March or Die (1977)

During the 1920s, French Foreign Legion Major William Foster's unit is protecting an archaeological dig, but the discovery of an Arab sacred burial site prompts the angry Arab tribes to attack Foster's small garrison.

Director:

Dick Richards

Writers:

David Zelag Goodman (story), Dick Richards (story)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Maj. William Sherman Foster
Terence Hill	...	Marco Segrain
Catherine Deneuve	...	Simone Picard
Max von Sydow	...	Francois 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 (as Gigi Bonos)
Wolf Kahler	...	First German
Matthias Hell	...	Second German (as Mathias Hell)

Storyline

Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), an American haunted by his memories of the recently-ended Great War, is assigned to protect a group of archaeologists at their dig. Foster's unit includes the charming, thieving rascal Marco (Hill), who joined the Legion only to avoid prison. After long stretches portraying the boredom and hardship of day-to-day life in the Legion, Foster's command occupies a small village where the archaeologists believe they've found a burial site sacred to the Arabs. An Arab leader (Holm) uses this affront to unite the tribes in Jihad, and attacks the tiny Legion garrison at the dig. An epic battle follows, very reminiscent of the film "Zulu". Costumes, firearms, and props are all very authentic-looking, and show great attention to detail.

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Plot Keywords:

sword | sword fight | combat | hand to hand combat | bayonet | 

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Taglines:

The Foreign Legion! Only the desperate joined. Only the lucky ones survived.

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Genres:

Drama | War | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1977 (UK)

Also Known As:

Marchar o morir

Filming Locations:

Tabernas Desert, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sir Lew Grade, Associated General Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

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Goofs

The Legionnaires all wear prewar dark blue uniforms and greatcoats even though the the Legion had adopted a khaki field uniform in 1907.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[a battered group of legionares marched through a train station, while the crowd chanted the French national anthem; the first actual lines are about 4 minutes within the movie]
Sgt. Triand: [to a line of German prisioners] If you join the French Foreign Legion, remember: there are no questions asked. Come! Join the Legion!

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Alternate Versions

The one major network showing of "March or Die" was considerably different from the original release, with a great deal of additional footage and a completely different ending. At the end of the original release Marco (Hill) gives a rousing speech to replacement Legionnaires, which is word-for-word the same speech Foster (Hackman) gave recruits near the beginning of the film. (To potential deserters: "If the Legion doesn't get you, the Arabs will. If the Arabs don't get you, the desert will. And if the desert doesn't get you... I will.) A caravan is leaving the fort behind Marco as he gives his speech. The original release ends on this note, implying that Marco has stepped into Foster's shoes as loyal Legion commander. In the network showing, after Marco delivers his speech, we see Marco deserting. He has slipped into Arab garb and joined the caravan leaving the fort. The Sergeant-Major is shown smiling at him, implying that he is complicit in Marco's desertion. Also in the network showing: A fierce desert battle between a legion column and Arab raiders. The entire battle is deleted from the original release. The column is led by the mean Lieutenant. In one scene, the mean Lieutenant is shown placing a pistol to his head and committing suicide. The scene does not appear in the original release. In addition, in the original release, the footage of the mean Lieutenant firing his pistol during the column's battle with raiders, is edited into the final battle scene at the archaological dig. The effect is quite jarring, as he has not been present for about a third of the film.

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Connections

Version of Legionnaire (1998)

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

Great cast AND really good movie

MARCH OR DIE has one impressive cast: Gene Hackman, Terence Hill (in one of his rare movie that you can take seriously), Catherine Deneuve, Max von Sydow, Ian Holm...

Great script that has everything well balanced: humor, action, suspense, drama. It will please those who like good war movies, those who like historical movies, and those who like just plain good movies!

This is the ultimate movie about one of the ultimate elite troop in history: the Légion Étrangère.