March or Die

March or Die is a 1977 British war drama film directed by Dick Richards and starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve, Max von Sydow and Sir Ian Holm. The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion. Foreign Legion Major Foster (Hackman), a war-weary American haunted by his memories of the recently ended Great War, is assigned to protect a group of archaeologists at a dig site in Erfoud in Morocco from Bedouin revolutionaries led by El-Krim (based on Moroccan revolutionary Abd el-Krim). The song "Plaisir d'amour", a tune about lost love and regret, is played repeatedly throughout the story as the film's theme song. Plot Soon after the Great War, Major William Foster (Gene Hackman), an American commander in the French Foreign Legion, suffers the haunting memories of leading an army of more than 8,000 men and watching them slowly get whittled down to just 200. He has become an alcoholic as a result, and his only friend is his faithful Sergeant, Triand (Rufus).