Go Tell the Spartans (1978)

During the early 1960s, U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam discover the same challenges that plagued the French army in Indochina ten years prior.

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Daniel Ford (novel), Wendell Mayes

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Craig Wasson, Jonathan Goldsmith

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Maj. Asa Barker
Craig Wasson	...	Cpl. Stephen Courcey
Jonathan Goldsmith	...	Sgt. Oleonowski
Marc Singer	...	Capt. Alfred Olivetti
Joe Unger	...	Lt. Raymond Hamilton
Dennis Howard	...	Cpl. Abraham Lincoln
David Clennon	...	Lt. Finley Wattsberg
Evan C. Kim	...	Cowboy (as Evan Kim)
John Megna	...	Cpl. Ackley
Hilly Hicks	...	Signalman Toffee
Dolph Sweet	...	Gen. Harnitz
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Col. Minh
James Hong	...	The Old Man
Denice Kumagai	...	Butterfly
Tad Horino	...	One-eyed man

Storyline

A unit of American military advisors in Vietnam prior to the major U.S. involvement find similarities between their helpless struggle against the Viet Cong and the doomed actions of a French unit at the same site a decade before in this bitter look at the beginnings of the Vietnam war.

---

Plot Keywords:

vietnam | major | american | vietnam war | 1960s | 

---

Taglines:

Skirmishes, Ambushes And Boobytraps Explode Into The Most Savage War That Ever Scorched A Land

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

1 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die letzte Schlacht

Filming Locations:

Valencia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mar Vista Films,Spartan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Ted Post convinced Avco Embassy Pictures to make the picture on a limited budget.

---

Goofs

Burt Lancaster (Maj Barker) was about 64 years old when this movie was made. No real Army major would be able to stay in the service until that advanced age. He would have been retired at a much younger age as a result of being continually passed over for promotion, as Major Barker had been.

---

Quotes

Gen. Harnitz: Ol' Barker might just come down here and shoot my balls off.

---

Connections

Featured in Hollywood Vietnam (2005)

User Reviews

Great Film

This is a relatively unknown film on the subject of Vietnam, but it is probably the best film made on the subject. The 70s and 80s genre Vietnam films are more pop culture than anything else. Such films undermine the view of an entire society as to the nature of the difficult job performed by the american fighting man in Vietnam. Go tell the Spartans is a really honest and straightforward film with some interesting dialogue, particularly on the part of Burt Lancaster, who is really a top-notch actor. His performance gives the film a serious and credible tone. The movie is about heroism and sacrifice. It is also about the absurd nature of war in general, not to mean that there isn't quite often a higher and moral purpose which is ironically served by war. Naturally, there will always be those to condemn a film. Go Tell The Spartans is very unique among films on Vietnam and war in general. It is not in the least bit campy, thanks to Lancaster. The no-name cast really prevents this film from descending into celebrity persona and reinforces the actual and intended nature of the films characters. The film's somewhat tragic conclusion honors the memory of those brave Americans who died fighting in Vietnam in a very poignant and serious way; it does not make our fighting men into misfits or lunatics, just ordinary Americans who had a rough task handed to them and not always willingly but nevertheless carried out faithfully and honorably.