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March or Die (1977)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
8 September 1977 (West Germany)
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Tagline:
The Foreign Legion - they were the greatest fighting force of all time and they obeyed but one command - [March Or Die] more
Plot:
Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), an American haunted by his memories of the recently-ended Great War...
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Downbeat view of life in the Legion
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Gene Hackman | ... | Maj. William Sherman Foster |
 | Terence Hill | ... | Marco Segrain |
 | Catherine Deneuve | ... | Simone Picard |
 | Max von Sydow | ... | François Marneau |
 | Ian Holm | ... | El Krim |
 | Jack O'Halloran | ... | Ivan |
| Rufus | ... | Sgt. Triand |
| Marcel Bozzuffi | ... | Lt. Fontaine |
| André Penvern | ... | Top Hat |
| Paul Sherman | ... | Fred Hastings |
 | Vernon Dobtcheff | ... | Mean corporal |
| Marne Maitland | ... | Leon |
| Luigi Bonos | ... | Andre |
 | Wolf Kahler | ... | German #1 |
| Matthias Hell | ... | German #2 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
107 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Netherlands:16 |
Australia:M |
Finland:K-16 |
France:U |
Norway:16 (1978) |
Spain:18 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:PG |
USA:PG |
Germany:12 |
Argentina:13
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: The Legion uses French military equipment and customs. Yet in one scene, when the new recruits are awakened one morning, an American bugle call (reveille) is used.
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Quotes:
Maj. William Sherman Foster:
[to El Krim] I see you've learned to enjoy watching men suffer.
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Movie Connections:
Edited into 42nd Street Forever Part 4 (2009) (V)
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Soundtrack:
Le Boudin
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (16 total)
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Following his success with "Farewell My Lovely", ITC invited Dick Richards to pay homage to another quintessentially 30s genre, the Foreign Legion movie.
Unfortunately, he seems to have followed his instructions rather too literally. One imagines that ITC executives were horrified by the finished product, a gloomy, downbeat affair that went over-budget (according to Lew Grade) and which focuses on brutality and despair, rather than on heroism and adventure. Some choppy editing betrays signs of studio intervention to try to make the film more acceptable to modern audiences. Nevertheless, it's a long haul to the admittedly splendid battle which concludes the film.
"March or Die" is not without its merits, however. There's a superb cast and beautifully-lit, painting-like images from the great cinematographer, John Alcott. At its best the film catches a haunting mood of futility and sadness and it treats all sides - the Legion, their opponents, the archaeologists led by Max Von Sydow - with surprising even-handedness. Maurice Jarre's evocative love theme is also worthy of note.
The films' biggest flaw, however, is its uneven treatment of the Foreign Legion itself. It wavers uncertainly between 30s-style adulation and 70s-era condemnation. The climax asks us to salute the enduring courage and martial traditions of the Legion, yet this contrasts oddly with the sadism and brutality we witnessed earlier. Do we really wish to admire an institution which encourages its men to abandon colleagues and let them die in the desert?