ARK OF THE SUN GOD is an INDIANA JONES & 007 copy that's an okay time waster. The real reason to watch this Italian made film is David Warbeck (THE BEYOND) who's a great action star, imo. He would have made a fun James Bond. The production values are good. I really enjoyed the car chase made with models, not real cars. And some of the effects at the end were pretty good. But the whole film is hampered by a grubby look/feel about it (dark and dreary sets; the two old and overweight men at Warbeck's side) and a vivid sense of Deja Vu for anyone who has already seen YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE, which sorta keeps it from being more fresh and fun. And that stupid song was really annoying. But it's a must-see for fans of David Warbeck. Those who don't know him or Italian cinema in general will probably not like this though.
14 Reviews
Worth a bag of popcorn and a soda
dbborroughs5 February 2006
The story of a safe cracker hired to help find a lost scepter thats hidden in a lost tomb is nothing more than an entertaining diversion. No, its no where near the level of say an Indiana Jones film or some of the great Hollywood action films, however it is an entertaining little film, perfect for a rainy weekend afternoon. An Italian/Turkish co-production this film sports sights that are not the sort you've seen a thousand times before, indeed it appears to have been filmed in the much under used cities and county side of Turkey. The story is good and moves along nicely. The actors, many of which are Euro-trash and exploitation regulars handle themselves nicely. You'll forgive the lack of detail, but this is a simply a good mindless movie thats worth seeing, even though it will disappear from your brain not long after.
More Margheriti / Warbeck / Steiner fun
Coventry25 November 2007
I wholeheartedly agree with the other commenter who referred to "Ark of the Sun God" as a reunion of the dream team that previously made the similarly themed "Hunters of the Golden Cobra". Director Margheriti and cult cinema actors David Warbeck and John Steiner (and, optionally, Luciano Pigozzi as well) really do form a dream team and their exciting and adrenalin-rushing Indiana Jones imitations are truly a must for all fans of the Italian exploitation industry. Personally, I think "Ark of the Sun God" isn't half as action-packed and memorable as the aforementioned "Hunters of the Golden Cobra", but it still is a far above average and amusing adventure-movie with likable characters and some impressively spectacular stunts. David Warbeck portrays the acclaimed safe-cracker Rick Spears, traveling with his sexy girlfriend to Istanbul supposedly for a routing burglary job. It quickly turns out his hirers wanted to test his skills and entice him into accepting a much more adventurous job, namely the search for the lost Temple of the Sun God with its entrance gate of pure gold and the incredibly valuable scepter hidden somewhere in the tomb of the king. The journey to trace down the Temple is full of dangerous traps and the ill-tempered descendant of the Sun God also sends his troops after Rick to recover the treasures. "The Ark of the Sun God" (the "Ark"-part is presumably just to cash-in on "Raiders of the Lost Ark", as there's not an ark in sight) is a simple and straightforward adventure movie without much pretension, but with a lot of heart and spirit. It's simultaneously a buddy-movie with fun dialogs and comical situations and an action flick with delightfully fake car chases and virulent shootouts. Antonio Margheriti's direction is taut & fast as always, since he had an average of 3 films per year to deliver, and the majority of the cast clearly had an awesome time starring in this light-headed cult production. Although the ratings and reviews for this film are better, I would like to encourage fans to track down "The Hunters of the Golden Cobra". It simply has more ingenious action bits, including plane crashes, truck explosions, spiders, snake pits, cockfighting, black magic, spells, poisonous darts and volcano eruptions.
A Gilga-mess.
BA_Harrison26 July 2017
This Italian Indiana Jones inspired adventure, from director Antonio Margheriti, certainly seems to have its fans, but I'm not one of them, finding the low rent action on offer rather tedious.
David Warbeck stars as world-class cat burglar Rick Spear who is enlisted to help locate a Turkish temple where, as legend has it, lies the tomb of demigod Gilgamesh, whose jewelled sceptre bestows the bearer with great power. Out to prevent Rick from succeeding is a descendant of the demigod, Prince Abdullah (Aytekin Akkaya), who sends his men to kill the adventurer.
With its 'exotic' locations an overcast Istanbul and a drab desert, 'exciting' car chase scenes achieved via remote-control vehicles, two ageing overweight Sallah-style sidekicks, and a 'lost' temple that is so easy to find I'm surprised that there wasn't a tour guide and a gift shop, The Ark of the Sun God is stodgy schlock that rarely kicks into gear, idling away until the predictable ending when the bad guy battles our hero while stone columns collapse around their ears.
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for Susie Sudlow as Rick's eye-candy girlfriend Carol.
David Warbeck stars as world-class cat burglar Rick Spear who is enlisted to help locate a Turkish temple where, as legend has it, lies the tomb of demigod Gilgamesh, whose jewelled sceptre bestows the bearer with great power. Out to prevent Rick from succeeding is a descendant of the demigod, Prince Abdullah (Aytekin Akkaya), who sends his men to kill the adventurer.
With its 'exotic' locations an overcast Istanbul and a drab desert, 'exciting' car chase scenes achieved via remote-control vehicles, two ageing overweight Sallah-style sidekicks, and a 'lost' temple that is so easy to find I'm surprised that there wasn't a tour guide and a gift shop, The Ark of the Sun God is stodgy schlock that rarely kicks into gear, idling away until the predictable ending when the bad guy battles our hero while stone columns collapse around their ears.
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for Susie Sudlow as Rick's eye-candy girlfriend Carol.
Dumb adventure movie
lor_13 March 2023
My review was written in July 1986 after watching the film on Trans World Entertainment video cassette.
After filming the fantasy "Yor, the Hunter from the Future" there, Italian filmmaker Antonio Margheritti returned to Turkey in 1983 to shoot "The Ark of the Sun God", a subpar entry in his series of imitative adventure films. Pic debuted domestically on video cassette.
British thesp David Warbec (veteran of 10 Italian films to date) gets to play a British character for a change, sa Rick Spear, a London cracksman sent to Istanbul on a cockeyed mission: he's to find the temple of the Sun God which is the resting place of Gilgamesh. A legendary jeweled scepter of the king is inside and can be used as a limitless source of power to the bearer. Because the golden door is booby-trapped (with the entire temple set to self-destruct), a master burglar like Spear is needed for the job.
If this sounds a bit like "Raiders of the Lost Ark", it's because Margheritii earlier raided that hit with an interesting variation, "The Hunters of the Golden Cobra". This time there's too much padding, as Sperar is tested and then goes hunting for the site, aided by a survivor of a mission over 40 years earlier, Beetle (Alan Collins).
The Turkish locations are again impressive, but this "Ark" doesn't pic up steam until the final reels containing cliffhanger derring-do in the em=emple and caverns surrounding it.
Soundtrack features a lovely romantic theme but elsewhere pointlessly includes the main theme from "Battlestar Galactica".
After filming the fantasy "Yor, the Hunter from the Future" there, Italian filmmaker Antonio Margheritti returned to Turkey in 1983 to shoot "The Ark of the Sun God", a subpar entry in his series of imitative adventure films. Pic debuted domestically on video cassette.
British thesp David Warbec (veteran of 10 Italian films to date) gets to play a British character for a change, sa Rick Spear, a London cracksman sent to Istanbul on a cockeyed mission: he's to find the temple of the Sun God which is the resting place of Gilgamesh. A legendary jeweled scepter of the king is inside and can be used as a limitless source of power to the bearer. Because the golden door is booby-trapped (with the entire temple set to self-destruct), a master burglar like Spear is needed for the job.
If this sounds a bit like "Raiders of the Lost Ark", it's because Margheritii earlier raided that hit with an interesting variation, "The Hunters of the Golden Cobra". This time there's too much padding, as Sperar is tested and then goes hunting for the site, aided by a survivor of a mission over 40 years earlier, Beetle (Alan Collins).
The Turkish locations are again impressive, but this "Ark" doesn't pic up steam until the final reels containing cliffhanger derring-do in the em=emple and caverns surrounding it.
Soundtrack features a lovely romantic theme but elsewhere pointlessly includes the main theme from "Battlestar Galactica".
Mediocre action/adventure film with shameless orientalist bent
GSeditor6 August 2022
Use of miniature cars in one car chase sequence is fun to watch and there is also one fun reference to Roger Moore (who was playing James Bond in those years), but that's all there is to recommend in this otherwise mediocre action/adventure film obviously produced to ride on the popularity of the Indiana Jones films.
The plot concerns an American burglar who is hired by an Istanbul-based British guy to steal an ancient sacred artefact from a hidden temple in the Middle East so as to prevent it from falling into "wrong hands" (!). A guy in Arabic dress is monitoring them and he curses that the damn westerners are trying to steal their heritage. Well, actually he is quite right from an objective point of view, but the point of the view of the filmmakers is that of colonialism so he is the villain of the movie! It is also ridiculous to have them riding camels (!) in central Turkey of 1980s.
The cast is interesting 'though: An aged Luciano Pigozzi, a familiar face from countless great Italian horror movies from 1960s often in the role of creepy butlers, is on board and Aytekin Akkaya, who had played Cüneyt Arkin's sidekick in the notorious "Turkish Star Wars" Dünyayi Kurtaran Adam plays the main villain.
The plot concerns an American burglar who is hired by an Istanbul-based British guy to steal an ancient sacred artefact from a hidden temple in the Middle East so as to prevent it from falling into "wrong hands" (!). A guy in Arabic dress is monitoring them and he curses that the damn westerners are trying to steal their heritage. Well, actually he is quite right from an objective point of view, but the point of the view of the filmmakers is that of colonialism so he is the villain of the movie! It is also ridiculous to have them riding camels (!) in central Turkey of 1980s.
The cast is interesting 'though: An aged Luciano Pigozzi, a familiar face from countless great Italian horror movies from 1960s often in the role of creepy butlers, is on board and Aytekin Akkaya, who had played Cüneyt Arkin's sidekick in the notorious "Turkish Star Wars" Dünyayi Kurtaran Adam plays the main villain.
Decent Margheriti Schlock
Aylmer7 June 1999
A fun movie to watch maybe once. Unlike Margheriti's earlier Warbeck films, this one seems oddly much more aimed at children. Well it's a pretty weak ripoff of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but it is fun in many ways. One of the most annoying theme songs in film history, though.. Contrary to what many say, this is NOT the same film as "Hunters of the Golden Cobra" which was made a year earlier. The two just had similar casts and crew, but different plots entirely! This one takes place in the desert and is much more slowly paced and dull. Warbecks's a cool guy though, too bad he died so young.
More Margheriti fun!
HaemovoreRex18 July 2006
The ever likable David Warbeck headlines in this highly enjoyable Raiders Of The Lost Ark inspired yarn as a professional burglar/safe cracker hired by a rich British Lord (John Steiner) to locate and retrieve a priceless artifact (a sacred sceptre) from a lost temple somewhere deep in the Turkish desert.
This being tauted as an all action film however, you can probably imagine that the task proves far more complex and dangerous than initially sounding as the artifact is also craved by some less than pleasant individuals who wish to get hold of the sceptre for their own nefarious ends and who most certainly do NOT wish to share it with anyone else.
Plenty of the promised action inevitably ensues with a plethora of high speed car chases (which utilise some cool looking Gerry Anderson style model work), fist fights, shoot outs and James Bond style intrigue together with a healthy dose of humour which all add up to produce a highly satisfying 90 or so minutes.
Warbeck is on top form here and is ably supported by a great cast which includes the previously mentioned and always great value John Steiner, and perennial favourite Luciano Pigozzi (who appears to be in pretty much EVERY Italian B-movie ever made!!!)
Tremendous fun from beginning to end, this is typically rip roaring stuff from the ever dependable Antonio Margheriti and is certainly well worth watching.
This being tauted as an all action film however, you can probably imagine that the task proves far more complex and dangerous than initially sounding as the artifact is also craved by some less than pleasant individuals who wish to get hold of the sceptre for their own nefarious ends and who most certainly do NOT wish to share it with anyone else.
Plenty of the promised action inevitably ensues with a plethora of high speed car chases (which utilise some cool looking Gerry Anderson style model work), fist fights, shoot outs and James Bond style intrigue together with a healthy dose of humour which all add up to produce a highly satisfying 90 or so minutes.
Warbeck is on top form here and is ably supported by a great cast which includes the previously mentioned and always great value John Steiner, and perennial favourite Luciano Pigozzi (who appears to be in pretty much EVERY Italian B-movie ever made!!!)
Tremendous fun from beginning to end, this is typically rip roaring stuff from the ever dependable Antonio Margheriti and is certainly well worth watching.
The boys are back
Cranstonman6 May 2002
The dream team of Antonio Margheriti, David Warbeck and John Steiner reunite for a thematic sequel to Hunters Of The Golden Cobra, and its a beauty, as good if not better than the earlier film. Warbeck is on top form and John Steiner is as magical as ever in a rip roaring adventure that will keep you hooked until the credits fade. Good guys, bad guys, fisticuffs, car chases and a lovely in joke about Roger Moore. This is a wonderful film.
It is impressive
Apollo15AnnoPianoCatDogSnailAnt16 September 2020
This has lots of action and there is a modern setting, just too many overcast cloudy weather scenes, where is sunlight, for the Istanbul setting which is the city of many movies of intrigue and a welcome cinematic return. Highlight is a cat burglar sequence.
Cheeseball loveliness
Bezenby3 March 2019
The title sounds like a Sun Ra album, but this film is really a cheap and cheerful knock-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a few unintentional guffaws to be had along the way.
In Istanbul, plucky cat burglar David Warbreck arrives with his much younger wife and without her knowing (she's a really heavy sleeper) he sneaks out and breaks into a mansion, not knowing that it was a test set by rich Englishman John Steiner. What Steiner really wants Warbreck to do is find and steal the spectre of Gilgamesh, which in no way resembles any other ancient relic sought by any other handsome rogue in the desert.
Many problems face Warbreck - there are a bunch of religious guys who worship the spectre and want it for themselves and people keep trying to kidnap his wife. Without repeating the plot from Raiders of the Lost Ark, let's just get to the bits of this film that make it worth watching.
One aspect is the trio of David Warbreck, John Steiner, and Luciano Pigozzi. Pigozzi's an old man by this point in his career, but he's got a large part here for a change and his grizzled face adds character to the film. Warbreck always makes a good action star and Steiner's eccentric rich guy schtick is always welcome. There's also the glaring fact that, when you think about it, Warbreck et al are the bad guys and the religious sect are merely trying to stop the foreign devils from stealing what's rightfully theirs!
The other, best part of the film is Margheriti's reliance on minature sets. He even uses them in a car chase at one point - with toy cars! Saves money and gives me a laugh at the same time. I also burst out laughing when Warbreck not only stole an innocent guy's car, he also punched him in the face for good measure.
All in all, this is just a knock-off, but it's a fun time anyway. There's not much violence until the end, where the religious sect get what's coming to them, and the white man gets what's rightfully his - Johnny Foreigner's cool stuff!
In Istanbul, plucky cat burglar David Warbreck arrives with his much younger wife and without her knowing (she's a really heavy sleeper) he sneaks out and breaks into a mansion, not knowing that it was a test set by rich Englishman John Steiner. What Steiner really wants Warbreck to do is find and steal the spectre of Gilgamesh, which in no way resembles any other ancient relic sought by any other handsome rogue in the desert.
Many problems face Warbreck - there are a bunch of religious guys who worship the spectre and want it for themselves and people keep trying to kidnap his wife. Without repeating the plot from Raiders of the Lost Ark, let's just get to the bits of this film that make it worth watching.
One aspect is the trio of David Warbreck, John Steiner, and Luciano Pigozzi. Pigozzi's an old man by this point in his career, but he's got a large part here for a change and his grizzled face adds character to the film. Warbreck always makes a good action star and Steiner's eccentric rich guy schtick is always welcome. There's also the glaring fact that, when you think about it, Warbreck et al are the bad guys and the religious sect are merely trying to stop the foreign devils from stealing what's rightfully theirs!
The other, best part of the film is Margheriti's reliance on minature sets. He even uses them in a car chase at one point - with toy cars! Saves money and gives me a laugh at the same time. I also burst out laughing when Warbreck not only stole an innocent guy's car, he also punched him in the face for good measure.
All in all, this is just a knock-off, but it's a fun time anyway. There's not much violence until the end, where the religious sect get what's coming to them, and the white man gets what's rightfully his - Johnny Foreigner's cool stuff!
MARGHERITI!
BandSAboutMovies20 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Also known as Sopravvissuti della città morta (Survivors of the Dead City), this was directed by Antonio Margheriti and written by Giovanni Paolucci (who worked with Bruno Mattei* on his late career movies like The Tomb and Island of the Living Dead) and Giovanni Simonelli (Hansel e Gretel, Jungle Raiders).
Instead of Indiana Jones, we get Rick Spear (David Warbeck), a safecracker who travels to Istanbul to steal the spear of Gilgamesh from a cult. He brings along his girlfriend Carol, who he calls "Pussycat," (Susie Sudlow in her only movie) and his buddies Mohammed (Ricardo Palacios) and Bettle (Luciano Pigozzi) to accomplish the impossible - breaking into the tomb and getting away in one piece - for the man who hired him, Lord Dean (John Steiner).
The miniatures are the real stars of this movie, as Margheriti somehow gets you to believe that Rick is driving a Trans Am around these ancient structures and that he's not just shooting toy cars on miniature sets.
Rick also says, "Why didn't you tell me this job called for Roger Moore!" at one point, which is funny, as at one point Warbeck was considered to play James Bond.
Nearly everyone in front of and behind the camera - Margheriti, Warbeck, Steiner, Pigozzi, cinematographer Sandro Mancori, editor Alberto Moriani, assistant director Edoardo Margheriti and voice/dubbing editor Nick Alexander - had already made another Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, 1982s The Hunters of the Golden Cobra. As far as I'm concerned, they could have just kept making them because I'd watch them all.
That set at the end, with all the red light and shaking camera and dry ice? That's why I keep coming back to Italian movies.
*Speaking of Bruno Mattei, he totally stole scenes from this movie and used them in his 1988 Namsploitation movie Cop Game.
Instead of Indiana Jones, we get Rick Spear (David Warbeck), a safecracker who travels to Istanbul to steal the spear of Gilgamesh from a cult. He brings along his girlfriend Carol, who he calls "Pussycat," (Susie Sudlow in her only movie) and his buddies Mohammed (Ricardo Palacios) and Bettle (Luciano Pigozzi) to accomplish the impossible - breaking into the tomb and getting away in one piece - for the man who hired him, Lord Dean (John Steiner).
The miniatures are the real stars of this movie, as Margheriti somehow gets you to believe that Rick is driving a Trans Am around these ancient structures and that he's not just shooting toy cars on miniature sets.
Rick also says, "Why didn't you tell me this job called for Roger Moore!" at one point, which is funny, as at one point Warbeck was considered to play James Bond.
Nearly everyone in front of and behind the camera - Margheriti, Warbeck, Steiner, Pigozzi, cinematographer Sandro Mancori, editor Alberto Moriani, assistant director Edoardo Margheriti and voice/dubbing editor Nick Alexander - had already made another Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, 1982s The Hunters of the Golden Cobra. As far as I'm concerned, they could have just kept making them because I'd watch them all.
That set at the end, with all the red light and shaking camera and dry ice? That's why I keep coming back to Italian movies.
*Speaking of Bruno Mattei, he totally stole scenes from this movie and used them in his 1988 Namsploitation movie Cop Game.
Solid Margheriti action film.
EitoMan20 February 2017
First off, I'm a big fan of Italian genre cinema in general and of the director Antonio Margheriti in particular. This isn't film as art but commerce. The Italians were experts at exploiting the popularity of various American films and selling the imitations worldwide. This particular film is (obviously) derivative of Indiana Jones with a little James Bond thrown in.
Margheriti was a very competent director who elevated the cheap films he directed. He almost always assembles a solid cast (as is the case in Ark of the Sun God) and packs his movies full of outlandish special effects. His use of miniatures is especially impressive although this film doesn't reflect his best use of them. Although I have high praise for his work both in this film and others, many people will laugh at what is presented. It is a cheap film and the FX aren't always anywhere near Hollywood standards. But Margheriti still consistently produced entertaining films, on the cheap, with exotic locations (in this case Turkey), and wild FX. It's the cinema equivalent of a comic book from the 50s...cheap, disposable, juvenile, but fun as hell.
As to this film in particular, Ark of the Sun God is an entertaining adventure film that takes place mostly in Turkey. David Warbeck is solid (as usual) as the lead, as is John Steiner who takes on a secondary role. Lucinno Pigozzi, who is a regular in Antonio Margheriti's films, returns here as Beetle--he was a very solid character actor little known outside of Italy. Of course the whole movie is dubbed (many Italian genre films of the era were filmed without sound and dubbed in post-production). The plot involves finding and stealing a valuable artifact from an ancient tomb, all the while being chased by various goons. Standard boilerplate nonsense. The whole thing is utterly ridiculous and disposable. If you're looking for innovative cinema, look elsewhere. But the movie is fun in the same way as those old comic books were. They were pretty much considered disposable schlock as well until folks began to appreciate the talent that went into creating them.
Margheriti was a very competent director who elevated the cheap films he directed. He almost always assembles a solid cast (as is the case in Ark of the Sun God) and packs his movies full of outlandish special effects. His use of miniatures is especially impressive although this film doesn't reflect his best use of them. Although I have high praise for his work both in this film and others, many people will laugh at what is presented. It is a cheap film and the FX aren't always anywhere near Hollywood standards. But Margheriti still consistently produced entertaining films, on the cheap, with exotic locations (in this case Turkey), and wild FX. It's the cinema equivalent of a comic book from the 50s...cheap, disposable, juvenile, but fun as hell.
As to this film in particular, Ark of the Sun God is an entertaining adventure film that takes place mostly in Turkey. David Warbeck is solid (as usual) as the lead, as is John Steiner who takes on a secondary role. Lucinno Pigozzi, who is a regular in Antonio Margheriti's films, returns here as Beetle--he was a very solid character actor little known outside of Italy. Of course the whole movie is dubbed (many Italian genre films of the era were filmed without sound and dubbed in post-production). The plot involves finding and stealing a valuable artifact from an ancient tomb, all the while being chased by various goons. Standard boilerplate nonsense. The whole thing is utterly ridiculous and disposable. If you're looking for innovative cinema, look elsewhere. But the movie is fun in the same way as those old comic books were. They were pretty much considered disposable schlock as well until folks began to appreciate the talent that went into creating them.
An enjoyably lightweight action adventure romp
Woodyanders31 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Rough'n'tumble professional burglar and safe cracker Rick Spear (the late, great David Warbeck in fine rugged form) is hired by smarmy, crippled British millionaire Lord Dean (a pleasingly smooth portrayal by John Steiner) to retrieve a sacred scepter that belonged to the god Gilgamesh from a temple in Istanbul. The nefarious Prince Abdullah (neatly essayed with sneering aplomb by Aytekin Akkaya) also wants to get his evil hands on the scepter. Capably directed by Antonio Margheriti, with slick cinematography by Sandro Mancori, a steady pace, a lively, rousing score by Aldo Tamborelli, a loose and engaging chemistry between Warbeck and Steiner, a groovy rocking theme song, a likable breezy tone, and several stirring well-staged action sequences (I especially dug the nice use of funky miniatures for the car chase scenes), this film overall delivers the goods in a commendably straightforward and unpretentious manner. Warbeck and Steiner both excel in their roles; they receive solid support from Susie Sudlow as Rick's sweet, fetching girlfriend Carol, Luciano Pigozzi as boozy, amiable old-timer Beetle, Ricardo Palacios as sly criminal Mohammed, and Achille Brugnini as Lord Dean's loyal servant Rupert. A perfectly entertaining little diversion.
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