The Wild Geese (1978) Reviews

• Thanks to all who enjoyed my film

  euan-62004-11-17

  It is not often a producer has the chance to thank his critics in this form. I do so now. The blood-sweat and tears that went into the making of THE WILD GEESE is all forgotten. Appreciation of one's endeavors of some 25 years ago, thanks to DVD, is gratefully received. The Zone 1 version is yet to appear, the lateness due to sloppy distribution. To answer questions about the film's very limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada in 1978, this was due solely to the financial collapse of its distributor, Allied Artists. Chapter II was applied and, to my disgust, it failed to reach many theaters. However, the NBC Network and HBO aired the movie with great success. Euan Lloyd.

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• Last Hurrah

  blacknorth2007-07-03

  A splendid old-fashioned action film, with all concerned giving it their best shot. A few people have objected to the average age of the actors in this film, from Burton to Kenneth Griffiths - but they don't seem to realise that the age of these mercernaries is the point. The Wild Geese is about a generation of men who demobbed from the Army after the Second World War, were unable to make peace work, and who sold their services as soldiers in the world's troublespots to the highest bidder. The late 1970's would have been the time of life that their age at last compromised their work, and the film is a recognition of the last of them. For me this film is like a beloved childhood toy, kept and never forgotten - when it aired recently on television I just didn't want it to end. Brilliant, gloriously sentimental and the anti-thesis of PC. 10/10

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• These two English wannabe-snobs are way off base.

  SquirePM1999-09-28

  The Wild Geese surprised me in the theater back in the late 1970's. As a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and Vietnam vet, I had mixed feelings about it. But I keep watching it every couple of years and it has become one of my favorite films. Yes, it's a fanciful story, romanticizing the boring, grubby, dangerous lives of the very few mercenary soldiers in the world. But its daring small-unit tactics are actually pretty good, and they do illustrate the chaos and devastation a well trained special ops force can cause in an enemy's rear area. It also illustrates the ease with which such a small unit can be wiped out if the enemy can locate it and bring real forces to bear against it. And, interestingly, it shows very clearly the effectiveness of even a single small, armed airplane against an infantry unit unequipped with anti-aircraft capability. So whoever wrote and advised on this film had some genuine experience. There are many examples of true combat reality in various parts of the film. However, there are also some of the usual war-movie-making gaffes and there were some really silly, amateurish attempts at special effects in the theatrical release, most of which have been edited out in the cable movie versions. So it's still a mixed bag but overall very effective. The other aspects of this film are universally wonderful. It has a plausible enough story line once you've decided to accept the premise, and from there it progresses nicely indeed. Several of the subplots are intense and very moving, some are a little comical and some are downright funny. Burton's last line to Emile, "Let's talk about your father." is as fine a line as can be written. The depth of the cast is remarkable: dozens of very good actors, some speaking only one or two lines, but so well delivered! (There are also some awkward lines that just don't work at all. As I said, this film is a mixed bag.) Even in the small rolls, Jock, Tosh, Esposito, the village priest, Jesse and others, the quality just shines. The movie doesn't shy away from the unglamorous, gut-wrenching realities of the consequences of mercenary operations, either. There are some very troubling scenes about the responsibilities of leadership in such a unit. There is not another movie like The Wild Geese. I couldn't end without saying this one last thing. The theme song "The Wild Geese," sung by Joan Armatrading is simply marvelous. It is worth the price of admission, and is played in its entirety during the closing credits. I recommend that you close your eyes and just listen.

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• An historical war film with plenty of testosterone!,

  d42level2007-02-04

  Having just watched wild geese on DVD for the first time in almost 20 years I'm actually amazed how well it stands up today in the sense that it really portrays well the image of of the mercenary and the mercenary mentality in general back in the 60's and 70's! Watching wild geese today is very nostalgic particularly if you remember seeing the movie at the time, but boy so much in the world has changed since then, it's nearly 30 years old. Back in 1978 southern Africa was one of the worlds hot spots now it is the forgotten continent and the biggest threat to Africa is not communism, mercenaries, black majority rule, wars but aids. As for the movie itself the character development at the beginning of the four major actors was well done! Faulkner himself puts it as well as any body when he says "when I'm not killing complete strangers I'm an out of work drunk" who does what he does purely for the money and doesn't care who signs the checks. Janders on the other hand has a conscience who wants to retire gracefully and just watch his son grow up. Fynn is a petty crook who has the right cold blooded streak required for being a mercenary because he has no problem killing people he does not like. Also, Coetzee a down on his luck Afrikaner who finds the confines of London not to his taste; he just wants to go back to South Africa and buy a farm. He realistically portrays the contempt that Whites had for blacks back then. The blacks were not ready for prime time and the whites were the ones that carried the blacks and made South Africa what it was. He did not like them but did not hate them, probably mistrusted them and feared them. The Secondary cast , Tosh, Witty and Sandy etc who obviously find retirement or life in civvy street dull and jump at the opportunity to to get the adrenalin flowing for one last time again come across as believable as a sorry looking bunch of middle aged misfits. As another reviewer points out mercenaries were often bored and out of work malcontents who found civilian life difficult to deal with. The prospect of a large pay check and some excitement was certainly a no brainier when stacked up against regular visits to the labor exchange or some poorly paid factory job! This part of the movie is interesting. If wild geese or something similar was to be made today you would have bunch of macho looking men, muscle bound,squared jaws probably in their late 20's and early 30's with state of the art equipment. Hollywood in particular has done a wonderful job in brainwashing modern audiences that special forces fit the above description but this is nonsense. Unfortunately this is what viewers expect or want to see and Hollywood whose primary motive is profit wants to portray this image to draw in the audiences. However the reality is nothing could be further from the truth. If you were to meet any special forces you would never believe they are special forces many of them look so inconspicuous. Secondly you should not get confused that all mercenaries were former special forces, many came from regular regiments did not have proper training nor good equipment to boot and more often than not resembled the type of oddballs that Wildgeese stereotyped so well. After they had been double crossed they only manage to escape from the Zimbas by fighting themselves to an air strip and stealing an aging Dakota whereby crash landing it in Rhodesia with only 13 members of the original outfit surviving. I can't tell you the amount of films over the years where the bad guys can't shoot straight, no not in wild geese, 37 perish. Yes you could say that the fighting was not really realistic and their uniforms were perhaps too clean at the end, remember it's a film, however in my opinion no movie can be realistic about war or close quarters combat, I don't care what people say about Black Hawk down or Saving Private Ryan. It's good entertainment, good characters(Richard Burton was very believable as Faulkner), plenty of politically incorrect dialog, action and a none fairytale ending with the loss of Jaunders who was probably the most likable of all the characters. In addition Limbani who in 1978 was playing a sort of Nelson Mandela type character who was prepared to reach out to the whites; Coetzee understands that he may have a point, white and blacks need each other for the continent to survive. Funnily enough 10 years on Mandela was released from prison and the rest is history, how right Wildgeese was back then. I expect Wildgeese to be broadcast on the History channel some time in the future as it is part of history now! Lastly, as for the DVD it's been digitally restored and re-mastered and simply looks great. Some may complain that it's not real wide-screen with the top and bottom being sliced off to give that impression but I would have to say that it did not in any way spoil the movie. The extras are great too, about the London premier, making of wild geese as well as a commentary from Euan Lloyd and Roger Moore. Note: some have questioned why it was a 30th anniversary DVD when the movie was released in1978. My guess is that most of the cast have died and the surviving cast and crew are getting up there ---- -- -- do it now when you can!!

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• A Rip-Roaring Action / Adventure

  timdalton0072007-01-05

  Imagine a film with three major stars put together with a good script and some fine action and what do you get: The Wild Geese. With the unlikely combination of Richard Burton, Richard Harris & Roger Moore plus a well-written script coupled with spectacular action sequences this is a rip-roaring action / adventure and a top-notch film. The three main leads are the main attraction of this film. It's hard to believe that actors of the caliber of Burton, Harris and Moore would either have chemistry or even be in the same film together. But put the three of them together as mercenaries and you get a truly explosive combination of three terrific actors. None of them fail in their roles and they actually share quite a bit of chemistry between them especially in the final scene between Burton and Harris. The rest of the cast is not a let down either. Harvey Kruger does well in his role as the mercenary Pieter Coetze as do Kenneth Griffith, John Kani and Jack Watson among the other members of the Wild Geese. Frank Finlay, Winston Ntshona and Stewart Granger all make welcomed appearances in the film in their supporting roles. The film's script is a well-written action film with political overtones. While the politics of the film are dated now, the message for the times is still evident in the film. Outside of the political overtones the dialouge of the film is well-written and in some scenes is even touching especially in the final scene. The action in the film is another highlight. The air drop into Africa, various raids by the Wild Geese and the final battle at the airstrip complement the story and never overwhelm the story and plot. Thanks to some good editing by editor John Glen (who had edited three Bond films and would go on to direct five more Bond films)the action is never dull and keeps the pace constant. With a top-notch leading cast, a good supporting cast, a good script and spectacular action sequences, The Wild Geese is one of the better action films you can see. Despite being somewhat dated the film still packs quite a punch and could easily go up against any recent action film. A must see for action film fans.

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