Adrian Smith joins me as we return to our long-term discussion of the films of Antonio Margheriti. In the 1980’s he made several ‘military men on a mission’ films for various producers. These movies aped everything from THE DIRTY DOZEN to RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2 (1985) accomplishing much with meager budgets. Margheriti’s expertise in special effect work and miniatures were a major help in keeping costs under control. These sometimes great and sometimes insane effects are part of the fun, especially as we get higher definition prints that allow for certain crazy details to become evident.
CODE NAME: WILD GEESE (1984) was the first of trio of jungle action movies Margheriti made with British actor Lewis Collins in the lead and it is easy to see why Collins was briefly considered to play James Bond. He projects ‘tough guy’ hardness well and is a solid actor to boot. This film surrounds him with an international cast including an Oscar winner (Ernest Borgnine) and a couple of classic screen bad guys playing nice (Lee Van Cleef and Klaus Kinski) giving everything a sweaty sheen of near-respectability, even if Kinski is very oddly dubbed. Throw in a ridiculous car chase, a few dozen explosions, gratuitous Mimsy Farmer, a surprise villainous turn and it is easy to overlook the regularly disappearing plot, ill-defined motivations and bizarre effects choices. This one is fun in all the over-the-top ways that 1980’s action cinema aimed to be. So, hop into that small helicopter and let’s torch some opium fields for exciting but vague reasons! Woo hoo!
The show’s email is thebloodypit@gmail.com and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this or any of Antonio Margheriti’s films. And join Adrian and I on our other program Wild, Wild Podcast as we start a season focused on Luigi Cozzi! Thanks for listening!
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#73 - The Mummy's Hand (1940)
The Bloody Pit #72 - LADY FRANKENSTEIN (1973)
The Bloody Pit #71 - HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES (1940)
The Bloody Pit #70 - VENGEANCE (1968)
The Bloody Pit #69 - BLACK FRIDAY (1940)
The Bloody Pit #68 - SEX & FURY (1973)
The Bloody Pit #67- AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL (1964)
The Bloody Pit #66 - THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS (1940)
The Bloody Pit #65 - NAKED...YOU DIE! (1968)
The Bloody Pit #64 - ROLLERBALL (1975)
The Bloody Pit #63 - DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. (1966)
The Bloody Pit #62 - 'And All Through The House (1972 - 1989)
The Bloody Pit #61 - Road Tripping With Maddox!
The Bloody Pit #60 - SEVEN DEATHS IN A CAT'S EYE (1973)
The Bloody Pit #59 - DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEKS (1965)
The Bloody Pit #58 - GAMERA (1965)
The Bloody Pit #57 - KILLER FISH (1979)
The Bloody Pit #56 - HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1964)
The Bloody Pit #55 - The Outer Limits (1963-1965)
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