Sandokan the Great | |
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Directed by | Umberto Lenzi |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Sandokan the Great by Emilio Salgari [1] |
Produced by | Solly V. Bianco [1] |
Starring | |
Cinematography |
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Edited by | Jolanda Benvenuti [1] |
Music by | Giovanni Fusco [1] |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 114 minutes [1] |
Countries |
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Language | Italian |
Sandokan the Great (Italian : Sandokan, la tigre di Mompracem) is a 1963 Italian adventure film, directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Steve Reeves. [2] [3] It is the first entry in a film series about Sandokan, the pirate-prince from Emilio Salgari's popular swashbuckler novels.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, British forces led by Lord Hillock occupy Tapuah, subduing its population through mass murder. Among their victims are the mother and brothers of Sandokan, and he in reprisal organizes a revolutionary band. When Hillock attempts to entrap the rebel by threatening to hang his father, the Sultan of Mulaker, Sandokan penetrates Hillock's home, taking as hostage the Englishman's niece, Mary Ann. Although initially indignant, Mary Ann comes to love her captor. Following an encounter with headhunters, Sandokan and his men are surrounded by Hillock's forces, and an armistice is negotiated according to which Sandokan and his gang will be exiled in return for Mary Ann's release.
Hillock immediately violates the agreement, however, imprisoning the rebels and planning for their immediate execution. Escaping, the insurgents, joined by Mary Ann, combine with the army of the native chieftain Tuang Olong to free their homeland from British domination. Hillock is allowed to leave unharmed (the officers directly responsible for the deaths of Sandokan's family members are killed in the final battle). To the horror of her uncle, Mary Ann opts to remain with Sandokan and be his bride.
Giovanni Cianfriglia was the stunt double for Steve Reeves. [4] The film's exterior scenes were filmed in Spain. [5]
Sandokan the Great opened in Italy in December 1963 under the title of Sandokan, la tigre di Mompracem (Sandokan, the Tiger of Mompracem) at 115 minutes, in Madrid in March 1964 under the title of Sandokan, and later in Paris in December 1964 as Sandokan, le tigre de Bornéo (Sandokan, the Tiger of Borneo). [5] [6] It was released in the USA in 1965 as Sandokan the Great. [5]
In a contemporary review, the Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed a dubbed 89 minute version of the film. [1] The review referred to the film as "sagily and fairly stodgily directed by Umberto Lenzi" with an "adequate but anonymous performance by Steve Reeves". [1] The review concluded that the film was "fine for anyone particularly partial to children's adventure stories. The scenes in the swamp and jungle are pleasingly photographed in authentic story-book colours." [1]
Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, Quo Vadis, The Robe, Spartacus, Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments. These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.
Emilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.
Umberto Lenzi was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist.
The Tigers of Mompracem is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1900. It features his most famous character, Sandokan.
The Pirates of Malaysia is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1896. It features his most famous character, Sandokan, and is a sequel to The Tigers of Mompracem.
The Pirates of Malaysia is a 1964 swashbuckler directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Steve Reeves as Sandokan the pirate. This film was a sequel to Reeve's 1963 film Sandokan the Great, also directed by Lenzi. Malaysian rebel, Sandokan, with his group of renegades, tries to thwart an evil British general from forcing the good Sultan Hassim to resign in favor of the Imperial crown.
Sandokan is a fictional late 19th-century pirate created by Italian author Emilio Salgari. His adventures first appeared in publication in 1883. Sandokan is the protagonist of 11 adventure novels. Sandokan is known throughout the South China Sea as the "Tiger of Malaysia".
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La tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa! is a 1977 Italian adventure film directed by Sergio Sollima and starring Kabir Bedi. It follows on from the 1976 television series Sandokan, itself inspired by the series of novels by Emilio Salgari featuring the pirate hero Sandokan.
Brothers Till We Die is a 1977 Italian poliziottesco-action film by Umberto Lenzi. This film is the last collaboration among Lenzi and Tomas Milian. In this movie Milian plays two characters, Vincenzo Marazzi a.k.a. "The Hunchback" that he already played for Lenzi in Rome Armed to the Teeth, and his twin brother Sergio Marazzi a.k.a. "Er Monnezza", a role that he played for the first time in Lenzi's Free Hand for a Tough Cop and later resumed in Destruction Force by Stelvio Massi.
Umberto Lenzi was an Italian film director whose filmography encompassed a ranges of genres across a prolific career. Born in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Lenzi studied law before enrolling at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. As part of his studies, he wrote and directed the short film Ragazzi di Trastevere, based on Pier Paolo Pasolini's novel Ragazzi di vita. During this time, he worked as a film critic for the Centro's journal Bianco e Nero, and was an avid follower of both European and American films, favouring the work of directors John Ford, Raoul Walsh, and Michael Curtiz.
Domenico "Mimmo" Palmara was an Italian actor.
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Leopoldo de Anchóriz Fustel was a Spanish actor and writer, most notable for appearing in Spaghetti Western films.
Quest for a Throne is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1907. It features his most famous character, Sandokan.
Pirates of Malaya is a 1941 Italian historical adventure film directed by Enrico Guazzoni and starring Massimo Girotti, Clara Calamai and Camillo Pilotto.
The Tigers of Mompracem is a 1970 Italian-Spanish historical adventure film directed by Mario Sequi and starring Ivan Rassimov, Claudia Gravy and Andrea Bosic. It is an adaptation of the 1900 novel of the same name by Emilio Salgari featuring his hero, the Malayan pirate Sandokan.