"This is a sluggish, thuggish violent thriller that is remarkable only for the number of violent deaths it manages to cram in."
"This is a grand, enthralling saga full of wisdom, beauty and magic."
These are quotes from reviews of two of the movies that I discuss in this book. These movies are either forgotten or were condemned upon their release. But I believe that they are lost treasures. As evident from one of the above quotes, not everyone agrees with my estimation of their worth.
Within the following pages are several film genres, including suspense, mystery, adventure, romance and Western. Some of these movies contain artistic value while others have not a trace of artistry. Some are merely entertaining while at least one is proudly trashy.
These movies involve a variety of themes including mortality, sacrifice and human frailty along with corruption within the military, politics and religion. Some of these movies contain beautiful images and admirable characters while others contain disgusting images and repellant characters. Love, loyalty, friendship and redemption are within these pages along with hatred, racism, murder and sexual perversion.
It may be the actors, the direction, the screenplay of other technical aspects that make these movies memorable. It may be all of these ingredients combined. Regardless, these movies deserve to be rescued from cinematic oblivion and are deserving of belated recognition.
