3 DEV ADAM, or 3 Mighty Men, as the translation would go, is an odd film to put it mildly. It deals with a smuggling ring led by Spider-Man who goes around obtaining priceless statues and killing the people who own them. He has a certain penchant for killing people while they shower. Kind of makes sense. People are at their lowest defense when they are in the shower.
You know that you are in for weird when the movie opens with Spider-Man killing a woman with a boat motor shoved into her face.
Luckily, Santo (yes, the wrestler) and Captain America are here to save the day and bring the evil Spider-Man to justice.
What's that? This doesn't sound like anything you have heard of before? That's because we have delved into the land of Turkish Cinema with 3 Dev Adam and the normal rules do not apply.
On the surface it's a decent action flick with lots of fight scenes and chases. We get a diabolical death trap when a man has his face chewed off by Guinea Pigs (?!?!)
In this flick, Captain America and Santo are played by two handsome Turkish gentlemen who drink and smoke, because that's what you did back in the day. Sure, the costumes are second rate and half the time I couldn't tell you what in the name of all that is Holy is going on, but it's a fun time. Looking like it was edited with a rusty chainsaw, the movie realizes that it has one thing going for it. Momentum. The fight scenes are plentiful, a little cheesy,but it was 1973 and it takes place in Turkey! Give them some slack.
The print I watched was horrible, but I have been informed that that is as good as it's going to get.
A definite slice of Turkish cinema and makes me want to seek out more of the same. Wish me luck and check this one out for yourself.
A truly bizarre film! I wanted to point out that the graphic pictured there was from a screening Trash Palace did several years ago at a club in Virginia. The company that actually released the DVD is Onar films. I don't know if it's okay to post their link here but it's found at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onarfilms.com/description.php?iddesc=2
They have released a lot of Turkish films on DVD with English subs. I have only seen a few of them but I doubt any are as wacky as this one!
Brian, thanks for the comment. And the link as well. I think that more people would enjoy little seen flicks like this if they knew more about them. I might have to delve into more Turkish films in the near future.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to top "3 Dev Adam" like I said, but the Turkish double feature DVD set that Mondo Macabro put out is also pretty wacky and very different as well.
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