March or Die

Dick Richards's 'March or Die' is an interesting film set in Morocco during the French colonization. It nicely entangles the war drama and the love triangle. As the captain, we see a ruthless William but his feelings for Simone show a more human side. Marco is the clever thief and a skilled smooth talker with a good heart but he too has a vulnerable side. Simone is perhaps the most complex of characters as she is ambivalent concerning William and in love with Marco though she cannot bring herself to say it. The main characters are quite well fleshed out. The pacing is slow at times. The love sequences are well executed and it is very well underplayed. There is no sugar syrupy moment. The cinematography is okay. A wonderful Gene Hackman is both hateful and sympathetic. Terence Hill performs very naturally. Max Von Sydow is good but Ian Holm is unintentionally funny and it looks as if he's mocking a Moroccan tribes leader rather than playing it. A radiant Catherine Deneuve is sublime. Gosh, she looks so beautiful! The rest of the cast do well. The movie sort of has a dated feel to it but 'March or Die' is good enough watch for a Thursday night.

No questions asked. Join the legion. "March or Die" is a commendably sprawling old-fashion action adventure with plenty of spirit and a touch of romance (where Hill would do some striking carriage jumping to encounter the lovely Deneuve), which is crisply directed by Dick Richards. At the end of World War One, a division of the French foreign legion led by Major Foster is ordered to protect an archaeological dig, as the last expedition was slaughtered by the Arabs. Foster despises the orders, but must follow them and this excites the wrath of Arab leader El Krim who uses this to unite all the tribes to lead an attack on the foreigners.

For these types of films, it offers no real surprises but does grip and bestow some powerful sequences and vivid local colour. The talented cast acquit themselves very well. Gene Hackman gives a well rounded performance, rather harden and solemn, but a major who does care for his men. Terence Hill brings charm to his carefree role as the newly enlisted legionnaire. The rapport he shares with the cast is simply spellbinding; especially with his fellow rag-tag legionnaires and his athletic abilities provided much amusement. The classy Max Von Sydow shows up as an idealistic archaeologist and turning the men's heads was the delectably headstrong Catherine Deneuve. A polite sounding Ian Holm brings a great deal of intensity as the powerful Arab leader trying to invoke religious fanaticism. Also Jack O'Halloran has his moments.

The plot's build-up is slow and melancholy, but concise which gave time for different story arches and characters to open up, albeit in a clichéd manner. Watching Hackman's Major and Hill's legionnaire respectably going at each other in a battle of wits was basic, but nonetheless harsh and effective. Sometimes trying to get your message across, does come at a price. After a talky set-up and then the boot- training, it got to business. The action is fairly one-note, but still with some sting as its kept for a cracking finale where against the odds the legionnaires find themselves up against waves upon waves of advancing Arabs wanting nothing but their blood. Also it's beautifully shot capturing the grand scope of the production with all details covered from the sets to the costumes.

"In the legion you march or die".

Like most movies that producer Lew Grade made around this era, "March or Die" was a big box office failure, only returning eleven or so percent of its budget back. The lack of interest with audiences probably was because the whole Foreign Legion thing was by 1977 old hat. Indeed, the execution of the movie occasionally treats things in a very old fashioned manner, provoking giggles. An additional problem is that none of the characters are that well fleshed out, coming off more like stereotypes than three dimensional people. This may in part be because the currently available version of the movie (the theatrical version) was severely cut down from a much longer version (which played on TV ages ago and has disappeared.) As it is right now, there is a great feeling that a lot is missing. But this cut version of the movie does contain some merit. It looks good, with expert cinematography and good production values. It also sounds good, with a nice Maurice Jarre musical score. And occasionally there is a very good moment, the best being the climatic sequence. As I indicated earlier, there are hints that the uncut version may be a lot better than what we have to stick with now. If one day the uncut version is re-released, I'll definitely watch it and update this user comment.

Immediately after the Great War 1914-18 Major Foster an American born officer in the French Foreign Legion . A disillusioned man who has seen more than enough of the horrors of war , Foster looks forward to more peaceful times only to hear of a spreading insurrection led by El Krim , a Beeber warlord who wants to liberate Morroco from French rule and Foster is sent to put down the insurrection

This is an early production from Jerry Bruckheimer who in the 1980s went on to be the most successful commercial film producer in Hollywood . His films included BEVERLEY HILLS COP , FLASHDANCE and TOP GUN . His films were rarely a hit with critics but what he was very good at was mixing aspects to gain maximum publicity for movies and fill multiplexes . Who can forget Eddie Murphy driving along LA with The Heat Is On blasting out in the foreground or or boys and girls flocking to the cinema in equal numbers to see Tom Cruise fall in love and shoot down enemy jets after which the audience would buy the official soundtrack album . Studios are only interested in profit margins and if a film makes a ton of money then who cares if it didn't win an Oscar ? You have to admit Bruckheimer was always excellent at whta he did

MARCH OR DIE shows early signs at what the producer was trying to achieve - make a film that would appeal to the action adventure market while still appealing to critics . It's interesting during this early period of his career Bruckheimer still might have wanted to win an Oscar for Best Film . THE CULPEPPER CATTLE CO. and FAREWELL MY LOVELY both directed by Dick Richards are two very impressive films from The New Hollywood period and you can see in this film a mix of character exploration and big battle action sequences

The problem is that it doesn't quite come off . You can see Gene Hackman, Major Foster as a tortured man with ghosts from the past realising the only way to lay his demons to rest is via Catherine Deneuve's Mme Picard but the film concentrate too much on Terence Hill's Marco to make this possible . Hill effectively plays the comic acrobatic character which he was best known for in the Italian Westerns alongside Bud Spencer and Marco - unlike Foster - never comes across as a real life character . Likewise the rest of the characters who join the Legion are entirely one dimensional clichés

Two things that do work is firstly El Krim the noble but superstitious leader . In 1977 the average Westerner would have little reaction to the word " Muslim " one way or another . Certainly El Krim is the villain of the story but he's written and played by Iah Holm as someone who fears progress rather than someone who just wants to slaughter Infidels . You wouldn't get a Muslim baddie like this in a movie nowadays . Secondly the long awaited battle sequence when it does come certainly doesn't disappoint

In summary MARCH OR DIE is a historical epic that that tries to appeal to everyone at the same time while never consistently appealing to anyone . That said is rather impressive in parts but you do feel slightly upset that the movies can't sustain it over the whole course of the movie and it does contain a lot of dross

This is a nice story of courageous men who have every gone out to face death ; dealing with an American Major named Foster (Gene Hackman) , recently finished WWI , he joined the French foreign Legion , and is assigned (by Max Von Sidow) to guard an archaeological expedition in Morocco desert . The ragtag team is formed by a rascal soldier named Mario (Terence Hill) , joined to avoid jail , a Russian corpulent (Jack O'Halloran) , a tough corporal (Vernon Dobtcheff) and a sadistic lieutenant (Marcel Bozzuffi) , among others . Following a full-clichéd plot with a brutal commanding , plenty of cruel punishments and brutality of training . Besides , the inevitable mystery woman (Catherine Deneuve) who falls in love with Mario . But the Foster's unit is attacked by Al Krim , an Arab leader who actually lived -in fact , he united the Morrocan tribes to battle French and Spanish army in the North of Africa until being defeated in Alhucemas- . The tiny garrison at the dig making a last stand against the assaults (in the wake to ¨Zulu¨ by Cy Endfield and ¨Dawn Zulu¨ by Douglas Hickox) .

This adventure-epic movie contains agreeable acting , drama , noisy action , breathtaking battles and spectacular outdoors . Filmed on location in the Sahara desert , including an impressive production design by Gil Parrondo and marvelous cinematography by excellent cameraman John Alcott . The movie belongs to Foreign Legion genre , the story gets reminiscent with classic movies such as ¨Under two flags¨ (with Ronald Colman) , ¨Beau Geste¨ (Gary Cooper)¨and recently made ¨Legionnaire¨ (with Jean Claude Van Damme) . The pic was lavishly produced by the famous producer Jerry Bruckheimer along with Lew Grade . The motion picture was professionally directed by Dick Richards , and he gets efficiently to remain the adventure and action until the final . Before entering the film industry , Dick Richards was a contributing photographer for Life magazine , subsequently turning into filmmaking . Richards is a good craftsman who has directed a few films but of great quality , such as ¨The Culpepper Cattle¨, ¨March or die¨ , Death valley¨ , ¨Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins ¨and ¨Farewell my lovely¨ at his best . In addition , he found the script for 'Tootsie' and co-produced it with Sydney Pollack . Rating : Acceptable and passable . Well worth watching for Gene Hackman fans and adventure cinema enthusiasts.