Pugni, pirati e karatè

Richard Harrison said in a Cinema Rag, "I worked like three days on this movie". "Olga Janowsky is the mother of my daughter". Every time I was with a girl, I put her in my film".

Two pirates are put ashore after being caught cheating at cards. They soon have to find food and shelter. They run across a band of KARATE experts in the forest. Richard says. Bruce Lee is better. They then run into pirates who are lead by the RED MASK (Olga), whose father is held captive in a Spanish Fortress. The 2 offer to free her father. I have been to dozens of Spanish Fortresses all over Central America and that is not an easy task.

Director Aristide Massaccesi uses the name Michael Wotruba.

As you can guess, all ends well with a big laugh.

Viewing of the full length version, which surfaced recently on Italian television, having previously only been available in a condensed 30 minute cut that was released onto the 8mm market. Understandably this is does make allot more sense than the short version, and seen in HD allows you to appreciate D'Amato's talents as a cinematographer. It's a colourful, well shot movie, with a budget that allows for the kind of battle scenes that D'Amato had to resort to stock footage for in Diary of a Roman Virgin. Other than that though, if you've seen the 'edited highlights' half hour version, you really have seen all Fists, Pirate and Karate has to offer, which isn't a great deal. An unfunny buddy comedy about two lovable rogues who team up with a mysterious masked avenger to take on pirates. D'Amato might have been able to breath life into the peplum genre by adding sexploitation elements to Diary of a Roman Virgin and The Arena, but working in one Kung Fu scene (and random Bruce Lee reference) fails to do the same here for the tired swashbuckling genre. The idea of a Joe D'Amato Pirate movie with Kung Fu scenes sounds allot better in theory than it plays in practice.