admelfo When did they stop making period pieces? Judging by this little gem, they were still making them well into the 70's. It's not terrible, but it's not a movie (there is no plot), and it's not really a documentary -- more like an assemblage of footage taken during the tour of "F.T.A." -- a traveling stage show of vaudeville-esque anti-war songs and skits. You get to watch the rag-tag bunch of inspired then-hippies/now celebs (Michael Alaimo, Peter Boyle, Len Chandler, Pamela Donegan, Jane Fonda, Steve Jaffe, Rita Martinson, Paul Mooney, Holly Near, Donald Sutherland) as they travel around the war-torn regions entertaining the troops. Historically of some interest, as you see our then fighting boys and girls pretty much dissing the whole war effort (ie., they were over it at that point), yo get to see your Fearless Cavaliers shamelessly spin their anti-war message, and you get to see a bunch of then young people doing what young people do best -- including overacting, screwing around in-the-name-of-art and wearing their hearts on their sleeves, looking sloppy because they're too cool to care, and generally doing things more for effect than with any genuine intention of effecting change. Just my two cents.

mark.waltz A handful of movie stars and musicians take the audience on a journey into their protest review which traveled the Pacific Rim during the Nixon era of the Vietnam war as well as just outside American local military bases. At first, this concert of songs and sketches seems half Hellzapoppin', half Springtime for Hitler for the modern era. In spite of the laughs, blues and military brass, there's a touching sentiment to it. Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland represent Hollywood elite, hot off the trail of "Klute" even though much of this took place before the film was released. Anti-Fonda criticizers will most likely skip this, but this will remain her opportunity to speak her mind and even sing a bit. I have no opinion on Hanoi Jane as her protest years referred to her as, with accusations of treason thrown at her, but I do admire her fight for freedom of speech. The songs do speak to peace lovers, an ironic view of the past considering our present. There's clever adaptions of famous American anthems with protest lyrics and a few heartbreaking solos which describe the agony of what the reluctant soldiers must have felt in battle. An interesting depiction of prostitutes protesting the war with their johns is an important issue made here, as is another issue of Puerto Ricans and blacks who fought at home yet pulled together during war time in peace. One number featuring Fonda seems like a spoof of Liza Minnelli in the same year's "Cabaret".

dbborroughs FTA is a time capsule that should only be opened by those who lived through it, and even then, maybe not...This is the story of a group of actors and actresses who toured around the world playing near US military bases with a show called FTA for "Free" The Army. The acting troop is lead by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. The film is a combination of performances and interviews with the GI's from the bases. Its nothing you probably haven't seen before in other ways, heart felt songs about how we love the soldiers but hate the war, general protest songs, skits about how absurd the war is and general silliness. Very little of it actually holds up as funny or touching, although some of the ideas work in structure if not execution, Donald Sutherland doing a play by play of a battle as a football game is very clever, but not very funny.I completely understand why this film hasn't been seen in 30 years, it simply is not very good. I doubt highly that this film would have ever played well to any group other than those near the army bases at the time. Its a starry eyed version of a college frolic.The naiveté of many of the actors is very hard to take. The "war is bad" attitude they have is nice and simple, but when mixed with the uncertainty expressed by the soldiers who are actually in harms way, the show comes off too sweet. The film shows clearly why Jane Fonda is hated by many people and still called "Hanoi Jane", since she comes off as a spoiled rich girl who doesn't really have a clue as to what is going on in reality. Donald Sutherland, for what ever reason, seems to carry a weight and understanding most of his fellow performers don't, and I felt he had a better grasp of what was going on.I wanted to like this film, especially owing to some of the parallels with the present war in Iraq. I was hoping to find some kernel of truth to take away, some insight into a country at war with another country and itself, and instead I found just a quaint period piece that was never in touch with anytime, even its own.I can't recommend anyone see this, unless you are a Fonda or Sutherland completest or if you are a student of the Viet Nam war and its effects on the home front.

kalital The point of viewing this film is not only to see the theatrical skits performed by young stars like Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, but to see those skits in context, filmed as they were performed on and near military bases around the world, to audiences of American troops, as the U.S. was in the midst of the Viet Nam war. Like most vaudeville, the skits were an excuse for political and social commentary, though some of them were funny and others were quite moving. The music was also excellent. What is most remarkable in the film, though, are the interviews with soldiers on active duty in wartime, and the camera pans of vast crowds of soldiers watching the stage performance avidly. It brings home the support that the peace movement had even with active duty troops in wartime. It's exceptionally difficult to get a copy of this film in the U.S., though there are some copies still in circulation in Europe. If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it--it's an important slice of U.S. history, long buried and forgotten. Today we remember (falsely) that peaceniks spat upon veterans. This gives the lie to that urban myth. In fact, the peace movement and veterans were often strongly aligned, as both groups were dedicated to "supporting the troops" by bringing them home.