sol ***SPOILERS*** Made some 17 before the far more popular "Full Metal Jacket" the made for TV movie "Tribes" still packs the same kind of wallop now as it did back then, in 1970, at the very hight of the Vietnam War.In "Tribes" we have the freedom loving flower child Adrian Stone, Jan-Michael Vincent, passively refusing to conform to the US Marine Code of becoming a blood and guts American fighting man. Adrian's Marine Drill Sargent Thomas Drake, Darren McGavin,is mortified at Adrian's attitude and tries everything he can to mold him into the US Marine that he, the Sarge, is. In admiring his sense of independence as well as taking everything that he can dish on him leads the men of Sgt. Drake's Marine company to gravitate to Adrian not him in looking for both advice and guidance in getting through boot camp.Not only is Sgt. Drake disturbed in Adrian's Buddhist like meditation and mind altering tactics that enables him, among other things, to do feats of strength like holding up two 10 pond buckets of sands, in the broiling sun, for over an hour but that he's by far, without a formal education, the smartest man in the unit with the highest aptitude scores! It's not that long that the Sargent himself starts to admire Adrian and also sees what Adrian so tactfully brought out about his own, what he thought was, mindless doodling. Adrian tells the Neanderthal-like Drake that he has real artistic and creative talents that are just yarning to be released! This makes the hard as nails Marine Drill Sargent seriously feel that it's the sensitive artist, not blood thirsty killer,in him that's really the real Thomas Drake! Seeing that his good friend and fellow Marine Drill Sargent is getting a bit soft in the head, and becoming the laughing stock at the Marine Boot Camp, Sgt. Frank DePayster, Earl Holliman, starts to put the screws on Adrian by going out of his way in breaking his chops at every opportunity. This in spite of the fact that Adrian isn't even in his Marine unit!***SPOILER ALERT*** I did have mixed feeling about the end of the film with Adrian after taking everything, in spite of Sargent's Drake who had now come to his side, that the overly gong-ho and obnoxious Sgt. DePayster could dish out on him ends up going over the hill, or AWOL, and checks out of the Marine Corps for good. What Adrian went though at Marine Boot Camp was horrible but that's what was to condition him for where he, and his fellow US Marine recruits, were to face on the Vietnam battlefront. With Adrian's pacifist attitude in not wanting to shoot or even hold a weapon he would have in the end not only jeopardized himself but his fellow Marines in "Nam". Who were facing an enemy-the Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops-who were anything but the peace loving flower children that Adrian was!

cineman777 I saw this movie when it came out 35 years ago (has it really been that long?). Most memorable scene was the one in which free spirit hippie Jan-Michael Vincent was forced to hold up two full buckets of water (one in each hand) shoulder high as punishment by taskmaster Darrin McGavin. Vincent turned the tables by meditating on a carefree afternoon spent frolicking on a sun-dappled hillside with a comely young miss. His blissed-out state enabled him to maintain the buckets aloft indefinitely. This naturally drove the by-the-book McGavin to distraction. Enjoyed the culture clash theme. Exemplary writing, directing, and especially acting (McGavin superb as the grizzled DI, and Vincent at his charismatic best).

red_valsen "Tribes" tells the story of a 1960s American hippy flower child who fails to adjust to the grimness of military life after being drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps. A very young Jan Michael-Vincent stars as Adrian, the flower child. Darren McGavin plays the role of Gunnery Sergeant Drake, the hard-as-nails veteran platoon drill instructor.Adrian proves himself to be a superior recruit, dealing with the stresses of military training by resorting to his inner self. He eventually teaches the rest of his platoon (clandestinely, of course, to avoid the ever-watchful and disapproving eye of the DI) meditative techniques such as yoga. In one hilarious scene, Sgt. Drake walks into the barracks to find Adrian meditating while leaning against the wall, standing on his head -- naked. In an instant, Adrian is locked at attention, explaining to the drill instructor that he was naked because, "I like the freedom, sir!" Drake's head nearly explodes as he nears to within an inch of the boot's face and screams, "THERE WILL BE NO FREEDOM IN MY PLATOON!"Even though the finest boot in the group, Adrian eventually desserts before completing boot camp. Drake, frustrated at his platoon's finest member, nevertheless doesn't give up and tracks Adrian down. Adrian tells Drake he'll never use a weapon against another human being; Drake replies that he's had to do just that for the mere privilege of being able to sit and talk to Adrian. Can Drake convince Adrian to return?But that's not the end of the story."Tribes" (in spite of its anachronisms, readily identifiable by those who've been there) is one of the most faithful efforts of depicting the U.S. Marine Corps -- especially boot camp -- in a movie. It is invariably compared to Kubrick's much more profane, and ultimately more realistic, "Full Metal Jacket". But its message (and audience) is completely different. One should keep in mind that at the time the film was produced, every U.S. draftee was virtually guaranteed to be sent to the still raging war in Vietnam. "Tribes" is an astonishing achievement for a made-for-TV movie.

ernest c. barnes I was a mere 12 years old when I first viewed this film back in 1970 and I loved it. It now reminds me of a future "Full Metal Jacket" without the profanity and violence that that film carried some 17 years later. All the performers, Vincent, McGavin and Holliman were simply all superb. Being a retired military man now, I can highly appreciate military films and "Tribes" will always be amongst those that stand out. This was one truly superb film and I highly recommend it. Although Vincent went on to become a big star in major motion pictures and the TV series "Airwolf", it was shameful that his career was cut short due to his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Nevertheless, this film will always be a memorable one for me indeed. It would be interesting to have this film come out on DVD with comments from all three leading actors and the director.