Adventure

  • Marek Piestrak – Klatwa Doliny Wezy AKA Curse of Snakes Valley (1987)

    1981-1990AdventureCultMarek PiestrakPoland

    An ex marine (Traven), a Polish professor (Tarnas) and a French journalist (Christine) are on the hunt for a treasure in this great Polish b-movie flick. Actually most of the contemporary Polish movies suck. But this one sucks so bad, that it’s enjoyable. You’ve got all the possible cliches here, plus cheesy stop-motion special effects, plus cheesy dialogues, plus nice landscapes, plus nice cast with some big names (Roman Wilhelmi, Leon Niemczyk and recently deceased Ewa Salacka). Polish-Soviet production, shot in Viet Nam/Paris. If you wet your pants watching the Nazis in the first Indiana Jones, who melted after opening the Ark, grab this one.Read More »

  • Cornel Wilde – Lancelot and Guinevere AKA Sword of Lancelot (1963)

    1961-1970ActionAdventureCornel WildeUnited Kingdom

    “Lancelot and Guinevere” (known as “Sword of Lancelot” in the U.S.) is a British 1963 film starring Cornel Wilde and his real-life wife at the time, Jean Wallace. This lesser-known version of the Camelot legend, is a work almost solely made by Cornel Wilde, who co-produced, directed, co-wrote, and played Lancelot.

    Lancelot is King Arthur’s most valued Knight of the Round Table and a paragon of courage and virtue. Things change, however, when he falls for Guinevere (Wallace), bride of Arthur (Brian Aherne, who had essayed this character more than once, e.g. in 1954’s “Prince Valiant”), and she for him.Read More »

  • Vincent Ward – The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey (1988)

    1981-1990AdventureAustraliaSci-FiVincent Ward

    From IMDB:
    “A tantalizing meditation on faith, mystery, and imagination.

    Sometime in the Middle Ages, a group of men living in fear of the Black Death follow the visions of a nine year-old boy (Hamish MacFarlane) to go on a pilgrimage by digging a tunnel through the center of the earth (!) emerging instead in twentieth century New Zealand (!) where they try to complete their journey by erecting a cross atop a church steeple. A willing suspension of disbelief (or the kind of unquestioning faith that the main characters have) never hurts when watching something like this, but if you’re in the right frame of mind, this fable will gradually draw you into its tantalizing meditation on faith, mystery, and imagination.”Read More »

  • Edgar Reitz – Der Schneider von Ulm AKA The Tailor From Ulm (1978)

    1971-1980AdventureDramaEdgar ReitzGermany

    “The Tailor from Ulm was the last of Edgar Reitz’ pre-Heimat features and a far cry from Lust for Love in terms of style and setting. It was a biopic of Albrecht Ludwig Berbinger, who had created a flying contraption in the early nineteenth century akin to a hang glider. Handsomely mounted, The Tailor from Ulm recreates both the age and those contraptions exceedingly well; the budget is all up there on the screen. And the film itself is an engaging one, though far more conventional than the works which had preceded it. Nonetheless, audiences weren’t particularly interested and it came close to bankrupting both its director and his production company. As a result he took some time away from filmmaking to research his homeland – his Heimat – eventually returning with his masterpiece six years later. Perhaps Berbinger was the wrong subject for Reitz. In retrospect you’d imagine that his compatriot Werner Herzog would have done much more with this driven figure from their country’s past. “Read More »

  • Sydney Pollack – Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

    1971-1980AdventureSydney PollackUSAWestern

    Synopsis:
    During the mid-nineteenth century, Jeremiah Johnson, after a stint in the US Army, decides that he would prefer a life of solitude and more importantly peace by living with nature in the mountains of the frontier of the American west. This plan entails finding a piece of land upon which to build a house. This quest ends up being not quite what he envisioned as he does require the assistance of others to find his footing, and in turn he amasses friends and acquaintances along the way, some who become more a part of his life than he would have imagined.Read More »

  • Richard Stanley – Rites of Passage (1983)

    1981-1990AdventureAfrican CinemaRichard StanleyShort FilmSouth Africa

    Here is a nice little Super-8 student film directed by and starring Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil). “Rites of Passage” feels like the result of what might happen if Derek Jarman attempted to adapt Kubrick’s 2001 into a short.

    As a primordial man (Richard Stanley) wanders in the plains and forests of the Dark Continent, seemingly at the dawn of the human race, a narrator reminisces on past lives, all of which he remembers. These outspoken thoughts seem to be with the primordial man as he travels towards an unknown destination; the two co-exist simultaneously despite the gap of thousands of years. Their lives are intervowen – as they’ve always been…Read More »

  • Luis Trenker – Der Berg ruft! AKA The Mountain Calls (1938)

    Drama1931-1940AdventureGermanyLuis TrenkerThird Reich Cinema

    Synopsis:
    The Italian mountaineer Carel wants to be the first man to stand on the top of the Matterhorn. Since the climb is very difficult, he agrees to try it together with the British mountaineer Whymper. But due to an intrigue this agreement is dropped and the two men try it on the same day with two different teams and then disaster strikes.Read More »

  • Dick Powell – The Conqueror (1956)

    1951-1960ActionAdventureDick PowellUSA

    In ancient times, the Mongolian warlord Temujin must do battle against the rival tribe that killed his father. The battles pale in comparison with Temujin’s home life, as he attempts to woo the heart of the red-haired Tartar prisoner Bortai whom he has captured in a raid. He must also deal with various intrigues within his palace. Eventually, Bortai falls to his manly charms, Temujin defeats his enemies within and without, and is crowned Genghis Khan.Read More »

  • Varsanyi Ferenc – Volt egyszer egy regenyhos, akit P. Howardnak hivtak AKA There was once a character named P Howard (2010)

    2001-2010AdventureDocumentaryHungaryVarsanyi Ferenc

    Quote:
    A Duna Televízió közreműködésével készült el Varsányi Ferenc rendező filmje, amely a népszerű ponyvaíró, Rejtő Jenő életének legendáriuma. A film műfaja, amely az író születésének 115. évfordulójára készült animációs dokumentarista legendárium.

    A documentary about the pulp fiction writer P. Howard (Rejto Jeno, wikipedia link: link ), made on the occasion of his 115th anniversary.Read More »

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