Killin’ Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WW II Movie of All Time

Best-selling biographer and self-avowed The Dirty Dozen geek Epstein (Lee Marvin: Point Blank) offers an elaborately researched and detailed valentine to the 1967 film. Epstein argues that, through a confluence of late-1960s tumultuous social upheaval, anti-authoritarianism, and celebration of antiheroes, The Dirty Dozen turned the traditional war-movie tropes upside down to create a seminal movie that still resonates more than 50 years later; in 2001, the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 most thrilling films of all time. Epstein’s rollicking book is divided into three sections that comprehensively examine the movie’s inception and the 1965 novel by E.M. Nathanson on which it was based. The saga of shooting the film, including both pre- and post-production accounts, The Dirty Dozen’s reception, and its enduring legacy are all covered in exquisite detail. Generously infused throughout Epstein’s narrative are priceless anecdotes about the film’s cast (including Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Jim Brown, and Ernest Borgnine) and director Robert Aldrich.