Go Tell the Spartans

[Go Tell the Spartans] contains a lot of statements that are meant to be prophetic in hindsight. It also considers the war in terms of countless earlier movies about earlier wars.

"Go Tell the Spartans" is the best movie so far to come out of the Vietnam war. It is only 14 years too late.

The big two Vietnam War flicks in 1978 were The Deer Hunter and Coming Home, which between them won eight Oscars (including Best Picture for Deer) -- less ballyhooed yet also deserving of attention were The Boys in Company C and Go Tell the Spartans.

A competent war film, to be sure, but there's no directorial commitment, no vision.