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King Solomon's Mines [1986] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

King Solomon's Mines had been filmed several times before, but this 1985 adaptation of H Rider Haggard's novel is far and away the most absurdly tongue-in-cheek. Making no disguise of riding Indiana Jones's coattails, the adventure starts fast and grows ever wilder. Richard Chamberlain wears Allan Quatermain's fedora and expression of grim determination. Supposedly concerned with the novel's quest for lost gold, the movie is really an excuse to string together numerous sight gags and low-budget attempts to upstage Raiders of the Lost Ark (hardly surprisingly, it fails).

Pursued by a wax-moustachioed and Wagner-obsessed Herbert Lom, Quatermain and a dizzily blonde Sharon Stone escape an avalanche and crocodiles before being boiled in a cauldron with plastic vegetables at the Village of the Upside Down People. Nothing lingers in the memory, though, than the sight of Chamberlain skiing behind a locomotive. Cheap and rudely plagiaristic it may be, but Indy never got to be as (un)intentionally hilarious.

On the DVD: King Solomon's Mines has come up exceptionally well on disc in this widescreen print. Sound is in Dolby 2.0 and is a faithful representation of the effort put into the film's sound design. The only extra is the original trailer. --Paul Tonks


not worth it
Review date: 2008-09-23 Rating: 2 out of 10

nothing was good about this film.
acting was bad.the action was childish and the comedy was forced in the
film but that was also not funny.

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Reviews


Indiana Quatermain and the Mines of Doom
Review date: 2008-07-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines is one of those stories where it often feels that only the title and the odd character name have been filmed. If there were a prize for the least faithful version, Cannon's 1985 romp would win hands down. Richard Chamberlain's Great White Hunter Allan Quatermain may be a reluctant guide on a quest for the fabled mines, but this time his only companion is Sharon Stone, eager to save her archaeologist father from Herbert Lom's dastardly and cartoonish Wagner-loving German officer (the plot has been updated to pre-WW1 Africa). No prizes for guessing that this is inspired more by Indiana Jones than H. Rider Haggard (it even co-stars John Rhys-Davies as another Arab, this time on the bad guys' side), with the stunts increasingly outrageous and the tone firmly tongue in cheek.

Shot almost back-to-back with the dire Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold and originally brandishing the how-are-they-ever-going-to-fit-that-on-the-marquees title Allan Quatermain and King Solomon's Mines and the Lost Caves of Death, it's a film almost as overloaded as it's rejected title: for the first half or so it's surprisingly entertaining, but eventually the relentless energy starts to wear you down as you realise that the film's used up most of its best stunts and jokes and is running out of clichés to rehash and lampoon. Certainly there's nothing in the second half to match a comic marketplace chase or a very silly train rescue that sees Quatermain work his way through variations of Indy's truck chase before skiing along the rails as he holds on by his bullwhip... In many ways, DVD is an almost ideal way to see it: a little too much to sit through in one go, a self-created intermission certainly helps.

Chamberlain makes an amiable if overly reliant on dynamite Quatermain, though Stone is an irritatingly screeching heroine and Lom too much of an over the top caricature to provide much threat. J. Lee Thompson keeps it moving, Jerry Goldsmith contributes an enjoyably heroic score and there's enough of a sense of fun to paper over the weak spots.

'Andy' Avid film watcher
Review date: 2008-06-15 Rating: 4 out of 10

I purchased this movie on the advice of the previous reviewer, what a mistake! Wooden acting, pathetic fight scenes, extremely poor and cheesy special effects. The only thing good about Sharon Stone was her figure, I haven't seen such poor acting for a long time. This film can in no way be compared to the 'Indiana Jones' films. Thoroughly un-recommended for those of us who like quality viewing.

A fun-loving RAIDERS clone with plenty of heart
Review date: 2005-03-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Vastly superior to its rather lackluster sequel ALLAN QUATERMAIN AND THER LOST CITY OF GOLD (which was actually filmed back-to-back with this production), this entertaining and fun loving tribute (or some might say rip-off) of the Indiana Jones movies benefits (unlike its follow-up) by the sure hand and capable direction of veteran J. Lee Thompson (of the original GUNS OF NAVARONE) and a suberp supporting cast that includes the always entertaining and eminently watchable John Rhys-Davies and Herbert Lom as the two main villains, a Turkish slaver and a World War I era German Colonel respectively.
Based very loosely on the classic H. Rider Haggard adventure novel of the same name, this movie features Richard Chamberlain as adventurer Allan Quaterman who is recruited by the sexy and gorgeous Jessie Huston (played by a pre-famous Sharon Stone) to rescue her father who has fallen into the villains hands in attempt to locate the fabled King Solomon's mines.
What follows is a fast paced, fun and thoroughly entertaining adventure with some eye popping stunts and some truly cheesy special effects.
No matter though, this movie promises high adventure and entertaining escapism. Movie fans will have fun spotting references to other movies of the 1980s from the Indiana Jones adventures to 1983s FOOTLOOSE and that movies game of unintentional chicken.
I was one of the (evidently) few who actually made it to see this movie in the theaters on its release in 1985 and one who instantly picked it up on VHS. Of course when the DVD was released in February of this year I was there to instantly pick it up. Still fun after almost 20 years this DVD comes well recommended.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Ken Gampu
Herbert Lom
John Rhys-Davies
Sharon Stone
Richard Chamberlain

Creators:
Richard Chamberlain (Primary Contributor)
Sharon Stone (Primary Contributor)
Álex Phillips Jr. (Cinematographer)
Menahem Golan (Producer)
Rony Yacov (Producer)
Yoram Globus (Producer)
Gene Quintano (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM
Manufacturer: MGM
EAN: 0027616880659
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-02-03
Universal product code (UPC): 027616880659
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1985-11-22
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)

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