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IMDbPro

FTA

  • 1972
  • R
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
513
YOUR RATING
FTA (1972)
Trailer 1
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SatireComedyDocumentaryMusic

Available for the first time since it mysteriously disappeared in 1972 after only one week in theaters, this raucous film is a riveting slice of the Vietnam anti-war movement.Available for the first time since it mysteriously disappeared in 1972 after only one week in theaters, this raucous film is a riveting slice of the Vietnam anti-war movement.Available for the first time since it mysteriously disappeared in 1972 after only one week in theaters, this raucous film is a riveting slice of the Vietnam anti-war movement.

  • Director
    • Francine Parker
  • Writers
    • Michael Alaimo
    • Len Chandler
    • Pamela Donegan
  • Stars
    • Jane Fonda
    • Donald Sutherland
    • Pamela Donegan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    513
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Francine Parker
    • Writers
      • Michael Alaimo
      • Len Chandler
      • Pamela Donegan
    • Stars
      • Jane Fonda
      • Donald Sutherland
      • Pamela Donegan
    • 19User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    FTA
    Trailer 2:00
    FTA

    Photos2

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    Top cast11

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    Jane Fonda
    Jane Fonda
    • Self
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland
    • Self
    Pamela Donegan
    • Self
    Len Chandler
    • Self
    Michael Alaimo
    • Self
    Holly Near
    • Self
    Paul Mooney
    Paul Mooney
    • Self
    Rita Martinson
    • Self
    Peter Boyle
    Peter Boyle
    • Self
    Steve Jaffe
    Steve Jaffe
    • Self
    Yale Zimmerman
    • Self at the Piano
    • Director
      • Francine Parker
    • Writers
      • Michael Alaimo
      • Len Chandler
      • Pamela Donegan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews19

    6.4513
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    Featured reviews

    9druid333-2

    The Film That The Nixon Administration Didn't Want You To See (and succeeded)

    In 1971,a troop of anti Vietnam war protesters,led by Jane Fonda & Donald Sutherland toured with an anti war review that they called 'F.T.A.',which could either mean free the Army (or even f**k the Army,depending). They traveled to military bases within the Pacific Rim,where they were welcomed by a then,rising tide of anti war activists in the Military. Hours of footage was filmed & assembled into the documentary film that was briefly released in 1972 as 'F.T.A.'. The week that the film was released by American International Films,Fonda made a controversial trip to South East Asia, and after one scant week,the film was pulled from distribution & was never heard from,again (rumour has it that the Nixon Administration had a lot to do with the film being yanked). Besides the afore mentioned Jane Fonda & Donald Sutherland (who just barely two years earlier acted in the penultimate anti war film,Robert Altman's 'M*A*S*H'),the performances also included the likes of folk singer,Holly Near,and even Peter Boyle (an unknown at the time who would gain fame a couple of years later in Mel Brooks''Young Frankenstein'). Besides the performance footage,we are also treated to interviews with members of the military who had their wits end of the senseless violence & destruction that was the American intervention in South East Asia,which in addition to Vietnam,also included Cambodia (some of the enlisted men would end up in the documentary film, 'Winter Soldiers'). All was not always rosy. We get to see a performance of F.T.A. being disrupted by a couple of pro war,right wing soldiers,voicing their disfavour of the whole production (they were peacefully shown the way out). Women's rights advocate,Francine Parker directs the film (she only directed one other project:an episode of 'Cagney & Lacey'). At times, the film's pacing starts to slack a bit,but doesn't manage to lessen the film's message at all. Well worth checking out if you're an advocate for peace,anti war activist,historical buff,or fancier of the documentary genre. Spoken (mostly)in English,and Okenowian,Tagalog & Japanese with English subtitles. Rated 'R' by the MPAA,this film has some outbursts of strong language & some disturbing images that the troupe got to see while visiting the Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial sites,while on tour in Japan
    9haildevilman

    Pro Peace and Pro Troops

    This is like those old CSO shows during world War II with Bob hope and the Andrews Sisters.

    Trade Europe for Viet Nam and bring in Fonda, Sutherland, and Boyle and there's the diff.

    While the social commentary between the acts was clearly against the war, no soldiers were catching heat for it. It was made clear that they deserved pity too. Despite Fonda's semi-traitorous politics, she never really was angry at the common men. It's the brass and the suits that catch it here.

    And it's amusing seeing Donald Sutherland combine his 'Hawkeye' character from M*A*S*H and "Oddball" from Kelly's Heroes and throw in a dash of Ed Sullivan. He still sounds like he's got a mouth full of grits.

    Rumors say that Peter Boyle's scenes were used against his will. But I'm not sure of the facts.

    Hearts & Minds with humor. Worth a look...IF you can find it.
    anteye

    what is a documentary?

    unfortunately, in other reviews made about this film there is a lack of

    understanding. The time and place of this movie are the two things that are of utmost importance to comprehend, only with the comforting feeling of ignorance can the point of this material be avoided. Being the residual of a post-Vietnam society that resides in the same state on this day of November 1st, 2004 as it did when this film was made, can we still be so blinded by the pure'ed peas of pride. I would hope, all attention deficits and outside influences aside that you would be capable of seeing this film with an open mind.

    i applaud your effort. HL
    9kalital

    A unique and important historical document

    The point of viewing this film is not only to see the theatrical skits performed by young stars like Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, but to see those skits in context, filmed as they were performed on and near military bases around the world, to audiences of American troops, as the U.S. was in the midst of the Viet Nam war. Like most vaudeville, the skits were an excuse for political and social commentary, though some of them were funny and others were quite moving. The music was also excellent. What is most remarkable in the film, though, are the interviews with soldiers on active duty in wartime, and the camera pans of vast crowds of soldiers watching the stage performance avidly. It brings home the support that the peace movement had even with active duty troops in wartime. It's exceptionally difficult to get a copy of this film in the U.S., though there are some copies still in circulation in Europe. If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it--it's an important slice of U.S. history, long buried and forgotten. Today we remember (falsely) that peaceniks spat upon veterans. This gives the lie to that urban myth. In fact, the peace movement and veterans were often strongly aligned, as both groups were dedicated to "supporting the troops" by bringing them home.
    5ghigau

    Doesn't age well.

    Like Fonda's facelift(s) this film has aged poorly. Sutherland, a Canadian, never had any skin in the game. Fonda was (is) the definition of white privilege. It is hard to imagine the fate of a black man who climbed aboard an anti-aircraft gun in North Vietnam.

    I headed for Vietnam in March 1972. I did not need this film to help me see the ethics of what I was doing. Fonda was preaching to the choir, so self-absorbed that she was oblivious to see that she was in it for the fame and Hollywood acceptance, not saving anyone else.

    The film was egotistical when it was made, and it still is. It's restoration is another act of egotism. "look at me daddy; look at me."

    Jane will always be Jane. I just wish she would stop trying to pull me into her entourage. I get to be both proud and ashamed of my Distinguished Flying Cross. She will never have one!! Even better, I don't want her in my fan club. I think I will die gracefully. I wish her the same.

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    Related interests

    Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    Satire
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary
    Prince and Apollonia Kotero in Purple Rain (1984)
    Music

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The movie opened in theaters in 1972 the same week that Jane Fonda made her controversial trip to Hanoi, North Vietnam. Within a week of its release, American-International Pictures withdrew it from circulation. Director Francine Parker speculated that "calls were made from high up in Washington, possibly from the Nixon White House, and the film just disappeared."
    • Connections
      Featured in Precious Images (1986)
    • Soundtracks
      Genocide
      Written by Len Chandler

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 22, 1972 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • F.T.A.
    • Filming locations
      • Hawaii, USA
    • Production companies
      • Duque Films
      • Free Theater Associates
      • Indochina Peace Committee (IPC) Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 43m(103 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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