joenook
Joined Aug 2004
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Reviews6
joenook's rating
Fritz Lang's two part Indian Epic made up of the films The Tiger of Bengal and The Tomb of Love is, to put it lightly, a cinematic enigma. While Lang is no stranger to both pulp fiction and long films, he oddly fails at both in this two-part travesty.
Watching a film like Lang's Metropolis or his five hour epic of Die Nibelungen is a magical experience. The films flow at such a brilliant pace, drawing in the viewer and creating a world of high drama and excitement amidst some of the most lavish and beautiful sets of the silent era. Yet, somehow, this magic is lost in his Indian Epic, as the nearly three and a half hours that comprise both films drags for what seems like an eternity. While the first film, The Tiger of Bengal, starts off like a pleasing, pulpy adventure story, it soon peters off nearly halfway through, setting the pace for what will be the rest of the first and the entire second film.
Production was evidently a very expensive and impressive one, complete with jewel-studded clothing, immense and desolate dungeons, and large and grandiose palaces, stocked with every little intricate detailed imagined; yet, these impressive settings are hardly utilized in to making this the film(s) it could have been, for they remain nothing more than eye-candy in what is ultimately a theatrical play of the most dire sort. Stilted, bland dialogue and scenes that drag and repeat play out almost cyclically: Where is the princess? She's over there. Where is the foreigner? He's over there. What should we do? We should do this... and so on, ad nauseam, until nearly three and a half hours of a film still unrealized is completed.
Even in some of Lang's previous minor failings he never achieved such a monotony as this. In his canceled pulp-adventure project, The Spiders, Lang was able to pull off an exhilarating tale of adventure in a foreign land for the first film, which would be canceled shortly after just the second Admittedly, the second and last entry of The Spiders almost seems to set a precedent for what would go wrong with both The Tiger of Bengal and The Tomb of Love: hardly anything happens.
I simply just don't understand what Lang went in to this project imagining. After reading this was a remake of the Indian Epic that he originally produced earlier on in his career I was so excited to finally sit and view what I imagined would be a wonderful adventure. I assumed it was one of his last, final great works; a tale of intrigue and adventure and lavish sets, and a film I could rely on for years to come to go back to and relieve the magic all again. Such a disappointment on so many levels, both as an adventure film, and arguably one of Lang's worst.
Watching a film like Lang's Metropolis or his five hour epic of Die Nibelungen is a magical experience. The films flow at such a brilliant pace, drawing in the viewer and creating a world of high drama and excitement amidst some of the most lavish and beautiful sets of the silent era. Yet, somehow, this magic is lost in his Indian Epic, as the nearly three and a half hours that comprise both films drags for what seems like an eternity. While the first film, The Tiger of Bengal, starts off like a pleasing, pulpy adventure story, it soon peters off nearly halfway through, setting the pace for what will be the rest of the first and the entire second film.
Production was evidently a very expensive and impressive one, complete with jewel-studded clothing, immense and desolate dungeons, and large and grandiose palaces, stocked with every little intricate detailed imagined; yet, these impressive settings are hardly utilized in to making this the film(s) it could have been, for they remain nothing more than eye-candy in what is ultimately a theatrical play of the most dire sort. Stilted, bland dialogue and scenes that drag and repeat play out almost cyclically: Where is the princess? She's over there. Where is the foreigner? He's over there. What should we do? We should do this... and so on, ad nauseam, until nearly three and a half hours of a film still unrealized is completed.
Even in some of Lang's previous minor failings he never achieved such a monotony as this. In his canceled pulp-adventure project, The Spiders, Lang was able to pull off an exhilarating tale of adventure in a foreign land for the first film, which would be canceled shortly after just the second Admittedly, the second and last entry of The Spiders almost seems to set a precedent for what would go wrong with both The Tiger of Bengal and The Tomb of Love: hardly anything happens.
I simply just don't understand what Lang went in to this project imagining. After reading this was a remake of the Indian Epic that he originally produced earlier on in his career I was so excited to finally sit and view what I imagined would be a wonderful adventure. I assumed it was one of his last, final great works; a tale of intrigue and adventure and lavish sets, and a film I could rely on for years to come to go back to and relieve the magic all again. Such a disappointment on so many levels, both as an adventure film, and arguably one of Lang's worst.
Even as a big fan of Franco's films, this one is up there as one of his most drab. Made in a year when he worked on 11 films, some incomplete, it unfortunately really shows. There is some atmospheric lighting and nice sets with gorgeous furnishing, but these are typically not used to their full potential and lack no real substance. The story is near incomprehensible, often interlaced with incessant shots of someone sitting on a bed, walking through a hallway, and then awkwardly zoomed-in softcore. For an 80 minute film, it feels like it goes on forever, skimping on the erotica and atmosphere, and ultimately ending with no real payoff.
On the plus side, Lina Romay looks as fine as ever, showcasing some very attractive outfits throughout, often though only for a minute or two. Only one scene in the film is particularly worth viewing, that of a rather infamously seductive scene involving Lina and a banana.
In all, this should be near the bottom of your list when checking out Franco's films, if not maybe skipping it altogether and just viewing the standout Lina scene if you're a fan. As much as it pains me to say it, but this is a highly disappointing film that I was really looking forward to.
On the plus side, Lina Romay looks as fine as ever, showcasing some very attractive outfits throughout, often though only for a minute or two. Only one scene in the film is particularly worth viewing, that of a rather infamously seductive scene involving Lina and a banana.
In all, this should be near the bottom of your list when checking out Franco's films, if not maybe skipping it altogether and just viewing the standout Lina scene if you're a fan. As much as it pains me to say it, but this is a highly disappointing film that I was really looking forward to.
Every once and a while you stumble upon a film that gets your heart racing, a film that you must track down immediately. So, you say that Toho made a Sinbad film in the 60s, when films like that flourished? Leading man Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, etc.) plays the Sinbad-like pirate? The gorgeous Mie Hama (You Only Live Twice, Ironfinger, Toho's King Kong films) plays a princess, Kumi Mizuno (tons of Godzilla and Kaiju) plays a bandit leader? So many other familiar faces, even Takashi Shimura and Masanari Nihei (the lovable dope from Ultraman) make small appearances, amongst many other Toho players as well? Wow, that sounds amazing! Well... it's not, because simply, nothing really happens. If you're aware of Toho films and Japanese films of the era, you can always expect gorgeous sets and highly detailed costumes--yes, that's all here. But that's about all you get. Mifune's titular Sinbad is at sea for a total of about five minutes, spending most of the film arguing and wandering around as palace guards and the antagonist's henchmen give him grief, yet seem to let him pass and do what he wants most of the time.
After about the hour and fifteen minute mark things finally start to get interesting: a bit of sword fighting (the first in the entire movie; the rest is solely Mifune dodging,) arrows being shot, and a Gorgon-like witch character (sorta) battling it out with a mystical hermit. And as quick as the action beings, it dies off, leaving the viewer with a completely unfulfilling experience, and maybe a bit upset that these intricate sets and amazing actors weren't utilized to their true potential.
I hate to put myself up on a pedestal, but this film is nothing short of a failure, even from a die-hard fan. Despite such a cast, it's tedious and boring, lacks adventure and monsters and action, and is truly not worth even the most devoted Toho or Japanese film aficionado's time. I know, I find it hard to believe myself.
After about the hour and fifteen minute mark things finally start to get interesting: a bit of sword fighting (the first in the entire movie; the rest is solely Mifune dodging,) arrows being shot, and a Gorgon-like witch character (sorta) battling it out with a mystical hermit. And as quick as the action beings, it dies off, leaving the viewer with a completely unfulfilling experience, and maybe a bit upset that these intricate sets and amazing actors weren't utilized to their true potential.
I hate to put myself up on a pedestal, but this film is nothing short of a failure, even from a die-hard fan. Despite such a cast, it's tedious and boring, lacks adventure and monsters and action, and is truly not worth even the most devoted Toho or Japanese film aficionado's time. I know, I find it hard to believe myself.