6/10
Oriental adventure with Sandokan , Lord of Malaysia , along with Yañez battling the evil imperialists commanded by Lord Brook
9 February 2015
"Sandokan : Pirate of Malaysia¨ (1964) is an Italian/Spanish co-production that was decently directed by Umberto Lenzi with an European cast and it contains rousing action , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine cast doing a fine job . In the further story of ¨Sandokan the Great¨ , our hero pirate saves the damsel in distress and fights an evil Brit imperialist . Filmed in Singapore and Greece ; it tells the tale of Sandokan who is a Malaysian rebel who, with a group of renegades , goes up against a British General called Lord Brook . As Sandokan teams up with a bunch of pirates to even the score with a nasty governor during the 1800 . Exciting story of love and adventure , the complete romance and the exotic events about the famous hero Sandokan (Steve Reeves) based on novels by Emilio Salgari . The Prince Sarawah's kingdom is invaded by troops commanded by Lord Brook from Bombay . Princess Hada Jacqueline Sassard) is abducted and held captive , whose father named Muda Hassin (Giuseppe Addobbati) has been taken prisoner and locked in a monastery located on high mountains . Sandokan , lord of Malaysia , sets out in pursuit enemies and rescue his lover accompanied by his European friend Yañez (Andrea Bosic) , Durango (Nazzareno Zamperla) and Tremal-Naïk (Mimmo Palmara) . Sandokan posing as Raja of Samamutra infiltrates into governor palace but he is betrayed and discovered . Along the way Sandokan takes on several dangers and finally a spectacular battle against Lord Brook (Leo Anchóriz) and his hoodlums who are trying to force the Prince to resign .

This is an entertaining oriental movie , full of action, thrills , double-crosses and of course , a lot of duels and fights . Being a so-so European co-production among several countries such as Italy, France , Spain and West Germany . It is a grade-B flick with noisy adventure , emotion , slavery , breathtaking ship attacks , machine gun provoking a lot of deaths , and many other things . Decent production by Solly V. Bianco with adequate Steve Reeves as Sandokan , and Jacqueline Sassard as Princess Hada . The flick packs enjoyable as well as exotic atmosphere , luxurious gowns , evocative sets , alright cinematography and powerful score . Lots of intrigue , treason , luxurious scenarios , twists and turns . Sympathetic performances by nice main star cast , such as Steve Reeves in one his last films of his fruitful career , gorgeous Jacqueline Sassard and agreeable secondary cast ; as the marvelous main actors are completed by a stellar cast full of veteran Italian players as Mimmo Palmara as Tremal-Naïk , Andrea Bosic as Yanez , George Wang as Sho , Franco Balducci as Sambigliong , Nando Gazzolo as Lt. Clintock , Nazzareno Zamperla as Durango and Spanish players as Jose Torres and special mention Leo Anchóriz as Lord Brook . Splendid color from 16 mm , including appropriate cinematography by Federico G. Larraya and Angelo Lotti . Being shot on location in Singapore and mountains of Meteora in Greece . Imaginative as well as thrilling soundtrack by Giovanni Fusco in oriental style . This was the second part in Steve Reeves/Lenzi Sandokan saga ; the first was "Sandokan, La Tigre di Mompracen¨ or "Sandokan the Great" (1963) with Steve Reeves as Sandokan, Geneviève Grad as Mary Ann and Andrea Bosic as Yanez . The motion picture was professionally directed by Umberto Lenzi . This one was a popular film by that time , getting big success at European Box office .

Other pictures about this fictitious personage are the following ones : ¨Sandokan against Leopard of Sarawak" (1964) by Luigi Capuano with Ray Danton , Franca Bettoia , Mario Petri , Guy Madison , Alberto Farnese ; its sequel ¨Sandokan Fights Back¨(1964) with same players ; "Le Tigri Di Mompracem" (1970) by Mario Sequi with Ivan Rassimov as Sandokan , Claudia Gravy , Andrea Bosic , Luis Dávila , José Torres . And TV ¨Sandokan¨ (vey popular series of the 70s) with Kabir Bedi , Philippe Leroy and Adolfo Celi . And finally "The return of Sandokán" (1996) , ¨Il Figlio Di Sandokan" (1998) , TV series played by Kabir Bedi and directed by Enzo G Castellari .
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