Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Go Tell the Spartans Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 25, 2016

Before “Platoon” found enough political distance to explore the Vietnam War, resulting in a critical and commercial triumph, other productions made a similar, less funereal attempts to address the futility of the conflict. 1978’s “Go Tell the Spartans” was perhaps a victim of bad timing, finding a limited audience during its theatrical release, but the clarity of its message and overall emotional authenticity is as powerful as a best Vietnam dissections, only hampered by a limited budget, which prevents the picture from achieving a truly cinematic viewing experience.

Director Ted Post guides star Burt Lancaster into war, working with a screenplay by Wendell Mayes (adapting a book by Daniel Ford). The helmer doesn’t have the raw intensity required to summon the necessary gut-rot feeling the material is searching for, but his way with the details of military life is compelling, refusing to shy away from the brutality of the Vietnam War. “Go Tell the Spartans” is a grim picture, but the cast is sharp enough to express a credible sense of fear, allowing viewers to understand the soldier headspace as the situation thickens in a foreign land, with the movie’s 1964 setting adding a layer of dread as an already dire situation is about to get worse.

Go Tell the Spartans Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a filmic but slightly aged look for "Go Tell the Spartans," with sharpness offered whenever possible during the viewing experience. Detail is best with close-ups, identifying the intense environment on pain faces, and distances are easily surveyed. Colors are satisfactory, mostly dealing with army gear and jungle visits, but various shades of green maintain their intention, and skintones are natural. Delineation isn't problematic, preserving frame information. The source is in respectable shape, with some speckling detected, but no overt damage.

Go Tell the Spartans Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix reaches sharp extremes on occasion, hitting a few harsh highs during the listening event. Dialogue exchanges are the priority here, keeping dramatics clear with some signs of age and budgetary limitation. Scoring retains percussive snap and mood. Atmospherics are mild, but violence offers heaviness with explosions and gunfire.

Go Tell the Spartans Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews include actors Marc Singer (28:28, HD), Jonathan Goldsmith (11:52, SD), Joe Unger (14:17, HD), and David Clennon (24:42, HD), and director Ted Post (18:53, SD). Different perspectives are presented, along with professional histories, but the information shared is roughly the same, with each interviewee celebrating the screenplay's humanity and sharing their eagerness to work with Burt Lancaster. Most interesting is the reveal that "Go Tell the Spartans" was shot in California, a short distance away from Magic Mountain, with roller coaster sounds periodically interfering with the creation of intense dramatic scenes.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Go Tell the Spartans Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Post directs straightforwardly, but the power of "Go Tell the Spartans" isn't diluted, working through various characters as they react to the horrors they witness, with some unable to take the insanity of military service. It's bold work, especially for its time, making a definitive statement about the true price of war, mixed in with some combat sequences and scenes of stunned reflection. "Go Tell the Spartans" isn't normally listed as a resource during the discussion of big screen Vietnam War stories, but it deserves a viewing.