| A Game for Vultures | |
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American poster |
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| Directed by | James Fargo |
| Produced by | Hazel Adair |
| Written by | Philip Baird |
| Starring | Richard Harris Richard Roundtree Denholm Elliot Joan Collins |
| Music by | Tony Duhig Jon Field |
| Cinematography | Alex Thompson |
| Editing by | Peter Tanner |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 13 September 1979 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
A 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 a novel by Michael Hartmann.
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Set in the late 1970s, the last years of the Rhodesian Bush War, David Swansey (Harris) is an importer of goods to the embargoed country. He is hired by the Rhodesian government to arrange the purchase and transportation to Rhodesia of a number of Bell UH-1 Huey helicopters, for use against terrorists. Gideon Marunga (Rowntree) is one of those insurgents, fighting against the Rhodesian Army and a less-willing participant in massacres of unarmed civilians and missionaries.
Word of the deal reaches supporters of the insurgency, who apply political pressure to halt the sale. The helicopters reach the Republic of South Africa, but the international furore has brought the shipment to a halt. Swansey and a group of Rhodesians arrange (with the help of the secretly sympathetic South African government) to make a raid on the airbase where the disassembled helicopters are located, to "steal" them by air and deliver them to Rhodesia.
The insurgents, learning of the plans, attack the base, destroying some of the aircraft. Swansey and Marunga, both exhausted by the battle, come face-to-face. Marunga wearily demands to know "Who's winning?" Swansey, shakes his head. "Nobody. Nobody's winning." Marunga spares Swansey's life and runs away, only to hear an armed Rhodesian come to Swansey's aid, asking if he's seen any terrorists. Marunga stops and turns, meeting Swansey's eyes as he tells the soldier that there were no insurgents nearby. Marunga runs away into the night.
As word of the unsanctioned aircraft deal spreads, Swansey is no longer able to operate internationally. He returns to Rhodesia, and finds himself on an Army patrol. The film ends with him and Marunga facing each other over the sights of their rifles.
The music was composed by Tony Duhig and Jon Field, who together comprised the British group Jade Warrior.
Though well-written and produced, the film was not a commercial or critical success. Critics condemned the apparent bias of the storyline, which ran counter to the internationally-accepted view of the primarily-white Rhodesian government as oppressive and the black insurgents as being the "good guys."
In addition, the plot was overtaken by events, as the fighting in Rhodesia had come 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.
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