Theo Robertson Obviously you have to watch this 1970 TVM in the context of the medium and period of when it was produced . An American network certainly wouldn't allow foul , profane language to be broadcast so a made for television film like TRIBES which has a similar idea to TIGERLAND or FULL METAL JACKET can be criticised as being tame in comparison to its peers . That said it is somewhat refreshing that this type of premise doesn't involve strong language and makes a nice change The problem with TRIBES is that the story never really takes off . Hippy Adrian gets drafted in to the United States Marine Corps and instantly gets on the wrong side of Drill Instructor Drake . Being a free spirited individual he also gets on the wrong side of one of the other recruits . In many ways he's a sort of composite character who inspired Pvt Pyle in FULL METAL JACKET and Pvt Bozz in TIGERLAND . Almost because he quickly inspires the rest of his platoon and wins the begrudging unspoken respect of Drake . And this happens to quickly to remain credible . It also means there's a distinct lack of dramaWhat is also guilt of is not taking sides . In 1970 it was clear to the American electorate that the best they could hope for in Vietnam was " peace with honor " . The draft where unwilling youths would be conscripted in to the military still continued and looking at this in 2013 seems like madness . A military works best when it's composed of people who genuinely want to be soldiers . The character of Drake despite being well played by Darren Mcgavin never comes across as someone who realises this . Jan Michael Vincent as Adrian is again well cast and makes a convincing hippy but his character is very poorly written and never convinces as someone who has been drafted in to the USMC . The film suffers from being too even handed and would have been much better if it had to choose whose side it's really on . In other words it's a confused military psycho-drama that is unconvincing

moonspinner55 Marine recruit Jan-Michael Vincent, a free spirit with a will of his own, clashes with his superiors while in Boot Camp, especially after his strange-but-successful meditation techniques have intrigued his fellow soldiers and now have the barracks in a state of orderly calm. Highly-regarded television movie does boast some good dramatic sequences and a fine performance from Vincent, but Darrin McGavin's drill sergeant is a wheeze by now (the role probably looked moldy in 1970 as well). The humiliation tactics taken by the Marines (calling the soldiers "ladies" and so on) likely haven't changed much in the ensuing years, yet this particular training-day tale hasn't been sharpened for much impact. Vincent is an individualist whose body can be broken but not his mind--once we understand this, there isn't much more to the teleplay to surprise us. Production values solid, however several of the supporting performances are flimsy and the finale is highly unsatisfactory.

Robert J. Maxwell The clashing cultures of the title are the U. S. Marine Corps and the flower children whose suns were turning into moons in 1970. The confused and pacifistic draftee, Jan-Michael Vincent, tells his equally confused but thoroughly committed Drill Instructor, "We belong to different tribes." He is SO right. But the title could have as easily been taken from John Ciardi's poem, "My Tribe" -- "Our boys hone knives in their dreams of you." Ciardi wasn't thinking of Vietnam but of the Cold War, but the sentiment applies to all of human conflict, the darker part of human nature that exalts US while demonizing THEM.The movie is properly done -- a TV effort with good acting and directing and modest production values. If Jan-Michael Vincent is a bit weak as the reluctant boot, that's more than made up for by Darren McGavin's subtle portrayal of a bellowing but fundamentally humane DI.The abusive drill instructor is of course a cliché. Can anyone make a movie about Marine Corps boot camp without have a sadistic and vulgar DI knocking some maggot's ears off? There are one or two other stereotypes. Vincent himself is a hippie who has lived on a commune. Remember them? Ahsrams for the common man? Along the way he's picked up certain mental tricks resembling self-guided imagery that enable him to endure pain and humiliation not only without protest but with a big smile. He chants. He sits in the full lotus position. He teaches others in his platoon how to do it. All this drives McGavin crazy with fear, anger, and admiration. All he's lacking is curiosity. To him, it's all "double talk." He's reduced to issuing orders such as, "There will be no more chanting in my barracks." And it IS double talk. You just can't make yourself a tower of strength by imagining that you're in some other, happier realm. It doesn't work. I hate to do this but I have to use another quote to illustrate how common sensical this observation is, what historical depth it has. Sir John Falstaff in one of Billy Shakespeare's plays (I forget which), has a hilarious comment: "There never was philosopher/ could bear the tooth ache patiently." I'm tempted to add another highbrow allusion -- Edgar Allan Poe's tale, "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," in which a man is hypnotized at the moment of death and forced to remain alive until, when brought out of the trance, he turns to a rotting corpse. But, upon thinking it over, I don't believe I will.Anyway, the point is -- What was the point anyway? Oh, yes. "Recondital meditation" doesn't work when somebody is hitting you over the head with a crowbar. That was a popular cliché at the time. Another stereotype in the film is the Chief Drill Instructor, played by Earl Holliman as a lunatic redneck who hates hippies and, presumably, everybody else who admits to having feelings other than pride, loyalty, and an unquenchable desire to kill -- the last stashed away somewhere in his cognitive hibernaculum. Values aside, it's a poor performance. Earl Holliman may be one of the nicest guys in the world for all I know, but his virtue as an actor has always eluded me.Other, equally easy stereotypes, are deftly avoided by the writers. McGavin has no wife to take out his frustration on, so there can't be any conjugal arguments. In fact he has no home life at all. He has a small room in the same barracks as his platoon, which must be like a corrections officer living in a rather nicer cell than the other inmates at San Quentin.The direction is by Joseph Sargent, who had a long if not especially distinguished career in both TV and feature films. He has one memorable shot. McGavin, to teach Vincent a lesson, has him pitted against one man after another, Cool Hand Luke fashion, in a pugilstick contest until he drops from exhaustion. Then there is a crane shot as the camera lifts skyward and shows us the wide ring of boots at rigid attention while McGavin stands over the prostrate Vincent, looking around defiantly, like a dog who has just won the fight without realizing the victory was pretty empty.The theme song is dumb -- some would-be gumbaya folk ditty about a lonesome soldier who is a victim. I don't believe the composer and lyricist realized that the victims included McGavin as well as the sympathetic hippie.Interesting to follow the ritualized procedures of a Marine boot camp. They left us with shorn skulls too. What I remember most about it, is being surprised that so many of us had hairless scars forming arcs across our scalps. Somebody from one of the other tribes, probably.

dtucker86 I have had a total of fifteen years of military experience in the Guard and in the regular Army. I usually have a big laugh watching movies that depict military basic training because they are often inaccurate to the point of being ridiculous! Tribes was more accurate then a lot of films I've seen. It depicts boot camp very realistically. Darren McGavin is funny as the tough DI who finds this strange hippie in his platoon. Earl Holliman steals the show as an even tougher DI who has it in for the hippie. Full Metal Jacket is still my favorite military film though. I suppose at the time Tribes came out, its peace message was very popular. These days,however, most people wouldn't have a lot of sympathy for Vincents character.