I’ve seen the 80s remake of this, but never this version. But I’m watching this because of Hazel Flagg recommendation.
This 2K restoration (from Criterion) looks very nice.
*gasp*
I’m really enjoying this… it’s building up nicely.
Psychoanalysis!
This movie is terrific. Very compact, very tense, and doesn’t quite go where you’re expecting it to. The only thing is that it seems a bit under-developed? It’s like… there could have been more? Some of the plot developments seem a bit abrupt? But I guess that’s part of the charm — it goes for atmosphere instead of character development.
I have seen this movie before — I was in my early teens and probably saw this on VHS? So I remember nothing about it, except the title track, which is a bit of an earworm. But while I don’t remember anything specific about it, I do feel like I enjoyed it?
I did think it was more of an 80s movie than it seems like it is — I mean, I was expecting bigger shoulders; like a mid-80s thing, but it’s from 1980! It’s literally a seventies movie!
But the reason I’m watching it now is because it’s part of the Hazel Flagg collection.
Is it being metaphorical already?
To watch it, I had to get this gorgeously designed British DVD — it doesn’t seem to be available on bluray? Which just seems absurd for a blockbuster like this.
It looks quite unrestored, too — quite grainy. Fortunately the DVD is anamorphic, at least, so that’s good. But it just looks really odd! It’s got that over-sharpened VHS look, complete with pre-echoes and all. It really looks like it’s been transferred from VHS.
The director here had a very short career… but then again, he died at 47.
Some quite notable movies, though.
Tee hee. Peak 70s.
It’s very amusing, but it’s … It’s zany, but it should be zanier? Just kicked up a notch? But I mean, I like it.
There’s a lot of stuff going on in this movie — a lot! There’s (at least) two love interests, somebody is going to steal some gold, there’s double-crossing, there’s a coward officer, there’s a typhoon, pirates, and several people are run over by a steamroller! It’s one of those movies where they’re throwing in everything they have…
Irving Thalberg had worked on the film since 1930 when he assigned three different writers to come up with three different treatments. By 1931 Thalberg had decided on the one storyline and spent the next four years working on a script with two dozen writers, half a dozen dir/and three supervisors.
It certainly feels like it’s been through dozen of script doctors who had added stuff, but it does work — it’s an entertaining movie.
