How Sleep the Brave (1982)

An ultra rare film, Remember renting it as a kid back in 1982, thought it was brutal and mean back then, but the acting and dialogue was terrible, I was also shocked by the violent killings committed shoot in close ups, The props and and scenery for the american base and VC village are very poor, but much of the combat is made very realistic and the gunshot sounds are great, action packed with troops engaged in fire and movement and changing magazines frequently keeping their head low, not like hollywood b-action bravado and quick shoots with camera, music played throughout the film is a bit tacky!

Then in 1985 I was in Reading and me and my family had a walk through the woodlands around Gerrard's Cross, where it was filmed, flashbacks suddenl y occurred, now where had I seen this place before! I even played soldier in the same ravine, where the final skirmish scene takes place! Then I found it in a video store back in 1989 in South Spain, rented it and never returned it :) So im the proud owner of the first VHS release of the video network label.

Story:

We follow Lieutenant Young and his Squad under the command of the crazy SOB Captain (f***ing) Hansen, and the fresh soldiers who are assigned to his unit and who are sent straight out into combat. Their mission to seek and destroy a nearby VC village which holds a larger amount of enemy arms & munitions. One by one the GI's get killed and they manage to destroy the VC camp but are then attacked by a VC battalion, only a handful of men are left, radio in for chopper lift, Captain Hansen sends 2 choppers to pickup his beloved soldiers, when together with Lieutenant Young make their last stand in the ravine around their marked LZ

Plenty combat, much of it cheesy, the enemy VC actors must be local chinese hired from a Chinese laundry or local chinese restaurant :) But the dialogue and acting is terrible, quite brutal and harsh at times and with lot of the combat footage made realistically in a fasted paced action packed way. Some combat footage is much better than the one found in other Vietnam films like 'Platoon' and 'Full metal Jacket' The English country side spoils of course the realism in the film, but you have to give credit to Lindsay Shonteff, for trying to make a Vietnam film in England on a very low budget. There is also a blend of unintentional humor with lines like: S: Sir there is an elephant on the perimeter CH: Shoot the f***er he's a VC

CH: This is Captain f***ing Hansen, I need 2 choppers for my boys

Iv'e heard Lyndon James Swift ( Lindsay Shonteff )was dead serious about this film, but you can see where he got some inspiration from the atmosphere and dialogue namely the classic 'The Boys from company C'

some of the actors, don't really speak american all that well and some speak almost with their own local british accent!

Great opening with moving soundtrack!

I'll give this a 5/10 for the realistic combat footage and trying to make a Vietnam film in a local forest in Berkshire, you have to give credit for that!