This is a nice story of courageous men who have every gone out to face death ; dealing with an American Major named Foster (Gene Hackman) , recently finished WWI , he joined the French foreign Legion , and is assigned (by Max Von Sidow) to guard an archaeological expedition in Morocco desert . The ragtag team is formed by a rascal soldier named Mario (Terence Hill) , joined to avoid jail , a Russian corpulent (Jack O'Halloran) , a tough corporal (Vernon Dobtcheff) and a sadistic lieutenant (Marcel Bozzuffi) , among others . Following a full-clichéd plot with a brutal commanding , plenty of cruel punishments and brutality of training . Besides , the inevitable mystery woman (Catherine Deneuve) who falls in love with Mario . But the Foster's unit is attacked by Al Krim , an Arab leader who actually lived -in fact , he united the Morrocan tribes to battle French and Spanish army in the North of Africa until being defeated in Alhucemas- . The tiny garrison at the dig making a last stand against the assaults (in the wake to ¨Zulu¨ by Cy Endfield and ¨Dawn Zulu¨ by Douglas Hickox) .

This adventure-epic movie contains agreeable acting , drama , noisy action , breathtaking battles and spectacular outdoors . Filmed on location in the Sahara desert , including an impressive production design by Gil Parrondo and marvelous cinematography by excellent cameraman John Alcott . The movie belongs to Foreign Legion genre , the story gets reminiscent with classic movies such as ¨Under two flags¨ (with Ronald Colman) , ¨Beau Geste¨ (Gary Cooper)¨and recently made ¨Legionnaire¨ (with Jean Claude Van Damme) . The pic was lavishly produced by the famous producer Jerry Bruckheimer along with Lew Grade . The motion picture was professionally directed by Dick Richards , and he gets efficiently to remain the adventure and action until the final . Before entering the film industry , Dick Richards was a contributing photographer for Life magazine , subsequently turning into filmmaking . Richards is a good craftsman who has directed a few films but of great quality , such as ¨The Culpepper Cattle¨, ¨March or die¨ , Death valley¨ , ¨Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins ¨and ¨Farewell my lovely¨ at his best . In addition , he found the script for 'Tootsie' and co-produced it with Sydney Pollack . Rating : Acceptable and passable . Well worth watching for Gene Hackman fans and adventure cinema enthusiasts.

This movie starts out by noting that the French Foreign Legion was the most hoinored unit in the First World War. That little contretemps concluded, Major Gene Hackman leads the 200 survivors of more than 8000 Legionaires back to French Morocco, and new recruit Terrence Hill, to face the menace of archeologist Max von Sydow, blonde Catherine Deneuve, and Rif leader Ian Hiolm.

It's a star-studded international production, shot in Spain and Arizona, recalling those old movies with mad sergeants holding Fort Zinderneuf with dead legionaires, Robert Preston and Gary Cooper. It adds little to the anomie that that has suffused movies about the Foreign Legion since the 1920s, except perhaps the sand-colored Technicolor. Gene Hackman, as was his wont, speaks his lines naturally, leading one to wonder if he is as mad as he appears, and the usual percentage of legionaires march and also die.

March Or Die, the grim slogan of the French Foreign Legion is the title of this film starring Gene Hackman as an American with the Legion in World War I. The time is post the first World War and the Legion is now returning to colonial policing duty in the various French colonies of North Africa.

Where during their absence the natives of Islamic persuasion have become quite restless and they've found themselves a leader in Ian Holm playing the real Abdel Krim. Krim is looking for something to unite the various tribes under his banner and he's found a cause in an archaeological expedition headed by Max Von Sydow that is being accompanied by Hackman and his troops on their return to Morocco.

In real life Krim was quite the charismatic leader and a warrior as opposed to a terrorist. His exploits were front page news around the world and a caricature of him is the basis for the operetta The Desert Song by Sigmund Romberg.

Von Sydow wants to dig up some precious relics and the gold contained therein for the French treasury. That's why he's getting Legion protection. Hackman is of mixed feelings as he's seen too much of war recently on the western front.

March Or Die is a fine film and a fitting tribute to the Legion who though made of the riffraff of the world has a combat record second to none. These guys know they're society's dregs and there's plenty more where they came from. So straggling is not encouraged.

Hackman, Von Sydow and Holm fill their roles out well. And there are two other principal parts, Catherine Deneuve as a widow financing the Von Sydow expedition and Terrence Hill taking a break from spaghetti westerns playing a jewel thief who gets kind of hammerlocked into joining the Legion in Paris.

The battle scenes and other scenes depicting life in the Legion weren't staged any better in the many incarnations of Beau Geste. March Or Die will be the ultimate Foreign Legion film.