UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

HotToastyRag Oh, Richard Burton looks good in a uniform, his face a little sweaty and his cap tilted on his brow, conflicted about giving an order to his troops. He looks so very good. That's pretty much the only reason why I sat through The Desert Rats, and probably why he made eight wartime movies after this one.The Desert Rats isn't a spectacular war movie. It isn't bloody, it isn't particularly exciting, and it doesn't really have any plot outside the battlefield. Mostly, it's about the strategy Richard Burton, his superiors, and his troops employ in order to stay alive in the middle of the desert before reinforcements can help them. James Mason plays a German bad guy, but he's only given a few scenes, so if it's a James Mason performance you're after, skip this one. And if you're not really interested in strategy, you can also skip this one. Unless, that is, you want to look at Richard Burton in a uniform.

reisen55 I had the pleasure of watching this intense, small movie the other night and what a fine depiction of war and responsibilities of command it indeed is. Burton expresses most eloquently the burden that those who must order attacks, and order death, face every day. This is a timeless message. The action is gritty and realistic, particularly given the time it was made. Not one missed beat. It can also be called cousin to THE DESERT FOX, also with James Mason as Rommel, a very similar film with a broader and longer(time element) story. Interestingly, both films carry non-credited narration by Michael Rennie. So they are a pair and quite fine together.Next I put TOBRUK into the player, the 1967 Universal film with Rock Hudson, George Peppard and many others. This epic is entirely different from RATS and the feeling is very much the BIG SCREEN Hollywood film. And yet some things are similar - blown up fuel and ammo dumps. Lotsa trucks and desert. TOBRUK in particular has always had a spectacular explosive ending, indeed one of the largest in cinema history in my opinion.Given the comparison, THE DESERT RATS is more interesting film, certainly the more realistic. It is smaller and touches upon profound subjects and has Richard Burton at his best. You cannot ask for a better evening than the company of this great actor.

Homer900 I haven't seen this gem in almost 20 years and AMC presented it today. An excellent look at the British war effort against the Germans and Italians in North Africa. Except for the minor mistakes of weaponry (American made Thompsons in the hands of Germans, Colt M1917 water-cooled MGs for German MGs, etc) this was a realistic and rousing tale of the North African campaign. Of course Hollywood liberties were taken, it is a movie, not a documentary. The interplay between Richard Burton and Robert Newton was excellent, with Newton's performance the proper balance for Burton's sometimes hysterical scene-chewing. That is is based loosely on real events and in many cases ANZAC and British troops did hold back Rommel's attacks many times only enhances the story. Kudos to the makers and an excellent addition to any war movie collection.

chall-5 This is a really enjoyable movie. Burton and Newton do a fine job, as do a cast of familiar British character actors. James Mason in his first outing as Rommel is especially fun. He reprised the role in a later Rommel bio-pic (titled "The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel").Despite it's age, most of the attempts at special effects (artillery in the distance, explosions done via matte) come off well. As for the scenes where they really shoot off some pyrotechnics, they spared no expense! The overall portrait of the desert and army life looks very real and has the ring of truth. The plot is exciting and never drags.The only problems are the over-patriotic script (I guess we should cut them some slack here, this movie was made much closer to the war than we are today!) and as noted elsewhere, the inappropriate German weapons. It's amazing that they used Thompson machine guns instead of MP40's, when for the next 30 years everybody from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." to James Bond would use the MP40 all over the place. In summary I think this movie was a bit better than I expected and holds up well to repeated viewings.