The Battle Of El Alamein (1969)

"B" is for B-Movie

- The 1969 war film The Battle Of El Alamein is a rickety low-budget spaghetti war film. Not an attempt to chronicle the Battle of El Alamein cinematically, the film puts out its anti-war themes through the story of a select portion of the Italian army fighting in the battle. The film could have been good; the Battle of El Alamein was a turning point for the British army in World War II and is an interesting and exciting story that holds the potential to be very profound if handled well. Unfortunately, The Battle Of El Alamein is a cheap-looking, dull, and soulless B-movie - not bad enough to be completely written off but not good enough to really be worth anyone's time. The acting is not worth noting - except for the fact that the guy they got to play British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery looks almost EXACTLY like the real historical figure - and the story and dialogue lack feeling. The film is horribly put together; odd editing splices and watered-down picture quality are in abundance from the film's open to close. The fact that the original print looks damaged beyond repair does not help matter much - Mill Creek Entertainment could not put Humpty together again for the "50 Combat Classics" DVD collection anyway. The final scenes give the viewer something to look forward to but an hour and a half of boring B-movie comes before them.


Check out The Battle Of El Alamein only if you are a die-hard fan of war films - the film is easily available....

CBC Rating: 5/10