Duque Films - F.T.A. Fuck the Army Show (1972)
During the Vietnam War, Hollywood maintained a curiously stony silence about the conflict in Indochina and the violently split reactions at home. Except for the John Wayne insanity “The Green Berets” and the cinema verite depiction of the 1968 protests outside the Democratic National Convention in “Medium Cool,” the war was nowhere to be seen on the screen. “FTA” was the rare film which bluntly addressed the Vietnam War and the policies behind the U.S. involvement. 1971, two years after Richard Nixon had promised to end the Vietnam War, American troops were still fighting and American warplanes were still bombing North Vietnam relentlessly. A massive GI Movement to end the war was sweeping through the troops, wreaking havoc on the U.S. military. Into that mix came The FTA (Fuck the Army) Show, a caustic, electrifying, sharply antiwar comedy review led by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. As they toured outside military bases from Guam to the Philippines, over 60,000 soldiers cheered and joined the show's call to end the war. It was an explosive, historical moment never seen before or since. FTA, Francine Parker's powerful documentary of the tour, opened in U.S. theaters in 1972, as the Nixon administration was still escalating the war and fighting for its political life at home. After only one week, the film mysteriously disappeared never to be seen again. Until now. Available for the first time since it mysteriously disappeared in 1972, this raucous film is a riveting slice of the Vietnam anti-war movement. Reviving the wonderfully campy, yet biting theater of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland's Free the Army (or, more popularly, “Fuck the Army”) Tour, FTA captures the entertaining magic and mayhem of the anti-war and pro-labor show as it rallies and rouses dissident GIs stationed along the Pacific Rim. A gritty mix of rollicking performances and GI interviews, FTA juxtaposes lighthearted political satire with the somber realities of war, occupation and the absurdities of military life, a barbed rebuke to the staid USO program. From Okinawa to the Philippines, stirred by the show's provocative message, the members of the U.S. military find courage to speak out candidly in front of the camera. The extraordinary air of dissent that rises out of “FTA” provides a rare glimpse into a unhappy and demoralized fighting force stuck in a war which they did not believe in. Fonda and Sutherland are joined on stage by an all-star cast of musicians and activists including folk musician Len Chandler, songstress Rita Martinson, and comedian Paul Mooney. A fresh look at the Vietnam anti-war movement through the songs and skits, the film provides a fascinating glimpse into a tumultuous American era.
Full Version Available Upon Request