Lionman 1975
Movie - Review & Info

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Film Review:

Turksploitation and Steve Arkin (Cüneyt Arkin) - Two names that go together like bread and butter. Until this time last year I'd never heard of either, until I caught the buzz about some cheap Turkish remakes of Hollywood classics such as Star Wars and ET. A friend pointed this film out to me as a worthwhile look out and prime example of the field.

My curiosity piqued I set about tracing a VHS of the film. After a long wait it eventually turned up on Ebay - and when I saw the cover I instantly remember the tape from a VHS magazine from the early 80s. I never got to saw it at the time but remember being intrigued as a child to see it. It was fairly rare even then I think, given how in frequently it shows up on Ebay.

So, what's it all about you ask? Well, its a medieval actioneer with hardman Arkin playing a prince who is brought up by lions and has the strength of 'em in his very hands. It transpires he's a prince and fights back against the evil Christian lord who murdered his father and stole his mother.

The plot is pretty standard fare to be honest, but the charm of the film comes from the sheer onslaught of 3 things: 1. Bad dubbing. 2. Bad acting and 3. Sheer daftness.

Think John Woo done by a circus performer with $0 budget. The action is plentiful, hampered only by the fact the swords look like cardboard, the same bits get repeated non-stop and Arkin flies through the air like the ground is but a trampoline to his step. We only ever see two or three people attack him at a time, but he cuts his way through armies of men - I'm certain it was the same few actors shot over and over again, as you never see their faces.

Then there's the props. Walls rattle, swords look like plyboard, trees look like giant loo rolls with leaves stuck on and out of nowhere circus trapeze appear from nowhere to help our hero swoop above the heads of his enemy. The dubbing sounds like it was done by the drama wing of the depression ward at the local nuthouse, bringing new depths to levels of lethargy and mumbling.

Despite it all, you get 81 minutes of rip-roaring fun and stirring heroics. Yes it's cheap, yes its nasty, yes it nonsense, but damn is it entertaining on so many levels. I'm sure if I'd have seen this back when I was a child, I'd have loved it to bits.

AKA
Aslan Adam
Lion Man