Go Tell the Spartans

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Go Tell the Spartans

R

Released Sep 1, 1978

1h 54m

War

History

Drama

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67%

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6 Reviews

58%

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250+ Ratings

The veteran major (Burt Lancaster) in charge of a U.S. advisory group follows futile orders to their tragic end in 1964.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

[Go Tell the Spartans] contains a lot of statements that are meant to be prophetic in hindsight. It also considers the war in terms of countless earlier movies about earlier wars.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The big two Vietnam War flicks in 1978 were The Deer Hunter and Coming Home, which between them won eight Oscars (including Best Picture for Deer) -- less ballyhooed yet also deserving of attention were The Boys in Company C and Go Tell the Spartans.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 27, 2023

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Richard Freedman

Newhouse News Service

Go Tell the Spartans is the best movie so far lo come out of the Vietnam war. It is only 14 years too late.

Nov 5, 2019

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

A competent war film, to be sure, but there's no directorial commitment, no vision.

Rated: C

Apr 9, 2007

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 4, 2005

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

This is a solid and memorable film about American military involvement in Vietnam.

Jan 24, 2004

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Audience Member

Good solid entertainment. Deals with the period after French withdrawal but before huge American commitment. Burt Lancaster plays his part well as do the rest of the cast. Given when the movie was made , it portrays an early American involvement in a war it did not fully understand very well. To judge it by later events and subsequent movies about the bigger war that came later is pointless. Just sit back with a beer and enjoy it for the unique movie it is.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

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Steve D

Solid war film with good cast.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/20/24

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Nol P

I tried hard to watch, I tried hard to keep my attention up but this 1978 movie is just not interesting enough! Acting is just ok and story is just ok! Had one good funny full scene though with Singer and Lancaster and his explaining on his non gentlemanlike behavior that kept him at the major rank all these yrs. 2 of 5 stars at best I can give this! Onto something much more lively!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

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Alan D

There is no movie of the Vietnam war as authentic as this.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/06/23

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Audience Member

The best Vietnam War movie, shot on a budget, with Burt Lancaster in one of his greatest roles. No sentimentalism here, just hardnosed, grim reality about the beginnings of our terrible adventure in Vietnam. A cult film, it has been re-released over the years, but is not yet easily available streaming, which is a shame.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

It brought back the sad experience of the Vietnam War in a realistic manner. The film shows that this was not a winnable war back in the early adviser days. A good analogy was a grave yard that was made up of former French solders killed in the location of the battle in the film. .

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Ted Post

Director

Burt Lancaster

Maj. Asa Barker

Craig Wasson

Cpl. Courcey

Jonathan Goldsmith

Sgt. Oleonowski

Marc Singer

Capt. Olivetti

Joe Unger

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Synopsis

The veteran major (Burt Lancaster) in charge of a U.S. advisory group follows futile orders to their tragic end in 1964.

Director: Ted Post
Producer: Allan F. Bodoh, Mitchell Cannold
Screenwriter: Daniel Ford, Wendell Mayes
Distributor: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Production Co: Spartan Productions Inc., Polyphony Digital, Mar Vista Productions
Rating: R
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 1, 1978, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Aug 30, 2005
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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