Legendary Brawl! I got my OOP VHS of Darker Than Amber last week. I had heard a lot about the legendary brawl between hero Rod Taylor and villian William Smith. I wanted to see the movie and knew I would probably have to pay a little extra for it. First, I thought the movie was pretty good though it was a bit dated. Even though it was dated it didn't take away from the story which was pretty good. I didn't know anything about the books or the character of Travis McGee when I first started watching. I enjoyed the movie but I must say that the print was really bad. Also somebody posted the entire final fight scene on Youtube and after watching both I realized that a lot of it was cut out of the VHS version. Still a good movie but it needs to be remastered. It is really grainy and seems almost like it is something somebody recorded on VHS off of TV.
Why is this not on DVD? Let's hope that someone will bring this out on DVD AND uncut! The fight between Taylor and Smith is one of the best ever filmed. Rod Taylor was simply perfect as MacDonald's "salvage expert" Travis McGee (and Theodore Bikel made a much better Meyer than Gene Evans would some years later in the tv production THE EMPTY COPPER SEA). Then there is Big Bill Smith,who made a career as the best crazed, over the edge psychos of all time.
Mystery on The Rocks
If you are a Travis McGee fan, this is one film which belongs in your collection. The movie mirrors the book and the fact leading man Rod Taylor has the role is no surprise as he is perfect for the part. In short the story is of Travis McGee, a Private detective hired to investigate the death of a woman who's sister has been murdered. McGee discoverers the murderer is none other than William Smith who plays Terry Bartell. Smith is awesome in this role and anyone who gazes on that extraordinary physique of his will be impressed his good looks match his formidable strength. Adding to the interest of this film are sympathetic Theodore Bikel as Meyer and Suzy Kendall who doubles as Vangie/Merrimay. Travis and his friends plan an elaborate scheme in which the victim will return to haunt her murderer. What they don't know is that their intended mark is as explosive, unpredictable and dangerous as a lit bundle of dynamite. The final physical confrontation is one of the finest ever recorded on film. So fiercely brutal and bloody that many versions of the movie are highly edited. Rod Taylor at his best and a must film for Taylor fans. ****
Darker Than Amber One of the best fight scenes ever made using mostly the actual actors. Still waiting for the DVD "UNEDITED VERSION".
Found a Danish subtitled version on ebay which claims to be spoken in english and completely unedited from Europe, but who knows. Does anyone know when the dvd will be out or where we can find out the answer. Thanks.
Where the DVD? I initially saw this on TV, then years ago purchased the VHS-which i was sad to see was the edited version (I believe the same as the version shown on TV). Well it captures that late 60's vibe perfectly, and I just love the houseboat Travis lives on! On top of that one could compare this film/story to "Lady In Cement"-a Frank Sinatra mystery which has almost the same exact storyline (Sinatra's detective even also lives on a houseboat) which has just been released on DVD but is vastly inferior to this movie...
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
