Shout At The Devil (Blu-ray)

Product Description

Set in East Africa in 1913 this big budget production depicts the world of colonial intrigues between Germany and England before the First World War. A British aristocrat (Roger Moore) and a whiskey guzzling American entrepreneur (Lee Marvin) team up together in East Africa for action and intrigue under the watchful eyes of a German Commissioner. As they set off to destroy a German battle-cruiser awaiting repairs just off Zanzibar, the two adventurers encounter man-eating crocodiles, air and sea battles, big game hunting, natives on the rampage and a ticking time-bomb for good measure. A true full-blooded Boy`s Own adventuring starring two great actors at the top of their form and with screenplay by the great Wilbur Smith plus an acclaimed soundtrack by Maurice Jarre. First-rate effects The New York Times / Impossible to dislike Roger Ebert / Big Man`s Adventure, Big locations, Big hearted Time Out / Displays its $7 million budget on nearly every frame Variety.

From Amazon.co.uk

Shout at the Devil was Roger Moore's second starring role in an adaptation of one Wilbur Smith's bestselling African adventures (the first being 1974's Gold, also directed by Peter Hunt). Taking its mixture of comedy and drama, and part of its plot, from The African Queen the movie finds Moore's decent, upright Englishman teamed with Lee Marvin--in a variation on his Cat Ballou drunken brawler comedy persona--fighting the Germans in colonial East Africa at the beginning of the Great War. Moore plays it straight and makes a most heroic and handsome matinee idol hero. Produced between Moore's second and third outings as Bond, Shout at the Devil was staffed with various 007 regulars, including Hunt who was had edited the first three and directed On Her Majesty's Secret Service, title designer Maurice Binder and director John Glen. It even has a ticking clock-gigantic explosion finale. This is an exciting, beautifully shot escapade which deserves to be much better known.

On the DVD: The original Panavision 2.35:1 image is incorrectly letterboxed at around 2:1, cropping so much picture information that the credits disappear at either side of the screen. The print used is of very variable quality, with some scenes looking fine, others washed out and lacking detail, with long shots often being slightly out of focus. Adding to the problems is the abysmal digital encoding which, despite anamorphic enhancement, has left many scenes swarming with compression artefacts. The sound is adequate mono. Unfortunately this disc uses a heavily re-edited and shortened version of the film--cut from 147 to 119 minutes following poor reviews--and the losses in continuity, especially in the early part of the film are very noticeable. The extras are the original trailer, which reveals the entire plot right up to and including the ending, comprehensive filmographies of Marvin, Moore and Hunt, and a seven-minute compilation of posters and publicity stills set to the main themes from Maurice Jarre's score. --Gary S Dalkin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.