User Reviews

I've seen this film several times over the years as I possess the original West German VHS release. West Germany was the co-producing country that also arranged Robert Fuller for the lead role as he was currently working with German producers. Recently I've stumbled across an English-dubbed version and noticed considerable differences.

Several scenes were cut out, especially the more graphic ones but also political ones. I remember a scene in which Moshe and Halil smoke together in the desert only to find a more reconciliatory mood. Then I've found many dialogues altered. Uri is obsessed with Germans and the Holocaust in the English-dubbed version whereas in the German version, he was not only skeptical of God but also fed up with Israeli politics and especially its defence policy. The English-dubbed version featured ranting newsreel footage about the Six Day War I was unaware of in the German version. Now I'd like to find an original Hebrew language version for a further comparison.

The film itself is one of my favourite war films, a genre I usually don't appreciate much. The whole film has kind of an "acid" feeling to it; the original shooting locations like the inlet of Taba, the narrow wadis, the moon-like mountain landscape and the coral reefs along the desert add much to the odd atmosphere of the film. The use of the music score is very minimalist, emotions are reduced to human reactions. Patriotism, religion and solemnity are avoided although there surely are some comic moments. The cinematography was quite memorable, even though the directing tends to be intuitive sometimes. Given this and the "acid" feeling, the film fits perfectly in its era (1968) and is evocative of the Acid Western subgenre from those years. Whoever either is in search of such a niche product or has visited some of the shooting locations before (like I did) or is interested in the time and place of the film will probably enjoy this forgotten yet original production.

***SPOILERS*** It's the eve of the Six Day War and things don't look good for the barley 20 year old Jewish State of Israel. Egyptian President Nassar has mobilized his troops where their armored and mechanized divisions are pouring into the Sinai Desert right up to the borders of Israel proper. Nassar's Egyptian Army is now ready to attack in a three prong invasion of the Jewish state together with his Arab allies Jordan & Syria.

The Israeli commander of the Southern Front Gen. Golan decides the best way to stop the Egyptian attack is to knock out the Egyptian radar installations on the Sinai coast of Sherm El-Sheikh! That will give the Israeli air force, in it not being detected, total surprise over the Egyptians and be able, by attacking the Egyptian air bases in Egypt proper, knock out its entire air force! It's up to Captain Uri Littman and a group of hand picked Israeli commandos to do the job but the job won't be an easy one!

Hard hitting action combat flick with Capt. Littman and his commandos taking it, the fight, to the Egyptian Army before it can move across the Israeli border and invade as well as destroy the Jewish State. It was with the help of Israeli teenager Nira, who's motorboat Capt.Lattman commandeered, who knows the Sinai coastline like the back of her hand that this a first almost suicidal mission was successful.

The mission almost went down the drain, or the gulf of Akaba, when Capt. Littman and his commandos were ambushed by an Egyptian patrol whom they later wiped out or neutralized. Using the captured Egyptian vehicles as cover Capt. Littman and his commandos were able to storm the radar installation and wipe it out, together with some two dozen Egyptian troops, but at a heavy cost of their own.

It was in fact second in command Let. Moshe Kramer who held off Egyptian reinforcements that made the operation's success possible. Let. Kramer who was badly wounded kept the Egyptian troops from getting to the radar installation before Captain Littman and his men blew it up. But it cost Let. Kramer his life in doing it.

P.S Pretty good war flick filmed a year after the Six Day War took place over the very same desert terrain with a number of the Israeli cast having seen combat in it.