Search - Treasure of the Amazon on DVD

CHEESY MEXICAN INDIANA JONES KNOCKOFF

Tim Janson | Michigan | 03/29/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Treasure of the Amazon really is one of those films that is so bad it's actually good. It's a Mexican-made film from 1985 menat to cash in on the popularity of the Indian Jones films. It stars a cast of name actors (well sort of) such as Stuart Whitman, Donald Pleasance, John Ireland, and Bradford Dillman. Not exactly Hollywood's A list, or even B list, but at least some people you've heard of.

The plot involves a search for gold in the Amazon by various groups of people, all trying to out-wit each other and be the first to find the treasure. Pleasance plays a former German officer named Klaus Von Blantz who is hoping to find the gold and bring back the Third Reich. Whitman is a tough old Jungle vet named Gringo. Throughout the film the groups battle jungle headhunters, crocodiles, and vicious crabs who tear apart one person in a memorable scene.

There's lots of gore including decapitations, animal attacks, and shrunken heads but the budget is so low that it doesn't scare or shock. It's all quite harmless and great cheesy entertainment. Kind of like an old Saturday Afternoon matinee film."

NOT INDIANA JONES, BUT

W. G. McCaslen | LOUISVILLE, KY, US | 03/08/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I read several reviews for this movie, it seemed like people saw two different versions, one good the other bad. I wasn't sure what to expect. I like Stuart Whitman and Donald Pleasence usually makes a good BAD GUY, TELEFON, WILL PENNY, SOLDIER BLUE! OK in this, not great. Stuart makes this work start to finish, he must have enjoyed this movie like taking a vacation after a long years work. Sure its campy, but Oh so much fun. They must have had one HELLUVA snake handler, probably a native, those are some BIG snakes. I wonder where they got all those crabs? Throw in some fine looking native girls and Sonia Infante, Whoo Hoo! The special effects seemed very good for over 25 years ago. I enjoyed it I must have gotten the good version. I received this dvd quickly from Amazon and will watch it often."

Okay, It's Awful, BUT...

Benjamin J Burgraff | Las Vegas | 10/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"René Cardona Jr.'s 1984 "Treasure of the Amazon" still manages to keep your attention! There is such a sense of "Hey, nobody's gonna believe this, anyway", that the absurdities become entertaining, from Donald Pleasence sleepwalking through his role as an ex-Nazi searching for riches to revive the Third Reich, to grizzled, aging, out-of-shape Stuart Whitman bedding winsome 'Southern' belle Ann Sidney (a definite health risk!). Then there is Sonia Infante, who wanders through the entire film topless, John Ireland, nearly as bored as Pleasence, as the stoic local priest (isn't the Amazon a bit warm for a friar's robe?), Bradford Dillman as a pilot (who treats his small role as a paid vacation), Pedro Armendáriz Jr. and Jorge Luke mugging their way through the token 'greedy crook' roles...hey, for a lousy film, there are some pretty respectable actors here!

There's gold, there are diamonds (in the AMAZON???), and headhunters, piranha, alligators, leeches, flesh-eating land crabs, beautiful locations, barely legal (and dressed) native girls...and according to the opening credits, it's all based on a TRUE STORY! Uh-huh...

If you feel like 'slumming' with something laughably dumb, and at a low, low price, "Treasure of the Amazon" is just the ticket!


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