One of my all time favorites.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Oh, Richard Burton looks good in a uniform, his face a little sweaty and his cap tilted on his brow, conflicted about giving an order to his troops. He looks so very good. That's pretty much the only reason why I sat through The Desert Rats, and probably why he made eight wartime movies after this one.The Desert Rats isn't a spectacular war movie. It isn't bloody, it isn't particularly exciting, and it doesn't really have any plot outside the battlefield. Mostly, it's about the strategy Richard Burton, his superiors, and his troops employ in order to stay alive in the middle of the desert before reinforcements can help them. James Mason plays a German bad guy, but he's only given a few scenes, so if it's a James Mason performance you're after, skip this one. And if you're not really interested in strategy, you can also skip this one. Unless, that is, you want to look at Richard Burton in a uniform.

It's 1941. Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel is pushing towards the Suez Canal. Allied forces are hold up in the port of Tobruk threatening his supply lines. Capt. Tammy MacRoberts (Richard Burton) is picked to lead a group of newly-arrived green Australian troupes. They struggle to hold on for two months and end up surviving for eight until relief.The accuracy is questionable to be generous. The story of the raid feels especially unreal. At least, they get captured. This works as an old-fashion war movie. There are bits of good action. Burton and cast are good. It is good action but a little slow in long stretches.

The North Africa Campaign, the Siege of Tobruk and the Desert Rats all have an important place in the British and Australian Psyche during and after the Second World War, and it took less then 10 years after the war for a film about the Siege to be made.In 1941 British and Australian troops had control of the fortress town of Tobruk in Libya. Tobruk gets surrounded by German and Italian troops as the Axis tries to take Egypt and the Suez Canal. The British high command order the Australian General Leslie Morshead to hold Tobruk for 2 months to disrupt the German supply lines. Morshead was a clever commander, trapping German tanks to make them useless and made his troops fight a tough guerrilla campaign. The main focus of the film is on a British officer, 'Tammy' MacRoberts who is given command of a fresh batch of Australian troops, including his former school master. He has to train his troops to get them ready for the battle and first the bitter war.The acting isn't that good, the Australian accents were awful and it would have been easier if their casted Australian actors. As well their seem to be an American officer with the British and Australians ones, I don't know why? What makes the film work is the war scenes. They are well done and you get to feel the action and sweat of battle. The film is also a short, tort experience. Also there is an historical inaccuracy; the Desert Rats was the name for the 9th Armoured Division of the British Army, not the 7th Australian Army. However Rommel did call the army the rats of Tobruk.Personally I would like to see a new film about the war in North Africa because their are many interesting stories and battles, from the Battle of El-Alamein, the story of Rommel and Montgomery, Operation Touch, the Birth of the SAS, etc... The Siege of Tobruk would also make an interesting story for a modern film.

This is a very tight and compelling presentation of a heroic stand off. A classic story of so few against so many. While the movie is a good narrative,what is also captivating in this movie, is the study of different characteristics of Great Leadership. The various protagonists, Captain Tammy Roberts, the General , General Rommel and even the crusty old school teacher Tom Bartlett all display some of the characteristics of outstanding leadership. It also presents several dilemmas that leaders face and their varying responses to them.. ... Fascinating stuff! So much so,that this movie can actually be used as a 'case study' in Leadership Development programs ...