Game for Vultures

Game for Vultures
American poster
Directed by	James Fargo
Written by	Philip Baird
Based on	a novel by Michael Hartmann
Produced by	Hazel Adair
Starring	Richard Harris Richard Roundtree Denholm Elliott Joan Collins
Cinematography	Alex Thomson
Edited by	Peter Tanner
Music by	Tony Duhig Jon Field
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Ster-Kinekor Film Distribution Co (South Africa)
Release date	13 September 1979 (1979-09-13)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$5 million

Game for Vultures is a 1979 British thriller film starring Richard Harris, Joan Collins and Richard Roundtree. It was directed by James Fargo and based on the 1975 novel with the same name by Michael Hartmann set during the Rhodesian Bush War.

Plot

During the late 1970s, as the Rhodesian Bush War reaches its height, arms dealer David Swansey (Richard Harris) is a "sanctions busting" specialist, one of many who keeps the Rhodesian Security Forces supplied through black market purchases despite an extensive international arms embargo. Swansey's latest assignment is to arrange the illicit purchase of military helicopters, which he acquires in the form of surplus Bell UH-1s being auctioned from a United States Air Force base in West Germany. However, word of this transaction is soon leaked to a foreign office of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which applies strong political pressure in an attempt to kill the deal in its cradle. Due to this, the helicopters are barred from reaching Rhodesia and instead diverted to neighbouring South West Africa, then administered by South Africa.

Meanwhile, Gideon Marunga (Roundtree) is a guerrilla fighter in the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), ZANU's armed wing. Marunga learns that the South African authorities are going to allow Swansey and the Rhodesian Special Air Service to stage a mock raid on the airfield where the helicopters are being stored, with the intention of loading them onto Douglas C-47 Dakotas bound for Rhodesia. On the day of the raid, Marunga arrives at the airfield and stalls the Rhodesian troops, while his accomplices succeed in destroying half of the helicopters. In the ensuing battle he comes face to face with Swansey, and the two men share a weary moment of reflection on their stalemate before abruptly parting ways.

The international fallout from the helicopter affair exposes Swansey's illegal activities and he finds himself unable to continue conducting business outside Rhodesia. He decides to permanently settle there and pursue a normal life, but is immediately conscripted into the security forces. The film closes as Marunga and Swansey confront each other on the battlefield again—this time through the sights of their rifles.

Cast

• Richard Harris as David Swansey
• Richard Roundtree as Gideon Marunga
• Denholm Elliott as Raglan Thistle
• Joan Collins as Nicolle
• Ray Milland as Colonel Brettle
• Sven-Bertil Taube as Larry Prescott
• Ken Gampu as Sixpence
• Tony Osoba as Daniel "Danny" Batten
• Neil Hallett as Tony Knight
• Mark Singleton as Sir Benjamin Peckover
• Alibe Parsons as Alice Kamore
• Victor Melleney as Mallan
• Jana Cilliers as Ruth Swansey
• John Parsonson as Peter Swansey
• Elaine Proctor as Brigid
• Chris Chittell as McAllister
• Graham Armitage as Harken
• Ndaba Mhlongo as Chowa
• Ian Steadman as Du Preez
• Wilson Dunster as Uffa
• Peter van Dissel as Van Rensburg

Production

Game for Vultures was the first British film about the Rhodesian Bush War.

The film was mostly shot in South Africa, near Pretoria and Johannesburg. It was decided not to film in Rhodesia itself because of security concerns and the potential violation of sanctions.

"I'm not a politician", said the producer Hazel Adair. The director James Fargo concurred: "I'm not a political person at all. I never thought about Africa until I started to make a film... The audience will come away with the idea that neither side is right."

"It's a movie in which there are no real bad guys or good guys", said Fargo. "Nobody really wins in the end and everybody loses, like in the real Rhodesia."

During filming in South Africa, Roundtree tried to purchase some alcoholic drinks but was refused service because of his skin colour.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Tony Duhig and Jon Field, who together comprised the British group Jade Warrior.

Reception

The film was meant to have its world premiere in Johannesburg on 22 June 1979. However the film was banned by South African government censors, who deemed it a threat to state security.

Game for Vultures was not a massive commercial or critical success. Some critics condemned the apparent bias of the plot, which ran counter to the traditionally accepted view of Rhodesia's predominantly white government as being a racially oppressive one, while its black nationalist opponents were widely regarded as freedom fighters representing a just cause.

In addition, this film was overtaken by actual events, as the war came to an end before the film reached wide distribution. It saw some success in video sales, on VHS and in a DVD Region 2 release.

Versions, censorship, and home media

The original cinema release of the film was exactly 113 minutes, having been awarded an X certificate by the British Board of Film Censorship. This version was initially released on PAL VHS and Betamax video cassette formats by RCA Columbia in 1986, running to approximately 109 minutes due to PAL speed-up, with an 18 certificate. In 2006 it was cut to approximately 103 minutes for home release (equivalent to around 107m 18s in the cinema) with a 15 certificate. Cuts include an injured soldier being run over by the disabled Land Rover during the early ambush, as well as the scene towards the end in which Danny Batten confronts and stabs his sister, before he himself is killed with a garden fork, which may have been removed to achieve the lower certificate, while other cuts appear to be for other reasons, such as when Raglan Thistle attends a pro-Zimbabwe demonstration in Hyde Park. Subsequent home and VOD releases have been this cut version.

External links

• Game for Vultures at IMDb
• Game for Vultures at Rotten Tomatoes