Ashanti

A woeful lack of pace and equally thin if thankfully minor roles for some notable actors (Harrison, Holden and Sharif) could perhaps be excused if the story was told well enough for us to care about the main events. Despite the inclusion of strong language, violence, cruelty, and even some great acting, this film comes across as an insipid, mediocre and at times almost lighthearted look at the 20th century slave trade. Ustinov plays his role as the evil Suleiman with so much relish, you can't help but like him as one of the few characters with any real depth. Caine works tirelessly to try to pad out his matchstick thin role, but is let down again and again by weak plotting, tedious dialogue and non-existent direction. Is anyone convinced that the child slaves in the desert are as bothered about their situation as he is? Is he really as worried about his wife's situation as Harrison, Holden and Bedi? There are a lot worse films, but few with such a potentially stirring story handled so feebly.

Michael Caine has always claimed that Ashanti was "the only film (he) did purely for the money" as well as "the worst film he ever starred in". Hold on, Michael, weren't you in The Swarm and Hurry Sundown? And weren't both of those films a good deal worse than Ashanti? Perhaps Caine remembers only too begrudgingly the physically punishing demands of filming an action film in searing 130 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures (the director, Richard Fleischer, was hospitalised as a result of sun-stroke during the shoot). What Ashanti actually emerges as is not the career low-point of Michael Caine. Instead, it is a very average chase thriller with a talented cast, exotic locations, boring stretches and a highly formulaic storyline.

Dr. David Linderby (Caine) is a W.H.O medic who is left devastated when his black wife Anansa (Beverly Johnson) goes missing during an aid trip to an African tribal village. Linderby gradually realises that his wife has been snatched by slave traders - led by Suleiman (Peter Ustinov) - and he sets off on a continent-wide pursuit which eventually leads to the Middle East.

Along the way, big stars pop in for ineffective and superfluous guest roles. William Holden has a poor cameo as a chopper pilot; Omar Sharif displays little of his customary charm or grace as a pampered Arab millionaire; Rex Harrison looks rightfully bored during his brief role as a helpful contact who assists Caine in his quest. The film is based on a best-seller entitled Ebano, by the little-known author Alberto Vasquez-Figueroa, but the suspense that made the book so popular is largely absent in this adaptation. Ustinov is charismatic as the slaver (he seems in all his movies to be incapable of giving bad performances), and Caine generates believable anguish as the man who thinks he'll never see his wife again. There are occasional flashes of action, but on the whole Ashanti is quite slow-moving. All in all, it is a resistible piece of action hokum - not by any stretch as awful as Caine has frequently suggested, but not a very inspiring film and certainly a let-down from all the talent involved.

¨Ashanti , land of no mercy¨ is an amusing picture with great loads of action , thrills , violence and adventures . It has a passable direction by Richard Fleischer , a superb casting and spectacular scenarios .The picture begins in the following sentence : ¨ Slavery stills exists today ,thousands of people disappeared in Africa last year . This story is based on fact ¨. The film's "Ashanti" title refers to the name of a proud African tribe who fought the Dutch and British armies during the 18th and 19th Centuries , the descendants survived to form the modern African state of Ghana . It deals with a doctor named David Linder (Michael Caine) along with his wife Anansa Linderby (top-model Beverly Johnson, she also was the only female character in the cast) acting as missionary in a medical mission in Africa . When the wife is kidnapped by a slave trader named Suleiman (Peter Ustinov, publicity for the film stated the part was Ustinov's first out-and-out bad guy role in his then thirty-year-long career) begins a relentless pursuit . From this moment the doctor finds himself alone in a battle to rescue her from a band of slave traders . The chase spans many Middle Estern countries and starts to look bleak for our man . Later on , David is helped by Malik (Kabir Bedi of Sandokan ; though Omar Sharif was originally going to play this type role of desert-guide Malik but had to bow out ; instead, Sharif played the smaller role of Prince Hassan), an expert Arab seeking vendetta . Only two men could rescue her , one driven by love, the other by revenge.

In this weak film there are thriller , suspense , emotion , frenetic action and for that reason is amusing . Apparently, the flick is actually allegedly based on a real true-life story . This adventure movie also contains fantastic elements as when the sorcerer boy kills a nasty and has gorgeous moments when the desert pursuit and there appear slavering children . This movie about modern slave-trading was developed, made and released right on the heels of ¨Roots¨, a popular high-rating television series about historical slavery . On a hand it is an enjoyable adventure film , including usual ingredients : deserts , camels , jungles , oasis , Tuaregs and many other things . On the other hand the valuable cast and promising screenplay are undone by sometimes slow pace . The picture is based on a novel with same title by successful Spanish author , an adventure expert and prolific author called Alberto Vazquez Figueroa who gets numerous cinematographic adaptations such as ¨Manaos¨ , ¨The Iguana¨ , ¨Ocean¨ , ¨Oro Negro¨ and ¨Rottweiler¨ . Publicity for this picture stated that the United Nations had at the time the film was theatrically released a Special Committee on Slavery operating within the UN's Human Rights Division. Factual reports on slavery presented to the UN were a key source when author Alberto Vázquez Figueroa wrote this movie's source 1975 novel "Ebano". The picture was distributed by two studios, Warner Brothers and Columbia Pictures, depending on the territory . Excellent and talented cast as Michael Caine as an unexperienced man who faces off extraordinary dangers , he has said many times that he acted in this film purely for monetary reasons and considers it the worst project , most wretched film he's ever done . In addition , gorgeous supermodel turned actress Beverley Johnson was the first ever African-American model to be featured on the cover of "Vogue" magazine in 1974 . Peter Ustinov goes through familiar role as the villain as well as Omar Sharif . While top-stars are really wasted as Rex Harrison and William Holden as a mercenary , helicopter pilot have little more than cameo characters , this is one of the final feature films for both actors . William Holden accepted a lowly seventh billed role on this picture so he could work on location in his beloved Africa where he owned a safari club . Furthermore , Johnny Sekka , Jean-Luc Bideau and veteran Eric Pohlmann as a swarthy portly man in one of his last acting . Colorful and shimmer cinematography by the Italian Aldo Tonti filmed on location in Israel , Kenya and Sicily, Italy and scenes set in the Sahara Desert in North Africa were actually filmed in the Sinai Desert in Egypt. Director Fleischer and cinematographer Tonti previously worked together on Barrabás . Functional musical score though composed by a TV composer by means of synthesizer .

The motion picture was middling directed by veteran filmmaker Richard Fleischer who replaced Richard C. Sarafian, the film's original director, who dropped out of the production, though the action is in his safe hands . About four years prior to this picture, Richard Fleischer directed another film about slavery called Mandingo. Richard has directed all type of genres , such as classic adventure : ¨Vikings¨ , ¨20.000 leagues under sea¨ , noir cinema : ¨Narrow margin¨, ¨Clay pigeons¨, ¨Trapped¨ and Sci Fi : ¨Fantastic voyage¨ , ¨Soylent Green¨ . However , ¨Ashanti¨ resulted to be a failure at the international Box office , being today better considered .

ASHANTI is a somewhat typical movie from the late 70s/early 80s starring Michael Caine . It's certainly watchable in an undemanding way but no more than that but neither is it bad enough to be virtually disowned by its star .

The story itself is intriguing an Afro-American doctor working for the UN is kidnapped by slave traders and it's up to her English born husband to track down the kidnapped woman . I guess the movie could have concerned itself more as to dispelling or building myths about the present day slave trade but it's not that type of movie and rightly concentrates on action and adventure

One can't help thinking that maybe Caine's dislike of the movie is down to the fact that he's playing a hero and as everyone knows heroes are by their very nature boring . Undoubtedly Malik played by Indian actor Kabir Bedi is the most interesting character while Peter Ustinov as Sulimen gets by far the best lines and scenes like " A father , a father , a father " . Very frequently Caine gives the impression that as soon as the movie is finished and the cheque is in the bank he'll be firing his agent

ASHANTI is a movie that demands very little from and offers little to its audience except to sit back and be enthralled . Film buffs might complain that this is a poor movie considering it was directed by the legendary Richard Fleischer , well maybe but I think the only thing the director can be criticised for is casting an obviously unwell William Holden in a needless cameo

..it wasn't all that bad. 'Ashanti' has contrivance, plot holes, implausibility and more, not to mention plenty of cliché and stereotyping, while a single sentence can describe the plot; 'White husband pursues across Africa his hot black wife and her abductors who intend to sell her into slavery to wealthy Arabs'. Done. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but actually I found this quite watchable and pretty entertaining.

Certainly it isn't great and I may even be being slightly generous in giving it a seven, but it was pretty light, didn't seem to take itself too seriously and if other viewers don't take it too seriously either then I doubt they'll be disappointed. Sure, this will never make any 'must see' list, but it wasn't a waste of a couple of hours and Michael Caine was far too harsh in his own criticisms of it. He must have had bigger expectations of it being some epic which it didn't live up to.

It's worth a look.