Low budget and looks more like a TV movie then major motion picture, partially financed by the political conscious star.One of the first Vietnam war movies to come out after the end of the conflict. Therefore had difficulties with funding and not well received in theaters when it came out. We had, had enough about Vietnam.However, very accurate in portrayal of early war, yes including the firearms used. The corruption in the south Vietnamese military, The US walking right into the same places as the French, and not fighting WW2 again. The population, at war with each other and us in the middle, and the effectiveness of "female" Vietcong soldiers, here portrayed by the actress that just a few years later would go on to play "Kwang Lee", on the TV series "Night Court". Yes a pleasant surprise of a film, that tried to tell a story people didn't want to hear yet, when it came out.

I thought it was a great film, especially as it depicted a lot of "a day in the life" of the soldier's profession. The unit doesn't come into the village shooting from the hip; they put in a lot of time and effort building fortifications, something other films don't often show, even though an infantry soldier is issued both a rifle and an entrenching tool (shovel). The film "Twelve O'Clock High" is a similarly accurate depiction of everything (not just a few air-to-airs of miscellaneous B-17s, to say nothing of whatever stock footage is swept off the cutting room floor) that happens on a heavy bomber base of the 8th Air Force in 1942-3. The documentary quality of the film is completely due to the screenwriter, Beirne Lay Jr, who served on Ira Eaker's staff in 1942 and flew ops with the 100th ("Bloody Hundredth") bomb group. FYI: Bob Dylan's "Brownsville Girl" memorializes (but doesn't name) the film "The Gunfighter," which also pairs the director and star of both films: Henry King and Gregory Peck.Most compelling argument for how true this movie is: in 1984, I worked with a guy who had been a Green Beret captain in Vietnam in 1965-66, and he said "Spartans" should be treated as part fiction and part documentary, because the film was so accurate that it gave him Nam flashbacks.

Director Ted Post is incredibly talented when it comes to telling the audience a captivating story. His characters are believable and he helps create one of Burt Lancaster's finest performances. The story is told in a very entertaining and well-paced fashion while sustaining a feeling of tension. This film never received the attention it deserved when originally released. It's really worth your while and I hope when people see it in a video store they'll consider giving it a chance. It is definitely one of the most realistic and gripping accounts of the war in Vietnam. Ted Post proves to be a very talented director especially in the way he directs his actors. He manages to get great performances out of his entire cast (not only some of the stars). I highly recommend this film and hope that more people will appreciate the way I do.

GO TELL THE SPARTANS (3 outta 5 stars)Not a bad movie... depicting the early days of the conflict in Vietnam and how it affected the American troops... but there are so many other *better* movies about that particular war that this one seems kind of lackluster in comparison. Still, it provides a nice, more modern role for screen icon Burt Lancaster (it is quite a shock to hear him liberally spouting profanity) and I've always liked Craig Wasson, who plays the new addition to Lancaster's group of battle-weary soldiers. Wasson is the green kid, still full of good intentions and the desire to win the hearts and minds of the people who actually have to live in that war-torn country... but over the course of the movie his altruism is put through the wringer. Lancaster has a great monologue about why he never became a general... which is probably the highlight of the movie. Other than the language, the movie kind of has the look and feel of a made-for-TV movie from the period... there is little of the style or flair that seems to enliven most other 'Nam movies... but it does get the job done. War movie buffs will love this... if you hate war movies... you might want to pass.