"The epic American war movie that Hollywood has always wanted to make but never had the guts to do before." -- Vincent Canby, The New York Times.

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."

(During the Battle of Sicily, under very heavy artillery barrage in the central mountains, a private unknowingly addressing General Omar Bradley, the man in charge of the battle, who has his back to the private.):

(Private): What sorry son-of-a-bitch is in charge of this operation.

(Bradley): I don't know, but they ought to hang him.

After being relieved of command of Third Army, as he is walking Willie (his Bull Terrier) out to a cold winter, lonely and desolate landscape, and totally alone.: "For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning: That all glory is fleeting."