Runtime:
87 minutes (that's the length of the print I saw today; more on that
later)
Directed
by: Natuk Baytan
Starring:
Cuneyt Arkin, Bahar Erdeniz, Charles Garret, Yildirim Gencer, Cemil
Sahbaz
From:
Ugur Film
What a wild, wacky Turkish movie this is:
Yesterday
I went to a place I only recently discovered (and by happenstance):
Grindhouse Video Tampa. The name alone was enticing to me but after
visiting, I wish I had found out about the place much sooner. Besides it
being a place where you can sell and trade movies in all sorts of
formats (Laserdisc, VHS and even VCD), they sell titles from all the
boutique labels: Kino Lorber, Arrow, Shout/Scream Factory, Vinegar
Syndrome, Blue Underground, Severin Films, etc. There were even titles
from obscure labels (like 88 Films) and import titles from the likes of
UK label Indicator and Australian label Umbrella Entertainment, both
region-free and region-locked. It was incredible to look at physical
copies instead of having to order those titles from an online retailer
or the websites of those labels. I say all that as this was one of the
titles I picked up in a day where I did spend more than I wanted to.
For awhile now I've known of this movie so this title was one I was interested in getting. It is from Turkey and it is one of those insane Turkish flicks from the past. In Turkish it's Kilic Aslan and the release by AGFA was under the title The Sword and The Claw, as that was the name used for an English dubbed print that actually played in grindhouses back in the early 80's with a super-obscure South Korean kung-fu movie known in English as Brawl Busters, which is helpfully included on the Blu-ray. I'll always call it Lionman due to the late 80's pinball classic Swords of Fury having LIONMAN, LIONMAN being yelled sometimes.
The movie... like I said it's insanity. Amusingly, the disc has the wrong runtime for the movie; I presume as Kilic Aslan it was 109 minutes long, but in this 87 minute cut it is obvious that scenes are missing or edited down. Right away we start with an action scene that has zero context; it just happens. Then there's the awesomely bad dubbing where no matter what happens, many of the voices just sounded bored, or maybe stoned out of their minds. Even without all that, the movie was made as a wacky piece of crap; the plot sounds standard (a tyrant of a general overthrows the king in a medieval setting and the king's newborn son is hidden and as an adult that son gets revenge) but that kid ends up being raised by lions so he wears a loincloth and well...
Note that the hero is played by the legendary Cuneyt Arkin of such films as TURKISH STAR WARS and his fighting skills aren't the usual TURK-FU he does; rather, he logically fights like a lion! There's plenty of leaping and attacks with his hands, which he uses as if they were paws. The costuming and set design is fine and all, but there are plenty of moments that at least made me chuckle due to silliness, zaniness, or great moments such as: the YYAHOORRRGHHH that usually accompanies Lionman arriving on the scene, Lionman using a huracanrana as if he was a pro wrestler, and another character using bitchslaps as his main offensive attack. I was glad this movie made me laugh as much as I hoped it would. The high rating is due to the entertainment value and is definitely different than me giving a high rating to say, The Seventh Seal.
For awhile now I've known of this movie so this title was one I was interested in getting. It is from Turkey and it is one of those insane Turkish flicks from the past. In Turkish it's Kilic Aslan and the release by AGFA was under the title The Sword and The Claw, as that was the name used for an English dubbed print that actually played in grindhouses back in the early 80's with a super-obscure South Korean kung-fu movie known in English as Brawl Busters, which is helpfully included on the Blu-ray. I'll always call it Lionman due to the late 80's pinball classic Swords of Fury having LIONMAN, LIONMAN being yelled sometimes.
The movie... like I said it's insanity. Amusingly, the disc has the wrong runtime for the movie; I presume as Kilic Aslan it was 109 minutes long, but in this 87 minute cut it is obvious that scenes are missing or edited down. Right away we start with an action scene that has zero context; it just happens. Then there's the awesomely bad dubbing where no matter what happens, many of the voices just sounded bored, or maybe stoned out of their minds. Even without all that, the movie was made as a wacky piece of crap; the plot sounds standard (a tyrant of a general overthrows the king in a medieval setting and the king's newborn son is hidden and as an adult that son gets revenge) but that kid ends up being raised by lions so he wears a loincloth and well...
Note that the hero is played by the legendary Cuneyt Arkin of such films as TURKISH STAR WARS and his fighting skills aren't the usual TURK-FU he does; rather, he logically fights like a lion! There's plenty of leaping and attacks with his hands, which he uses as if they were paws. The costuming and set design is fine and all, but there are plenty of moments that at least made me chuckle due to silliness, zaniness, or great moments such as: the YYAHOORRRGHHH that usually accompanies Lionman arriving on the scene, Lionman using a huracanrana as if he was a pro wrestler, and another character using bitchslaps as his main offensive attack. I was glad this movie made me laugh as much as I hoped it would. The high rating is due to the entertainment value and is definitely different than me giving a high rating to say, The Seventh Seal.
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