The Wild Geese

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source: The Wild Geese

The Wild Geese stars some wonderful actors: Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger. Burton in particular was very much on the same form as he was in in the excellent film Where Eagles Dare. The film is all about a guy who'll do anything for money (Burton) agreeing to go on a mission to rescue an African should-be-president for an evil millionaire (Granger), and teaming up with his old mates (Harris and Moore), some guy recommended by a mate (Kruger), and a bunch of old timers who mostly seem pretty desperate to see some action again. A bit like Dad's Army, only serious. So, soon enough they're all training. One of the mates (Harris) turns out to be a total idealist, who's promised his son a skiing holiday but then can't take him because he's off being the planning ace on the mission: this is not only sweet but also important to the feel of the movie. The old sergeant major (who's also a good mate, really) gives everyone a really hard time on training. And then suddenly they get the call to go in and do the rescuing. I liked the fact that the preparation for the mission lasted for over an hour - good character development. Then they're on the mission. This is great. It's a good plan, but you spend the whole time thinking something is about to go wrong - where's the action if they accomplish the rescue? But they do accomplish it, and should-be-president-guy is taken to safety (though he's ill), and they're just about to get away. One thing you notice during this bit is that people die a lot - they're prepared to kill the African soldiers in their sleep because they believe saving should-be-president-guy is for the greater good. Anyway, they're about to get away. And then the plane that's meant to be picking them up is sent away (by Granger) and they're left stranded (saving some people about a million pounds of fees for their services). Being resourceful, they decide exactly where to go and what to do, and they know they're in a desperate situation, but they trust each other and they're really sweet. This is where the excitement kicks in. I won't spoil this bit, but let's just say there are some fantastic scenes, and some really heart-warming moments between characters (especially should-be-president-guy and racist-South-African Kruger). They find there *is* a way out, but it's not easy to get to. They don't all make it, of course (indeed, there's lots and lots of bloodshed - I mean, a lot of that was directed at the bad guys, but good guys die too - and I like that in a film sometimes). Watch it, I promise it's good.

"The Wild Geese" presents a terrific concept, a cast of well-known players who work well together, and crisp cinematography by Jack Hildyard that takes full advantage of the sun-bleached African veldt. So it's a disappointment the filmmakers couldn't make something worth watching. Based on a novel by Daniel Carney, "The Wild Geese" presents Col. Faulkner (Richard Burton), a hard-drinking soldier of fortune still shaking off the pain from losing good-guy African leader Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona) to a cruel dictator years ago. But Limbani remains alive, and a British tycoon offers Faulkner big money to get Limbani out of prison and to safety. Burton looks about ready to keel over, but he's still Burton, convincing in his command, and he's backed up by Richard Harris, Roger Moore, and Hardy Kruger as his officers. Alas, the film never gels. Director Andrew V. McLaglen, good in the 1960s at marrying action-adventure and comedy, seems lost playing to a grittier '70s sensibility, and with a script that presents the mercenaries with one bloody setback after another. A message of racial brotherhood is advanced by Ntshona and Kruger with some jaw-droppingly bad dialogue, as Kruger's South African character, Coetze, drops his deep-rooted racism after a few minutes of carrying Limbani on his back. "We need each other, white man, and that's the way it should be," Limbani says. "You're beginning to sound good to me," Coetze replies. "Maybe we need you. Maybe you're just the man." Coetze's transformation is way too pat. Also pat is the way a fort full of soldiers is eradicated in broad daylight by spraying cyanide into a barrack full of sleeping soldiers. In broad daylight? Things don't exactly purr along for the mercenaries after that, but even the complications feel forced and unnatural. So do Moore's trademark groan-inducing witticisms and a homosexual medic played by Kenneth Griffith who flounces about the mercenaries' training camp and writes out a will leaving everything to his proctologist. Pluses include a key plot twist in the middle of the film and a sequence when Moore drops his smarm long enough to make a mobster eat a bag of heroin at gunpoint. Harris and Burton have such good chemistry its surprising they only worked together this one time. And the film makes decent use of a deep supporting cast of top-flight Brits, including Barry Forster, Jack Watson, and Stewart Granger as Faulkner's steely employer. But you know you are in trouble in the first minute of the film, when rocker Joan Armatrading tries to channel Joan Baez with an utterly tuneless ballad while a 007-ish title sequence flashes up images of suffering Africans. Never mind most of the suffering Africans we see thereafter are the guys being shot to death by Burton & crew - it looks like McLaglen had the same eight guys get shot over and over to save money and hoped no one would notice. "The Wild Geese" promises two-fisted entertainment, but what you get instead too soft-headed to work on even the shallowest of levels.

What makes this movie the classic it is, is the chemistry between lead- and supporting actors, all among the finest of their time: Roger Moore essentially plays his cool James-Bond-persona in camouflage (indeed, the jovial manner in which he offs his opponents while chomping a cigar makes one believe he still owns a "licence to kill"). Burton convinces as boozed-out, aging and fallen out of fortune mercenary, Harris as his reluctant buddy and Krueger (although his sudden conversion from racist Afrikaner to moderate is more than a little sudden and implausible), Krueger plays the redneck Boer with a heart to a tit. The rest of the cast is similar formidable: Stewart Granger, although generally known for his dandy-roles, is suitable unlikeable as aristocratic, double-dealing employer, Frank Finlay excellent even in a tiny role as missionary, one cannot help but like Kenneth Griffith as gay comedic-sidekick-*-hero, Ian Yule, all makes a perfect cast for this Film. And of course the great, late Jack Watson as aging trainer, who at all times looks like longing for the battlefield while trimming his garden in England, while longing for his garden when sitting in the training-camp, eating what surely must have been beans and sausages. Watsons "training" and cuss-tirades are among the highlights of the film. As for the accusations of being racist (having been filmed in South-Africa), even today, decades after the apartheid-regime has ended: I highly doubt that filming added much financially to the then-government. If anything it put some money in the pockets of the locals involved. The leading African cast other than the enemy-soldiers of course, namely John Kani and Winston Ntshona, is generally portrayed positive and amiable and as for accusing the film for showing African countries as either tribal and backward or run by military despots and juntas – well, one needs only look toward the country that was back then called Rhodesia today or perhaps at Uganda, one of the more "stable" countries in Africa, where they're considering a bill that will make homosexuality a crime punishable by death, at the time I'm tipping these words. A negative reputation usually doesn't come from nowhere. A final word about the „controversial" theme-song by Joan Armatrading: As with most things, it's really a matter of taste and for me personally the inability of the singer to hit a correct note rather soured my teeth. Other than that, I found this opening schmaltz ballad about as appropriate for a mercenary-film as if one had used "My heart will go on" to open the movie "300" (but that's just my subjective opinion). 8/10

Marvellously macho, a men on a mission movie proudly proclaiming that the old adage is indeed true, there is life in the old dog(s) yet. A notable cast of British and Irish thespians were rounded up and unleashed into a plot that required a band of mercenaries sent to extract an African President from some prison in the darkest part of Africa. The formula is tried and tested, the leader is a man made of stern stuff but carrying emotional baggage, his band of men assembled are a mixture of ex soldiers who have either fell on hard times or just haven't been able to let go of the army life that they feel was their calling in life. The latter of which causes great consternation amongst spouses and immediate family members. Director Andrew V. McLaglen lets it unfold in steady and unfussy time, structuring it in three stages. Stage one is getting to know the principal players, their fears, pet peeves and psychological make up, stage 2 is the re-training programme, where the good old boys wait to see who keels over from a heart attack first, then stage 3 is the mission, where blood will be shed, bodies will fall, treachery and racism are big irritants, and of course big sacrifices will have to be made during a whirl of explosions and politico pummelling. The screenplay, much like the actors playing the key roles, is very self aware to not take itself too seriously, it's also very funny at times, there is some absolute cracker-jack slices of dialogue here. The PC brigade and political historians beat themselves around their heads trying to flatten the appeal of The Wild Geese, it didn't work. Most action movie fans understood fully just what was going on, and it's the reason why today it still holds up as a perennial favourite on the British TV schedules. Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, Hardy Kruger, Jack Watson, Kenneth Griffith, Ronald Fraser and Percy Herbert, I salute you all. 8/10

I discovered this film when I was like 14 because I was obsessed with the Bond movies, after watching "The Wild Geese" I developed another obsession. No film is for everyone, but this one has a lot to love, especially for fans of the genre and the cast. Richard Burton plays Allen Faulkner, an aged British mercenary hired by a multinational company to lead a team into Africa and rescue the president of a war-torn nation to serve their purposes. It sounds like simple action fluff. It isn't. All the men Faulkner brings along, many of whom are members of his old crew, have families they might not see again. The biggest focus of these is Richard Harris (in a great performance) as Capt. Janders who is the single parent to his son Amiel. There's also the complications that ensue when their mission changes purposes midway through. Most importantly is that this film is scripted by Reginald Rose, who gave us "Twelve Angry Men". Also featured are Roger Moore and Hardy Kruger. Moore is the one I watched the film for, and gives a typical Moore performance. Krugar, however, is given the more interesting character. Like the rest, he's an aging mercenary, unlike the rest he's South African and prejudiced against black people. The man they rescue, Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona) is black and Kruger's character must either save a man he sees as less than human or come to grips with his racism. Andrew V. McLaglen is not what I'd call a great director, but he does fine here. He keeps a good pace that balances the action and drama. A few of his decisions are a might distracting, but I think this is more a reflection of mainstream cinema at the time than one filmmaker's failings. This movie is still a gift to adventure fans and it asks the right questions. The sequel, made after Burton's death, is a different thing altogether. If ever you see "The Wild Geese 2", don't expect what you got here.

Thrilling/ straight action/adventure story about some mercenaries hired to spring an abducted African leader from well-secured prison and the incidents this triggers . A British multinational seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa as hires the much-wanted mercenary Colonel Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton miscast as chief of mercenaries) , as he travels to London invited by the British millionaire Sir Edward Matherson (Stewart Granger) to rescue the African President Julius Limbani that had been kidnapped in a coup d'état by the dictator Colonel Mboya. Sir Edward has interest in the copper mines and intends to negotiate with Limbani. Col. Faulkner hires his friends Captain Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), a tough, two-fisted mercenary and Lieutenant Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore),an expert on planes . The trio selects their old friends and contacts other mercenaries (Ronald Fraser , Percy Herbert , Ken Gampu) to form the rescue team. They plan the whole operation and succeed in their mission .The commando is led by Colonel Faulkner , a sergeant named Sandy (Jack Watson) along with Lieutenent Pieter (Hardy Kruger).The adventure starts when the veteran band of mercenaries land deep inside the African country to rescue Limbani and destroy installations . This fast-paced film packs adventures, large-scale blow-up , plot-twists routine plot , and lots of action for the most part . It's a comfortable mix of action-packed , adventure, thriller and wartime genre . From the beginning to the end the suspense , non-stop action and intrigue is continued . Interesting screenplay by prestigious Reginald Rose who writes thought-provoking dialogs especially between Limbani and Pieter well performed by Hardy Kruger . Other chief excitements about the movie, will be in the intervention of famous British secondaries who realize professionally competent interpretations , some of them with no more than a line or two to say . Cinematography Jack Hildyard is quite nicely , capturing the atmosphere of everywhere . Special mention the impressive and breathtaking musical score by Roy Budd ; it's filled with lively and martial sounds fitting splendidly to action . Furthermore , enjoyable song on the opening under magnificent credit titles by Maurice Binder . The motion picture is well directed by Andrew V MacLagen son of the great actor Victor McLagen. He's a warlike expert , such as proved in several films (Return to Kwai,Wild Geese, Dirtdozen: the next mission,Sea wolves,Breakthrough). However , director McLagen proved had lost the touch that made ¨Devil's brigade¨, ¨Sea wolves¨ and specially ¨Wild Geese¨ such memorable films , as in his final career he filmed average movies . ¨Wild Geese¨ can be called great and received , deservedly, much acclaim when released. Certainly a good work done by one of Hollywood's more skill director, a real craftsman. It's followed by Wild Geese II (Peter Hunt with Scott Glenn, Edward Fox, Barbara Carrera ), an inferior sequel deals about a new group of the much-wanted mercenaries assigned by a rich television network (Robert Webber) to free famous arch-Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hess (Laurence Olivier); this following depended in their all star cast . And a trilogy exploitation directed by Anthony M Dawson( Margheriti) formed by ¨Code name : Wild Geese¨ ¨Commando Leopard(1985)¨ and ¨Der Commander(1988)¨ repeating similar actors, Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef , Klaus Kinski, and Manfred Lemann.

This flick which has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it over twenty years ago.It was released on DVD in the past year or so here in the U.S.,so I bought it to see if it held up.Boy howdy did it ever,aside from some of the goofy clothes the people were wearing at the mafia punk's party,this movie still looks fantastic. First of all, you can't wrong with a flick starring two of the three greatest actors of all time,Richard Burton and Richard Harris (it's a shame there was no part for Peter O'Toole,oh well).Not to forget Roger Moore who shows all the naysayers he was a great choice to play 007,it's not his fault he was saddled with mediocre scripts and wasn't allowed to be the 007 he could've been (for proof watch the scene where he dispenses some very Bond-like justice on the mafia punk who tricked him into smuggling heroin). Richard Burton plays the no-nonsense,hard drinking merc commander who has his sense of what's right and wrong in the world re-awakened by his best friend and master tactician merc played by Richard Harris (the conscience of the group).Also in the group is great German actor Hardy Kruger as a Dutch South African who has issues but has the best character arc in the piece.There is also Kenneth Griffith as the homosexual medic who despite being downplayed as comedic relief is every bit as dangerous as the other mercs.John Kani plays the super dependable merc Jesse and the always great Winston Ntshona as the object of the mercs rescue mission. This saves my personal favorite character for last the always great Jack Watson as the RSM,his character is the guy I'd want leading me out of a hellish situation such as the one the guys encounter here in this all time great manly flick.Not to mention when Watson's character is re-training them that is my favorite scene in the flick, it always gets a good bwa-ha-ha-ha outta me. The whole point of their mission is to rescue a democracy loving ex- president of a fictional African country for the purposes of mineral acquisition.Their employer is a British banker played to evil yet constipated perfection by Stewart Granger(as different from Alan Quartermain as a part can get).Of course he betrays them and they have to fight their way through Africa to try to get Winston Ntshona's character to safe ground.They lose a lot of the cast in this section of the movie and it hurts to see characters you learn to love dying some of the most brutal deaths imaginable. The final escape by the Dakota plane is as harrowing as any I've seen in any flick,gut wrenching and heart breaking to boot.This is one flick that it's okay for guys to get misty eyed over due to the tragic heroism of Richard Burton and company.It is worth it just to see the rage boiling over in Richard Burton's eyes as they land at the airport and you know that Stewart Granger's character ain't long for this world.If any women are reading this review and your husband/boyfriend is a fan of real movies for men and not frat-house movies,then you can't go wrong with this one.This is the greatest mercenary movie of all time.

Africa has been the background setting for many an exciting film. In this story a powerful, but arrogant English lord and wealthy financier, (Stewart Granger) Sir Edward Matherson, hires, a professional Mecernary, Col. Allen Faulkner, (Richard Burton) to fly into Africa and rescue a popular but imprisoned African leader Julius Limbani. (Winston Ntshona) This action will threaten and force a ruthless, but established dictator to sign over his country's lucrative copper mining rights. To help Faulkner with his dangerous task, he calls on close military friends. Lt. Shawn Fynn, (Roger Moore), Capt. Rafer Janders (Richard Harris) Lt. Pieter Coetze, (Hardy Krüger) and Sagarent Major Sandy Young. (Jack Watson). Together, they plan, organize, train and secretly fly into the heart of enemy country. What they don't know is that Sir Edward Matherson will expect the dreaded and merciless "Simbas" to be more efficient than his hired men. Rarely does a dramatic, action packed film contain a simple subliminal message; that men of war can also be men of conscience seeking common bond and family life. A superb vehicle for Richard Burton. ****