I love peeling back the curtain on movies, to see how they're made and hear all the juicy details about things that happened on set. There's plenty of that here in KILLIN' GENERALS, as it dives into the history of THE DIRTY DOZEN, although it feels more like what's generally called an "oral history" than a behind-the-scenes "making of" account, and by that I mean that there's more anecdotes than technical details. There's also an over abundance of scene breakdowns that describe events that are already shown in the movie, and bits of describing what's different between the book and the film; some of that detail could have been left out, especially if you're familiar with both the book and the movie. But that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of reading this "behind the scenes of the scenes" account of the making of the film. It's interesting and enjoyable if you're a fan of The Dirty Dozen.

A bit rough around the edges, but provides plenty of anecdotes from the people involved with making the film. The book felt more like a conversation in parts than an actual detailed analysis of the making of the film, but I really enjoyed reading about the characters behind the characters.

From an offhanded comment that spurred the author to want to create a nonfiction book about the prisoners who was sent behind enemy lines but because he couldn’t find enough validated information he decided to make it a fiction book added some flair got past all the naysayers to create the book and eventually the movie The Dirty Dozen. After a short bio on the author we get to hear all about the creation of a great story and many young boys favorite movies I know it was certainly my dad‘s favorite movie and many others. This is a great colorful entertaining book and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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Killin’ Generals: The Making of the Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WW II Movie of All Time by Dwayne Epstein takes a look at the World War II film The Dirty Dozen, from writing the book to its big screen adaptation. Mr. Epstein is a published biographer, and journalist.

Accidentally, or not so accidentally based on whatever privacy policies I was inclined to agree to, I saw this book just as I was started to watch The Dirty Dozen on one of my already-too-many streaming services. I have always enjoyed this movie, but saw it many years ago and it was nice to get a fresh perspective on this classic.

I didn’t realize how many actors evidently were propelled to fame by this movie. From Jim Brown and Charles Bronson, whose line “killing generals could get to be a habit with me” gave the book its title, to Donald Sutherland and, of course, Telly Savalas in all his bald Greek glory.

Killin’ Generals by Dwayne Epstein uses interviews, documents, and gossip to bring forth a complete story of this classic. The author also gives context to the success of the movie, by analyzing the environment in which it was released. America was in the midst of civil right protests, the Vietnam War, and other social issues. At the time Hollywood wasn’t afraid to hold a mirror up to the audiences, who certainly weren’t afraid to look.

I also never realized the impact The Dirty Dozen had on pop-culture. The movie was both a critical and commercial success, delivering superb acting, action, defying authority, mocking the military, all while killing Nazis galore. The picture was a template to other directors, and stories, which are with us to this day.

The author also tells of the dynamic relationships between the actors, the crew, and the writers. Lee Marvin, already an alcoholic was the consummate professional. Ironically, the other “big star” was popular singer Trini López, who attempted to “pull his weight” and his character was promptly killed off, and his career dwindled off. I also enjoyed seeing some of my favorite actors, Richard Jaeckel, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, and Robert Ryan among others.

I certainly enjoyed reading this book very much, as a fan of the movie and as fan movie making. The author goes into great detail re-telling the story of the novel by E. M. Nathanson , and the changes that were made to the motion picture, as well as behind the scenes anecdotes which I especially appreciate.

A little too descriptive on actual scenes in the movie. The author gives us entire play-by-play of what those who have watched the film have already seen. I enjoyed the parts about the actors themselves. Lee Marvin comes off ok, despite his alcoholism and failed marriage, but Charles Bronson just seemed like a real jerk. And maybe he was, but it would have been nice to have some balance with others that knew him well.

A behind the scenes history of one of my favorite movies, it shows how real0life and cinema often fight each other. From problems with filming to why creative decisions were made, I loved it.

A whopper of a walkthrough from start to finish that joyously celebrates the best things about the film's legacy while also remaining illuminating at nearly every page turn.

A big chunk of the first half might seem a touch like filler--there's a play-by-play of the book and then the differences in the film--but I imagine there's major value there for anyone desiring to nerd out on the details.

It's loaded to the max with interesting anecdotes, many of which are certain to re-contextualize the way you see the film. There's some snippets of thematic elements and translation of what both the book and movie stand for amongst specific conversations about crossroads that the production had to maneuver in order to become the success that it was (and remains).

As if just the history of the book and film weren't enough, Epstein does a great job of letting the reader know how the film changed the trajectory of its cast and crew. It's always fascinating to me what choices get actors from one project to the next (especially in this era), and, while most know of the TDD, it's been a recipient of respect for so long that it's kind of easy to just let it collect dust in the corner. Epstein is about to cause a whole lot of people to experience it, whether it's the first time or not. You certainly feel that impetus to pop it on as soon as you're done, and I think that's a testament to how wonderful of a work this is.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Citadel for the advance read.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Kensington Books for an advance copy of this portrait of a movie classic, its humble beginnings, its turbulent filming and its legacy as a movie classic.

People love the bad guy, and can't get enough of a good antihero. Especially in a war movie that features an ending showing a lot of Nazis getting their just desserts. Though a group of mostly unrepentant military prisoners given gasoline, grenades and carte blanche seems more like a Quentin Tarantino or Rob Zombie movie rather than a John Ford or Howard Hawks movie. Though Sam Fuller would have done a great job. The Dirty Dozen was a movie that hit at the perfect time. America was having doubts about the wars it had fought, violence was starting to inject itself into politics, and well antiheroes were becoming a thing. The story or men with no hope doing a dirty job without honor, just hit people, and became a film classic, changing careers, and even how movies were released. Writer and biographer Dwayne Epstein tells the story of the movies creation in the book Killin' Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WW II Movie of All Time.

Every good movie starts with a story and a good story is what journalist E. M. Nathanson had. A veteran, and a veteran writer for numerous papers and true crime magazines, Nathanson was friends with the filmmaker Russ Meyer, yes that Russ Meyer. Meyer had a story about filming a unit during the Second World War, who was different from other troops. They were dirty, mean, and not very military, but were being trained for a special mission of some sort. Meyer never heard anything more about it and told the story to Nathanson, who thought he could do something with it. After finding few facts, Nathanson decided to make the story a novel. Soon he had a book deal, and even better a movie deal, which was good as Nathanson had no real idea how to end the novel. Directors, producers and screenwriters came and went as did casts until a core team was set, a cast was decided and film history was made.

A very good look behind the scenes of a movie that I remember first seeing years ago I think on WOR channel 9 as a Saturday movie. Epstein has done a great job researching not only the book, but the movie and the making of, tracking down many previous interviews, some never seen before, and those who still had memories of what happened. The writing is very good with lots of facts and information. Plus there is a lot of information on the casts, Lee Marvin especially, who might have been a cool guy, but sounded awful to work with. There really is a lot for fans, from bloopers, using British equipment dressed as Nazi vehicles, other mistakes, and how certain members of the cast talked themselves out of the movie. The business side is covered, explaining how the studios worked, and how the success of the movies changed release schedules, well before rise of summer blockbusters like Jaws.

A very good book and a template for how film books should be written. There is a lot of facts, information on both the book, movie script changes, cast problems, and the sequels that followed. Definitely a book for fans of the the movie, but also for readers who enjoy books about the film industry and projects are created, bundled and made.

All this and World War II...
A very readable and interesting account of the making of one of the 1960s 'most memorable and violent war films.

Very enjoyable book about the making of “The Dirty Dozen”. Many fascinating stories about the months of filming and the people involved. If you are old enough to have seen this film when it came out, or even if you’ve seen it recently, you must read this book!

I’ve probably watched The Dirty Dozen at least several times and I never realized the time and effort it took to create and produce such a classic.

The novel is slow in at least the first 21% of the book. It’s basically a rehashing of the movie, but it is an integral part of the narrative. I thought that I would have appreciated the novel a lot more if I re-watched the move first. However, now that I’ve read the book, I’m looking forward to watching the movie with an enlightened perspective.

Once I got past the 21% point, the novel just took off. It got so much more interesting. Especially the selection process, the history, and status of the actors featured in the movie. I didn’t realize that there was so much drama behind the scenes and that the movie was over budget, and past it’s timeline to production. Little did I know that Lee Marvin was awarded the purple heart and that as a result of PTSD (a term unknown at that time,) Lee suffered from chronic alcoholism. And who would have thought that Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland got their iconic careers by way of The Dirty Dozen movie?

Watch the movie, read the book, and I’m sure you’ll be just as impressed as I was. Five amazing stars.

I received a digital ARC from Kensington Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

I genuinely enjoyed this book as it answered many questions I've always had about the film. By briefly summarizing the contents of the original novel (which runs over 500 pages!) I appreciated the way The Dirty Dozen differed dramatically from book to film and why the changes were made. The back story of it's production and it the myriad of conflicts was equally fascianting. Kudos to all invovled!

Loved reading this behind the scenes of the making of the Dirty Dozen. I learned a lot. And it was a quick read.

I'm not a mega-fan of The Dirty Dozen but, like most Americans of a certain age, I've seen the film many times and I like "making of" books. That being said Killin' Generals by Dwayne Epstein has some great stuff; nice little behind the scene tidbits, "new" (not previously published) interviews with some of the cast and those who knew them well, the kind of things you look for in something like this.

The origins of the movie, the novel that inspired it and the unverified story that in turn inspired the book, are pretty interesting. The author breaks down the threads of where the idea came from, efforts to verify what was supposed to be a true story, the plot of the novel, and how the eventual movie differs from the book. Unfortunately, I found the synopsis of the original book to be overlong for my taste; it was simply way more detail than I wanted or needed. Once I got past that part it was a quick, fun filled read.

Ultimately the book is good not great. The extended synopsis of the original novel was a bit of a slog to get through but overall it was an enjoyable experience. My biggest takeaway from this book? I really want to read Dwayne Epstein's biography of Lee Martin (Lee Marvin: Point Blank).

DNF @ 25%

I despise books that talk down to their readers, and Killin' Generals happens to be one of that variety. The second and third chapters are choc-a-block full of writing that is supposed to summarise the film's events. I use "supposed to" because it goes on and on and on, and in the most painfully dull manner imaginable. Have you heard of the film of paint drying an indie filmmaker sent to the BBFC some years ago? This book is similar to that. I could not fathom why Dwayne Epstein would think this appropriate, nor come up with a reason why the people involved in the book's production didn't excise it. It serves no purpose. You're writing a book about The Dirty Dozen, a film everyone and their grandmother has seen or heard of. And should you think this is a service you're doing to those who haven't watched the film, be rest assured Mark Seal and Uday Bhatia did not feel the need to do the same in their respective books about The Godfather and Satya. Awful, awful stuff.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for an ARC of this book.

I love making of movies type books, and this was really well done. It was engaging and what I've come to expect from this type of book. I enjyoed the way Dwayne Epstein wrote this, I could tell that he researched it really well and was invested in the topic. It was cool to read about the making of one of my favorite movie, I look forward to more from the author and I hope he does another making of movie book.

"One of those actors was John Cassavetes, whose reasons for agreeing to make the film were very different. “John Cassavetes was a marvelous actor,” mused Ken Hyman. “He was a good writer, good director. He was also a pain in the ass.” Hyman knew of what he spoke, based on the effort it took to get the maverick to agree to be in the film, but at the end of the day, Cassavetes had no choice."