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The Adventurers is a 1970 American adventure drama film based on the novel by Harold Robbins. It is directed, produced and co-written by Lewis Gilbert.
| The Adventurers | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Produced by | Lewis Gilbert |
| Screenplay by | Michael Hastings Lewis Gilbert |
| Based on | The Adventurers by Harold Robbins |
| Starring | Bekim Fehmiu Candice Bergen Charles Aznavour Olivia de Havilland Fernando Rey Ernest Borgnine Alan Badel Leigh Taylor-Young |
| Music by | Antonio Carlos Jobim |
| Cinematography | Claude Renoir |
| Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
Production company | AVCO Embassy Pictures |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 177 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,750,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
The American film stars Bekim Fehmiu, Candice Bergen, Charles Aznavour, Olivia de Havilland, Fernando Rey, Ernest Borgnine, Alan Badel and Leigh Taylor-Young. The film featured a film debut from Fehmiu and was shot in Europe and parts of South America. It is loosely based on the life of Dominican diplomat and playboy Porfirio Rubirosa.
Screenplay
Set in the fictional Latin American country of Cortoguay, it tells the tale of a rich playboy, Dax Xenos, who uses and destroys everyone who crosses his path. His vileness results from having seen his mother and sister raped and murdered by Government troops, but his primary obsession is to avenge his father's murder. Dax's father had been a true patriot unlike any of the other self-seeking Presidents in an otherwise poor country always belonging to "the revolution." Dax finds, however, that vengeance and revolution lead to nothing but more of the same.
- Charles Aznavour - Marcel Campion
- Alan Badel - President Rojo
- Candice Bergen - Sue Ann Daley
- Thommy Berggren - Sergei Nikovitch
- Delia Boccardo - Caroline de Coyne
- Ernest Borgnine - Fat Cat
- Rossano Brazzi - Baron de Coyne
- Olivia de Havilland - Deborah Hadley
- Bekim Fehmiu - Dax Xenos
- Anna Moffo - Dania Leonardi
- Fernando Rey - Jaime Xenos
- Leigh Taylor-Young - Amparo Rojo
- Yolande Donlan - Mrs. Erickson
- John Ireland - James Hadley
- Jorge Martínez de Hoyos - El Condor
- Christian Roberts - Robert
- Angela Scoular - Denisonde
- Sydney Tafler - Colonel Gutierrez
- Yorgo Voyagis - El Lobo
The score was composed by Bossa nova songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim. Of the 12 songs featured in this film, three of them, "Children's Games" (Chovendo na Roseira), "A Bed of Flowers For Sue Ann" (Sue Ann) and "Dax & Amparo-Love Theme" (Olha Maria), went on to become some of Jobim's signature songs. These songs were heard for the first time on this soundtrack. The soft and often tender music stands in stark contrast to the darkness of the themes of the story. A rare track by British band Family called 'Young Love' was featured as a backing track to a fashion show in the film. This track does not appear on a CD by Family or on any singles.
The movie was widely panned when it was first released. In its review, Daily Variety said that Candice Bergen was "the only principal to salvage anything from the film." In 2005, it was listed in The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the Top Ten Best Bad films of all time. However, Paul Mavis, reviewing the Warner Archive DVD release, enjoyed its outrageousness, stating The Adventurers is, "part faux-David Lean, part lurid comic book with funny accents and naked breasts--and all of it an irresistible, frequently maddening mess."
Director Lewis Gilbert said on June 25, 2010, on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs, that The Adventurers was "a big, sprawling, very expensive film which was a disaster. I should never have made it. It's one I'm not proud of."
Paramount Home Entertainment first released the film on a widescreen DVD on July 12, 2005. The same company rereleased the film in the Warner Archive Collection on September 24, 2013. The DVD was edited and re-rated PG, with significant cuts to scenes in which women are raped and killed by soldiers.
- List of American films of 1970
