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From Hell to Victory More at IMDbPro »

6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Gritty Drama Mixes with Stock Footage and Clichés, 16 November 2005

Author: SgtSlaughter from St. Davids, Pennsylvania, USA

Infamous hack Umberto Lenzi returns to the war genre, this time to remake his own 1977 epic "The Greatest Battle". Both films are rather uneven, muddled attempts to capitalize on the success of Hollywood's huge 1976 money-maker, "Midway".

Although "From Hell to Victory" is definitely the stronger of Lenzi's two back-to-back epics, the storyline is completely convoluted and a complete rip-off of the previous film. In August, 1939, six friends meet in Paris and vow to reunite every year at a café no matter what the circumstances. Needless to say, WWII changes that plan. Brett (George Peppard) returns to the United States and becomes an OSS officer; Maurice (George Hamilton) finds himself on the beach at Dunkirk; Jurgen (Horst Buchholz) joins the German army and becomes disillusioned by Nazism; Fabienne (Anne Duperey) joins the French resistance. Rick (Jean-Pierre Cassel) joins the RAF, and Ray (Sam Wanamaker) becomes a war correspondent. Their paths will cross throughout the film, concluding with a bittersweet reunion in France during the summer of 1944.

Okay, that said, let's analyze this "story" a little bit. Lenzi presents us with thumbnail sketches of his characters, and then jumps right into the action. Throughout, there is little to no character development; we simply follow several people through the war. This mess should not be as entertaining as it is. And, at first glance this looks like a very original piece of work, but fans of the director will realize that it's just a complete hack job: for one thing, Lenzi's characters are straight out of "The Greatest Battle": Peppard mirrors Henry Fonda, in fact, even Ray Lovelock shows up here to play his pretty-boy son who turns into a hero (again); Hamilton is a takeoff of Giuliano Gemma, and even accompanies Lovelock on a mission to France (as Gemma did to North Africa in the previous film). Buchholz and Duperey fall in love, despite the fact that they are on opposite sides, a la Stacy Keach and Samantha Eggar… the list simply goes on. A series of climaxes are taken straight out of "The Greatest Battle" as well: main characters kill one another from a distance without realizing they're killed a friend; the attack on a German bunker looks awfully familiar – this is the third time Lenzi has shot the same type of shoot-'em-up sequence! Secondly, Lenzi also stages much of the action around stock footage from other, better films. A good deal of the expensive-looking tank battles is lifted from the 1967 epic "The Dirty Heroes", and almost all of the aerial battle photography is taken right out Enzo Castellari's "Eagles over London". The Dunkirk evacuation, in particular, is a total sham. What's amazing is how well this stock footage is edited with the original sequences – I first saw "From Hell to Victory" a few years before "The Dirty Heroes" and "Eagles over London" and was awed by the scope; it wasn't until I saw these films that I realized how much of Lenzi's "work" was just cut from other movies. The only strong action sequence that stands out is a shootout atop the Eiffel Tower, which has got to be one of the most suspenseful, best-edited scenes ever shot. It compares to the most memorable moments in "The Last Hunter" and "The Dirty Dozen" – it's just that good.

For all of the lack of originality, this piece still manages to be fairly entertaining. The cast are all confident and able; it's finally nice to see Peppard in a role where he doesn't have to constantly chew the scenery (he's only a decent actor, not a dramatic genius); he simply is laid back and completely at ease with his surroundings. The ensemble cast does a pretty fair job as well: Ray Lovelock seems a lot more serious about his role than he did in "The Greatest Battle" and George Hamilton seems to be having plenty of fun as a French commando. Buchholz's performance is a little hard to swallow at times, and his character transition from pacifist to die-hard Nazi is not very rational because it is barely developed. Even so, he tries hard and makes his material fairly believable, even if he is still just delivering dialogue rather than really acting.

Despite its many flaws, "From Hell to Victory" has become a widely circulated World War II film through the blessings of rental stores, flea markets and eBay. There's nothing to indicate to American audiences that it is a spaghetti war flick: the principles are familiar American and European actors, and the film plays a lot like a Hollywood drama. Lenzi's direction is somewhat restrained in comparison to his earlier efforts, almost as if he is trying to disguise his work. The credits list the crew and director under pseudonyms, rounding out its "Americanism". It's not a great film in any way, but it's packed with action and engaging situations. Don't go digging for this one, but if you see a dusty video copy, it's worth checking out.

4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Reunion Film, 23 May 2006

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

Not that George Peppard and George Hamilton were any kind of buddy duo in the way Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were, but they did do two well received films together, The Victors and Home from the Hill. But for a reunion film it would have been nice if they had gotten something better than this.

In fact this is a reunion film of a bunch of players who seem to hit the heights of their careers around the beginning of the Kennedy years. Peppard, Hamilton, Capucine. Horst Bucholtz all were at their respective peaks around 1961. None of them ever really reached any kind of screen immortality and with only Hamilton left among them were not likely to see another reunion film.

Thankfully not another one like Contro 4 Bandiere. It's a cobbled together film of action sequences from other products and newsreels. The plot has six friends of varying background in Paris having good times a week before the start of World War II. They pledge to see each other at that Paris cafe every year, but war does intervene and they're all not on the same side.

Some make it, some don't and if you're interested to see who shows up then watch Contro 4 Bandiere.

5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Pretty terrible war film, 6 July 2002
Author: Joker-26 from Ireland

Apart from the German and Allied uniforms in this film, there's not much else to it. I mean, come on, they painted German markings on British spitfires and funnily enough the Brits looked like they were flying Curtis fighters (US-made). And the whole sequencing of the air battles looked so fake, as if from a 1930s film. And some of the air shots looked like they were done in a studio with arm-sized aircraft models!! Did anyone remember the tank battle as well at the end. The 'German' Panzers were actually American Patton tanks, built around the late 40s. It just looked so amateurish and cheap when you compare it to a film like a Bridge too Far, made ten years earlier (and which I concede had a much bigger budget). I mean, why bother with air and tank battles when you can't even make them look half realistic? The other thing i noticed was that all the explosions that were supposed to be stopping the 'Panzers' actually exploded beside or in front of the tanks, and yet the tank would come to a grinding halt!! Ridiculous.

But I'll admit the military action not involving tanks and aircraft looked decent enough (such as when Peppard infiltrates enemy installations to plant explosives, etc.) But overall the acting was wooden, mainly from the main actors. The only good performance was from George Hamilton who played 'Maurice', a French commando. Peppard himself was ok, but he did have a better acting scope than this which was not utilised.

Overall, 3/10.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Lenzi epic never reaches potential, 6 March 2008

Author: paul_johnr from New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

'Contro 4 Bandiere' AKA 'From Hell to Victory' was a last hurrah in epic war film-making for director Umberto Lenzi. Lenzi first broke into this genre during the late 1960s when he made two Second World War potboilers, 'Desert Commandos' (1967) and 'Battle of the Commandos' (1969). While cheaply made, the films were energetic and drew attention to a young talent. Nearly a decade passed, however, before Lenzi touched upon war films again, preferring to work in giallo, poliziottescho, and horror. 'The Greatest Battle,' Lenzi's third war film, was a highly-budgeted flop in 1978 that included Henry Fonda, John Huston, and Orson Welles. Just one year later, Lenzi was given another chance with 'From Hell to Victory,' a bungled French-Italian co-production that again offered noteworthy actors and sizable production values.

Outside of a few gialli and poliziotteschi, there are not many good things to say about Lenzi's résumé and his critics will find plenty of ammunition in 'From Hell to Victory.' The film offers a unique concept, but its plot line and script are mostly a rewrite of 'The Greatest Battle,' shown in theaters just one year before. Producer Edmondo Amati's inability to finance battle scenes is also clear throughout, with Lenzi using stock footage to piece together the action. While such cleverness may have worked in cinemas thirty years ago, Lenzi's penny-pinching is easily dissected through VHS tapes and DVD, making him an easy target for ridicule.

'From Hell to Victory' opens in August, 1939, at a Parisian riverside café, where six intellectuals are enjoying a day out. With war on the horizon, these friends agree to reunite at the café every August 24th, regardless of circumstance. The Second World War breaks up their plans, however, as all six people disband across Europe. American Brett Rosson (George Peppard) becomes an OSS officer and meets up with estranged son Jim (Ray Lovelock), who is disgusted by his relationship with a French heiress (Capucine). Frenchman Maurice Bernard (George Hamilton) survives the Dunkirk evacuation and becomes a commando for the allied forces. Englishman Richard Sanders (Jean-Pierre Cassel), also a Dunkirk veteran, protects his country as an RAF fighter. German Jürgen Dietrich (Horst Buchholz) becomes a high-ranking Nazi officer. Second American Ray MacDonald (Sam Wanamaker) becomes a war correspondent in London, finally meeting his grown English daughter Mary (May Heatherly). The lone woman of the six is Fabienne Bonnoir (Anny Duperey), who joins the French Resistance.

Like 'The Greatest Battle,' this film uses its characters as a springboard for wartime events. However, the script of 'From Hell to Victory' is considerably better; rather than using the characters as superficial glue, they are a key element of what is taking place. These six people are important to the larger wartime scenarios and they undergo a small amount of development. The storyline is more fleshed out than in 'The Greatest Battle' and there are actually some touching moments. To the film's credit, 'From Hell to Victory' is well-acted; Peppard, Hamilton, and the other cast members have sympathy for their roles and do their best to overcome the script's weaknesses.

However, 'From Hell to Victory' is a technical fiasco. It is poorly shot, has incredibly bad editing, and does a rotten job of 'pretending' to be on a much greater scale than was actually filmed. When away from the battlefields, 'From Hell to Victory' has a fair amount of competence; but Lenzi (credited as 'Hank Milestone') did not have billions of francs or lira at his disposal and was forced to use aerial and infantry stock footage from larger productions. Care was taken in the new sequences to make them fit with the old, but it's all too obvious that clips were taken from another source. Lenzi and hack editor Vincenzo Tomassi attempted to hide this by using breakneck pacing and angle-changing that has been a constant in the director's films. This fast pace captures the insane atmosphere of war, but it also looks poorly organized and amateurish. Cinematographer José Luis Alcaine has won numerous awards for his work and you would never know it from the murky, uncoordinated picture that's on display here. On the other hand, there is fairly good dubbing and the uplifting orchestral score of Riz Ortolani actually rates with Hollywood compositions.

With the Italian film industry waning in 1979, 'From Hell to Victory' was Lenzi's final chance to direct an epic and he finished light years short in most respects. 'From Hell to Victory' was doomed to budget limitations and had its fate sealed from the outset. This is unfortunate, because a wonderful idea is hiding underneath the poor script, slapdash direction, and horrendous technical work. One can only guess what might have resulted from a company with more time and finances at its disposal. Certainly, the film's plot would have been more thorough (it's just 101 minutes long!) and perhaps a few genuine planes and tanks would have been thrown into the bargain.

'From Hell to Victory' was actually broadcast on CBS Television in the mid-80s and has survived on VHS tape amongst collectors. In 2004, Trinity Home Entertainment released a no-frills DVD that doesn't really improve on older versions. The film is presented in widescreen, but seems to have an incorrect aspect ratio at times; I can't tell if this resulted from a poor transfer or bad filming on Lenzi's part. Trinity never seems to clean up the titles in their catalogue and, unsurprisingly, this film is loaded with grain and artifacts. The sound is in Dolby 2.0, which brings Riz Ortolani's score to the forefront; however, dialogue carries an underlying hiss and crackle. You can forget about extras on this disc and it would be nice if Lenzi were interviewed about his war films at some point, especially since they drew the best actors of his career. If nothing else, 'From Hell to Victory' is a curious item and deserves one look for its major cast.

** out of 4

Great premise very poor execution., 3 April 2007

Author: Shane Killen from Co.Londonderry UK

The idea behind this film of 6 friends caught up in WWII promises so much but fails to deliver dismally. The idea of 6 friends, of differing nationalities, being forced to chose sides, their countries or their friends, alludes to the futility of war and that only nations make war, not individual people. The acting in this film, despite the presence of some very good actors, is strained and wooden. The combat sequences are awful with British aircraft having German markings and American aircraft having British markings. Those looking for historical actuary re. Equipment and uniforms should look elsewhere. This film just doesn't live up to the idea under lying it. Having said that the idea behind this film is excellent and if executed properly, and with a descent budget and cast, could rank along side the greatest war films of all time.

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
How could they make so many errors?, 9 October 2006

Author: welsa from United States

I agree with all of the other comments about this sorry movie. But I was watching it with an eye to accuracy. There were a couple of very outstanding goofs! There is a scene during the early occupation of France by Germany where a German soldier is telling an American woman that she cannot leave France. Why? Because today is December the 8th, and we are at war with America, he told her.

Wrong! Germany did not declare war on America until December 11. (Historical footnote: Germany never declared war on any country it invaded. The one nation it declared war against, the US, it never invaded!)

Later in the film during the sabotage raid on the munitions factory in Holland, a bomber was supposed to keep the Germans busy by dropping bombs all around the area. Funny thing, though, the plane never had a bomb bay door open, but the bombs kept falling anyway. I'm no expert on types of planes, but was there a two engine bomber with only a two man crew?

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