FTA

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.

I'm glad the docu refrains from lengthy preachments against the Vietnam war. Instead the narrative's a mix of anti-war songs, dance numbers and comedy sketches, but most importantly are the revelatory comments from soldiers themselves about personal feelings toward the army and life stateside. Many are on the humorous side, yet short in length. Nonetheless, their overall impact remains unmistakable.

Fonda and Sutherland both sing and comment, each serving more as continuity between sections than as major spokespeople. That mainly allows the focus to be where it should be: namely, on the servicemen and women of all races and their anti-war, anti-army feelings. Perhaps unexpectedly, there are no stagings in Vietnam itself, probably because of Defense Department restrictions. (After all, this is not Bob Hope.) Instead the show travels across the Pacific ending in Japan and lingering images of 1945's a-bomb blasts. Still, the overlapping message remains basically the same across the changing locales and service-personnel.

Anyway, whether you agree or not with the anti-war stance, the docu's well worth catching up with. And though 50-years have passed, the underlying feelings are as relevant now as they were then.

So after a year of enduring a "long wait" listing on Netflix, I finally got FTA in the mail yesterday and just watched it on DVD. A chronicle of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland's travails through the Pacific Rim with their fellow players for the title tour during 1971, we not only see them performing their skits and songs, we also see the disillusioned soldiers commenting on how they don't really understand or like the orders they're having to take during the then-current events of the Vietnam War. I was especially fascinated by the Philippines segment as both of my parents are from there and had left it long before that time. I liked many of the songs that were performed. The skits, not as much, but there were some amusing ones like Sutherland and a fellow player's play-by-play commentary of war as if they're at a football game! It seemed to drag near the end but still, I'm glad I watched FTA. Update: 10/5/14-There's a nice extra of Ms. Fonda talking about her experiences during the FTA tour. Well worth seeking on the disc.

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.

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