dwatts
05-24-2003, 12:23 AM
Vengeance of She
Wow, sometimes a film just catches you off guard (not necessarily a bad thing).
I bought Vengeance of She purely and simply because it is part of the Hammer Series of reissues that is going on in Europe right now. I had formed a general idea of what this movie might be about – based on another Hammer title I own, “Prehistoric Women”. If you know the latter movie, then you’ll understand that I did not expect much from Vengeance of She.
Anyway, turns out, in some ways, I could not have been more wrong. While there are similarities between the two films I have mentioned, they are reasonably cosmetic. Still, I’m not sure this film is – overall – any better than Prehistoric Women.
This film starts with a woman (played by Olinka Berova) walking down a mountain road. It should be clear that these are modern times. She is picked up by a truck. The truck driver attacks Olinka (she’s pretty hot by the way) and in a freak accident, he dies. Later we find out this is a fairly typical incident for Olinka, since a lot of people die around her.
Olinka then ends up stowing away on a yacht. She hears voices in her head, feels drawn toward somewhere she does not know, and just generally has “issues” (such as not knowing her real name).
Cutting to the chase, hidden in the deserts of Africa there lives an ancient civilization (2000 years old, actually). Olinka is believed to be the reincarnation of their queen – and through mysticism is being called back to take her throne to become immortal. Se is recalled through scenes reminiscent of Sinbad films – the golden pot of boiling oil, steam, and visions sent through the heat.
So, by the time the last third of this film actually takes place we have a cross between Romans and Egyptians running about. Actually, it just gets sillier and sillier with each passing minute, as Hammer try to tack on a reason behind this civilization and for the existence of a woman who is being called to her destiny.
There are some other things wrong with the film. Clearly it was made for a young audience. This could easily be shown to 10 and 12 year olds without any fear they might get frightened. An example of this is the total lack of nudity. Now, I’m not saying all films should have nudity, but in Vengeance we have a gorgeous female lead – and Hammer had to go out of their way NOT to show nudity. For instance, she undresses and goes swimming, but leaves her underwear on. She takes a shower and the camera films just her face, and when she gets out of the shower she turns her back to the camera. She takes a bath in milky white water, which obscures her etc. Obviously they went out of their way to make sure this thing was for the kids. Actually, that audience might find it entertaining.
The silliness factor is reasonably high. How come no-one has found this civilization before? The entrance to it is a huge (as in forty stories high) gold image of Olinka. It is less than a days drive into the desert – what’s up with that?
Then we have a backstory that states, “The queen was known as the woman to be obeyed!” Wow – really?
Still, when I take this film on its own terms, it is not a complete disaster. It is just not exactly what I was expecting. Repeat viewings, with corrected expectations, might yield a more positive response. I got to tell you though, given I have a sizable collection, there are lot of other films I’d rather be watching!
The DVD
Widescreen, looks good. This is a German release from Anolis. As extras it has another World of Hammer documentary called “Land Before Time (standard fair for these releases.) Then we have the trailer and TV spots, and an isolated soundtrack. I wish more DVD’s would isolate the soundtrack. It is good they did it here – but it is doubtful anyone would want to listen to a rather tepid set of tunes. The picture quality is on a par with recent Hammer releases, not reference, but servicable.
Worth buying? Well – if it’s cheap. Overall though, this appears to be Hammer trying to work the younger market. I’m not young, so found it extremely tepid – and not a little bizarre.
Wow, sometimes a film just catches you off guard (not necessarily a bad thing).
I bought Vengeance of She purely and simply because it is part of the Hammer Series of reissues that is going on in Europe right now. I had formed a general idea of what this movie might be about – based on another Hammer title I own, “Prehistoric Women”. If you know the latter movie, then you’ll understand that I did not expect much from Vengeance of She.
Anyway, turns out, in some ways, I could not have been more wrong. While there are similarities between the two films I have mentioned, they are reasonably cosmetic. Still, I’m not sure this film is – overall – any better than Prehistoric Women.
This film starts with a woman (played by Olinka Berova) walking down a mountain road. It should be clear that these are modern times. She is picked up by a truck. The truck driver attacks Olinka (she’s pretty hot by the way) and in a freak accident, he dies. Later we find out this is a fairly typical incident for Olinka, since a lot of people die around her.
Olinka then ends up stowing away on a yacht. She hears voices in her head, feels drawn toward somewhere she does not know, and just generally has “issues” (such as not knowing her real name).
Cutting to the chase, hidden in the deserts of Africa there lives an ancient civilization (2000 years old, actually). Olinka is believed to be the reincarnation of their queen – and through mysticism is being called back to take her throne to become immortal. Se is recalled through scenes reminiscent of Sinbad films – the golden pot of boiling oil, steam, and visions sent through the heat.
So, by the time the last third of this film actually takes place we have a cross between Romans and Egyptians running about. Actually, it just gets sillier and sillier with each passing minute, as Hammer try to tack on a reason behind this civilization and for the existence of a woman who is being called to her destiny.
There are some other things wrong with the film. Clearly it was made for a young audience. This could easily be shown to 10 and 12 year olds without any fear they might get frightened. An example of this is the total lack of nudity. Now, I’m not saying all films should have nudity, but in Vengeance we have a gorgeous female lead – and Hammer had to go out of their way NOT to show nudity. For instance, she undresses and goes swimming, but leaves her underwear on. She takes a shower and the camera films just her face, and when she gets out of the shower she turns her back to the camera. She takes a bath in milky white water, which obscures her etc. Obviously they went out of their way to make sure this thing was for the kids. Actually, that audience might find it entertaining.
The silliness factor is reasonably high. How come no-one has found this civilization before? The entrance to it is a huge (as in forty stories high) gold image of Olinka. It is less than a days drive into the desert – what’s up with that?
Then we have a backstory that states, “The queen was known as the woman to be obeyed!” Wow – really?
Still, when I take this film on its own terms, it is not a complete disaster. It is just not exactly what I was expecting. Repeat viewings, with corrected expectations, might yield a more positive response. I got to tell you though, given I have a sizable collection, there are lot of other films I’d rather be watching!
The DVD
Widescreen, looks good. This is a German release from Anolis. As extras it has another World of Hammer documentary called “Land Before Time (standard fair for these releases.) Then we have the trailer and TV spots, and an isolated soundtrack. I wish more DVD’s would isolate the soundtrack. It is good they did it here – but it is doubtful anyone would want to listen to a rather tepid set of tunes. The picture quality is on a par with recent Hammer releases, not reference, but servicable.
Worth buying? Well – if it’s cheap. Overall though, this appears to be Hammer trying to work the younger market. I’m not young, so found it extremely tepid – and not a little bizarre.