"The
Ark of the Sun God" followed "The
Last Hunter" and "Tiger
Joe" in a series of action adventures the late Antonio
Margheriti filmed with the cult actor David Warbeck. This is another
example how sorely both men will be missed, as it's the kind of fun, no brained
bargain basement rip off of Hollywood hits that they did with such
panache.
This time around it's Raiders of the lost Ark's
turn and Margheriti delivers a damn good time along the exploitation
trail. He was an absolute master of doing these things so that they looked
like megamillion productions when in reality all he had were a few allies
like Warbeck, mascot Alan Collins (Luciano Pigozzi) and veteran Italian
western villain Ricardo Palacios (also a familiar face from many Jess
Franco titles, from "Attack of the
Robots" to "Suicide Games in
Casablanca") and an expertise in handling miniatures,
model work and fast paced stunts staged with a minimum of takes.
"The Ark of the Sun God" was
filmed on exotic Turkish locations with co-production funds (Margheriti's
prehistoric fiasco "Yor the Hunter from the
Future"). Rick Spear (David Warbeck) is not seeking the
spear of destiny, as his name suggests, and the Nazis actually sought this
mystical symbol, nor is he out to possess the ark of the covenant like
Indiana Jones. Spear is a world class cat burglar who can crack any safe,
anywhere, anytime, no matter how well equipped with security devices and
how well guarded. He's hired by his billionaire friend (John Steiner) to
find the a priceless scepter hidden in a temple dedicated to the deity
Gilgamesh. Before he arrives at the desert location there's some fun car
chases represented with brightly colored, obviously scaled miniature model
cars. It just zips by your radar since it's so well edited and you don't
mind at all that the originality factor and credibility are nonexistent.
So what? This is Italo-fantasy of the most outrageous kind and exists in a
kind of parallel dimension to a film like RAIDERS... . Where else can you
enjoy Alan Collins playing a drunk who guides Warbeck and co into a snake
pit, an ambush and finally a cave-in? The geographical oddities of the
Turkish desert and subterranean stalactites are all filmed with style by
Sandro Mancori, and that's part of the reason why the film looks about 100
times more expensive than it actually was. The late David Warbeck really
looks like he was having fun on this shoot. To realize what an expert
action performer he was, just watch the precise way he moves his eyes and
body when he's in a tight spot, and you're never aware of any stunt
doubling either. Sword fighting, cliff hanging, romancing a blonde bimbo,
he's always spot-on and it's obvious why he remains such a favorite of
Euro cult fans over five years after his premature death.
Reviews
by: Robert Monell
