A month at the movies #2: Go Tell The Spartans

A weird in-between film about the Vietnam War, Go Tell The Spartans dabbles in the 'war is hell, man' themes of later movies about the conflict, while still occasionally slipping into the 'good v evil' simplicity of an old war film.

There is a suspicious amount of 1970s hairstyles going on, but it's hard to believe this was being made at the same time as movies like the Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, with a story lacking in arch complexity and some mad attempt at poetic grace - a lot of the film takes place in jungle offices.

But it ain't no Green Berets either, and that lack of poetry means its message isn't blunted. The film asks some legitimate questions about what the hell the US is doing there, and makes no secret of the cruelty and futility of it all. And then it ends with a goddamn Hollywood legend lying dead and naked in the mud.

War is hell, man.