Scott LeBrun R. Lee Ermey excels in a rare above-the-title billing, playing a tough sergeant-major named Bill Hafner, fighting the war in Vietnam. The always lively Wings Hauser also shines as his sidekick, Corporal Joseph DiNardo. They and others must defend the title location from attacks by the Viet Cong, despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned.Despite having a respected cult filmmaker (Brian Trenchard-Smith, "Turkey Shoot") at the helm, "The Siege of Firebase Gloria" is a rather overlooked and under-valued Vietnam War epic, but hopefully being released on DVD and Blu-ray will gain it more exposure. Trenchard-Smith directs things in a very efficient, cut-to-the-chase fashion; there's no visual poetry or unnecessary stylistics on display. In fact, the director and his cast deserve credit for pulling absolutely no punches in showing the very worst aspects of war. Squeamish viewers may be dismayed by the level of graphic violence, but others will appreciate seeing a degree of realism here. Nothing is sugar-coated. We see decapitated heads on stakes, for one thing.And yet, in the end, the story (Ermey and Trenchard-Smith are also credited with additional dialogue) makes a case for learning to respect ones' enemy. The main figure among the enemy is an officer named Cao Van (Robert Arevalo), yet he is not portrayed in a strictly one-dimensional manner. Not all the people our heroes are fighting are faceless bogeymen.Excellent location shooting in the Philippines greatly helps matters, as well as a decent supporting cast. Other than, say, black character actor Albert Popwell, whom you may recognize from his many roles in Clint Eastwood pictures, there are very few real "known" actors here. John Calvin is memorable as a C.O. who's gone off the deep end. And try to spot martial artist Don "The Dragon" Wilson as one of the patrol members!The picture offers opportunities to Ermey and Wings to really *act*; they're more than just cardboard tough guys, and they have some great scenes towards the end. Ermey also gets to narrate the proceedings.Based on true events, "The Siege of Firebase Gloria" is a Vietnam war movie that does deserve to be better known.Eight out of 10.

oldskibum2 Just watched this again after several years, and frankly, there isn't much I can add to the many reviews already posted except to agree: SOFG is one of the very best films produced on the Viet Nam war. It heads the very, very short list of films that I recommend to people who ask what's the best film about that war. (It joins WE WERE SOLDIERS and THE ODD ANGRY SHOT at the top.) I speak as a former Marine Tet Vet (got my own Purple Heart at Hill 34). The writing is (mostly) spot on and the production crew clearly paid attention when the military advisors spoke. Lee Ermey, bless him, delivers his usual almost-over-the-top performance without even acting. Hauser is almost as good, and manages to avoid the overacting so common among civilian actors doing war films. It almost seems petty to pick on the few technical errors: Ermey at one point refers to himself as being on a LRRP mission (the Army's recon team) when he's Marine Recon, and the magazines on the M-16 rifles seem to hold thousands of rounds...no one ever seems to need to reload. It's NOT being picky to point out two of the most glaring errors: The VC did NOT shoot their way into the US Embassy and start killing secretaries and staff; nineteen sappers broke into the embassy compound and all were killed outside on the grounds. And the Tet Offensive came as a complete surprise only to the news media. But SOFG does manage to stay away from the clichés and sermons that Hollywood seems determined to deliver in its films about the Viet Nam War, and that's what makes it so watchable. It's a just darned good action film.

dworldeater Full Metal Jacket is hands down my favorite Vietnam War movie ever. There are a lot of other great movies about that also. This is one of them, also this movie is one that less people have seen . This has Lee Ermy from Full Metal Jacket as the lead and is great as Lee is the real deal .Wings Hauser does a fine job here also . This is sort of like The Magnificent Seven in Vietnam where a few good men hold off a thousand VC in The Tet Offensive. The film has a slight patriotic slant, but does not glorify war. The politics of the war are left for other pictures. While this may be a low budget movie, it is not low quality. If you want to see an action movie set in The Vietnam War period with a fast pace and good performances from the actors I recommend this highly.

lord woodburry I have seen this movie many times. There's a first rate presentation of a formula war movie: the stupid officer who in the updated version is so burnt out on drugs he forgets to get dressed, the tough sergeant and his pal, the female medical officer who in the updated version has been promoted from nurse to doctor, the crafty enlisted men and the barbaric enemy.Yet the movie does explain a little bit of the enemy point of view and the snatching of the orphaned Vietnamese child held within the American cantonment expresses poetically the cause slipping away.One could compare this to the French film Diên Biên Phu, sometimes shown as Jump into Hell(1955). Indeed didn't President De Gaulle say "Americans learn nothing from our {French} mistakes!"