For some reason, I hadn't seen this film before. I was in the army from 67-70 (did not go to Vietnam) and have read, written, and watched films about that time ever since. Burt Lancaster was...Burt Lancaster. He had some great lines, but I agree with the reviewer who commented on his age being a bit of a distraction. But the story more than compensated. This was when Americans in general had never heard of Vietnam. Burt's amazement that a draftee would be there spoke volumes about how early in our engagement this was. Yet, there were engagements. The US military was actively supporting the south Vietnamese, including fighting battles on the ground and giving air support. The ensemble cast felt like a stereotypical war movie cast, but the lighter dialogue in the first half of the film starts to give way to the seriousness of the situation. And finally, by the end of the film's "second act" it takes on more of an "alamo" feeling.<br /><br />Burt's character's cynicism, plus the viewers' historical knowledge of how things turned out for the US military in Vietnam, makes for some powerful moments. It also leads me to consider this an anti-war film. Because in the end, what did all the soldiers who died in the movie die for? As Burt's Major tells the hung-ho captain, this isn't like world war II. This one is just running us in circles. He knew the score in 1964, but unfortunately it was generals like Dolph Sweet's character who drove the policies that LBJ followed that resulted in so many more needless deaths.