The Desert of the Tartars (1976)

Max von Sydow, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Vittorio Gassman, Jacques Perrin

As his first assignment, lieutenant Drogo is sent to an isolated fortress on the borders of a desert and of a range of high mountains. The mission of the garrison is to prevent a possible incursion by the fearsome Tartars, coming from beyond the desert. Some fellow officers are eagerly awaiting an a