Customer Reviews

Dark of the Sun [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although at first glance, Dark of the Sun (1968, starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, & football star Jim Brown)seems to be your typical fiction book made into film, it is, in fact, a very realistic portrayal of similar events which ocurred during the Katanga rebellion in 1964 in the newly created Republic of the Congo. It was about diamonds, it was about a proxy war between the East and the West, and Jim Brown's acting, although a bit stiff at times, actually comes off quite well. Rod Taylor was a veteran actor by this time, and it shows clear through as he takes on the portrayal of the tough and hardened, veteran mercenary soldier.
The Simbas DID eat their victims, they did kill hundreds of foreigners (mostly Belgian). The only thing that is not portrayed in the movie is the fact that the Simbas actually used some French mercenaries on their side (although very few), but this historically unknown bit of data is OK to be missing from the movie, since it would only confuse the viewer.
I am sorry to say that I paid $40 for my VHS copy and that the movie's gory scenes were completely deleted - but that is because the producer of the 1994 video (MGM) wanted to sell this movie to as wide an audience as possible.
Perhaps in the future someone in the movie industry will decide to release this film (1) in its entirety as it deserves and (2) on DVD. I for one would be in line to buy a copy or two! The only other mercenary movie that is as realistic is "The Dogs of War", which is, thankfully, on DVD and un-cut.

I first saw this movie when it was originally released and enjoyed it very much. It is an excellent action packed movie. The purpose of this review is I was very disappointed because the movie I received has been edited. That's the reason for my rating of 3 stars versus 5. Certain action scenes have been cut, either partly or altogether, and some dialog has been voiced over or deleted. Even the final scene, which is the culmination of the anger of Taylor losing his friend was altered. If you do order this movie attempt to make sure it is the original cut, which is much better than the version I received.

Closely based on the early novel of the same name by Wilbur Smith (River Gods, The Seventh Scroll), this dark, probing story realistically portrays the rebellious period of the Belgan Congo during the 60's. Bruce Curry (Taylor) is the white mercenary leader of a force of black government troops sent inland by train to rescue Europeans cut off in a mining town by anti-government Simbas-and more importantly to retrieve the diamonds stored in the town. As one might expect, Curry's plans quickly go awry. His troops are not dependable, and he has to fight not only Simbas but also his fellow mercenaries and hostile UN peace-keeping forces. As the author intended, there are no heroic characters, and the ending leaves the viewer totally unsatisfied. Taylor is well-cast, but the rest of the acting is very weak. The most brutal scenes have been cut from VHS versions, making the film choppy. One can only hope that this film will make it to DVD.

Two mercenaries plan and execute an operation to retrieve diamonds under the guise of a rescue mission deep in the war-torn Congo. Rod Taylor is in fine form as Captain Curry and Jim Brown (former Pro-Football star) does a credible job as Curry's right-hand man Sergeant Ruffo. Actor Peter Carsten as the Ex-Nazi Captain Henlein who accompanies the duo with a force of government soldiers is downright villainous.

The heat is turned up as Curry and Ruffo race against time to negotiate UN forces lines and reach a remote village, where the diamonds are kept, before a large rebel force arrives. All of this is executed on a railroad train specially modified for the mission. Tension is high as the rebel forces close in on Curry and Ruffo as they try to evacuate the village's inhabitants and the diamonds. Henlein seriously complicates the mission when he reveals his true intent for being on the operation.

The action is good and surprisingly violent for a movie of this time, thus this feature is not recommended for children's viewing. The cinematography is good and the instrumental soundtrack has a distinctive "60s" appeal that provides an intensive mood for the film. Overall a very good war drama deserving of a DVD release.

Cinematographer turned director Jack Cardiff's 1968 "Dark of the Sun" is an excellent, exciting and violent action film, well-made and acted. Both Aussie Rod Taylor and former Cleveland Browns great Jim Brown are excellent as hard-bitten, greedy mercenaries with (eventually) too good a heart in the turmoil of 1960s Congo (Zaire). This is by far the best adaptation yet of South African adventure writer Wilbur Smith's novels (I would love to see a good film version of Smith's "The Leopard Hunts in Darkness"). After a superb 3/4 of a film, the end is somewhat of a let down, so Curry kills the ex-Nazi Heinlein in a really brutal way, so what? The Congo suddenly has standards for mercenaries? I don't get it. A better ending would have had him escape to Europe with the girl and the ill-gotten cache of diamonds. With fine photography and an excellent film score and featuring Peter Carstens as the German mercenary Heinlein and Yvette Mimieux as the love interest.

I just received my DVD of this film that was released in Australia in the 70's as "The Mercenaries" and when I saw it was available on DVD I remembered this being quite a good movie. I wouldn't recommend purchasing this DVD as it has been cut to shreds. So much has been cut out of the original movie for this DVD that the acting and story don't make a lot of sense. The film even appeared to have missing dialogue and voice-overs in some scenes. Old movies are sometimes going to be politically-incorrect and in this case some violence but if this offends, don't purchase. You wouldn't watch this film if you were expecting a light and bubbly film and given the time-frame you would expect the film to contain some politically incorrect dialogue and the violence of the times depicted.

If companies are going to release long-awaited movies, please ensure they are released as the "complete" version rather than something ineffectually modified.

Most disappointing - DON'T BUY .....Dark Of The Sun (Remastered)

I came to this movie after reading Stephen Vagg's recent biography entitled ROD TAYLOR: AN AUSSIE IN HOLLYWOOD. (My review of this terrific book is also here on Amazon.) Mr. Vagg wrote so glowingly about the film - and despite my being a Rod Taylor fan I had somehow missed seeing this. So I ordered the new Warner Brothers DVD release of it - a "Remastered Edition." Unfortunately, as with so many other WB releases, there are no chapter stops, no extras, no commentaries, no audio options. While the image is in letterbox format and the images vibrantly clear and the audio excellent - it is obvious that this is a butchered version of what was originally a very much more violent film. I thought that "Remastered Edition" was somewhat equivalent to a "Restored Edition." No such luck. And I hate it when scenes are censored and cut out! What true film lover doesn't? Especially a film such as this which has attained a "cult status."

I never saw the complete film. But based on quotations in the Vagg bio from Quentin Tarantino - who absolutely loves this movie - mention is made of at least one scene missing from this DVD release - and that is "the hacking deaths, the feeding of nuns to alligators" according to QT. Having just watched the film, there are brief scenes of nuns being caught in the clutches of the bad guys - but no direct scene containing alligators as alluded to by QT. Ergo, my guess is that this "Remastered Edition" has, itself, been "hacked to death." SPOILER ALERT: Even the finish of the fierce, finish fight between Taylor and actor Peter Carsten's s.o.b. (the Swastika-wearing bad-guy) seems to have several yards of frames missing. Again, I have not seen the film in its entirety - but it seems to me that what Taylor really does to Carsten is far worse than what we are shown. Indeed, he most probably does what the Jim Brown character earlier in the film says his people used to do to their enemies in order to gain their courage and intelligence. I'm sure you get my drift.

So - having just seen the film for the first time - it is definitely a terrific film with several magnificent set pieces. The action scenes - despite obvious cuts - are powerful. Cinematography is top-shelf. The music score is perfect, even if somewhat imitative of Ennio Morricone - but then again, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Jack Cardiff's direction shows the signs of a true artist. Rod Taylor, Jim Brown, Kenneth More, Peter Carsten, Yvette Mimieux (despite a small part with a love scene twixt her and Taylor ending up on the cutting room floor) all fit their parts perfectly. According to Rod Taylor as quoted in Vagg's fabulous biography of the actor, Taylor was offered to test for the part of James Bond by "Cubby" Broccoli well before Sean Connery stepped into 007's shoes and slept in his many beds. When I had first read this I quite honestly couldn't picture Rod Taylor in the part. But having just seen DARK OF THE SUN I have revised my opinion. He would have been sensational as Bond! He is tough and fierce and in other scenes of the film very touching and also very humorous. He was truly - as QT and Stephen Vagg in his bio assert - the Russell Crowe of his day, both actors being Aussies. And Crowe himself would have been a beautifully brutal and brilliant Bond.

SPOILER ALERT again: I must admit that the ending of this film somewhat disappointed me. According to the Vagg bio, Taylor himself devised the ending as shown in the film. In the original, Taylor's character goes off into the sunset with his Weena-from-the-Past. In the finished film he allows himself to be put under arrest for killing the badass. As I say, I was disappointed in the conclusion. However - I daresay that if the final fight had NOT been toned-down as to its violence and HAD the Taylor character done to Carsten's character what I think he MUST have done...then the ending makes much more sense and instead of being somewhat of a letdown, would and should have been as bold and brave as it undoubtedly actually was. But this is really only possible, I think, if the brutality of the finish-fight had remained as brutal, as animalistic, as it apparently once actually was.

Someone in their own review likens this film to Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS and the similarity is very much there. Instead of a boat, there is a train, etc. But "The horror, the horror" of Conrad's novel and its eventual filmic incarnation as APOCALYPSE NOW in likewise at the heart of this film. But it is a pity that having the film finally out on DVD, it is NOT the full film. What there is of it is, in the words of Quentin Tarantino, "an immense film." What a damn shame, though, that that immensity was compromised by a curtailed cut of a most unique film experience. Still-and-all, this is one helluva movie!

Being a huge fan of this movie, I was really looking forward to seeing Bruce Willis' TEARS OF THE SUN as it seemed to be inspired by this Sixties classic. Well, that was a disappointment. First off, you've GOT to have MERCENARIES. There obviously are not enough good Merc movies being made. TEARS is a decent film, but for various reasons is not as engaging as DARK OF THE SUN. In the small, exclusive realm of Merc movies, DARK OF THE SUN (and THE WILD GEESE) remains the best. As has been noted, this is not entirely politically correct, but it is more PC than the book and it suffers some from this. Still, I think it is the best we can get out of Hollywood.

For instance, the worst guy in the movie is a white racist. My only major criticism of the film comes out of his demise, when he deserves what he gets but the film takes a holier than thou approach against Rod Taylor. So there's a bit of a let down after their climactic and extremely savage showdown.

On the plus side, Rod gets to reteam with his Time Machine co-star Yvette Mimeux. If you read the book by Wilbur Smith, she's a pretty good fit for the character. The soundtrack is fantastic; I'm currently debating paying $35 for an original album, and if its still around next time I look I'll probably go for it. Rod Taylor is in his prime and nobody does tough SOB like him. The tension when he is trying to evacuate the town will put you in a cold sweat and the horrific loss of part of the fleeing train remained surprisingly true to the brutality described in the book. I join the chorus of getting this movie to DVD, like many others of Rod Taylor's Sixties films. If you like pulp Men's Action/Adventure put to screen, you should enjoy this.

An extremely entertaining film that can be watched over and over again through the years. This is due not only to the riveting action-packed sequences, but also to the plausibility of the story. For example, the primary objective of the mercenaries and of the men who hire them is absolutely believable. In addition, the revolting atrocities that the real-life Simbas perpetrated are not shied away from in this film (a more graphic description would have been impossible in the 1960s; even today, it would command an X-Rating for the almost unbelievable violence that was, as a matter of historical record, committed -- e.g., young children raped in front of their parents).

There are some negatives, to be sure, not least of which is the indifferent direction and mediocre acting. Jim Brown, in particular, is almost embarrassingly bad. And the ending, without giving anything away, is certainly disappointing -- self-righteous and silly.

Still, "Dark of the Sun" is a most entertaining viewing experience, and I strongly recommend owning it. In addition, I suggest having the Wilbur Smith book on which it's based as a companion piece.

Rod Taylor fans cheered this "ultimate Rod" action piece (with it heart in the right place) only to discover that hardly anyone except (us) diehard fans actually saw it! (This is what video is for, folks!) This is a solid, well-crafted film that deserves a wider audience. RVC