Mercenary of death
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Mercenary of death |
| Original title | Horror safari |
| Country of production | Italy |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1982 |
| length | 79 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alan Birkinshaw |
| script | Bill James |
| production | Dick Randall |
| music | Francesco De Masi |
| camera | Roberto Forges Davanzati |
| cut | Roger Cook |
| occupation | |
| |
Mercenary of Death (originally: Horror Safari or Safari senza ritorno ) is an Italian adventure film by director Alan Birkinshaw from 1982 with Stuart Whitman in the lead role. Acting in supporting roles a. Harold Sakata , who became internationally known as an odd job in Goldfinger , Woody Strode and Laura Gemser .
The film was released directly on video in Germany on January 6, 1984.
action
When the Japanese troops withdrew from the Philippines in 1945 after five years of occupation and unscrupulous exploitation , an occupation force escorted a stolen cargo of gold across the impassable jungle of an island. Their goal is a remote coastal town, which they try to reach via secret routes. The long and arduous walk turns into an ordeal. Fever and exhaustion afflict men. Weakened they are attacked by warriors of a native tribe. Only three officers escaped the carnage. The gold is left in a cave in the middle of the jungle.
36 years later, the shady adventurer Rex Larson tracks down the three survivors of those days for a planned treasure hunt. Driven by greed for money, he tries to get hold of a map on which the path to gold is marked. And he doesn't shrink from murder either. In return for a share of the profits, he finally secured the services of the Japanese Tobachi, the last remaining survivor. Meanwhile, millionaire Jefferson finances the operation, but not without making painful demands. The sponsor urges Larson to hire the alcoholic American Mark Forrest, Larson's intimate enemy, as a scout. Driven by the prospect of meeting his old adversary, who once teased his faithless wife, he ultimately takes part in the search. Forrest does not pursue any financial interests - as does the young and attractive daughter of the millionaire: Janice Jefferson.
The expedition team around Mark, Larson, Tobachi, financier Douglas and his daughter Janice and other participants finally set off. The undertaking becomes an exhausting march to death. A long smoldering conflict between Mark and Rex threatens to escalate. Already in the first night, Larson begins to get rid of his forced companions. In order to divert any suspicion from himself, he later fakes his death. In secret, however, he follows the group, which he constantly and emotionlessly decimated. When the porters run away after several weeks, the adventurers shrink to three people: Tobachi, Mark and Janice. These ultimately reach the goal collectively.
All of a sudden, Larson enters the scene and murders Tobachi. Then he forces the remaining treasure hunters to retrieve the gold. However, Mark and Janice rebel against the villain. Combat operations follow, in the course of which the protagonists succeed in defeating the serial killer in a life-and-death struggle. In the last scene of the film, Mark kisses the much younger Janice, with whom he entered into a love affair at different times.
Reviews
According to the lexicon of international films , the production is a " cobbled together adventure film that already reveals its flat story in the first scenes " and goes into " bloodthirsty details ".
Web links
- Mercenary of death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Mercenaries of Death. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film Service , accessed July 22, 2010 .