Fatihin Fedaisi Kara Murat (1972)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Hale Soygazi, Turgut Özatay, Erol Tas & Bora Ayanoglu. Directed by Natuk Baytan.

Yeni Minareci Video Casetleri (Germany). Letterboxed. Turkish language.

Another awesome Cüneyt Arkin flick. A gory and energetic adventure in which the hero Kara Murat is teamed up against the notorious tyrant, and original Dracula, Vlad "the impaler" Tepes - a folk hero for the romanians, obviously not so much for the turks... (the guy who plays Vlad is as good a villian as Cünyt is a hero!) In one unbelievable scene the young Kara Murat is forced to shop off the arms and legs of his father (Cüneyt in another Nietzsche-sized fake moustasche) who is so strong and manly he hardly moves an eyebrow! The young Kara Murat of course swors vengeance and returns to Vlad's castle some 15 years later, disguised as a christian monk... 4/5

Kara Murat Ölüm Emri (1974)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Yildirim Gencer, Atilla Ergün, Hüsein Zan & Melek Ayberk. Directed by Natuk Baytan.

Katibim (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Korkusuz Cengaver (1976)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Tarık Şimşe & Salih Kırmızı. Directed by Duygu Sağıroğlu.

Tele Star (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Iki Esir (1971)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Filiz Akin, Kuzey Vargin, Hülya Babus & Atilla Ergün. Directed by Natuk Baytan.

Nart Video (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Atlihan (1973)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Aytekin Akkaya, Piraye Uzun, Abidin Görsev & Sema Yaprak. Directed by Naki Yurter.

Kalavan Video (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Adsiz Cengaver (1970)

Arabian fantasy/peplum. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Nebahat Çehre, Altan Günbay & Behçet Nacar. Directed by Halit Refig.

Kalkavan Video (Germany). Widescreen. Turkish language.

A simpy wonderful arabian fantasy which also borrows heavily from italian pepla like Hercules Unchained and others. Cüneyt is the perfect adventure hero and the film is nicely shot and full of wild action, fantasy and loose women. Loved it - tukish adventure films really are the shit! Turkish genre cinema obviously has a lot more to offer than the Grade Z-turkeys and ripp-off films they are known for. Another big plus is the stunning widescreen print, which reveals that the alleged "primitve" look of turkish cinema in many cases have more to do with battered, poorly stored prints badly transfered to VCD and DVD. Or bootleg copies which are many generations away from the original. 4/5

Malkoçoglu - Cem Sultan (1969)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Gülnaz Huri, Cihangir Gaffari & Behçet Nacar. Directed by Remzi Jöntürk.

Arsel-Istanbul-Film (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

This one is less peplum-y in tone than the other Malkoçoglu film, but still great fun all the way. Cüneyt plays dual roles, as both the boyish adventurer and the fatherly turkish hero (with a GIANT fake moustasche). Cüneyt x 2 team up against a gang of ruthless bandits who are in league with the evil christian crusaders. 4/5

Malkoçoglu - Akincilar Geliyor (1969)

Peplum. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Esen Puskullu & Nermin Kuran. Directed by Süreyya Duru.

Arsel-Istanbul-film (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Wild and highly entertaining historical adventure/peplum. Loved it! 4/5

Haci Murat (1967)

Adventure. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin, Sevda Ferdag & Muzaffer Tema. Directed by Natuk Baytan.

Kalkavan Video (Germany). Fullscreen. Turkish language.

Black and white historical adventure with a fresh-faced Cüneyt Arkin. Not the best of its kind but the energic fight scenes makes it pretty fun viewing. 3/5

Convoy of Women (1974)

Original title: Convoi de Femmes

Sleaze/Adventure/Western. France/Italy. Starring Alice Arno, Nadine Pascal, Evelyne Scott, Michel Charrel, Olivier Mathot, Paul Muller & Pierre Taylou. Directed by Pierre Chevalier.

Herzog Video (Germany). German dubbed. Letterboxed.

Not really an adventure film per se but a sleazy Eurociné composite that spices up some forgotten 1960s adventure films with sleaze and nudity. A bunch of gals are kidnapped and are shipped off (rape, whipping, bouncing french buttocks, probably a little inserted footage from some old pirate film) to America to become army prostitutes (rape, whipping, bouncing buttocks... sigh... lots of footage of cowboys and indians, storming of forts etc. from the 1960s Eurociné western-adventure The Last of the Mohicans). Typically bland direction, stiff acting and sub par camera work... and as often when watching routine Eurociné sleaze your mind immediately numbs and starts playing "find the stock footage" in self-defense. OK film, I had hoped for more pirate stuff but it played more like a dirty western. The most enjoyable thing for me was seeing that creepy, bald Eurociné regular who always plays rapist as an Indian in warpaint! 2/5

Kara Murat Denizler Hakimi (1977)

Pirate yarn. Turkey. Starring Cüneyt Arkin. Directed by Natuk Baytan.

Sanver Video (Germany). Turkish language. Fullscreen.

Turkish pirate film by the director and star of Lionman. The hero Kara Murat infiltrates a group of bloodthirsty pirates who'se in cahoot with the ruthless spaniards, romances a cute pirate girl and defends Turkeys honour. 90 great, violent, hyper-energic minutes of pirate mayhem! Cüneyt is the coolest actor in the world in this. 4/5

Tarkan Viking Kani (1971)

Peplum/Vikings. Turkey. Starring Kartal Tibet & Eva Bender. Directed by Mehmet Aslan.

Video Imwa Kaset (Germany). Turkish language. Fullscreen.

Turkish hero Tarkan encounter the vikings (turks in silly red wigs) in this totally madcap and brilliant peplum! When you don't think things can possible get any better they throw in the giant octopus monster! 5/5