Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Rick Joshua The Wild Geese is a film I remember vividly as a youngster, and one that for me has stood the test of time. Yes, there is no CGI or bullets whizzing close to the ears à la Steven Spielberg, but a gritty realism assisted by a number ex-military personnel among the extras.Having an interest in the history and politics of post-colonial Africa I was more than familiar with the exploits of mercenaries such as "Mad" Mike Hoare and Siegfried "Kongo" Müller, and some years after seeing this film for the first time I was happy to find out that the legendary "Mad Mike" had acted as a battlefield consultant.The plot is uncomplicated, and the mission seemingly straightforward. Employed by shady businessman Sir Edward Matheson (Stewart Granger), retired mercenary Alan Faulkner (Richard Burton) looks to set himself up financially with one last trip to Africa. In selecting his small private army Faulkner puts together an interesting core group - the intellectual Rafer Janders (Richard Harris), the smart and savvy Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore) and hard-nosed Afrikaner Pieter Coetzee (Hardy Krüger). While Faulker provides the brains, Fynn provides the charm, Coetzee the grit and Janders the soul.In all a group of fifty men are gathered, from grizzled vets looking for their last big pay packet through to younger soldiers of fortune. In amongst the group are the hard-nosed RSM Sandy Young (played wonderfully by Jack Watson) and the camp but no less tough medic Witty (Kenneth Griffith). There is plenty of excellent character development as the men go through their training routine, and plenty of politically incorrect banter that makes it even more real.The men parachute into the fictional country located in Southern Africa, with the mission to rescue politician Julius Limbani (Winston Ntshona) imprisoned by a communist-leaning government. He is being held at a prison staffed by a fearsome bunch of native soldiers - the Simbas - and their East German and Cuban advisors.Having arrived safely, the mission runs smoothly - the enemies are quickly dispatched and the prisoner is rescued, and you are left thinking "is this it?" But when things take a horrible twist and their rescue aircraft passes them by on the orders of the double-crossing Matheson, all hell breaks loose.Here the action really kicks off, complete with explosions, flying bodies and a rapidly increasing body count - all good 1970s action film fun.However, there is no real happy ending. The majority of the mercenaries don't make it out alive, and the scene on the runway that sees Faulkner left with the choice of shooting his friend Janders or leaving him at the mercy of the panga-wielding Simbas is something that does hit you sideways in what is otherwise a merry old school all-action romp.There is no Hollywood happy ending, but the final denouement makes for a satisfactory conclusion.Having read some of the other comments on here, my advice is simple. Forget the possible plot holes, some contrived plot acceleration (such as Coetzee's sudden realisation about Limbani) and so on, and just enjoy it. Watching Harris and Burton (who were allegedly ordered to stay off the drink for the duration of the filming) working together is great, Moore is his usual suave self but with a red beret instead of a tux, and Krüger is excellent as a character you just end up rooting for.They don't make them like this anymore!

Tweekums When mercenary leader Colonel Faulkner is hired by wealthy merchant banker Sir Edward Matherson to rescue deposed African leader President Julius Limbani from a barracks deep inside hostile territory he knows it won't be easy. Once he has recruited the men he needs they head to Swaziland to train. They then fly north and parachute to there target. At first things go well; they quickly eliminate the soldiers based there; silently taking out the sentries with a cross bow then gassing the rest while they slept. It isn't long before they are at the airport with Limbani waiting for the plane to return to pick them up... this is where the action really starts; Matherson has made a new deal and no longer needs Limbani so the plane abandons them to their fate. Trapped deep inside hostile territory with enemy forces fast approaching they must quickly decide what to do. The initial plan is to drive south into Limbani's tribal heartland to try to raise a revolution but that looks unlikely when their transport is destroyed and many of them are killed... the will just have to find a alternate way out of the country and once out Falkner will make sure somebody pays for all those bodies left littering Africa! If you want a proper 'Boy's Own' adventure this is it; the first hour nicely introduces all the main characters as well as Falkner there is Rafer Janders, the planner; Shawn Flynn, a pilot; Pieter Coetzee, an Afrikaner who just wants to earn enough to buy a farm back home; Sandy Young, the RSM and Witty, the camp (in more ways than one) medic. Once the action starts it is almost none stop and it soon becomes clear that it isn't just nameless background characters that are going to die; characters we've grown to care about die too. This leads to a genuinely tear-jerking moment towards the end when Falkner will have to make the hardest decision imaginable. The cast is loaded with star names: Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore and Hardy Krüger but it isn't the sort of 'all star' film where well known stars just take turns to show off a bit; they all do great jobs as do the other, less well known, actors. The action looks believable, which shouldn't be too surprising given that famous mercenary 'Mad Mike' Hoare acted as an adviser and many of the cast had seen military service during the war. Some may find this a little bit non-PC as the openly gay medic is distinctly camp and Coetzee constantly calls Limbani 'kaffir'; this misses the point though Witty may be a camp stereotype but the men accept him for who he is and he is a heroic character who doesn't shirk from the fight and Coetzee grows to become more moderate as he gets to know Limbani and acknowledges that he doesn't understand the politics of his own country. Overall if you are looking for a good solid action flick you could do a lot worse than this.

edwoodjr2003 From what it sounds like, money issues limited the release of this film in the US and Canada in 1978 but me and my war film filmmaker buddies (in 8th grade at the time) were first in line for this one in the suburbs outside of Chicago. We were in it for the battle scenes and weapons (having gotten into the mercenary stories of Soldier of Fortune magazine) and were not left unsatisfied. The story line is that of an updated 60s WWII flick and one can't help feel much of it could have somehow been applied to a Gregory Peck or David Niven vehicle, but the flick is more than entertaining. Lots of side stories related to casting and the drinking capacities and potential of Burton and Harris but the film was completed and is more than watchable. Not you average date movie, but a good flick if you're in for one of those 50s/60s commando movies mixed in with a bit more timely "dirty government operations" stuff. A couple of beers on a rainy Saturday afternoon watching this is a perfect way to burn a few hours and enjoy what seems to be sort of a late 70s homage to those earlier commando flicks of earlier post WWII decades.

Bolly_Boba_Booboo I stopped watching at the part with the headmistress. This is the worse film imaginable. Pretentious, boring, simply awful. I would have sent the Director to the Gulag just for the 30 minutes I was unfortunate enough to see. It is astonishing that this film has received so many positive votes. I watched the film with a roomful of film buffs and everybody was hurling abuse at the television after just 15 minutes! I had to switch the film off as I was afraid someone would throw it out of the window. Preminger obviously really liked the poet that this film is an ode to, but unfortunately it doesn't change how I feel about it. He is no Tarkovsky!