Illustration : ‘MF’

The Forgotten Parallel
 

Lyndon James Swift | Great Britain | 1981

Canadian émigré Lindsay Shonteff (directing here under the pseudonym of Lyndon James Swift) works miracles managing to deliver this poverty row budget, yet individually unique war film set in Vietnam. Amazingly, the whole thing was shot near the village of Gerards Cross in Buckinghamshire, with the flora of serene English woodland — doubling for the harsh jungle of Vietnam — lending the film a strange, surreal-like verisimilitude.

Three fresh-faced recruits, Johnson (Gerramy Quarto), Burns (George Gabriel) and Weaver (Earl Rhodes) arrive at an American base camp in Vietnam. After a rousing jingoistic speech delivered by the bolshie, ultra-patriotic Captain Hansen (Christopher Muncke), they are sent out, accompanying the main troupe on a search-and-destroy mission to kill enemy “gooks”.

The company of soldiers mostly spend their time relaxing and bickering, whilst trying to stay alive in the dangerous jungle milieu. Eventually Captain Hansen receives reconnaissance information regarding a huge cache of VC arms, concealed nearby in the jungle. He sends his best men out — led by the fearless, but war-weary Lieutenant Young (Lawrence Day, American Nightmare) to locate and destroy the weapons. 

Their mission descends into a deadly stalk and shadow game of survival between themselves and the opposing Vietcong guerrillas; the numbers in the troupe slowly dwindle, gradually reduced by booby traps and ambushes, culminating in a final last stand on the slopes of a hillock as rescue helicopters circle above.

The two totally contrasting music cues played numerously throughout the film are both worthy of further note: the remarkable romanesca instrumental Peaceful Interlude aka Prelude/Romanza, written by Paul Ferris, was originally commissioned from music library De Wolfe for the Witchfinder General soundtrack. The more modern electronic piece — also from the De Wolfe library — is very similar to the theme played over video distributor VIP’s company ident.

 

Although shot in Techniscope, How Sleep the Brave (to give the film its correct title) never received theatrical exhibition in the UK. However, VFO (Video Film Organisation) made amends by releasing it no less than three times in the lead up to the implementation of the 1984 Video Recordings Act.

Warad Movies on Video’s 1986 release of the film, retitled as The Forgotten Parallel, decorated the sleeve with an outrageously exaggerated panorama of action scenes — as interpreted by artist ‘MF’ — punctuated with a caricature of Lieutenant Young pointing a pistol.

An alternative release from IVS under the title Combat Zone can be found here.

 

aka : How Sleep the Brave; Combat Zone; Once Upon a Time in Vietname

cast : Lawrence Day, Luis Manuel, Daniel Foley, Gerramy Quarto, Thomas M. Pollard, Christopher Muncke, George Gabriel, Steve Ballantine, Earl Rhodes, Edward Wylie, Tony Hiew, Billy Fellows, Mel Taylor, Bill Campbell, Richard Speight, Douglas Rose