Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
Sharkflei
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Wizard-8
I feel I should mention that the version of "Shout at the Devil" that I watched was the full length 150 minute version. When the movie originally played in theaters, it had been cut by about half an hour. Normally, I feel that the original full length version of a movie is the version to see, but in the case of this movie, I think that the edited version might play better. I'm not saying that the full length version is bad, but I'm saying that it's too long for its own good. There is quite a considerable amount of padding on display, and as a result the movie moves quite slowly at times. There are some good things along the way all the same - there is some good action and suspense, the African backdrop is colorful and catches the eye, and it's fun to see Lee Marvin and Roger Moore paired up and generate considerable chemistry. So it's nowhere near a total loss. All the same, I think a more snappy pace would have helped things considerably.
mjscarface
On the whole, this is a mostly faithful adaptation of Wilbur Smith's novel and a cracking adventure story.Shortly before the outbreak of World War One, Irish poacher Flynn recruits a clueless, upper-class Englishman named Sebastian to help him steal ivory from German-occupied territory in Africa. For a while, the pair make a great team and succeed at humiliating the local German officer, Fleisher - but the fun comes to a sudden end when war is declared and Fleisher gets a chance for revenge.As others have mentioned, this is definitely a film of two halves, as much as the book was. But the rollicking pace and sweeping storyline offer all manner of scrapes and situations that the film is never less than enjoyable. Lee Marvin is thoroughly amusing as the drunken poacher who flits between immature outbursts at those around him and total inebriation. Roger Moore is also impressive as Flynn's opposite, Sebastian, whose a gentleman at first but quickly learns to toughen up as the story becomes more serious.Supporting characters are also memorable, with Fleisher a mixture of comical and nastiness. Barbara Parkins plays Flynn's daughter and Sebastian's romantic interest with fiestiness and Ian Holm is amusing as Flynn's mute assistant Mohammed.In terms of action, the film has plenty to offer; gunfights, fistfights, shipwrecks and man-eating crocs for a start. This is all edited in the same frantic style that Peter Hunt's 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' was, giving a lot of energy to the film. I also love Maurice Jarre's score for 'Shout at the Devil'; epic and tense.While 'Shout at the Devil' is a cracking yarn and I have loved it since I was little, the bad news is that no decent version currently exists on DVD. German characters (who spoke English in the film) have now been dubbed into German, which is one thing... but no subtitles(!) mean that entire scenes become useless and impossible to follow for the rest of us.There is of course the issue of running time and to be honest I can't remember if I've actually seen the full version or not (it's been a while). Some TV companies have been known to show the full version and, because of the awful DVD versions, it's a case of pot-luck that anyone sees the film as it should be (I personally have held onto a VHS recording from 1988 which is wearing very thin now).
jason-210
This film had all the ingredients of a good adventure movie, but it revealed incompetence at almost every level.The presence of Roger Moore in the cast list is usually a sign that the movie is not going to be anything more than mediocre, because Moore always has lead roles and he can't act. But this movie also had Ian Holm and Lee Marvin in it, and was based on a Wilbur smith book, so I thought I'd give it a chance when I saw the DVD for sale in the bargain bin...It was a mistake. The opening scene appeared to start in the middle of a reel, with sound suddenly appearing as if the first second of the soundtrack had been truncated. The scene showed a dreadnought at sea with a German crew. This bad editing was a sign of things to come, but the scene with the dreadnought was interesting enough to keep me watching. The special effects were good, and the crew wore the proper uniforms and spoke in German, indicating that the director at least paid attention to historical detail. So I kept watching, and then Moore appeared and my suspicions were confirmed. Bad acting, clichéd lines, clichéd cinematography and cheap humour...but worst of all, there is a disastrous attempt to blend the light-hearted feel of the film with serious drama and tragedy. It just does not work. Much of the time I felt like I was watching a collection of hastily strung together clips, and then the film ended as suddenly and as badly as it started – in the middle of clip.
JoeytheBrit
Shout at the Devil is a bit of a mess these days. The region 2 DVD I watched had clearly fallen victim to some indifferent editor/censor's scissors, making what looks, to be fair, nothing more than a decidedly average film in the first place, perilously close to unwatchable at times. German officers who look like they were originally speaking English have been dubbed into German which, for the sake of authenticity isn't a bad thing I suppose, but whoever made this decision also decided that subtitles weren't necessary, so we have long stretches of dialogue that are completely incomprehensible to non-German speaking viewers. Strangely enough, it doesn't matter one bit with regards to understanding what is going on, and I still can't decide whether that's a good sign or bad.Saddled with such a shortcoming, a film like this, which can't decide whether it's a rollicking comedy or a rousing adventure, is left with a mountain to climb but never manages to move a couple of feet from the foothills. Roger Moore, after Gregory Peck the least talented of male actors to ever attain leading man status, is the biggest problem. Despite being a former James Bond, he really isn't much of an action hero, and is never really believable in a role that calls for someone about ten years younger. Lee Marvin mugs and overacts as if he has been guzzling on the gin so beloved of his character (which he may well have been doing), but at least he's entertaining to watch and provides most of the few highlights. Unfortunately, he and Moore develop little in the way of chemistry.The director makes some strange choices. While he most likely can't be blamed for the obviously bowdlerised action scenes, he can be held accountable for too often making the African landscape look like a quiet corner of Hampstead Heath, and for also choosing the wrong shot or angle on too many occasions.The storyline itself is straightforward enough, although it's a little on the ordinary side and a bit too episodic in the first half. When things turn darker midway through, the trauma suffered by Moore's wife, played by Barbara Parkin, isn't explored anywhere near thoroughly enough, and the problems it causes in their marriage are focused on and dealt with in one brief scene.Unless you're in the mood for bland and undemanding entertainment, and even then are in a very forgiving mood, I'd opt for James Bond film or Cat Ballou instead.
