Sandokan, O Grande

This film even seemed stiffer than other Italian adventure-films of that time, and Steve Reeves, believe me!, doesn't help a bit. The storyline is tedious and unattractive. There is a lot of archive footage for the jungle-fauna built in (that even looks livelier than the film itself). Only fun scene: Reeves' fight against a tiger.

But in the last ten minutes the situation explodes, and there is this gigantic battle at the fort, well staged and fun. Reeves gets to fire a machine gun (a little like Django) and matches the strength of an army. If only Lenzi had divided the action and strewn it all over the film's time, it would have been more watchable (if you don't skip the beginning, that is). My rating: 5/10.

Unlike movies such "lives of a Bengal lancer " ,the English are the villains ,who drive the legitimate sovereigns away from their land ;prince Sandokan is not only a noble who fights for a just cause , he's also endowed with a Herculean strength (Steve Reeves who leaves the sword and sandal world for the exotic landscapes of Sri Lanka)

The screenplay looks like a comic strip : it seems that some scenes (concerning the hero's father ,the sultan ) were intended but not filmed -they are told ,a convenient economical way);the story is very conventional :a group lead by a charismatic hero makes his way through a hostile luxuriant jungle ,with the usual dangers :snakes , wildcats ,headhunters ...and for good measure a traitor in the pay of the enemy ,the cruel English Lord ; and it's obvious ,a girl , precisely the lord's niece whose attitude is ,to put is mildly ,predictable :Geneviève Grad seems ill-at -ease in this genre,although she played with Reeves' alter ego Gordon Scott in "L'eroe di Babilonia" the very same year ; she's more efficient in Louis De funès ' s comedies , "Le Gendarme" -she's featured in three of them -.Here ,she is relegated to the part of the damsel in distress shrieking "Sandokan !help !"

The only character who is not entirely carboard is Yanez the stateless person (Andrea Bosic).The cinematography is nice, the movie takes advantage of the beautiful landscapes of the island.

I just finished watching a Steve Reeves double feature of this film and the sequel, 'Pirates of the Seven Seas', and was quite entertained the whole time. Reeves' character, Sandokan, is a departure from his well known sword-and-sandal flicks. In these films, while he's a formidable presence who can handle himself, he's not portrayed as a muscle-bound Hercules or Goliath. He's a refined but tough son of royalty, leading a group of rebels fighting British colonial rule of their Malaysian island. With literate scripts, scenic locales and numerous hair-raising adventures, 'Sandokan the Great', as well as the equally colorful and well-constructed sequel, are both highly enjoyable. A couple of interesting items include the fact that the same actor (Leo Anchoriz), played the main bad guy in both films. In both films, he was the head of the British military administration, yet he was cast as completely different people! It's also somewhat disconcerting to hear (in the version of the movie I have) a much different voice dubbed in for Reeves than was used in most of his peplum flicks. For Steve Reeves fans, these are essential additions to your collection. Good luck finding them.

In my opinion..this is one of Steve Reeves best films. And a great adventure from cult director umberto lenzi. Lots of action and beautiful locations.

Steve Reeves as Tiger from Mompracem

In this adventure film, Umberto Lenzi has adapted the third novel from the Sandokan series by Emilio Salgari. Although it was released in cinemas a year before I PIRATI DELLA MALESIA, it is actually the sequel that is being told here.

In the fight against the English colonial masters, Sandokan (Steve Reeves) and his friends (Andrea Bosic, Rik Battaglia, Giovanni Cianfriglia) kidnap the beautiful Mary Ann (Genevieve Grad), the niece of Lord Guillonk (Leo Anchoriz). During the dangerous escape through the jungle, adventures and numerous fights have to be overcome. Mary Ann realizes that the pirates are fighting for a just cause and falls in love with the shining hero Sandokan.

Filmed in Sri Lanka, this well-made adventure film attracted 263,000 viewers to West German cinemas. Peplum star Steve Reeves (1926-2000) has grown as an actor and is convincing as a romantic hero.

Exciting and action-packed!