Reception
The film was a considerable commercial success in Britain and other countries worldwide, but was hit by the collapse of its American distributor Allied Artists, and by the lack of an American star. As a result, the film was only partially distributed in the United States, where it was a box-office disappointment.
The production was also the subject of controversy because of the decision to film in South Africa during the apartheid regime, and because of the film's portrayal of black characters. There were protests by anti-apartheid campaigners at the film's London premiere.
The Wild Geese holds a 60% "fresh" rating in Rotten Tomatoes and also won a Golden Screen,. As for the negative side of its reviews was chosen as "Dog of the Year" by film critic Gene Siskel, who accused the movie of being "deadly dull" and claimed that it "exploits racism as some kind of sporting entertainment."
Read more about this topic: The Wild Geese
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)