O Farol do Fim do Mundo

Surprising that Jules Verne would write such a story. Even more surprising that Hollywood would produce it. Yul Brynner is unbelievably good as a man freed of all bounds of convention, free to indulge his taste for cruelty and domination. Douglass is an excellent counterpoint, a courageous individual who's chosen simple solitude as a way to deal with the complications and turmoil society had imposed on him. And Samantha Egger's character is the capper, a woman willing to sacrifice far too much for comfort and safety. Inotherwords, everyman. The movie does show its age and is limited by the conventions of time and place and technology of the time. If you're looking for special effects and action as substitutes for thought, look elsewhere.

One of my favorite films of all-time. Unusual because the pirates depicted in this movie are all too real. None of the romanticizing Errol Flynn or Jack Sparrow stuff. These pirates were shockingly ruthless and a real sense of danger permeates the film. Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas bring intensity to their roles. Brynner as the egotistic sociopath who is the leader of the cutthroats and Douglas as a man who must deal with a desperate situation in a fight for survival. Samantha Eggar as a woman with flawed instincts for her own preservation evokes frustration and pity. From the brutal opening scenes, the message is clear that these pirates don't play. A sense of urgency then takes over until the final outcome. A great movie!

A lighthouse near Cape Horn is cared by a keepers (Fernando Rey , Massimo Ranieri , Kirk Douglas). Then , a gang of pirates attacks the lighthouse .The pirates (Aldo Sambrell, Jean Claude Drout, Tito Garcia, among others) are fiercely commanded by Kongre (Yul Brynner). Handsome hero named Will Denton (Kirk Douglas) with only company a little monkey , suffering misfortunes for the conditions in which unlucky is forced to exist . Denton soon realizes that the island in the base of pirates who lure ships to their doom on the rocky coast and they arrange shipwrecks for profits and eventually appearing castaways (Samantha Eggar and Renato Salvatori) who are cast adrift and ashore. Later on , Will Denton discovers the truth and confronts Kongre in a fight to death. Jules Verne Takes You Over the Edge of the World!

This is an enjoyable Spain /Liechtenstein /United States co-production financed by Alfredo Matas, Ilya Salkind and Kirk Douglas himself . A breathtaking adventure with tension , suspense, thrills , violence and good action scenes . Some fierce hand-to hand combats and pursuits scenes will have you on the edge of your armchair. However , the ending is some ridiculous , unconvincing and overblown. Spectacular landscapes shot in Spain : Cadaques and Manga Mar Menor, great location-footage of both locations , the Spaniard coast is the best thing about this spectacular movie. Starring duo is frankly extraordinary . Kirk Douglas gives vigorous physical performance, he's magnificent as individualist, stubborn hero , similar to his roles in ¨Spartacus¨, ¨Vikings¨,¨Ulysses¨ and ¨20000 leagues under the sea¨(also by Jules Verne)¨. Impressive Yul Brynner , as usual , playing exotic roles , such as ¨Taras Bulba¨, ¨Salomon¨, ¨The buccaneer and ¨King and I ¨. They're accompanied by a lot of familiar Spanish secondaries , most of then regular in Spaghetti/Paella Western and terror genres , such as : Aldo Sambrell , Fernando Rey, Tito García , Víctor Israel , Tony Skios and Luis Barboo .

The film displays a colorful cinematography by cameramen Henri Decae and Cecilio Paniagua , furthermore evocative and thrilling musical score by Piero Piccioni . The picture was regularly directed by Kevin Billington , though being decent enough . This is a highly agreeable movie and suits marvelously . I can recommend this work to everybody who enjoy good adventures and spectacular maritime outdoors , however no for small kids by violent and realistic scenes.

3 stars for the cinematography by Henri Decaë--a beautiful, windswept, remote, rocky coastline in Spain, standing in for the story's location. This is an odd kind of adventure film, with sudden and numerous violent deaths of innocent victims. Those scenes create a downbeat, even depressing atmosphere that never leaves the mind. Acting powerhouses Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner are not really used to advantage. They're just there to keep the plot going with a relentless, mutual antagonism. Some special effects are impressive, others not so much. An oddly romantic score by Piero Piccioni seems meant for a different movie. See it for the locations.

Or maybe this film could be seen as a kind of DIE HARD ancestor, just a little bit, but with some ingredients that have nothing to do with the John McTiernan's movie. Though Yul Brynner's character, splendid mixup between cruelty and refinement, made me think of Alan Rickman's character as Hans Gruber in DIE HARD. An exquisite villian as I love in a film. Yes this movie is a very curious but terrific piece of work, awesome, gruesome on many scenes too, a feature which is very difficult to describe. A scheme that also made me think of Gordon Douglas' BARQUERO, the lead character facing a bunch of villains lead by the main character's Nemesis, here Yul Brynner instead of Warren Oates. Yul Brynner outstanding in the heavy leader. A movie that astonished me the first time I saw it, a wrecker scheme, as in Charles Brabant's LES NAUFRAGEURS. This film is adapted from a Jules Verne's book, I am so surprised. Kirk Douglas in a scene with Renato Salvatori, which is the same as Steve McQueen with Mako in the SAND PEEBLES. A shooting from a distance scene.