| Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam | |
|---|---|
| |
| Director(s) | |
| Producer(s) | |
| Writer(s) |
Cüneyt Arkin (screenplay) |
| Starring |
Cüneyt Arkin |
| Released |
1982 (Turkey) |
| Runtime |
91 min. |
Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (The Man Who Saves The World) is a low budget Turkish-made science fiction film commonly known as Turkish Star Wars because of its notorious use of extensive footage and music from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which were worked into the film. The film also used footage and music from other well-known films of the time, including the title theme from the Indiana Jones films.
Released in 1982, Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam was created in a Turkey caught in the midst of massive political upheaval. As a result, American-made films were not easily acquired and were often remade with a Turkish cast and setting. The three most notable films to be so bootlegged are Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz and E.T., all of which have Turkish variations.
Despite its obvious violation of virtually all copyright laws and going down in history as being considered one of the worst films of all time, the film has achieved cult status and is appreciated among many Star Wars fans as a kind of kitschy curiosium much like The Star Wars Holiday Special has.
Plot[]
- "13th Clan...The clan of our forefathers!"
- ―Murat[src]
Evil blue robot.
The film follows the adventures of two comrades, Murat (Arkın) and Ali (Akkaya), whose ships crash on a desert planet (curiously identical to Cappadocia in Turkey) following a less-than-epic space battle that randomly inserts footage from Star Wars as well as newsreel clips of both Soviet and American space rockets. They are soon assaulted by desert skeletons on horseback who are easily defeated with the pair's knowledge of martial arts.
However, the film's main villain soon shows up and captures the heroes, bringing them to fight in his gladiatorial arena. The villain mentions that he was actually from earth and is in reality a wizard at the age of 1000 exactly. He tries to defeat the Earth, but his attacks are always repelled by a shield of concentrated Human brain molecules. The only way for him to bypass this impenetrable defense is to use a Human brain to bring it down. The protagonists escape their captors and flee to a cave full of women and children who are also hiding from the tyrannical rule of the villain. While there, Murat develops a romantic connection with one of the women (Uçar) tasked with looking after the children. Zombie minions of the dark lord soon attack the cave, which the now-three main characters all escape from, after seeing several of the children killed and made zombies themselves.
Resurfacing at a local bar lifted directly from Star Wars, the two men quickly manage to find themselves in a bar brawl that attracts the attention of the main villain who suddenly appears and captures Murat, leaving Ali and the woman behind.
The hero fights two golden monsters.
A mentor (Peyda) then informs Murat about a sword made by "the 13th clan" by melting a mountain, thousands of "space years" ago, in a temple dedicated to Hacı Bektaş Veli that broke free from the Earth when it exploded and eventually landed on this planet.
Shortly afterwards, Murat finds the large sword shaped like a lightning bolt in a cave defended by four ninjas who he quickly dispatches. Now renewed by the power of the sword, he sets out to free his friend from the underground cavern where the dark lord is holding him. Unfortunately Ali turns to the dark side since he is also in love with Uçar's character and tries to insult Murat with the quote "Who do you think you are? The man who saves the world?" Murat defeats his possessed friend. Grief-stricken, he decides the next logical step is to boil his golden sword and gold-like Human brain in a large pot, and forge it into a pair of gauntlets and boots for himself. Now girded with magically-endowed gloves and super-jumping boots, he sets off to find the dark lord and avenge his friend's death. After fighting the many minions the dark lord has summoned to his defense, he comes face-to-face with his nemesis and karate-chops him in half. The film ends with a Star Wars-like ending speech where the watcher learns that the Human brain is the strongest weapon in the whole universe.
Cast[]
Directed by Çetin İnanç and written by Cüneyt Arkın, a well-known Turkish actor whose works span the last 5 decades, the movie also starred Arkın in the leading role. Other actors include Aytekin Akkaya who later starred in the Italian movie Sopravvissuti della città morta, as well as Hüseyin Peyda and Füsun Uçar, both of whom remained in Turkey.
Soundtrack[]
The musical soundtrack is entirely lifted from Western film hits of the time, primarily using Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are also scenes incorporating the music of Moonraker, Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes and Disney's The Black Hole.
Foleyvision[]
Foleyvision, an Austin, Texas based comedy troupe who showed movies with the original soundtrack off while providing dialogue, music, and sound-effects live in the theater, used Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam as one of their performances in 2004, providing what troupe leader Buzz Moran said was "the first English translation of this film ever in the world."[1] During the introduction to the show, Moran stated that the translator had told them that "It doesn't make any more sense in Turkish."
The Son of the Man Who Saves the World[]
After many attempts to gather the former actors of the film to create a sequel to the "The Man Who Saves The World", the efforts have given birth to the film "The Son of the Man Who Saves the World" being recorded in 2006. The name of the movie was subject to great debates, where the loyalists supported the title "The Man Who Saves The World Again" against the current title. However the main actor, Cuneyt Arkin (aka Fahrettin Cureklibatur) has put an end to these debates. The movie is still being recorded, and the continuation of the legend will meet its fans in late 2006. The special effects in the trailer were eye-filling, but the fans expressed their disapproval of not remaining loyal to the original movie, where all the space scenes were ripped directly from the sci-fi classics of the time such as Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the Star Trek series and Battlestar Galactica. Famous actors from Turkey such as Mehmet Ali Erbil will also take part in the project, but the genre of the film is subject to change and it is thought to be more of a comedy than sci-fi, another thing the fans are dissatisfied with. The fact that Kartal Tibet directs the film is another astounding aspect of the would-be-classic.
Notes and references[]
- News article from Sabah newspaper, in Turkish.[2] (Last accessed July 29, 2006).
See also[]
External links[]
Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam at the Internet Movie Database- Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam on Wikipedia
- Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam Website
- Review and several online clips from the film at Antimatter Multiverse
- Review/commentary of Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam at The Wave magazine
- Recap with sarcasm at TarsTarkas.NET
- A comprehensive summary, with pictures of every shot, can be found at http://www.nemoramjet.com/tswintro.html
- A Greek review about this cult phenomenon at http://www.horror-movies.gr/turkish/movies/starwars/starwars-turkish.html
- A website promoting the sequel with a trailer has been put online now.
