When I refer to we, I am referring to all of the nationalities involved in the French Foreign Legion, the famous military group made up of citizens of many countries who fought together for one common cause, mostly with a sense of adventure in the Middle East. World War I has come to an end, and there is unfinished business in Morocco. That involves the search for a treasure and precious artifact to learn about historical events that have yet to be discovered. They are from the United States, England, France, Russia, among others, joined together in one common cause-a need for excitement and a desire to serve in the military in places that they would most likely not see in their own countries. The invasion of sacred ground creates the conflict between the leader of the exposition (Gene Hackman) and the Moroccan leader (Ian Holm), once allies.
It is a tough fight for the soldiers to get there, having internal conflicts between members of different nations and ultimately their frustration over a very cruel drill sergeant who has no compassion or caring, leaving one man in the desert to die after he complains that his shoes are too small to continue moving. "March or die!", he commands, tossing the shoes over his shoulder and forcing the man to march barefoot. When another soldier tries to help the uncomfortable shoeless marcher, the sergeant becomes even more cruel, and this is followed by some drastic measures for the various soldiers in dealing with their plight.
Hackman's leader doesn't step up to the plate to discipline the evil drill sergeant, and in one scene when confronted by the Moroccan leader, who has taken prisoners of the European archaeologists, Hackman simply retaliates by shooting each of the prisoners in the head, getting that conflict with him out of the way. Little does he realize that one of the two men was the father whom the beautiful French Catherine Deneuve was traveling to meet. The conflicts continue to increase between the desert army's and the Foreign Legion soldiers and their leaders, and the finale is a tremendous battle sequence that will have you visited to the screen.
Produced by Sir Lew Grade, the filmmaker behind "Voyage of the Damned" and "The Cassandra Crossing", this is an elegant and handsome adventure film that grabs the audience immediately. As the new members of the Foreign Legion start to get together, this doesn't let up in battles and action. This is "Beau Gesye", "Lawrence of Arabia", with a bit of the Indiana Jones saga thrown in as well. Max von Sydow is present in a major role as one of the leading archaeologist who travels with the group to meet up with those whom Hackman later kills.
Outstanding photography and an excellent musical score add to the quality of this a great film which has somehow slipped through the cracks over the years. It is one of those major international releases that had attention when it first came out, but was overshadowed in a year dominated by "Star Wars", Saturday Night Fever" and "Annie Hall". Deneuve is strikingly beautiful and gives a performance quite restrained and dignified. For me however, the best performance was by Terence Hill as a scoundrel of a soldier who first get Deneuve's attention by stealing a pearl necklace from a passenger aboard the ship they are traveling on, and is disciplined by Hackman by forfeit liquor which make him lose his balance and fall down a flight of stairs in order to humiliate him in front of the other new members of the Foreign Legion.
There are many moments of cruelty and bloodshed, and some of it seems a bit gratuitous. However in the long run, all of this is necessary, because this is not an Arabian Nights story. This is parallel to the conflicts that were going on between the Middle East and America at the time, and an example of how a world that does not understand diversity cannot survive.
It is a tough fight for the soldiers to get there, having internal conflicts between members of different nations and ultimately their frustration over a very cruel drill sergeant who has no compassion or caring, leaving one man in the desert to die after he complains that his shoes are too small to continue moving. "March or die!", he commands, tossing the shoes over his shoulder and forcing the man to march barefoot. When another soldier tries to help the uncomfortable shoeless marcher, the sergeant becomes even more cruel, and this is followed by some drastic measures for the various soldiers in dealing with their plight.
Hackman's leader doesn't step up to the plate to discipline the evil drill sergeant, and in one scene when confronted by the Moroccan leader, who has taken prisoners of the European archaeologists, Hackman simply retaliates by shooting each of the prisoners in the head, getting that conflict with him out of the way. Little does he realize that one of the two men was the father whom the beautiful French Catherine Deneuve was traveling to meet. The conflicts continue to increase between the desert army's and the Foreign Legion soldiers and their leaders, and the finale is a tremendous battle sequence that will have you visited to the screen.
Produced by Sir Lew Grade, the filmmaker behind "Voyage of the Damned" and "The Cassandra Crossing", this is an elegant and handsome adventure film that grabs the audience immediately. As the new members of the Foreign Legion start to get together, this doesn't let up in battles and action. This is "Beau Gesye", "Lawrence of Arabia", with a bit of the Indiana Jones saga thrown in as well. Max von Sydow is present in a major role as one of the leading archaeologist who travels with the group to meet up with those whom Hackman later kills.
Outstanding photography and an excellent musical score add to the quality of this a great film which has somehow slipped through the cracks over the years. It is one of those major international releases that had attention when it first came out, but was overshadowed in a year dominated by "Star Wars", Saturday Night Fever" and "Annie Hall". Deneuve is strikingly beautiful and gives a performance quite restrained and dignified. For me however, the best performance was by Terence Hill as a scoundrel of a soldier who first get Deneuve's attention by stealing a pearl necklace from a passenger aboard the ship they are traveling on, and is disciplined by Hackman by forfeit liquor which make him lose his balance and fall down a flight of stairs in order to humiliate him in front of the other new members of the Foreign Legion.
There are many moments of cruelty and bloodshed, and some of it seems a bit gratuitous. However in the long run, all of this is necessary, because this is not an Arabian Nights story. This is parallel to the conflicts that were going on between the Middle East and America at the time, and an example of how a world that does not understand diversity cannot survive.