Was this an anti-war movie?

It cannot be an antiwar movie when it allows the audience to indulge into watching the manslaughter of Germans burnt to death in a bomb basement shelter. The premise of the film is to kill the high-ranking Germans in the chateau to hamper the German military's ability to respond to D-Day. But the end does not justify the means of brutally kill them.

But hey, it all depends on how you judge the story. If you only allow your senses to indulge into the experience of watching without evaluating the morality below the surface, then it can be seen as an anti-war movie.

I personally find the slaughter of the trapped Germans officers and their innocent wives and mistresses to be a reprehensible, cruel and inhuman act that should not take place in the movie. The fact that the Germans deserved to be punished for their acts of cruelty and inhumanity does not justify to sadistically kill them and allow the audience to celebrate the brutality.

What is your opinion?

Is this an anti-war movie?

More anti-military than anti-war. There were many satirical and disparaging references to military leaders; 1 Borgnine agreeing with Marvin about the "lunatic" at the top who ordered this mission; 2 The "walk slow, look dumb and act stupid" general; 3 The final scene with the generals telling them "what a good job they did" and Bronson saying it could be become a habit with him killing generals. 4 Marvin's ridiculing of "by the book" officer Ryan. 5 The unrealistic confidence of the German generals that they were totally secure in that location. This is a very entertaining film because of the great cast and this unusual treatment of war time military. And as far as brutal acts of killing, when it comes to war there are no ACTS WHICH ARE NOT BRUTAL.

Other than "The Green Berets", and some war comedies, can you name a dramatic war movie that's PRO-war?

You have to separate the mission from the men. These individuals were crooks on death row. They never asked for this assignment like so many officers in an army yet they are called upon to commit horrible actions for the military leaders.

For them this act was the culmination of hard work, team building and rehabilitation their time together and with the Major. In the end these soldiers were glorified even though the military hated them. It was the Major who believed he could make officers out these crooks. In the end he did.

Neither pro-war nor anti-war, it's deliberately morally ambiguous. The cause is just, the methods are not, and the officer in charge has to wrestle with his conscience through the film.

It's an action film and not realistic... yet the characters are realistic, they seem to be real, flawed human beings, who react to the insane situation believably. It really is a great movie.