Zarak

After ordering this movie i read a criticism of the dvd quality ,format, etc,so when it arrived i put it in my dvd player with some trepidation.My fears were groundless,this columbia,sony pictures presentation is perfect.Widescreen ,vibrant colour and excellent audio.the film itself is a great colourful boys own adventure not to be taken too seriously,i mean victor mature as an indian,and anita ekberg as his fathers wife with whom he falls in love!!Anitas' weirdest casting since she played a chinese peasant girl john waynes' Blood Alley! Columbia /sony have released some really good quality classic adventure movies recently and the ones i have bought;Edge of Eternity,Odongo,Beyond Mombasa,and Storm Over the Nile have all been excellent.

It was a pleasure to watch this movie in HD. Manly Victor Mature and alluring Anita Ekberg showed great chemistry. Setting in Afghanistan made a big change from the usual setting of the Western world. Zarak, the son of an Afghan chief, was banished from the town because of his love for his father's youngest bride/concubine, who wanted to escape from the wretched life she was living. He turned into a warrior/freedom fighter against the British rule. The shooting of war scenes are great. So was the strategy of the Afghan forces in outsmarting the brutal British. The story has faults though. The character of Zarak's altruism towards foreign women doesn't reflect in the known Afghan invasions and massacres of the surrounding of the countries, as known by the medieval history. The ending felt ridiculous. Anita Ekberg has two dances, resembling belly dances, worth watching. If you've difficulty selecting the movie, this one will not bore you.

Not for the first time, I am really confused over the reviews on the Amazon site. I have to absolutely agree with GL and John Amies. My copy from Columbia Classics/Sony is truly excellent. Wonderful full Scope, vibrant colour, picture and sound. One of the best prints I've seen. So, whilst I can understand Astrobi's anger at getting such a bad copy, can it really be from the same source? It really is a worry as comments attached to his review make plain that it's hard to make one's mind up, particularly as these DVDs aren't cheap. Well, I took a chance and I'm glad I did, but there are other conflicting reports out there for othetr films, so I suppose we'll never get it 100%. As for ZARAK itself - seldom have I seen such a daft film. Almost totally miscast from Mature as Zarak Khan, Ekberg as, well I'm not sure, Wilding with his grey toupee cast as a fist fightin' army commander, to Bernard Miles, Eddie Byrne, and Bonar Colleano as Indian bandits. The plot gets a bit confusing too, who is doing what to whom, but that could just be me. Ekberg has seldom looked better, and her dances are, for the time, very sexy. Yakima Canutt does the stunts, and much of the big battle scenes turn up as stock footage in Brigand of Khandahar with Oliver Reed. I enjoyed every darn, crazy minute of it!! It is a must for oldies like me (and some younger ones) who like a good old fashioned adventure with mucho macho violence (for the time) and a hint of sex. Bring on "The Bandit Of Zhobe"! Highly recomended

not even a titty in sight, so disappointed

I TRIED LIKE HECK TO PURCHASE THIS MOVIE FROM SEVERAL ON-LINE RETAILERS WITHOUT SUCCESS, BEFORE FINALLY TURNING TO GOOGLE, AND ACHIEVING SAME. I'VE SEEN ANOTHER VICTOR MATURE MOVIE MADE AROUND THE SAME TIME, "THE BANDIT OF ZHOBE", SEVERAL TIMES; BUT FOR SOME REASON THEY NEVER PLAYED "ZARAK" ON TV. I WANTED IT NOT FOR THE MOVIE, BUT BECAUSE OF ANITA EKBERG. I STILL HAVE A VIVID IMAGE IN MY MIND SEEING IT IN THE MOVIE, & THE POSTER IN THE LOBBY WITH ANITA LYING ON HER SIDE, & THE TAG LINE ABOUT VICTOR MATURE "CLIMBING OVER THE SLOPES OF MT. EKBERG"; OR SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR. WHEN THE DVD FINALLY CAME, I COULDN'T WAIT TO WATCH IT. TO MY SURPRISE & DISAPPOINTMENT, IT DIDN'T HAVE NEARLY THE SAME EFFECT ON ME DECADES LATER. SHE DIDN'T SEEM NEARLY AS DELECTIBLE AS SHE DID WHEN I SAW HER ON THE BIG SCREEN AS A YOUNGSTER. IT WAS SORT OF LIKE "THE WOLFMAN" AND "FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN". MY AUNT TOOK ME TO SEE "WOLFMAN" WHEN I WAS A CHILD, & IT TERRIFIED ME SO MUCH I HAD TO KEEP THE LIGHT ON IN MY BEDROOM FOR AT LEAST A MONTH AFTERWARD. IT WAS THE MOST TERRIFYING MOVIE I HAD EVER SEEN. NOW WHEN I SEE IT ON TV, I WONDER WHAT THE BIG DEAL WAS. WHEN I WENT TO SEE "FRANKIE MEETS WOLFIE" AT A NEIGHBORHOOD THEATER IN HARLEM, N.Y., THE FIRST TIME FRANKENSTEIN CAME ON THE SCREEN, I LITERALLY RAN OUT OF THE THEATER WITH MY YOUNGER BROTHERS TRAILING BEHIND ME, & DIDNT STOP RUNNING UNTIL I GOT HOME & LOCKED THE DOOR BEHIND ME. NOW WHEN I SEE IT, HO HUM.

I waited many years for this movie in DVD. It was a favorite from childhood. I was very excited and watched it 4 times in 4 weeks. Quick summary: Made in 1956. Set in the Northwest frontier near the Afgan border. Directed by award winner Terrance Young (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Wait Until Dark, Valachi papers, etc), Terrific sweeping battle scenes, hundreds of extras playing live British soldiers and Afgan tribesman. Outstanding musical score, location director and stunts by the famous Yakima Canutt (greatest stuntman of all-time). Producer Albert (Cubby) Broccoli (James Bond Movie fame. Also was an early movie for Patrick McGoohan (British Commander) Zarak played by Victor Mature was a local outlaw who hated the British but betrayed both sides (British and his tribeman and brothers) several times. At the end he does the greatest heroic thing a man can do. He gave his life to save the enemy!!!! The DVD was very crisp and clear in Technicolor and I highly recommend this movie for any fan of action/adventure and late 1800's British Empire in this area of the world!

did not like it

Ok.

This review is for the SPANISH BLURAY issued I think 2024/ The transfer is excellent - Bars top and bottom, mint picture (see below), good sound and readable subtirles. No extras. I think nostalgia for this film got to me a little bit. Bottom line, this is pure escapist fun...but now very dated in the way it portrays the people of the Khyber Pass. Bonar Colleano and Eddie byrne play Zarak's brothers and make no attempt to conceal their American and Irish accents. Vic and Anita are obviously complely wrong for their roles...but, back in 1958 who gave a tinker's...What I found jarring now was the constant poor changes between excellent location scenes cutting suddenly to mismatched studio inserts. The colour variations were so obvious. The action, surely directed by Co Producer Yakima Canutt is quite extravagent with hundreds of extras fighting and marching and gurning away in township scenes. Young could really do no qrong with money and backing and stars like Vic and Anita and directs a great BOP film. See it now with awareness of when it was made, and relax and end enjoy Anita Eckberg who wears very little in most of her scenes. Just thought I would throw that in (and fans of Vic, I am one) will get a lot of fun ithrough the 90 mins

Es handelt sich um einen sehr guten Abenteuerfilm, angesiedelt in Indien gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ein junger Mann wird von seinem Vater zum Ausgestossenen ( im Film = " Outlaw " ) erklärt und widmet sein Leben dann dem Kampf gegen die Briten. ( Bei einigen Szenen denkt man unwillkürlich an Ereignisse wie die " Schlacht von Omdurman 1898 " oder " Custer's last stand 1876 " ). Die Qualität der Dvd ist sehr gut. Es treten keine wie auch immer gearteten Störungen auf. Die Farben sind kräftig und der Ton ist gut. Bitte beachten Sie, dass die Dvd keine deutsche Sprache enthält. Nur Spanisch und Englisch. Bei Wahl der englischen Sprache muß noch entschieden werden ob mit oder ohne spanische Untertitel ( scheint bei Dvd's aus Spanien Standard zu sein ).

Se trata de una pelicula de aventuras del cine clasico.

If you are an old fan of Victor Mature movies of the 40s & 50s you'll like this one. Great color, good music score, good adventure, beautiful women of that era.