A Vietnam War movie, set in 1964, when U.S. involvement in the fighting hadn't yet escalated beyond the advisory stage. Adapted from a novel by Daniel Ford, Incident at Muc Wa, the story is told with the swift forward propulsion of a WWII Warners action movie, despite the heavy ideological burdens the characters must lug with them throughout. Editorializing is limited to Burt Lancaster's ponderous sighs and head-shakes; especially good, matter-of-fact treatment of American racism. The actors, all except the ones assigned to play buffoonish gung-ho types, seem quite true to their characters Marc Singer as a cynical careerist, Craig Wasson as a volunteer eager to see a war firsthand, Jonathan Goldsmith as a battle-fatigued veteran, and Evan Kim as a savage South Vietnamese anti-communist. Directed by Ted Post. (1978) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.