acesfilms

When you ask what's the best film ever, you'll see lists topped with movies like Shawshank Redemption, Citizen Kane etc etc. I can honestly say that in my opinion, this movie is literally the best film I have ever seen. You do NOT have to be Latino in order to watch and enjoy this. The direction (by a Caucasian director) is amazing. The editing is top notch, the soundtrack is beautiful!, and the acting (by both inside prison and outside crews) is flawless. There's not a single actor that drags this movie down. The story is so well constructed, and shows the fates of 3 friends and relatives, in their respective different directions. All this achieved in a 3 hr movie (though a directors cut version also available). I must have seen this over 100 times over the years, and we all know the memorable quotes (of which there are many) by heart. It holds up well even after 30 yrs.

Mike is a 60something guy with dreadlocks, in Alaska, weird enough. It's not so much a restoration show as it is trying to start up junker cars with spare batteries etc. The actual restoration work is done by other businesses that they send the car away to. The cars themselves don't get much screen time, as it's mostly about Mike, Mike's son, and Avery (shop manager) arguing. Mike complains about being in financial trouble, but it's due to Mike buying more cars than he sells, and buying back any cars that he does sell. Avery just seems to be a liability, who doesn't listen to his boss (grinds bolts off instead of using a socket/wrench, or breaks parts and complains that Mike's buying too many parts.) Rust to Riches (Gotham garage) is a much better car restoration show.

Oliver Tobias (prince hassan) is the prince of getting knocked unconscious in this film. Seriously, keep a count. The real hero of the story is the little child Majid. Excellent evil performance by Christopher Lee as the the evil sultan. The start of the film with the scenes in the market place are nicely done, but the rest of the movie is a bit of a let down - The scenes with Mickey Rooney are weird and could have easily been left out. Acting by Oliver Tobias is quite wooden and ruins the film. Some nice little cameos by Peter Cushing and a young Art Malik. Watch Thief of Baghdad (1977) instead.