Les centurions

Perhaps because it came out so soon after Pontecorvo's classic "La Battaglia di Algeri" (The Battle of Algiers), "The Lost Command" got, well, lost. That's too bad, because I saw this movie only once about 20 years ago, but still recall it vividly as a surprisingly well-done action film spiced with social commentary that doesn't overwhelm the whole.

Anthony Quinn is especially believable as a hard-bitten professional soldier who manages to rise to high command in spite of his peasant birth. Alain Delon is his pretty boy right-hand and George Segal has a particularly interesting turn as an Arab serving with Quinn and Delon in Indochina at the film's beginning who is radicalized upon returning to his native Algeria and takes up arms against his former comrades.

The highlight of the film is its retelling of the Battle of Algiers, with Quinn in the role of the real-life para colonel Jacques Massieu.

The battle scenes are well-done and realistic, especially the opening sequence, which is set in the final, desperate hours at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Despite being well-made and underrated, this film is not often shown on television, so you'll probably have to rent it.

The Viet Cong commander spoke Chinese Contonese dialect to his troops and his troops responded in Cantonese too? How come the French commander still had the fun, splashing water to his fellow soldiers when trudging across the river?

The fighting scenes were well arranged, but all the scenes after the French troops became POWs were unbelievably absurd. Then all the scenes with women were simply too Hollywood soapy and disgustingly lame.

Having seen Pontecorvo's "La Battaglia di Algeri" (The Battle of Algiers) which is an excellent French docudrama my attention was drawn to this. I have to say that it is a good movie which not only serves as an entertaining drama (unlike the previously mentioned which was more documentary-like), but a reasonable record of some of the issues facing Algeria, France and society at the time. The choice of George Segal in the role of as Mahidi was particularly odd but reflects the era when it was made. Alain Dellon was in his prime at the time (and very good looking). Anthony Quinn as Raspeguy also surpasses many of his other roles in being highly engaging and convincing without the need, as was the case of some of his other roles, to resort to comedy. Two hours long but a lot packed in. The action sequences are well handled.

Currently a lot of rear echelon commandoes have denigrated the French for not being grateful lapdogs usually with asides about how they folded in WW2, had to be rescued, etc etc. If the brain dead actually read they would've learned that far from being the walkovers these "jokesters" portray the French soldier was and is just as courageous as his ancestors were in the wars of Europe and the quest for empire. This movie is a spirited reminder of that. Anthony Quinn as the peasant born French para officer has to fight the military politics as well as the armed enemy first at the doomed fort of Dienbienphu and later in Algeria. He's playing for keeps and he and his officers are going to to be ruthless. Good battle scenes and the luscious Claudia Cardinale make this a see it anytime movie for me.

I watched this out of interest to see how the French experience of Dien Bien Phu might be portrayed, but this was only a small part of the film, and that dissappointment carried on for the whole film. This is another of those generic war films where the tactics are unrealistic to the point of idiocy, the kit and equipment is whatever comes to hand rather than attempting anything but the vaguest way, and the story is fairly daft too. Only worth watching for the novelty value of its subject matter,