Zagor: Kara Korsanin Hazineleri (Turkey, 1971)

Though I doubt any of you have been feeling a gaping, Zagor sized hole in your lives, the fact is that, back when I reviewed Zagor: Kara Bela, I promised that I would also review its sequel, Zagor: Kara Korsanin Hazineleri, and dammit, that is a promise I plan on keeping. To refresh your memory, this is a Turkish film adaptation of an Italian comic book depicting frontier life in the old American west we’re talking about, so be sure to take notes for your next history exam. The 19th century superhero Zagor returns, along with his trusty hatchet and his staggeringly racist sidekick, Chico, a fat Mexican stereotype who again sleeps and eats his way through the entire picture and also has a hilarious bit we’re he snores exaggeratedly. Moving on…

Some English speaking viewers might bemoan Zagor: Kara Korsanin Hazineleri’s lack of subtitles, but not I, as that lack allowed me to coast through the film’s various convolutions swathed in a cocoon of ignorance. I can’t really tell you what it was about -- though there were pirates involved -- but I think that my inability to focus on the particulars of plot enabled me to see all the more clearly Zagor: Kara Korsanin Hazineleri’s true strengths. Compared to it’s predecessor, I’d say that the film has a near perfect balance of talky-ness and fighty-ness, in that, while the talking parts are quite talky, the fighting parts are also very fighty, and also plentiful. I actually began to wonder if star Levent Cakir had a background in professional wrestling, so profligate was his employment of flying scissor holds and the like. It was almost like watching a Dara Singh movie, except with way more cartwheels.

But just as much strangling.

So, yes, there are pirates, as I mentioned, and a pirate’s treasure (in fact, the title translates as something like “The Treasure of the Black Pirate”), as well as a lead actress with tremendous hooters (not mentioned in the title) who spends most of the film being captured and/or imperiled. What is sadly lacking is a villain clad in a black hood, like the one seen in Zagor: Kara Bela, for easy identification. Instead what we get seems to be a little more complex, with an assortment of shady interests competing to get the treasure, and Zagor helping the authorities maintain law and order by thumping everybody in succession. At one point a gang lead by a fellow in a bowler hat and gondolier’s shirt tries to shut down a lighthouse in order to make a ship crash into the rocks, until Zagor comes along. Thump thump thump thump.

You're welcome.

Don’t let my glib assessment lead you to believe that I didn’t enjoy Zagor: Kara Korsanin Hazineleri. I did. It’s just that, given that the film was made during the same year as it’s predecessor -- and likely back-to-back with it, from the looks of things -- there probably wasn’t much thought given to shaking up the formula beyond a little streamlining pacing-wise. It’s pretty safe to assume that no Zagor themed focus groups had been conducted, nor was the term “reboot” kicked around. It’s basically just more of the same -- which, in the case of Zagor thumping people with his hatchet, is a good thing, and, in the case of Chico stuffing half chickens into his mouth while saying the Turkish equivalent of “aye carumba”, is bad.

Never have it said I don’t keep my promises.

Chanoc en el Circo Union (Mexico, 1979)

In my defense, it was not until I began watching Chanoc en el Circo Union that I realized that it was perhaps not the most appropriate film to include in Jungle Adventure Month[TM]. However, its hero was born in the jungle (or, as Fletcher Hanks would phrase it, “jungle born”), and it has a circus setting, so even though the action doesn’t take place in the jungle, we still get jungle movie staples like tiger wrestling and mischievous chimp sidekicks… not to mention the added bonus of midgets with blowguns.

After all, what is the circus movie if not an offshoot of the jungle adventure movie? The only difference between the two, setting aside, is that, in a jungle movie, the tigers are free to attack and chomp on humans as they please, whereas, in a circus movie, they compliantly jump through flaming hoops. God, circus movies suck!

But not Chanoc en el Circo Union, which is a bit surprising to me. It’s director, Rafael Perez Grovas, around the same time as he directed this film, also helmed a couple of particularly wan late Santo films that really did their aging star no favors. Since Circo Union doesn’t show evidence of any previously undisclosed gifts on the filmmaker’s part, I’m going to assume that he here benefited from the combination of a colorful setting and a more youthful and energetic star.

Obviously, the character Chanoc needs no introduction. Psyche! Seriously, though, if you lived in Mexico during the 60s or 70s, that would probably be true. But for the rest of you, Chanoc, at least from his first appearance in print in 1959 until the debut of Kaliman in 1965, was Mexico’s most popular comic book hero. A Tarzan-like figure who was driven from his jungle home, Chanoc somehow came to settle in a Mexican fishing village, where he continued his work as a noble defender of the weak and downtrodden.

Such was Chanoc’s popularity that his adventures became the basis for eight feature films. Chanoc en el Circo Union is the next to last of these, with star Alejandro Fuentes taking over the lead from professional animal wrangler Humberto Gurza, who had starred in the previous three. For some reason, Fuentes didn’t return to the role afterward, which I can only guess was his own choice, as he does a pretty good job here. He’s not only suitably charismatic (if not overwhelmingly expressive), but also an athletic performer, and can be clearly seen to perform many of his own stunts in the film.

While previous Chanoc films would pit their hero against vampires and other supernatural foes, his opponents in Circo Union are comparably more prosaic. Here we see Chanoc offering his services as an animal handler to a circus in order to flush out a gang of black marketers that is using it as a cover. While doing his undercover bit to determine the identity of the gang’s mysterious leader, he also finds time to thrill the crowds with his ability to make formerly wild animals perform humiliating tricks and also to romance a buxom trapeze artist played by top-billed star Diana Torres. Meanwhile, Chanoc’s godfather/sidekick, Tzekub -- who I think can most accurately be described as a “daffy old coot” -- goes about playing detective in his own fashion, which naturally results in him constantly having to be bailed out of trouble by Chanoc.

When I took on Jungle Adventure Month[TM], I knew that one of its major perils was going to be that I would inevitably stumble upon animal stars whom I wish I had included in the recently wrapped-up 4DK Animalympics (SPOILER: the marmoset won). And with Chanoc en el Circo Union we have the first instance of that happening. Now, here I am not talking, as you might expect, about Chanoc’s chimp companion Chuchu Chuchu, although the Chuch-ster indeed has a lot to recommend him: an ability to mug and jeer alongside the best of them, the requisite knack for bopping bad guys over the head with comically large bats, anthropomorphic costumery, etc. No, the exceptional beast that I am talking about in this case has a part in Chanoc en el Circo Union that, though very brief, casts a mighty shadow upon all that surrounds it:

This anipal’s appearance occurs as part of a circus performance in which an elephant is shown stepping over star Diana Torres and letting its giant foot hover just inches over her reclining form. By this means the animal displays its uncanny ability to restrain itself from stomping the life out of a small and annoying human despite the fact that it undoubtedly really wants to.

Immediately following that, a clown leads onto the stage a tiny dog in an elephant costume who replicates the elephant act in miniature with a couple of Barbie dolls.

Fuck. And. Yes.

In the final tally, Chanoc en el Circo Union is a moderately diverting, Saturday matinee style entertainment, much along the lines of the type of adventure films that Hollywood studios churned out as B programmers during the 40s and 50s. I think part of the reason that it passed muster with me is that, as a Mexican action film from the 70s, its lack of a hero wearing a wrestling mask with a sport coat and tie reduced my expectations of awesomeness correspondingly.

And speaking of which, after Circo Union, Chanoc would make one final screen appearance, starring alongside the Son of Santo in Chanoc and the Son of Santo vs The Vampire Assassins (though in that instance, with one-timer Nelson Velazquez in the role). Word is that that film’s pretty dire, but, after Circo Union, I’m nonetheless curious to see Chanoc do his stuff against a more traditional lucha movie style foe, by which I mean a Frankenstein, or a wolfman, or a Dracula.

But, you know what? I’d watch Chanoc fight a man made out of pipe cleaners if I knew that tiny dog in the elephant suit was going to be in the movie.

This review is part of “Stranded in the Jungle”, a month of Jungle Adventure themed posts at 4DK.

Jessie's Girl

The title of the Czech comic book romp that's the subject of my latest Teleport City review asks the question, Who Wants To Kill Jessie? The answer, as local newscasters are fond of saying, just might surprise you. Check out my review here.

Kriminal (1966) and Il Marchio Di Kriminal (1968)

I recently got the chance to check out Pulp Video's PAL region DVD releases of Kriminal and Il Marchio Di Kriminal, the two live action films based on the Italian comic book character created by Roberto Raviola and Max Bunker. Keith over at Teleport City has done his usual thorough job of dissecting Kriminal, so I won't be giving either of these the full Lucha Diaries treatment. I'll just say that both films are worth a look, though English speakers might want to campaign for a subtitled release; these are really caper films in nature, and as such aren't action oriented to the extent that lack of fluency in Italian doesn't become an obstacle.

It seems like Italy produced about a million of these comic book movies with costumed protagonists during the sixties. And, from Superargo to Goldface, most of them are a recipe for disappointment. They always sound like loads of fun when described, but in reality often suffer from sloppy execution and weak budgets. Of course, they can't all be Danger: Diabolik. And while the Kriminal films don't quite approach the rarified air of Mario Bava's near-perfect cinematic comic book, they do exhibit a level of craft and sophistication beyond that of many of their peers--as well as a couple imaginative attempts to duplicate the graphic look of their source material.

Kriminal is a costumed master thief like Diabolik, though of a much more ruthless variety. He has no qualms about murdering people in cold blood if it will get him closer to whatever loot he's after at the moment, and he frequently does so--and by a variety of imaginative means--over the course of the two films. In short, he makes the idea of the anti-hero as defined by Hollywood look like a neurasthenic cub scout in comparison. Both films make wan attempts to suggest that Kriminal might face some kind of karmic retribution for his crimes, but in the end there's no mistaking that he's the guy we're meant to be rooting for. Andrea Bosic as Inspector Milton of Scotland Yard plays the foil, and the action of the films parallels his hunt for Kriminal with Kriminal's hunt for treasure. This is a classic amoral universe were dealing in here, and there doesn't appear to ever be any suggestion that Milton's motives or character exist on any higher plane than his prey's.

Dutch actor Glenn Saxson, who plays Kriminal, could be the guy for whom the term "movie star good looks" was invented. His chiseled, perfectly angled features and fixed edifice of blonde hair fit perfectly in the stylized world on screen, but he'd look like a bit of a freak if you actually saw him walking down the street. His arid prettiness and sharply tailored attire provide a nicely jarring contrast to the skeleton suit he wears during his prowling, and his mannerisms go a long way toward telegraphing a character who, despite whatever role he may be playing, is scheming for advantage at absolutely all times.

Kriminal was directed by Umberto Lenzi (who, fortunately for us, appears to have been actually interested in the project in this case), while Il Marchio Di Kriminal was directed by Fernando Cerchio. Despite the change in directors, both films have a markedly similar look, one that makes the most of the glamour and physical beauty of the international locations and actors on hand (which include, in addition to Glenn Saxson, the lovely Helga Line). One nice touch that Il Marchio Di Kriminal adds is a device by which a shot will momentarily morph into a comic book panel so that we can see what a character is thinking by way of a thought balloon. Given the source material, I actually would have liked to see more such touches in the films, since, though both of them are attractively rendered, they have a shortage of elements that really make them pop in both the visual and artistic sense.

All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Kriminal films to those who enjoy stylish 1960s pop entertainment, though I have to admit that I actually expected them to be a bit trashier than they were, and actually found myself disappointed when they weren't. I think it may just be that I've been ruined by the Turkish Kilink films. Now those are some movies that really know how to take the concept of a ruthless master criminal in a skeleton suit and exploit it for all its lurid potential.