Kelly’s Heroes (1970)

Baffling film set in World War II. 

Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas lead a group of American soldiers in France on a mission to retrieve a stash of Nazi gold, aided by Donald Sutherland. 

It tries to be a comedy, but isn’t funny. It completely lacks dramatic tension, too, so it can’t work as a war film either. The beginning is painfully slow. When the mission finally gets underway it improves a little but the ending is a major disappointment. 

I have no idea what the film was trying to achieve. Clint Eastwood is wasted in his part, and there’s even a fake “Western” scene added in to make the most of his popularity in that field. His 1970 haircut makes no attempt to look like it’s from the 1940s. Likewise, Donald Sutherland’s awkward, embarrassing hippy character is a deliberate anachronism. But why? Is it intended to be a subversive parody of contemporary (i.e., 1970) American culture?

There could have been a decent wartime comedy or satire in there somewhere, but director Brian G. Hutton fails to find it. 

One of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen, and not in a good way.

Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Superb drama. Robert Dupea is a moody, troubled drifter who runs away from commitment. When he learns that his father is unwell he travels back to his family home where he’s presented with truths about himself and his relationships that he has been trying to evade all his life.

This film is perfectly cast. Jack Nicholson is mesmerising in the main role. Karen Black is brilliant as Rayette, his waitress girlfriend – a Tammy Wynette fan he’s embarrassed by because she’s of a lower class than his musically gifted, well-educated family. Particularly strong is Lois Smith as Robert’s pianist sister Partita.

Issues of social status and identity slowly unfold, but there are moments of humour too. There’s a wonderful scene in which Robert picks up two hitchhikers. One of them (played by Helena Kallianiotes) is obsessed by dirt and talks about nothing else. The other, her friend, is played by a young Toni Basil. This has nothing to do with the plot but adds so much in terms of character. I love the fact that films of this era had the freedom to develop their writing in this way. Likewise, the climactic father-and-son scene offers no simple solutions or resolutions as it would if Five Easy Pieces had been made today.