Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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129 of 134 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enough action and adventure for ten mercenary movies !!, November 20, 2000
Let's be honest....this movie is basically a "Boys Own" action adventure straight out of the fertile imagination of a 16 year old English schoolboy....but, gee it's so much fun to watch !!
According to producer Euan Lloyd, who had worked on the star spangled war film "The Guns Of Navarone" (penned by novelist Alistair McLean), Lloyd was seeking out a similar tale featuring several strong male leads that he could turn into an international blockbuster. An acquaintance of Lloyd working in in Rhodesia in the mid 1960's, met up with then unpublished novelist Daniel Carney, and heard about his manuscript concerning mercenaries seeking to rescue an imprisoned president from a military prison. Lloyd leapt at securing the rights for the intense manuscript, got Carney a publishing deal for his book, and set about getting the story onto the screen.
( The name "the wild geese" is taken from a literary term applied to Irish mercenaries initially operating during the late 17th century )
Lloyd secured his four strong male leads (Burton, Harris, Moore & Kruger) and the casting is as follows...Richard Burton plays ageing mercenary leader, Col. Alan Faulkner recruited by the unscrupulous, money hungry banker Sir Edward Matherson (Stewart Granger at his evil best) to rescue an imprisoned African leader, Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona), from local terrorists. Limbani is a key figure in African politics and at stake are copper mine concessions worth millions. Burton recruits old war buddy Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), pilot extraordinaire Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore) ex-South African mercenary Peter Coetzee (Hardy Kruger), and 'tough as nails' Regimental Sergeant Major Sandy Young (Jack Watson) and most of their old war comrades for one last crusade for truth, justice and a very large paycheck !
The plan is simple enough...parachute 50 men in at night, steal Limbani from his captors, and rendevous for a pick up. However, events go horribly wrong and soon the mercenary group are running for their lives, outgunned and outmanned by the brutal, machete wielding Simba guards.
Carney's original manuscript was loosely inspired by Colonel "Mad Mike" Hoare's mercenary crew "5 Commando", and their incredible adventures controlling tribal violence and rescuing Westerners in the Belgian Congo during the early 1960's....(you can buy Mike Hoare's thrilling books right here on Amazon.)...and Hoare actually consulted as the military/technical advisor for the film !. "The Wild Geese" never lets up once the action gets going and is full of gritty firefights and never say die heroics. Additionaly, the film is full of witty dialogue, guaranteed to make you smirk, such as when RSM Sandy Young addresses the massed troops on the parade ground for the first time "Some of you know me already. Those of you who don't are in for a great big f**king surprise". Or when the fiery Irish priest Father Geoghagen calls out to the mercenaries "Good luck to you godless murderer's", to which Roger Moore drolly replies "That's as moving a benediction as I've ever heard".
Finally, "The Wild Geese" is out on DVD in Region 1, with a remastered print in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, two accompanying featurettes on the making of the film, plus a documentary on producer Euan Lloyd. Another highlight is the audio commentary from producer Euan Lloyd, second unit director John Glen, journalist Jonathon Sothcott and "Wild Geese" lead actor Sir Roger Moore, and a newsreel from the original UK charity premiere. ( Although, it bugs me that this edition is released as a 30th Anniversary Edition, however the true 30th Anniversary of the film is not until 2008 ! ) Never mind, "The Wild Geese" is highly recommended viewing !
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classis bush war movie, January 15, 2003
The Wild Geese is an excellent war movie, with Burton, Moore and Harris at their best. It is set in the bush war of the seventies in the former Rhodesia in Southern Africa (NOT SOUTH AFRICA as the other reviewers thought - there is a huge difference. It's like saying Mexico and the USA are the same place!)Anyway, it's an interessting,action packed look at the bush war in and the mercenaries involved and a must have for any serious collector of classic movies.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One to wait for!, January 6, 2001
This is THE "mercenary movie," from the book by David Carney (which sold like coldcakes). Inspired by true events, and featuring locations in southern Africa, the film featured technical advice by members of the original "Wild Geese" who fought against Congolese rebels in the early 1960s.The story is rooted in the rumor that Moise Tshombe had not been killed following the uprising, but instead kept alive as a political pawn. In Carney's story, African leader Julius Limbani was reported to have been killed by the Idi-Amin-style strongman who ousted him, but instead was "put on ice" in another country. This other country then realizes the leverage they hold, as the specter of a "resurrected" Limbani would destroy the usurper's government. The strongman then decides to bring Limbani back for execution. Meanwhile, a British banker has hired mercenary Colonel Alan Faulkner (Sir Richard Burton) to rescue Limbani, to get mining concessions in his country. Faulkner, an "out of work drunk," then gathers his former officers, Sean Finn (Roger Moore) and Rafer Janders (Richard Harris) and some of his old unit together to do the job. Finn then recruits a former South African ranger (Hardy Kruger) who is vital to the plan's success, but not pleased with the mission -- he is only there so that he can get back home from England ("You don't realize this is an island, until you try to get off of it!"). The problem with being paid to risk your life, though, is that the people paying you only see you as an expendable asset . . . This film was so much fun to make that most of the same crew got together again to do "The Sea Wolves," about the last battle of the Calcutta Light Horse in WWII, which is also on the Recommended List.
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