Beresford to write Long Tan battle film

Australian director Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe) is to write and direct a feature film on the battle of Long Tan.

The film will depict the heroic battle by a small group of Australian and New Zealand soldiers to overcome a mass of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops in a rubber plantation in South Vietnam on August 18, 1966.

The film would have a budget of between A$32 million ($38.4 million) and A$42 million, said producer Martin Walsh.

"All of the ingredients are there - a gripping true story, young and diverse characters," Beresford said yesterday.

Eighteen Australians and more than 245 North Vietnamese were killed in the battle.

- NZPA