Sandokan the Great (1963)

An Exercise In Nonsense

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Quit boring for me, too long talks, slow actions. They walk walk walk, nothing happening than they stop and talk few sentences, than walk again for few minutes, than talk again.Shooting scene is clamsy, no targeting just shoot. Main caracters nearly bullet proof.One guy always stick his dagger next to his belly. Seems that dagger not real, otherwise he would cut his belly badly when he jump, sit or just move.Sleeping scene is lame.Let the main enemy guy go in the end is clamsy also.Funny all of them has brittish accent and perfect englishActions are bad, they taking risk without real reasonBad acting, unnecesery dialogsKissing scenes are good, and funnyWhy they scared about elephamts? I did not get that.This movie could be 15 minutes only.Get there, grab the girl, walk a lot, find out his father dead, set the wildlings free, than meet again in the fort with a big fight scene.I know its 1963 but ppl had to have brain. It seem they did not have.

An effective jungle adventure yarn from one of Italy's greatest cult directors - Umberto Lenzi, who would later go on to greater fame with his polizia and horror movies in the '70s and '80s. Here, his pacy direction keeps SANDOKAN THE GREAT interesting when it could be regarded as overlong, and a wealth of action and plot elements make the running time fly by. On top of this, the band of assorted leading characters are a well-developed bunch too, not just cardboard cut-outs as in many similar movies from the period, each with their own personality and character. The dashing hero is played this time around by genre titan Steve Reeves, effortlessly charismatic and athletic when the script calls for it, as Reeves displays once again the skills that made him a true legend in Italy.The majority of the film's running time is taken up by a huge jungle trek in which our heroes must fight many perils. The journey is interspersed with plenty of fights, shoot-outs, jailbreaks, and other action staples which are well-staged and always a pleasure to watch. Reeves' party is fleshed out by a pretty blonde girl (played well by Genevieve Grad, although she doesn't have a lot to work with), and minor parts for Wilbert Bradley and Dakkar Genre fans may spot seasoned performers Rik Battalgia and Superargo himself, Giovanni Cianfriglia, appearing in other minor roles. Leo Anchoriz ironically has the role of the stuffy British villain, Lord Hillock, but unfortunately is rather unmemorable.Along the way, Reeves and his men must traverse treacherous bogs and poisoned swamp water, a surprise attack by a lethal tiger, an elephant stampede (done with stock footage, but still realistic), a tribe of head hunters who shoot and kill with their poisoned darts, and a traitor in their midst as well as avoiding all the British soldiers out to get them. The ending could have been a classic but is let down by some poor day-for-night filming which obscures some of the action, so it just remains great fun. Sandokan and his men perform a jailbreak and then proceed to massacre the British army in a large battle scene, the highlight of which sees a bloodied Reeves jumping on to a huge machine gun and cutting down dozens of the enemy. A good way to end what is a perfectly enjoyable little adventure romp, recommended to all fans of the genre.

"Sandokan, La Tigre Di Mompracen¨ or "Sandokan the Great" results to be an Oriental adventure with Heroism and High Adventure in the Malay Jungle , it stars Steve Reeves/Sandokan , Lord of Malaysia , accompanied by his European friend Yañez , battling the evil imperialists commanded by a nasty governor who is trying to detain him . Based on the novel "Le tigri Di Mompracem¨ by Emilio Salgari , this "Sandokan¨ (1963) was decently directed by Umberto Lenzi with an European cast and it contains rousing action , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine cast doing a fine job . Our hero pirate saves the damsel in distress and fights an evil Brit imperialist . Filmed in Ceylon ; it tells the tale of Sandokan who is a Malaysian rebel who, with a bunch of freedom fighters , goes up against a British governor called Lord Guillon (Leo Anchóriz) and his officers , lieutenant Ross (Mario Valdemarin) , Toymby (Antonio Molino Rojo) and sergeant Mitchell (Enzo Fiermonte) . As Sandokan teams up with a squad of pirates to even the score with a nasty governor during the 1800 . Exciting story of love and adventure , the complete romance and the exotic events about the famous hero Sandokan (Steve Reeves) against the British empire . The Prince Sarawah's kingdom is invaded by troops commanded by Lord Brook from Bombay . As Sandokan along with his followers : Sambigliong (Rik Battaglia) , Girobatol (Maurice Poli) , Hirangù (Nazzareno Zamperla) and his faithful Yañez (Andrea Bosic) attempt to free his father who has been taken prisoner by the English army in Labuan . Then Sandokan infiltrates into a luxurious mansion and attacks the governor's (Leo Anchoriz) palace . Sandokan takes his niece Mary Ann (Genevieve Grad) and she is held captive . Sandokan , lord of Malaysia , sets out throughout the dangerous jungle . Meantime , Mary Ann learns the actual intention Sandokan is to free his father , Malaysia's Sultan , and deliver justice , then she feels sympathy for his cause . Along the way Sandokan takes on several dangers as quicksands , wildlife , native attacks by a violent tribe of headhunters called Dagakos and many other things . However , the brave pirate Sandokan and his underlings are betrayed and captured by the English soldiers . Finally , at the enemy fort takes place a spectacular battle against Lord Guillonk and his hoodlums .This is an entertaining oriental movie , full of action , thrills , double-crosses and of course , a lot of duels and fights . Being a so-so European co-production among several countries such as Italy, France , Spain . It is a grade-B flick with noisy adventure , emotion , slavery , tortures , savage raids and machine gun provoking a lot of deaths . Decent production by Solly V. Bianco and Jaime Comas Gil with adequate Steve Reeves as Sandokan , and gorgeous Geneviève Grad as Mary Ann , both of whom fall in love , taking place a wonderful love story . The flick packs enjoyable as well as exotic atmosphere , luxurious gowns , evocative sets , alright cinematography and powerful score . Lots of intrigue , treason , glamorous scenarios , twists and turns . Sympathetic performances by main star cast such as Steve Reeves in one his last films of his fruitful career and agreeable secondary cast ; as the marvelous main actors are completed by a secondary cast full of ordinary Italian players as Andrea Bosic , Rick Battaglia , Maurice Poli , Enzo Fiermonte , Nazzareno Zamperla , Mario Valdemarin and Spanish players as Antonio Molino Rojo and special mention for Leo Anchóriz as Lord Guillonk and who in the sequel would play Lord Brook . Splendid color from 16 mm , including appropriate cinematography by Aurelio G. Larraya and Angelo Lotti ; though , a perfect remastering is necessary . Being shot on location in Ceylon . Imaginative as well as thrilling soundtrack by Giovanni Fusco in oriental style . This was the first part in Steve Reeves/Lenzi Sandokan saga ; the second with similar artistic and technician team was ¨I Pirati Della Malesia" (original title) or "Sandokan: Pirate of Malaysia¨ (1964) with Steve Reeves , Jacqueline Sassard , Pierre Cressoy , Nando Gazzolo , Franco Balducci , Mimmo Palmara and again Andrea Bosic as Yanez . The motion picture was professionally directed by Umberto Lenzi . This one was a popular film by that time , getting big success at European Box office .Other pictures about this fictitious personage are the followings : ¨Sandokan against Leopard of Sarawak" (1964) by Luigi Capuano with Ray Danton , Franca Bettoia , Mario Petri , Guy Madison , Alberto Farnese ; its sequel ¨Sandokan Fights Back¨(1964) with same players ; "Le Tigri Di Mompracem" (1970) by Mario Sequi with Ivan Rassimov as Sandokan , Claudia Gravy , Andrea Bosic , Luis Dávila , José Torres . And TV ¨Sandokan¨ (vey popular series of the 70s) with Kabir Bedi , Philippe Leroy and Adolfo Celi . And finally "The return of Sandokán" (1996) , ¨Il Figlio Di Sandokan" (1998) , TV series played by Kabir Bedi and directed by Enzo G Castellari .

I just finished watching a Steve Reeves double feature of this film and the sequel, 'Pirates of the Seven Seas', and was quite entertained the whole time. Reeves' character, Sandokan, is a departure from his well known sword-and-sandal flicks. In these films, while he's a formidable presence who can handle himself, he's not portrayed as a muscle-bound Hercules or Goliath. He's a refined but tough son of royalty, leading a group of rebels fighting British colonial rule of their Malaysian island. With literate scripts, scenic locales and numerous hair-raising adventures, 'Sandokan the Great', as well as the equally colorful and well-constructed sequel, are both highly enjoyable. A couple of interesting items include the fact that the same actor (Leo Anchoriz), played the main bad guy in both films. In both films, he was the head of the British military administration, yet he was cast as completely different people! It's also somewhat disconcerting to hear (in the version of the movie I have) a much different voice dubbed in for Reeves than was used in most of his peplum flicks. For Steve Reeves fans, these are essential additions to your collection. Good luck finding them.