Grunts, Guns and Grenades: Great Commando Films

Probably the best of the genre; tense thriller with great acting. You can feel the clock ticking away right to the end.

Another great one from Alistair Maclaine. Commandos in search of a captured general. Their mission: get him out or silence him, but there are doublecrosses galore. Great cast.

Not strictly a commando film, but commando missions are at the center. Richard Burton must lead a band of men on a raid behind German lines to harass them until the British are ready for a counteroffensive against Rommel.

Not a favorite of many, but it has its moments. I particularly enjoy the back and forth between Edward Fox and Robert Shaw. Harrison Ford is a bit too reserved here.

Again, not strictly a commando film, but it is a special forces unit, so it counts, in my book. Great cast, with a nice mix of comedy and drama.

A commando team of condemned prisoners. Copied by everyone under the sun, this is the original and the best. Lee Marvin is completely authentic.

An odd choice, but the infiltration of the Death Star is a basic commando film staple.

It reuses footage and is rather far-fetched, but is carried on the strength of Burton and Wolfgang Preiss. If nothing else, it's a bit different.

Mercenary commandos, hired to free a deposed African ruler. Things don't work out as planned (as is usual in these things) and improvisation is essential. Steals quite a bit of plot from Forsyth's The Dogs of War.

This adaptation of Forsyth is a bit shaky. It has some good moments and Walken carries things through the rough parts. Tom Berenger is a bit too over the top, but it is mostly satisfying.

OK, really a spy film, but it has a pretty entertaining, if rather over-the-top commando mission in the climax. You can't beat modern (for the 60s) ninja commandos attacking a volcano fortress!

Another mercenary film, with a team sent via railway to rescue white mine workers from a Simba attack. This one gets pretty nasty and illustrates that the mercenaries aren't particularly heroic and the whites aren't exactly innocent victims. More complex than others of the mercenary genre.

A fantasy commando raid on an enemy fortress, to rescue a princess. Ken Marshall is pretty bland, but the supporting characters make up for it and the visual effects serve the story well.

A Western commando mission to rescue the kidnapped wife of a rich and powerful man. Lee Marvin puts together a team of specialists, including Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Woody Strode. Great turn of the century stuff, where things aren't black and white.

A nice twist on the commando genre, with a group of opportunists out to steal some gold. Great character actors and Clint Eastwood. You can't get much better than that.

Errol Flynn leads of band of men deep into enemy territory in Burma. Things don't quite work out and they have to go on the run. A bit of a departure for Flynn and war movies of the era. It has its overly patriotic parts, but never turns into a complete cartoon.

A combination of commandos and partisans attempt to sabotage the German nuclear program by destroying a heavy water plant. Plenty of cat and mouse and arguments about the moral nature of war.

About as one-sided as they come, and not strictly a commando film; but the second half fits squarely in that territory as the special forces team must capture a North Vietnamese general, deep in enemy territory. Mike Henry's death scene is beyond ridiculous but is a crowd favorite. Don't miss the imfamous sun setting in the East shot.

Based on the actual mission of the SAS patrol Bravo Two Zero. The group is tasked to carry out reconnaisance of the Iraqi scud sites, but things go sour quickly. There is plenty of debate about the accuracy of Andy McNab's book, but the film carries out the drama well.

One of two films produced nearly simultaneously about the amazing Israeli rescue mission. Charles Bronson is his usual low key self, but there are plenty of great character performers, especially Yaphet Kotto as Idi Amin.

Another that is more special forces than commando raid, but who cares? Frank Sinatra leads a combined group of American, Brits, and Kachins against the Japanese in Burma. They have to launch a strike against a Japanese base deep in enemy territory but also find that their supposed allies aren't exactly trustworthy. Nice performance by Steve McQueen.

Decent little actioner, with Rock Hudson, George Peppard and Nigel Green. Commandos try to infiltrate and destroy the fuel dumps in Tobruk, as well as silence a gun emplacement. It owes a bit to Guns of Navarone, but it's a pretty exciting film on its own. Footage was later reused in Raid on Rommel.

Directed by Jose Ferrer, this film dramatizes the Royal Marine raid on Bordeaux Harbour, using canoes. It has the luxury of the cooperation of the Royal marines.

Highly fictionalized account of the Makin Island raid, carried out by Carlson's Raiders. It was wartime, so propaganda overwhelms historical accuracy. The actual raid was a mixed bag, with major problems demonstrated and little strategic value. Carlson was better able to showcase his ideas at Guadacanal.