A Deusa da Cidade Perdida

I'm not sure why everyone dislikes this film. It not only looks absolutely fantastic for a Hammer film, but also features some fantastic performances by some some of Hammer's best actors(and some who aren't Hammer actors). Some of the amazing performances come from the always excellent Peter Cushing, the(finally)newly knighted Christopher Lee, the great Bernard Cribbins and in her first(and last) Hammer film, the gorgeous Ursula Andress as SHE herself. This film is also wonderfully directed by another one-off Hammer director, Robert Day. However this film does have some low points as well. Some of the plot threads are a little silly and some of the later scenes are very repetitive. By no means the best Hammer film, but no where near the worst.

I really enjoyed Bernard Cribbins as Job, the valet or manservant of the Major, played by Peter Cushing. The barroom scene where Job and the Major take on a squad of drunken soldiers was great fun and should have been longer. Another poster mentioned what great fun it was to see Peter Cushing and Bernard drunkenly dancing with some sexy belly dancers and I agree. It was fairly decent movie that was colorful in the style that Hammer Production was well-known for in the Sixties. I had to wonder about She Who Must Be Obeyed soldiers who perhaps ripped off their garb and shields from another movie being made about the Roman legions on another studio lot. Ursula was very sexy and beautiful. Overall, it is about average sandal and sandals movie.

One really shouldn't need to say more about this movie than that it contains the gorgeous Ursula Andress in her most imperious role, plus the incredibly lovely Rosenda Monteiros. =) But if one must, one will say that this is a classic adventure of innocence, devoted to the concept of faithful and undying true love and the ancient dominion of the Divine Female over all. Completely knocked me over when I was 14 and hasn't lost anything since. I just love it.

She is an enjoyable piece of Hammer fluff and that is all there is to say really. True movie fans of Hammer movies see the iconic stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in roles and that makes this movie a treat to watch as they have a presence that gives a certain dignity to the movie. As the lead Ursula Andress shows why she was a sex symbol in the 60's as she is stunning and smoking hot to look at and her acting who cares she is not a thespian that is for Cushing and Lee to do she is to look sexy and alluring and she does that well. The cast does a good job with a good story but as with everything in life there are some shortcomings. One the sets looked cheap and the story one could see events coming because it lacked some intrigue but these are fine as many a movie has this problem but my biggest problem was the lead of John Richardson he may look like Ken come alive but he was so wooden I swear Woody Woodpecker was going to town on his acting skills he has no presence, read lines in a monotonous monotone fashioned and looked bored throughout. In addition his eyes look glazed during the entire movie like he was in a trance and he just awful. Despite this a fun and entertaining movie and critics may carp about many a thing but this movie is true popcorn and I for one like to be entertained I was and would recommend this movie to be seen.

I don't know if SHE was the most expensive film Hammer ever made but it sure looks like it. Of course it's not LAWRENCE OF ARABIA or ZULU but it does try to cash in on those two films at a fraction of their cost (and length). In addition to Ursula Andress in her prime (in fact "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is the role she was born to play), we get Hammer stalwarts Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee both giving really strong performances especially Cushing who is unlike any other character I've ever seen him play in a Hammer film.

John Richardson, who starred with Barbara Steele in the iconic BLACK SUNDAY back in 1960 and would be opposite Raquel Welch in ONE MILLION YEARS B. C. the following year, makes for a strong and attractive Leo Vincey. The different ending (from the book and other versions) gives the film a surprising poignancy you wouldn't expect.

H. Rider Haggard's novel of an ageless queen and a forgotten city has been filmed many times starting back in the silent era and as recently as 2001 but only this one and the 1935 RKO version have had any kind of staying power. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. One is in B&W, the other color, one is set in the Arctic, this one (like the book) is set in the desert. The '35 version has tremendous art deco sets, Nigel Bruce, and the legendary Gustav von Seyfertitz. Helen Gahagan was regal as SHE but Andress is exotic and very desirable.

While the settings here aren't nearly as lavish, they were influential and this version was a favorite of countless impressionable minds during the 1960s including future filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. This Warner Archive edition stops short of a full restoration but the widescreen transfer allows us to see SHE in all its glory...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.