of a solitary soldier he'd ever seen", something that Kubrick wouldn't have said lightly I'm sure. With its stark black and white photography (Harold Lipstein), booming Leonard Rosenman score, and a highly impressive young cast led by McQueen, Hell Is For Heroes is a WWII film that simply should not be missed; just like the film itself, a gritty and realistic 8/10 from me.