***There are Spoilers*** Based on the 1967 Daniel Ford novel "Incident at Muc Wa" the movie "Go Tell the Spartans" shows how the US got slowly drawn into the disastrous Vietnam War in thinking it was both winnable and a noble cause when it fact, as history has shown us, it was anything but.
The film starts in that fateful summer of 1964 when the US Military had only an advisory involvement in helping the South Vietnamese Government in its war against the insurgent Communist Vietcong, known as Charlie to the GI's, who were overrunning the country. Maj. Asa Barker, Burt Lancaster, who had served his country in two previous wars, WWII & Korea, is in charge of a South Vietnamese outpost in the Mekong River Delta that's surrounded by hundreds of Vietcong irregulars. The Major is desperately short of both men and ammunition to hold off the Vietcong who are trying cut off his supply lines and then overrun his weakly defended outpost.
With the handful of men, both US GI's and local RVN troops, at his disposable Maj. Barker knows that it's only a matter of time before the determined and tenacious Vietcong will achieve their objective. The GI's at the outpost are either green recruits, one being a draftee, or burned out veterans who, despite their superiority in air and fire power, are in no way any match for the seasoned battle hardened Vietcong. The one thing that both Maj. Barker and his Vietnamese interpreter Cowboy, Even C. Kim, knows is that the fight is not only with the Vietcong but most of the Vietnamese population in that area who are not only sympathetic towards the enemy but are in fact the enemy-Vietcong-itself!
***SPOILERS*** We get to see in the movie just how totally unprepared the US was in fighting the war for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people in the persons of both high and ethically minded Lt. Hamilton, Joe Unger, and Cpl. Courcey, Craig Wesson. It was their high-mindedness, unlike Maj. Barker and Cowboys pragmatic common sense, that lead to the disastrous results that was to soon follow in the movie!
One of the best Vietnam War films ever made and at the same time one of the most overlooked. The fact that "Go Tell the Spartans" was made-three years after the war ended-when the wounds of the Vietnam War were barley healed had the movie going Amercan public in no mood to go see it. Even though the film was about as accurate as a description of why and how we got involved in that disastrous war, against the sound advice of men like Maj, Barker, as any movie about the subject that's ever been released! Before and after the Vietnam War ended!
Burt Lancaster loved the script so much that he contributed $150,000.00 out of his own pocket to finance "Go Tell the Spartans" when it's budget ran out with a couple days left to be filmed. Lancaster also disregarded a serious knee injury he suffered in order for him to star in the movie which had him limping all throughout the film!
The film starts in that fateful summer of 1964 when the US Military had only an advisory involvement in helping the South Vietnamese Government in its war against the insurgent Communist Vietcong, known as Charlie to the GI's, who were overrunning the country. Maj. Asa Barker, Burt Lancaster, who had served his country in two previous wars, WWII & Korea, is in charge of a South Vietnamese outpost in the Mekong River Delta that's surrounded by hundreds of Vietcong irregulars. The Major is desperately short of both men and ammunition to hold off the Vietcong who are trying cut off his supply lines and then overrun his weakly defended outpost.
With the handful of men, both US GI's and local RVN troops, at his disposable Maj. Barker knows that it's only a matter of time before the determined and tenacious Vietcong will achieve their objective. The GI's at the outpost are either green recruits, one being a draftee, or burned out veterans who, despite their superiority in air and fire power, are in no way any match for the seasoned battle hardened Vietcong. The one thing that both Maj. Barker and his Vietnamese interpreter Cowboy, Even C. Kim, knows is that the fight is not only with the Vietcong but most of the Vietnamese population in that area who are not only sympathetic towards the enemy but are in fact the enemy-Vietcong-itself!
***SPOILERS*** We get to see in the movie just how totally unprepared the US was in fighting the war for the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people in the persons of both high and ethically minded Lt. Hamilton, Joe Unger, and Cpl. Courcey, Craig Wesson. It was their high-mindedness, unlike Maj. Barker and Cowboys pragmatic common sense, that lead to the disastrous results that was to soon follow in the movie!
One of the best Vietnam War films ever made and at the same time one of the most overlooked. The fact that "Go Tell the Spartans" was made-three years after the war ended-when the wounds of the Vietnam War were barley healed had the movie going Amercan public in no mood to go see it. Even though the film was about as accurate as a description of why and how we got involved in that disastrous war, against the sound advice of men like Maj, Barker, as any movie about the subject that's ever been released! Before and after the Vietnam War ended!
Burt Lancaster loved the script so much that he contributed $150,000.00 out of his own pocket to finance "Go Tell the Spartans" when it's budget ran out with a couple days left to be filmed. Lancaster also disregarded a serious knee injury he suffered in order for him to star in the movie which had him limping all throughout the film!