I remember that when this film was released there was a great uproar at this attempt to satirise World War 2.Too many of the generation were still around and objected to the contents.I read the critics in the papers ,who all panned it,and so I did not go to see it.I have to say that I am pleased that I did not bother.I have just gotten around to watching it and all I can say is that it is an incoherent mess.Lester seems to try and continually go for cheap laughs,and the insertion of archive film from Dunkirk does nothing to help.It is probably the most unfunny and boring film that I have seen in a long time.So thankfully I saved my 6/- by not watching it at the local Odeon.

I would have gave this film a 1 but the directing and camera work I though were pretty good. First off let me say this does not star John Lennon as they imply, he plays a small role in this film. This is a gag they use to sell a movie, Call it Murder (Midnight) with Humphrey Bogart comes to mind the only difference between the two is Midnight was a good movie. The movie jumps around a lot and is kind of hard to follow and if there is a message of anti war it's not a very clear one but this is the baby boomer era so you have to consider the source. There are some humorous parts to the film but for the most part it seemed to me that it was a bunch of rambling on by the characters in the movie with some Monty Pythonish humor thrown in. I was going to buy this film for my collection but was glad to see it on Netflix so I did not have to waste any hard earned dough. So if your looking for a lost classic you won't find it here, I would say check out Bogart in Midnight or currently going as Call it murder at least there for 1934 you will see great directing technique and a great film.

Simply and absolutely one of the most boring and self-important films ever made. When it came out in 1967, director Richard Lester made no secret of his conviction that he'd produced the greatest antiwar statement since 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front. In reality, it's one of the worst films of any kind since 1930.Here's Lester's antiwar strategy. Take a small number of British soldiers in a wear against Hitler and Nazism and show them to be a bunch of fools, cowards, and lunatics. Show that their mission - to build a cricket-pitch in enemy territory - is absurd. Show John Lennon's idiot minor character bloodily killed.That's it. Doesn't it make you hate war? Doesn't it prove that soldiers are suckers? Doesn't it make you want to protest Vietnam? Well, maybe all Richard Lester really wanted to do was make an amusing service comedy. Maybe his self-promoting comments were just trying to cash in on the antiwar feelings of the day.In that case he still failed. There are more laughs in five minutes of "Sgt. Bilko" than in this entire movie.I remember vividly being unable to stay awake watching this turkey in the theater forty years ago. I walked out, even though I'd paid good money. (Only two other movies in my entire life have had such a sleep-inducing effect on me, and "How I Won the War" may well be the worst of three.) A few years back somebody gave me the video. With access to coffee I managed to stay awake a just little longer. When I snapped awake I shut the thing off.Way back in 1967 I actually read Patrick Ryan's comic novel that was the basis of this film. It was funny in an aimless kind of way.This movie is unfunny in each and every way.

Wow, it is not everyday that one comes across a right-wing essay on the IMDB as one of the posters did in regards t this film. First of all, I am delighted to have finally seen this. Aside from "The Royal Flash" and "Cuba," I believe I have seen most of Richard Lester's films which are of significance. I think too look at this film from a mere political pov is a mistake. It is a good statement first of all about how utterly ridicilous the war process is. Sure, there are awful people like Hitler and Mullah Omar, out there who threaten the world at large but by and large, the war process rarely leads to any resounding political solutions and long-term peace and understanding. I think even people who generally support their government's wars would agree to this sentiment. Lester does a brilliant job of poiting this out through the course of this film, and he is helped by some great acting- including a surprisingly brilliant John Lenon to achieve this great satire. Lester, who was actually born in Philadelphia, has a great sense of man's moral faults and he reflects that in this film, as well as in "Petulia"- which is considered to be his best film. I think Lester's genius can even be seen in his two most blatant commerical ventures, "Suprman II" and "Butch and Sundance: The Early Years" as well as the Beatles movies. He deserves more respect, and I think one day he just might get it.