Search - Liane, Jungle Goddess on DVD

Almost-topless blonde swings on a vine; film at 11:00

K. Bunker | Boston, MA USA | 01/22/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"A no-budget German girlie-Tarzan pot boiler, this is the kind of movie where your mind wanders and you find yourself focusing on various peripheral subjects: Why do the topless African dancing girls look so bored? Was that bit of dialog actually written, or was it just made up by the dubbing actor on the spur of the moment ("uh-oh, his lips are moving; I'd better say something")? How did they get Marion Michaels' hair to "just happen" to fall in front of her chest* in most (but not all!) of her topless scenes? (did they use rubber cement? double-sided tape?) How old was Michaels, anyway? And goodness, didn't they have nice looking streetcars in 1959 Hamburg?

Obviously, this movie's sole excuse for existing was to present as much as the censors would allow of the lovely and nubile Marion Michaels to a prurient audience. And if the video quality weren't so bad, and if they didn't go and put clothes on her about one third through the film, and if it weren't for that darn rubber cement, I would have been quite happily and appreciatively prurient myself. As it is, it's still a bit of a hoot to watch, and Michaels truly is lovely and nubile, and those Hamburg streetcars really are nice!

*Can you believe that Amazon won't let you use the 'B' word that rhymes with "chest" in a review!?!"

Bad, but has 2 famous unknown actors

K. Gittins | CA USA | 08/14/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The other review was well written, but I wanted to point out that the movie has two minor actors with great parts - in other movies.

First is the lead, Hardy Kruger, perhaps best known as the model airplane designer in the original "Flight of the Phoenix", a pretty well-regarded movie starring Jimmie Stewart.

Second is supporting actor Reggie Nalder, who was the assassin in the great Hitchcock movie "The Man Who Knew Too Much" also starring Jimmie Stewart. Nalder was also a bad guy in the brainwashing scene of the original "The Manchurian Candidate" (not starring Jimmie Stewart).

Back to the movie itself...

Has an odd jazz score over stock documentary scenes of drum-beating Africans and nature scenes of animals on the veldt as the introduction and ending.

Image quality is very poor, with a constant stream of spots and flecks and lines, as well as the shifting color tint - somewhere between cyan and green - but never accurate.

As the other reviewer mentions, once the young lady is clothed (at the 26 minute mark) there is not much left in the movie and your interest will waver toward other incidental things - in my case, the various still cameras that characters used on occassion.

I'd say if this cheap DVD puts your order into the "free shipping" category, it is almost worth it."