morrison-dylan-fan Taking a look at a "Cult Movie" Shout Factory box set that a family friend has recently picked up,I was surprised to find that one of the movies was co-writer's John Milius feature film debut,which led to me getting ready to find out how devilish the 8 could be.The plot:Grabbing 6 convicts just before they are sent for a life behind bars,FBI agent Ray Faulkner takes the gang to a remote countryside location.Finding each of them to be confrontational,Faulkner tells the gang that they each have a choice:they can either spend their lives in jail,or get freedom by helping him to take down ruthless Moonshine maker Burl.Tempted by Faulkner's offer,the gang start going after some Moonshine.View on the film:Despite being the first movie and working on it as a co-writer (along with Larry Gordon/Willard Huyck & James Gordon White) the screenplay is covered in the paw marks of John Milius.Milius uses the outback location to give an outline to some of his later themes,as the gang find themselves in gritty shootouts whilst trying to get a connection with their wild life surroundings for an advantage on Burl. Whilst John Milius builds the foundations for his later work,director Burt Topper guzzles Moonshine down and offers a terrific mix of tough men on a mission crime movie with a thigh- tapping Drive-In slide.Helped by Shout Factory giving the title a very good transfer, Topper covers the film in a golden brown which allows for the fights to spark across the screen,and the mistrust that the rest of the gang have for Faulkner (played by a wonderful Christopher George) to be given a rough, rustic atmosphere,as the gang reveal how devilishly hateful the eight can be.

zardoz-13 "Tank Commandos" director Burt Topper's gritty moonshine melodrama "The Devil's Eight" amounts to nothing short of a shameless knock-off of Robert Aldrich's classic "The Dirty Dozen." Nevertheless, Topper has fashioned a solid but predictable crime thriller with a sturdy cast and enough blazing violence to satisfy fans of movies where a lawman recruits a group of criminals to do their dirty work. Interestingly enough, John Milius contributed to the screenplay, and composer Mike Curb has concocted a catchy orchestral theme that he repeats at appropriate intervals. Hard-as-nails Federal agent named Faulkner (Christopher George of "The Train Robbers") breaks seven ruffians out of a prison and trains them as a team of fast-driving, sharp-shooting, grenade-hurling guys. He promises them a pardon if they help him demolish a massive moonshine operation and capture the mastermind behind it, Burl (Ralph Meeker of "Kiss Me Deadly"), alive so he can flush out the politicians behind him. Faulkner sets out to pull off the impossible after he learns that five other Federal agents have bitten the dust in their efforts to arrest Burl. One of the convicts that joins Faulkner menacing misfits is Frank Davis (Ross Hagen of "Speedway") who once took orders from Burl. It seems that Burl had Frank's brother killed before he had Frank sent to prison. Frank's girlfriend Cissy (Leslie Parrish of ") belongs to the evil Burl, but she still loves Frank so she is surprised and gratified when she sees him again. Initially, Faulkner's henchmen cut into Burl's operation, running cars off the road and swapping shots with Burl's men. Eventually, Burl agrees to an impromptu palaver at a place of Faulkner's choosing and he is able to persuade Burl to cut him in for a quarter of the action. Faulkner and his men move in with Burl's men, but trouble erupts because one of Faulkner's misfits is an African American who creates trouble for himself and his friends when he enters a tavern where he isn't welcomed because of the color of his skin. Not sooner has Faulkner and his men entered Burl's camp than the wily moonshiner sends his second-in-command to warn the local authorities. Davis picks off where he left off with Cissy, but he is dismayed when he learns that she like men of color, too. Naturlly, Faulkner's men succeed in carrying out their objective despite several shoot-out scenes.Topper has appropriated a formulaic storyline about pardoned convict and pared it down to its absolute essentials. He spends the first half-hour assembling the men under Faulkner's command. Nothing about this low-budget but exciting thriller is remotely surprising. Several convicts stand out in the crowd, namely Ross Hagen as a dedicated drag racer.. During the final quarter hour, the fireworks really turn loose. Ralph Meeker is perfectly cast as a treacherous moonshine chieftain. Topper doesn't let the pace slacken, and he stages some noisy, bullet-riddled shoot-outs. Incidentally, the girl in the car with Faulkner before he is summoned to his boss's office looks like Christopher George's future wife Linda Day. Clearly, she is making an uncredited cameo. "The Devil's Eight" is worth watching. The Mike Curb theme music is catchy.

Michael_Elliott The Devil's 8 (1969) ** (out of 4) THUNDER ROAD crashes into THE DIRTY DOZEN in this drive-in flick from AIP. A federal agent (Christopher George) is sent to break up a moonshine business so he recruits six convicts to help with each of them being pardoned if the mission is a success. THE DEVIL'S 8 isn't nearly as fun as one would hope but the cast is good enough to make it worth sitting through at least once. The biggest problem here is that the direction is so weak that there's never really any excitement built up in the story. There's no adventure to the mission that the guys are going on and there's really no suspense anything going wrong. I'm sorry but you can't have people going into a battle and you never once fear that there's something that could go wrong and put them into harm. Another problem is that there's simply no energy to be found so at times it's a real chore just staying interested in what's going on. At 98-minutes the film runs a bit too long and I think there were several scenes that could have been trimmed to help the flow of the picture and make it drag less. The one thing that does work here are the performances with George being a lot of fun as the leader of the group. I've always enjoyed George as a character actor and I thought he gave a good performance here and as usual he's just got a certain charm when it comes to playing a tough guy. The supporting cast includes Fabian and Tom Nardini, both who are good but so are the rest of the players. THE DEVIL'S 8 is mainly going to appeal to those who enjoy watching low-budget rip-offs of bigger and better movies. This thing is far from perfect but it's decent entertainment if you've got nothing better to do.

revtg1-3 A low budget pot boiler made really enjoyable by a highly talented cast. First of all, Ray Faulkner (Christopher George) drafts, not recruits, six lifer convicts to help him destroy a moonshine gang and capture the leader (Ralph Meeker). He (Faulkner) is the seventh and he is joined by another federal agent later to make the eight. Meeker and George are underemployed in these roles and therefore it is easy for them to stand out. The plot is Faulkner will train these men in high speed "demolition derby" driving, hand to hand combat, use of explosives and firearms and then take them to Meeker's territory to disrupt his moonshine operation. Be forewarned, the special effects are really bad. Film editing is sub-standard. But all the character actors turn in solid, convincing roles, including Fabian Forte, who acts better than he ever sang, which is not a high compliment. A lot of well known actors tried to make moonshine movies, among them Richard Widmak and Gergory Peck. The difference is this movie never tries to be serious. Get a six pack, sit back and be entertained. It's lightweight but it never slows down. I watch it at least once a year and I still enjoy it.