I don't understand why this film has no comments on, and only scores 5.2. In my opinion it is great. Brynner is class, Douglas as usuual a great hero. The setting is supurb, come on, any other fans out there?????
P.S I always thought that it is particularly grusome. Not many films would actually show someones chest skin being peeled off!!
I totally agree with you. You would think that this movie would be a cult classic, but no one seems to know about it. I watched it last night and kept thinking to myself how ahead of it's time it was for 1971. And the cinematography is absolutetly perfect for the intended effect.
The guy getting his skin peeled off was so random and unexpected that it seemed like something in a Takashi Miike movie!
And the most important part of all is that it does such a fantastic job of MAKING you hate those lousy pirate bastards. You almost have to smile from ear to ear watching Der Dimplemeister crush their heads with rocks or make them fall off cliffs!!!
This movie is a cult classic. I am a proud owner of the DVD and even my wife like it!!!! I watched it when I was younger and the thing that always stand out are Brynner as Congre and the monkey getting split apart by the pirates - absolutely 'boys own' adventure. Top notch!!!!!
shareAccording to Wikipedia, the film was marketed as a family adventure film but was too gritty and violent so failed at the box office.
share
I saw some of this when I was a kid before my Mum deemed it to violent for me, I seem to remember someone hanging upside down and getting decapitated, while Kirk's character is hiding/watching from atop a cliff . Is this right?
*It is not a good day if you are not looking good*
Yes, this is the movie. I only saw in in the theatre (39 years ago!!) but as I remember the man wasn't decapitated (unless that's another scene). The man was Douglas' ally and the pirates captured him, strung him up and began tearing his chest open as Douglas watched, helpless, from a distance. Douglas finally shot and killed the man to spare him from dying in such a painful manner.
share!?!?!?
Then again there's a slight, s l i g h t possibility that Wikipedia might be wrong.
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Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.
Saw this movie for the first time, a gripping adventure. I can't say that about a lot of movies. Pirates portrayed as they should be. Simply marvellous. Douglas echoed a bit of Steve Mcqueen or Daniel Craig. A must see adventure flick but not for the family.
shareSaw this movie for the first time, a gripping adventure. I can't say that about a lot of movies. Pirates portrayed as they should be. Simply marvellous. Douglas echoed a bit of Steve Mcqueen or Daniel Craig. A must see adventure flick but not for the family.
shareI just discovered this film today. I was surprised at how dark a story it became. I can't think of a pirate film that showed such cruelty. The pace is slow as Kirk Douglas, as Denton the lighthouse keeper, just wants to survive but then has spurts of action. It becomes a duel between Yul Brynner, as the pirate captain, and Kirk Dougles as each wants vengence. I enjoyed watching the individual characters measuring self-survival against taking risks to help others. Made them very human.
Waffles Anyone
rstory-3
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Scores don't matter here in imdb, dont bother thinking about them.
This movie is brilliant in many ways (cinematography, scenario, acting, music), makes me think how bad the movies of the last 10-15 years have become.
Yes Ridders5, this film has some great production qualities that help lift it above some unfortunate decisions made by International Co-production teams.
The Photography by Top French D.O.P. Henri Decae is amoung the best Ive seen in any CinemaScope outdoor film, locations are superb. The original story by Jules Vern has it's basis in historical fact (rare for Vern) ~ it's a pity the screenplay didn't stay closer to it. 'Light' had difficulty finding it's audience, too violent for children, to weakly scripted for adults (despite some good very good lines)
The overall situation is dynamite, and has a lot of excitment (in a somewhat terrifying way) The main leads are good, with a very professional support cast. There is an extremely good film in amoungst the overdone bits. Just needs a little reconstruction editing to bring out the quality segments. Sound recording is wonderful, as is the grand Music score by that fine Italian composer Piero Piccrione (may need to check spelling) All up, a good film after making some allowances. The shorter versions that were screened in several other countries (Australia, U.K., etc) were helped considerably by the removal of some ridiculous scenes, but the film needed better overall 'post production' editing, to lift it above some of the poorly realised moments. KR.
It's not all that great, which is to say it's worth a cult.
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Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.