March or Die

1977
PG
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

4.1K

YOUR RATING

During the 1920s, French Foreign Legion Major William Foster's (Gene Hackman's) unit is protecting an archaeological dig, but the discovery of an Arab sacred burial site prompts the angry Arab tribes to attack Foster's small garrison.

Play trailer2:33

1 Video

30 Photos

Adventure Drama Romance War

During the 1920s, French Foreign Legion Major William Foster's (Gene Hackman's) unit is protecting an archaeological dig, but the discovery of an Arab sacred burial site prompts the angry Ar... Read allDuring the 1920s, French Foreign Legion Major William Foster's (Gene Hackman's) unit is protecting an archaeological dig, but the discovery of an Arab sacred burial site prompts the angry Arab tribes to attack Foster's small garrison.During the 1920s, French Foreign Legion Major William Foster's (Gene Hackman's) unit is protecting an archaeological dig, but the discovery of an Arab sacred burial site prompts the angry Arab tribes to attack Foster's small garrison.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

4.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 2:33

Trailer

Photos30

More like this

5.2

Blackie the Pirate

5.6

The World of Don Camillo

6.6

6.6

5.7

6.5

6.6

I'm for the Hippopotamus

6.4

Django, Prepare a Coffin

7.0

6.3

6.6

5.5

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
When Gene Hackman started having back pain, the movie's insurance company refused to allow shooting to continue because a permanent injury to Hackman could have cost it a lot of money. The insurers suggested shooting the movie in the United States, but sand dunes in Nevada were not the same color as sand dunes in Agadir. Several big American transport planes were used to transport tons of sand from the Agadir dunes in to camouflage the sand of Nevada. (Source: Beyond Casablanca, Page 131).

Goofs
The Legionnaires wear prewar dark blue uniforms and greatcoats. The French Foreign Legion adopted a khaki field uniform in 1907.

Quotes
[last lines]
[facing a line of new recruits, citing Major Foster's earlier speech]
Marco Segrain: Some of you men will try to quit. Others will try to run away. No man in this command as ever succeeded. If the Legion doesn't get you, the desert will. If the desert doesn't, the Arabs will. And if the Arabs don't, then I will. I don't know which is worse.

Alternate versions
The one major network showing of "March or Die" was considerably different from the original release, with a great deal of additional footage and a completely different ending. At the end of the original release Marco (Hill) gives a rousing speech to replacement Legionnaires, which is word-for-word the same speech Foster (Hackman) gave recruits near the beginning of the film. (To potential deserters: "If the Legion doesn't get you, the Arabs will. If the Arabs don't get you, the desert will. And if the desert doesn't get you... I will.) A caravan is leaving the fort behind Marco as he gives his speech. The original release ends on this note, implying that Marco has stepped into Foster's shoes as loyal Legion commander. In the network showing, after Marco delivers his speech, we see Marco deserting. He has slipped into Arab garb and joined the caravan leaving the fort. The Sergeant-Major is shown smiling at him, implying that he is complicit in Marco's desertion. Also in the network showing: A fierce desert battle between a legion column and Arab raiders. The entire battle is deleted from the original release. The column is led by the mean Lieutenant. In one scene, the mean Lieutenant is shown placing a pistol to his head and committing suicide. The scene does not appear in the original release. In addition, in the original release, the footage of the mean Lieutenant firing his pistol during the column's battle with raiders, is edited into the final battle scene at the archaological dig. The effect is quite jarring, as he has not been present for about a third of the film.

Connections
Featured in 42nd Street Forever, Volume 4: Cooled by Refrigeration (2009)

Soundtracks
Plaisir d'Amour
(uncredited)
Music by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini
Lyrics by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian

User reviews42

Review

Featured review

Unheard of, Underrated, Very Enjoyable.

I watched this movie today for the first time after stumbling across it on the IMDb a few weeks back.

I'm a big Gene Hackman fan and a war film fan so I didn't think I could go wrong purchasing this sight unseen.

Without detailing the plot too much, it is fair to say that this is standard Legionnaire in North Africa fare and not a lot different from Films like Beau Geste and the Van Damme Legionnaire film (which would seem to be a vastly inferior remake of this film).

The film starts at a slow pace. In some of the early bits the acting is a bit wooden and the film also gives the appearance of being made for TV (it gets much better).

Unfortunately the picture was a little bit grainy and I doubt it is a big enough film for any kind or restoration to ever be done on it.

Through reading the boards for this film it seems that there have been some cuts made to the Region 2 DVD and this may explain why the film seemed a bit slow to develop.

I was particularly impressed with the locations and sets used.

Hackman also started slowly but got better as the movie went along and he really hit his straps later in the film. Terence Hill was very good in a sort of role I haven't seen him in before.

The film takes the time to highlight the stereotypical harsh living conditions endured by the men in the Legion and also the strict discipline imposed on them, many of whom come from ill-disciplined backgrounds.

The injection of a love story into some war films (like Enemy at the Gates or Pearl Harbor) detracts from the overall quality of the film and seems to be done to create a wider audience appeal. In this film that is certainly not the case and the romance between Hill and Catherine Deneuve's characters seems to complement the rest of the film nicely.

There is only one real battle scene which comes towards the end of the film but it was worth the wait. Prior to this there are a couple of other tense scenes involving the Legionnaires and the Arabs.

The final battle can only be described as epic. It was one of the better large scale battle scenes I have seen in a movie (no CGI when this was made).

The film was not without some faults (I may be mistaken but my understanding has always been that while men of many nationalities serve in the Foreign Legion, the officers are all French) but it is certainly underrated.

Much better then some recent Hollywood fare we have been served up such as We Were Soldiers (also reviewed by me) and Windtalkers

I give it 7 out of 10.

Well worth seeing if you like a good war film.