Die Herrin von Atlantis

I had very low expectations for this film before I viewed it. I had expected the usual exploitative kaka that Hollywood usually put together for this genre. However, this was not a Hollywood film; it was made in Germany. Secondly, the film's script was well-written, and took itself seriously; always a big plus for any type of film in any genre. After a half hour into the film, I began to realize that this was no ordinary piece of schock; it was exotic, erotic, and highly entertaining. It possibly could have been the influencer for Irving Thalberg's creation of Lost Horizon, one of the top ten films of all time. Although not as good as Lost Horizon, this film is easily the best of all French Foreign Legion films, desert films (with the exception of Lawrence of Arabia), and desert soaps (this is a legitimate top ten soap). I am talking about hundreds of films in comparison. Do not miss this production, which, in my opinion, is superior to SHE, a big hit just a few years later. And you thought Atlantis had to be somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Think again.

It reminded me of those old Tarzan movies. What it is, though, is more of an example of the old Trope about the beautiful, seductive, feminine character whom the protagonists all fall in love with. It seems that this plagiarized H. R. Haggard's SHE. Though it does use the same template for lost world and has Africa as a setting and a lovely irresistible woman as the centerpiece, the similarities end there. Where She, Alesha, the centerpiece of H. R. Haggards story is an almost tragic woman trapped in her own tragic love story, the centerpiece of Alantida, Antinea, is more of a sinister siren that would be a complete opposite to Alesha. Alantida seems in many ways much more short on being an examination of morals and ethics as She is. It's still a barely watchable show where the players are under the influence of an obvious, though hideously seductive, evil.