There’s no hiding it, but I give big kudos for them actually trying to make the effort instead of the standard of that era, which was to grab Patton Tanks and say ‘These are Tigers!’. NO THEY AREN’T!
“We were ASSULTED by them Tigers!”
If I hear any more threats against Captain Maitland’s life, if I hear any more wild talk about going down to headquarters and killing the General, or raping the nurses at the field hospital, I’m going to strangle the guy with my bare hands! You understand that?
You… the American army!
No, baby, we ain’t.
To which Cowboy agreed.
I was about 15 when this film came out, and it became a sort of cult favorite among my circle of friends. I’ve got it on DVD and haul it out at least once a year.
Yes, the premise is preposterous, much of the cast overacts shamelessly (Carroll O’Conner and Telly Savalas come off worst in this regard, IMO), and overall it is a more than a bit guilty of making World War II appear much more fun than it actually was. Balancing that, however, is a crackerjack plot and script, brilliantly-filmed set pieces (the assault by Oddball’s unit on the rail yard, the minefield sequence, and the cat-and-mouse game between Sherman and Tiger in the village where the gold is stashed, are all outstanding), and the immortal performances by Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles.
Something to remember about the anachronistic presentation: Kelly’s Heroes was released at the height of US involvement in Viet Nam, and the approach taken by the filmmakers definitely was informed by the events going on there. I’m pretty sure it was one of the first films to treat the US involvement in WWII in a less-than-reverent fashion. Also, didn’t MAS*H (also with Sutherland and likewise, but more explicitly, using an earlier conflict as an allegory for Viet Nam) come out the same year?
Oh, yeah, and obligatory quote:
“I don’t need you. Sixty feet of bridge I can get almost anywhere. Schmuck!”
You could print out a copy of the picture of mine and fondle it …
I just like the movie, as is pointed out the flights of fancy [army brat, believe me I know all the ways the movie screws up, and watching it with my dad who survived from shipping over from England to the end of the Ruhr Pocket was always a hoot.]
I don’t think “The Dirty Dozen” belongs on that list. It’s been sanitized/edited for TV broadcast, but if you can find the original, the final combat scenes are pretty bloody - lots of squibs, lots of blood packs in mouths. And don’t forget it starts off with a damned graphic hanging scene, and finishes with hundreds of people being burned alive.
Like I said, nitpick YMMV 
It’s a piece of junk!