Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
CHEESY MEXICAN INDIANA JONES KNOCKOFF, March 29, 2005
Treasure of the Amazon really is one of those films that is so bad it's actually good. It's a Mexican-made film from 1985 menat to cash in on the popularity of the Indian Jones films. It stars a cast of name actors (well sort of) such as Stuart Whitman, Donald Pleasance, John Ireland, and Bradford Dillman. Not exactly Hollywood's A list, or even B list, but at least some people you've heard of.
The plot involves a search for gold in the Amazon by various groups of people, all trying to out-wit each other and be the first to find the treasure. Pleasance plays a former German officer named Klaus Von Blantz who is hoping to find the gold and bring back the Third Reich. Whitman is a tough old Jungle vet named Gringo. Throughout the film the groups battle jungle headhunters, crocodiles, and vicious crabs who tear apart one person in a memorable scene.
There's lots of gore including decapitations, animal attacks, and shrunken heads but the budget is so low that it doesn't scare or shock. It's all quite harmless and great cheesy entertainment. Kind of like an old Saturday Afternoon matinee film.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cardona grooves to the jungle beat, May 12, 2007
I knew when I started reviewing crud cinema again that I'd revisit the Rene Cardona, Jr Fun Park. Although it's been a long time, I vividly remember struggling through "Tintorera" and "Guyana: Crime of the Century". How could I forget those two experiences? A frontal lobotomy performed with a sledgehammer wouldn't rid my mind of the images those two "classics" inflicted upon me. If you're not familiar with Senor Cardona's work, he's the sort of director who somehow managed to raise enough funds to populate his films with fairly well known actors and actresses. He convinced Susan George to appear in "Tintorera," and staffed "Guyana" with folks like Joseph Cotton and Stuart Whitman. I know what you're going to say, and you're right. Susan George was never a huge star, and Joseph Cotton's career trajectory was approaching its nadir in the 1970s. True. But it's still surprising to see the number of known faces Cardona put in his films. For example, check out "Treasure of the Amazon". We see Bradford Dillman, Donald Pleasence, John Ireland, and Stuart Whitman camping it up out in the jungle. Consider Cardona as a sort of past tense version of Uwe Boll.
Think about "Treasure of the Amazon," if you must, in the context of the 1980s jungle actioner. "Romancing the Stone," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "King Solomon's Mines"--you can see where this one's going. In Cardona's crudfest, we immediately meet a scruffy old coot named Gringo (Whitman). He's one of these jungle guides that take people into the backcountry when they're searching for something valuable. Needless to say, Zapata (Pedro Armendariz Jr.) and Jaime (Jorge Luke) hire him in order to find some gold. Amazingly, it's the same gold Gringo once looked for back in the day, only something went wrong with the expedition and he was the sole survivor. Also needless to say, the gold lies in an area infested with scary head hunting Indians. Then we learn that a German war criminal named Klaus von Blantz (Pleasence) is also heading upriver looking for valuable loot. With a half-nekkid native girl as a guide, Morimba (Sonia Infante), von Blantz hopes to find gold in order to reconstitute his beloved German National Socialist state right smack dab in the middle of South America. And we're supposed to believe that Gringo is the crazy one!
Wait a minute! We're not even close to being done here. Cardona also throws in another group of people, some oil company surveyors out in the sticks, so they can play a role in the proceedings. This trio of characters consists of Clark (Bradford Dillman sans the flannel he wore in "Piranha"), his buddy Richard (Clark Jarrett), and the always complaining Barbara (Ann Sidney sporting a southern accent so atrocious you'll need to drink a gallon of mint juleps to recover). They become part of the story when they unearth a few headless skeletons only to discover a few diamonds in the gravesite. Diamonds? In the Amazon? Must have something to do with that treasure referenced in the film's title. Soon we learn that there's a cave loaded with diamonds, as big as eyes according to one of the characters, and the gold seems to take a back seat to the unfolding hijinks. Expect to see a few decapitations, a hook through the tongue, cut off fingers, and some other nastiness before this one concludes. Also expect to see John Ireland in a small blink and you'll miss him role as a priest. Hugo Stiglitz, another Cardona regular, pops up in a very small role as a riverboat captain.
Whew! That's a lot of plot. That's also typical of Rene Cardona flicks. He figures if you burden down a movie with a ton of characters and subplots, you won't notice the cheese oozing out of the celluloid. And believe me when I tell you that "Treasure of the Amazon" is cheesy. Bad dialogue, idiotic character motivations, and hammy acting all rule the day here. The guiltiest party in the giant ham department is probably Donald Pleasence. His German accent coupled with a scene where he practices a little ethnic cleansing on the Indian population ends up ruling the day. His death scene, the result of lying to a corrupt custom's agent, is one of the highlights of the film. The Donald aside, not much else grabs a viewer's interest here. Cardona treats us to the aforementioned headless skeletons, diamonds in a cave, a cool death by crabs scene, and a "twist" ending that isn't very original. Most of the film consists of these groups plodding through the jungle trying to deal with the dangerous wildlife and the hostile Indians. Leeches attack! Watch out for the piranha! Snakes! Is that a crocodile in the river? You get the idea. Most of the animal stuff looks like stock footage anyway.
VCI releases "Treasure of the Amazon" with a decent audio and picture transfer. They aren't great, but they're head and shoulders above what you'd expect for a prime piece of schlock cinema. Extras are sparse, alas, but we do get a trailer for the film, a few biographies on the cast, and more previews for other Cardona classics such as "Cyclone," "Guyana: Crime of the Century," and "The Bermuda Triangle". I'm not sure how many more Rene Cardona films I can stomach. This is my third review of his stuff (with one more on the way for "The Bermuda Triangle"), and I'm fearful that I won't have the strength to get through "Cyclone". Oh, who do I think I'm kidding? Of course I'll continue watching this pap. I've got nothing better to do with my free time. Besides, it's worth it if I can warn off the unprepared. Only schlock lovers should give Cardona a spin; all others should stay far away.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Lost 80's Gem..., July 3, 2008
This is my first review for Amazon. I really would like to do this more often after every film I watch, but I just either don't have the time or I get too lazy. Taken into account that I just watched this film and that it only has 2 reviews I'm going to start my reviewing with this title.
I won't go into plot details since they have already been given, but I will say that this film is given a reputation for being one of the better Indiana Jones knockoff films. It even says it on the back of the DVD case. I know this was made due to the success of the Indy films and I'm sure it was inspired by them, but this does not come as a knockoff at all. 'Treasure of the Amazon' is way different than any Indy movie. I think its safe to say that most exotic adventure films will have their similarities - and this is far from an original film, but it shouldn't be taken as just another Indy knockoff. First off this is Rated R...and features graphic violence, plenty of gratious nudity (even tho it comes from native girls, it still seems pretty exploitative) and some strong profanity - you will not find that in an Indy film. The lead hero Gringo (played wonderfully by Stuart Whitman) is very rugged and world weary. I loved his character and he had a lot of juicy material. Sure it was cheesy, but the dude owned the movie and I definitely do not consider him a wannabe Indiana Jones.
I really do love the Indy films so much (I just love great adventure films in general) and I have been craving to see more decent adventure films that I have never seen. I can't keep watching Indy over and over (and I need something to hold me off until Indy 4 hits DVD and Blu-Ray) so I am very pleased I discovered this little film. It is most definitely a glorified B-Movie, but I wouldn't consider it an exploitation flick. Going in I thought it was gonna be more like an Italian Exploitation effort like some have suggested it to be, but it is just simple B-Movie fun with a bit more boobs + guts than you would get in an Indy film. I actually enjoyed this more than the two 80's Allan Quatermain films (which were more Indy like than 'Treasure of the Amazon') and this is a perfect adventure for a dull or stormy day and for anybody who needs something to satisfy their appetite for adventure. 'Treasure...' is not a film for everyone, but Cult, B-Movie and most adventure film fans should find something to like in this cheesy, fun overlooked gem. Its better than most of today's adventure efforts.
I know this review is pretty long, but I want to mention that DVD quality itself is pretty good. The picture does have some scratches, dirt and grain early on but looks really sharp and clear in other scenes. It is inconsistent, but nonetheless watchable and probably the best the film has ever looked. The Dolby Digital Stereo track gets the job done, but its what you would expect from a low budget 80's B movie being released by a little DVD company. The trailers and Biographies featured on the disc are interesting and are a welcome addition, but I would of liked to have seen a retrospective feature. Only if Anchor Bay or Blu-Underground got a hold of this film...but RCI has done a decent enough job with the release. The price is a steal, so anyone who may seem interested should take the plunge and journey through the perilous AMAZON!
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