March or die
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | March or die |
| Original title | March or Die |
 | |
| Country of production | USA , UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1977 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Dick Richards |
| script | David Zelag Goodman |
| production |
Jerry Bruckheimer Lew Grade Dick Richards Associated General Films |
| music | Maurice Jarre |
| camera | John Alcott |
| cut |
Stanford C. Allen O. Nicholas Brown John C. Howard |
| occupation | |
| |
March or die (alternative title: Hell is loose in the desert ) is a feature film by director Dick Richards , shot in 1977 as a British / US co-production. The film premiered on September 8, 1977 in the Federal Republic of Germany .
action
In 1918, a small group versa French Foreign Legion officer William Foster from the battlefields of led WWI back. Because of the enormous losses, new recruits are being recruited at the train station, including criminals and German prisoners of war. One of the new recruits is the sophisticated thief and facade climber Marco Segrain.
In this situation, Foster was given the task of escorting an expedition of French archaeologists into the Moroccan desert. To France's fame, they plan to excavate an old tomb there. Since scientists have already disappeared while working, the protection of the Legion is necessary. Foster is concerned, but obeys orders.
After crossing to Morocco, the troop meets their opponent, the Bedouin El Krim . In his caravan he leads the two captured scientists whom he had previously blinded . Foster kills the two prisoners, but does not correctly interpret El Krim's intentions, as he sees his hostility to be based on religious sentiments because of the desecration of the grave .
After arriving at the fort, the recruits begin their tough training to become legionaries, which is largely characterized by long forced marches through the desert. According to the motto “March or die!” One of the recruits should be left behind in the desert because he cannot keep up the pace. Segrain saves this man and actually brings him back to the fort. For this, however, he is punished with pillory .
After a while, the soldiers set off for a half-buried temple in the middle of the desert. The legionaries erect a low wall of sandbags for defense. Soon the scientists accidentally discover the burial chamber and lift the sarcophagus . Foster locks the two in the chamber and in the meantime brings the sarcophagus to the Bedouin camp. With this he hopes to be able to appease El Krim. But he has to understand that El Krim is only using the alleged disturbance of the peace of the dead as a pretext to unite the various tribes under his command.
So the squad returns to the temple and waits for the attack, which actually begins soon. Thanks to superior weapons, the legionaries can repel some waves of attack, but soon the numerical superiority and the incomplete entrenchment make themselves felt. Ultimately, despite massive losses, El Krim's people overrun the excavation site. Foster and many legionaries are killed, but El Krim lets some soldiers escape (including Marco Segrain) to make his superiority known in the world.
Simone Picard is leaving and has planned everything for a departure for two with Marco Segrain. But things turn out differently: Segrain has now succeeded Foster and continues to fight against El Krim as a trainer, showing almost the same character as Foster.
criticism
"The lavish, impressively photographed spectacle is a war adventure made according to all the rules of American cinema and a persistent epic in a large but questionable format."
Film bug
As the Arabs storm the legionnaires' defense wall, you can see in the pan how an extremely soft rubber bayonet flutters violently on the rifle.
Web links
- March or Die in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- March or die in the online movie database
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Release for March or Die . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF).
- ↑ Portfolio of the film on heyse-online.de
- ↑ March or die. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 4, 2018 .