A unit of American military advisors in Vietnam prior to the major U.S. involvement find similarities between their helpless struggle against the Viet Cong and the doomed actions of a French unit at the same site a decade before in this bitter look at the beginnings of the Vietnam war.
by Kim Newman |
Published on
Release Date:
01 Jan 1978
Running Time:
114 minutes
Certificate:
15
Original Title:
Go Tell The Spartans
An early Vietnam War movie, with Major Burt Lancaster lamenting that it's not a real war as a bunch of American "advisors" try to hold a strategic fort despite the efforts of the Viet Cong.
Routinely directed in TV movie style by Ted Post with some reasonable action scenes, but with a good script that includes a great anecdote about oral sex delivered by Lancaster with the punchline "I saluted".
All the actors follow their lines and play out a fairly average plot with vigour. Sadly there's not much more they can do as this is clearly Lancaster's film and he hogs every scene into which he enters.
Routine war film with enough entertaining dialogue to keep you watching till the end.
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