"THE WILD GEESE" - PATOS SALVAJES 1978

Esta es mi “peli” favorita de mercenarios. Me recuerda a la novela de Forsyth, "Los Perros de la Guerra" ("The Dogs of War", 1974) pero, mientras la novela devino un clásico, la película de dicha novela, "The Dogs of War" ("Los perros de la guerra", 1980), no tuvo éxito y ha quedado muy olvidada. En cambio, "Patos salvajes" siguió un proceso a la inversa: de una novela bastante olvidable, su adaptación cinematográfica devino un clásico, al menos en mi opinión.  Su autor, un desconocido David Carney, no llegó a publicar su novela, originalmente llamada "The Thin White Line" ("La delgada línea blanca"), hasta que se estrenó su adaptación  cinematográfica con el mismo nombre que la "peli":  "The Wild Geese", en lo que constituía una clara operación comercial (lanzamiento simultáneo de la "peli" y su novela). 

Los perros de la guerra 1980

La película gira en torno a unos mercenarios contratados para rescatar a un líder de color encarcelado en África. Este personaje estaba inspirado en Moise Tshombe, fallido Primer Ministro del Congo, que acabó exiliado en la España de Franco huyendo del dictador Mobutu. El personaje del mercenario, interpretado por Richard Burton, estaba inspirado en "Mad Mike" Hoare, un líder mercenario de los años sesenta que actuó sobre todo en el Congo y que "bautizó" a su unidad o grupo de mercenarios como "The Wild Geese" ("Los gansos salvajes"), en homenaje a cómo se llamaban los soldados irlandeses que se exiliaron, para no tener que luchar bajo bandera inglesa, a partir del S. XVII. 

Aunque en España la película se tradujo como "Patos salvajes", el homenaje a los mercenarios blancos de "Mad Mike" Hoare resultaba inequívoco del título original en inglés ("The Wild Geese"). 

Esta "peli", en un claro paralelismo con la novela de Forsyth, empieza con el encargo de un banquero millonario londinense (interpretado por Stewart Granger en uno de sus últimos grandes papeles) a un líder mercenario (interpretado por Richard Burton) que organice un comando para liberar a un líder de color encarcelado en un país africano no especificado. Por su parte, la novela de "Los Perros de la Guerra" ("DOGS OF WAR", 1974) empieza con el encargo de un multimillonario londinense al protagonista, Shannon, para que, con su grupo de mercenarios, ejecute un golpe de estado en un país imaginario regido por un dictador, para sustituirlo por un político más afín a sus intereses mineros. 

"The Wild Geese" ("Patos salvajes", 1978) tenía un reparto multi-estelar en estado de gloria, liderado por Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris y Hardy Kruger, todos decididos a "robarse" las escenas que compartían; rodeados de un plantel de secundarios que imprimían carácter a sus actuaciones, por muy breves que fueran. En este sentido es una película que “funciona” porque, aunque sea bastante previsible en su desarrollo argumental, cada uno de los actores encaja con su personaje y los diálogos no desentonan con la acción.  

Parece ser que su productor, un tal Euan Lloyd, quería hacer una "peli" de aventuras de "guerra", al estilo de "Los cañones de Navarone" o "El desafío de las águilas", donde -todo hay que decirlo- los "malos", los soldados alemanes, caían como moscas... 

Afortunadamente, la película adopta un punto de vista realista en las escenas de acción pues, aunque los simbas se llevan la peor parte, no caen como moscas...   

Argumentalmente la "peli" sigue a "Objetivo Birmania" (“Objective, Burma!”, 1945), de mi adorado Raoul Walsh y su remake inconfesado, "Tambores lejanos" ("Distant Drums", 1951) –tampoco hay tantos argumentos de “pelis” de guerra-. La película estuvo dirigida por Andrew V. McLagen (un director que nunca llegó a destacar, hijo del gran Victor McLagen, pese a que había empezado a trabajar a la sombra del maestro John Ford), quien aquí se limitó a cumplir el encargo con mucha profesionalidad. 

Objetivo Birmania - 1945 

En suma, "The Wild Geese" ("Patos salvajes", 1978) constituye un espectáculo que no defrauda, con brillantes escenas de acción, diálogos insuperables y cierta dosis crítica (no nos engañemos, no estamos ante un film antimilitarista) de los excesos del gran capital en el África negra.

Por último, los "Mercenarios" de Stallone no resisten la comparación con esta "peli".

Adjunto debajo un comentario sobre dicha "peli" y como hay que verla...

( EN CASTELLANO DEBAJO)

   

Answer to What are the best underrated war films? by Roland Bartetzko https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-underrated-war-films/answer/Roland-Bartetzko?ch=15&oid=1477743794835236&share=0e77576c&srid=uc0iOA&target_type=answer 

I'm a big fan of “The Wild Geese” from 1978.

You need to watch this movie with a good friend, and some cigars and a bottle of whiskey in front of you.

It’s not “a” mercenary movie but “the” mercenary movie. It’s from an earlier age, so don't expect too much political correctness.

Still, the dialogues are a hundred times better than in some modern mercenary flicks (“The Expendables” comes to mind). The cast includes some of Hollywood's most famous (Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, and Hardy Kruger) and, of course, they know how to act.

The movie also has an amazing soundtrack. The theme song "Flight of the Wild Geese" was written and performed by the (equally underrated) Joan Armatrading

What I like most about “The Wild Geese” is that it is a reminder of a bygone time. The mercenaries are former members of the most elite British regiments, all with combat experience, and they are more interested in the thrill than the money.

Unlike our foreign volunteer fighters from today (beware of calling them mercenaries!) who won't touch a rifle before they have signed a contract with life insurance and all kinds of benefits, the mercs in this flick follow their leader Colonel Faulkner (played by Richard Burton) to the darkest places of Africa without asking any questions. It’s about comradeship and trust.

The movie didn't get many positive reviews at the time of its first screening (parts of it were shot in Apartheid South Africa) but since then, people have begun to appreciate it.

It’s the only watchable movie that deals with the presence of European mercenaries on the African continent during the 1950s and 60s. The story is fictional but it's clear that Daniel Carney, the author of the book the movie is based on, was inspired by the lives of mercenary commanders such as “Mad Mike” Hoare who were fighting during the Congo Wars.

When I was younger and wilder, I met some of these mercenary commanders (for example, the late Charles Masy who fought with the “Kansimba Commandos” in Congo). Drinking beers with them and listening to their stories are some of my best memories.

Those guys were maybe the last true adventurers, they were the real mercenaries. Nowadays, people like them do not exist anymore.

This movie is a tribute to them.

(TRADUCCION PROPIA)

Answer to What are the best underrated war films? by Roland Bartetzko https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-underrated-war-films/answer/Roland-Bartetzko?ch=15&oid=1477743794835236&share=0e77576c&srid=uc0iOA&target_type=answer 

Soy un gran fan de “Patos salvajes” (“The Wild Geese”) del año 1978.

Es una “peli” que la has de ver con un buen amigo, una caja de puros y una botella de “whiskey” * delante tuyo.

No es una película de ”mercenarios”, sino que es la “peli” de “mercenario”. Es de una  época anterior, por lo que no esperes mucha corrección política. 

Con todo, los diálogos son mil veces mejor que los de algunas ”pelis” modernas de mercenarios ( “Los Mercenarios “- “The Expendables”- de Stallone nos vienen a la cabeza).  El reparto incluye algunas de las más famosas estrellas de Hollywood y, “of course”, sabían cómo actuar.

La “peli” tiene una muy buena banda sonora. El tema principal, "Flight of the Wild Geese" (“El vuelo de los gansos salvajes”) fue escrito e interpretado por una infravalorada Joan Armatrading.

Lo que más me gusta de “The Wild Geese” ( “Patos salvajes”) es que es una reminiscencia de una época ya desaparecida.  Los mercenarios son antiguos miembros de la élite de los regimientos británicos, todos con experiencia en combate y están más interesados en la aventura que en el dinero. 

 A diferencia de nuestros voluntarios de hoy en día ( ¡Sobre todo  no les llamen mercenarios!) , que no tocarán un rifle con la punta de los dedos si no han firmado un contrato con una póliza de vida y todo tipo de aseguranzas, los “mercs” (mercenarios) en esta película, siguen a su líder,  el Coronel Faulkner (interpretado por Richard Burton) a los sitios más remotos del África negra sin hacer preguntas. Es una cuestión de camaradería y confianza.

La “peli” no consiguió muchas críticas positivas en el momento de su  estreno/ algunas partes fueron filmadas en Sudáfrica abajo el régimen del Apartheid)  pero, desde entonces, algunos han empezado a apreciarlo.

Es la única película que se puede ver y que trata de la presencia de mercenarios europeos en el continente africano durante la década de los cincuenta y sesenta del siglo pasado. La trama está inventada pero queda claro que Daniel Carney, el autor del libro en que se basa la película, se inspire en la vida de jefes mercenarios como “Mad Mike” Hoare, quienes lucharon en las guerras del Congo.

Cuando era más joven y más alocado, llegué a conocer a algunos de estos  jefes mercenarios ( por ejemplo, al ya retirado Charles Masy, quien luchó con los “Kansimba Commandos” en el Congo). Tomar cervezas con ellos y escuchar sus relatos son parte de mis mejores recuerdos. 

Estos tipos fueron tal vez los últimos aventureros de verdad, los mercenarios auténticos. Ya no existen tipos así hoy en día.

Esta “pelí” es un tributo dedicado a ellos.     

* “whiskey”: se refiere al de Kentucky o el irlandés.

 En Barcelona, a 13-Diciembre-2024.  

This is my favourite war movie of mercenaries. It reminds me of the novel by Forsyth, "The Dogs of War" (1974) but, while the novel became a classic, the movie from this novel ("The Dogs of War", 1980) was not successful and is a rather forgotten movie nowadays. Instead, "The Wild Geese" (1978) followed the opposite procedure: from a rather forgetful novel, originally called "The Thin White Line", its movie adaptation became a classic, at least in my opinion. Its author, an unknown David Carney, did not get to publish his novel, with the same name as the movie, “The Wild Geese”, until its movie was released in what constituted a clear commercial operation (the simultaneous release of the novel and the movie). 

The movie revolves around a group of mercenaries, hired to rescue a coloured leader jailed in Africa. This character was inspired in Moise Tshombe, a failed Prime Minister in Congo, who ended up as an exile in Spain under Franco, running away from Dictator Mobutu. The character of the mercenary, performed by Richard Burton, was inspired in "Mad Milke" Hoare, a mercenary leader from the sixties who was specially active in Congo and who nicknamed his unit as "The Wild Geese", in an homage to the name received by lrish soldiers who had exiled themselves from Ireland, after the XVII century, in order to avoid fighting under the English flag.  

Even though in Spain, the title of the movie was translated as “Patos salvajes" (“Wild Ducks”), the homage to the white mercenaries of "Mad Mike" Hoare becomes unmistakable from its original English title ("The Wild Geese"). 

This movie, keeping a clear parallelism with Forsyth’s novel, begins with the proposal made by a millionaire London banker (played by Stewart Granger in one of his last great roles) to a mercenary leader (played by Richard Burton) to set up a commando in order to free a political coloured leader jailed in an unspecified African country. While the novel of “The Dogs of War" (1974) begins with a London billionaire who hires the main character, Shannon, to carry out with his group of mercenaries a coup in an imaginary country ruled by a dictator, in order to replace him with a politician more sympathetic to the billionaire’s mining interests. 

"The Wild Geese" (1978) had an all-star casting in state of grace, led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Kruger, all ready to steal each other’s scenes, surrounded by a supporting cast of character actors, who left an imprint in their roles, no matter how briefly they appeared. This was a movie that “worked”, even if it was rather predictable in its plot development, because every actor fitted with his character and the dialogues suited the pace of the action. 

 

It seems that the movie producer, a certain Euan Lloyd, wanted to make an adventure war movie in the league of “Guns of Navarone” (1961) or “Where Eagles Dare” (1968), where -everything has to be said- the villains, the German soldiers of Nazi Germany, were wiped out like flies… 

Luckily the movie adopts a realistic point of view in the action sequences so that, even if the Simbas get the worst part, they are not shot down like flies…  

As for the plotline, this movie follows “Objective, Burma!” (1945), by my beloved Raoul Walsh and his unavowed remake, "Distant Drums" (1951) –after all there are not so many plotlines in war movies-. This movie was directed by Andrew V. McLagen (a movie director who never made it big, the son of the great Victor McLagen, despite that he had begun working in the movie business under the shadow of the Master John Ford). In the case of “The Wild Geese" (1978), he did a good job directing it very professionally.  

  

All in all, "The Wild Geese" (1978) constitutes a big spectacle which doesn´t let you down, with some brilliant action scenes, very sharp dialogues and a small dose of criticism (let’s not fool ourselves: this is not an anti-war movie) against the excesses committed by Capitalism in Black Africa.

Last of all, "The expendables” (2010) by Sylvester Stallone doesn’t stand any comparison with this movie. 

Below, find attached a comment on this movie and some tips on how you must see it…

 

Answer to What are the best underrated war films? by Roland Bartetzko https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-underrated-war-films/answer/Roland-Bartetzko?ch=15&oid=1477743794835236&share=0e77576c&srid=uc0iOA&target_type=answer 

I'm a big fan of “The Wild Geese” from 1978.

You need to watch this movie with a good friend, and some cigars and a bottle of whiskey in front of you.

It’s not “a” mercenary movie but “the” mercenary movie. It’s from an earlier age, so don't expect too much political correctness.

Still, the dialogues are a hundred times better than in some modern mercenary flicks (“The Expendables” comes to mind). The cast includes some of Hollywood's most famous (Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, and Hardy Kruger) and, of course, they know how to act.

The movie also has an amazing soundtrack. The theme song "Flight of the Wild Geese" was written and performed by the (equally underrated) Joan Armatrading.

What I like most about “The Wild Geese” is that it is a reminder of a bygone time. The mercenaries are former members of the most elite British regiments, all with combat experience, and they are more interested in the thrill than the money.

Unlike our foreign volunteer fighters from today (beware of calling them mercenaries!) who won't touch a rifle before they have signed a contract with life insurance and all kinds of benefits, the mercs in this flick follow their leader Colonel Faulkner (played by Richard Burton) to the darkest places of Africa without asking any questions. It’s about comradeship and trust.

The movie didn't get many positive reviews at the time of its first screening (parts of it were shot in Apartheid South Africa) but since then, people have begun to appreciate it.

It’s the only watchable movie that deals with the presence of European mercenaries on the African continent during the 1950s and 60s. The story is fictional but it's clear that Daniel Carney, the author of the book the movie is based on, was inspired by the lives of mercenary commanders such as “Mad Mike” Hoare who were fighting during the Congo Wars.

When I was younger and wilder, I met some of these mercenary commanders (for example, the late Charles Masy who fought with the “Kansimba Commandos” in Congo). Drinking beers with them and listening to their stories are some of my best memories.

Those guys were maybe the last true adventurers, they were the real mercenaries. Nowadays, people like them do not exist anymore.

This movie is a tribute to them.

In Barcelona, on December, 13th, 2024.