Ashanti (1979)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Stephen Geller (screenplay)
Alberto Vázquez Figueroa (novel)

Release Date:

April 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Only two men could rescue her. One driven by love, the other by revenge.

Plot:

Dr. Anansa Linderby is kidnapped in a medical mission in Africa by a slave trader. From this moment...

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Slave | Kidnapping | Slavery | Based On Novel

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Dr. David Linderby
Peter Ustinov	...	Suleiman
Kabir Bedi	...	Malik
Beverly Johnson	...	Dr. Anansa Linderby
Omar Sharif	...	Prince Hassan
Rex Harrison	...	Brian Walker
William Holden	...	Jim Sandell
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Djamil
Winston Ntshona	...	Ansok
Tariq Yunus	...	Faid
Tyrone Jackson	...	Dongaro
Akosua Busia	...	The Senoufo girl
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Marcel
Olu Jacobs	...	Commissioner Batak
Johnny Sekka	...	Captain Bradford

Also Known As:

Ashanti, Land of No Mercy

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1979) | Netherlands:12 | UK:12 (video rating: 2009) | UK:AA (original rating) | Norway:16 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Georges-Alain Vuille Production

Trivia:

According to a TV Interview on "Pebble Mill at One" (1973), Saeed Jaffrey was cut out of this project

Soundtrack:

Don't Lose the Feeling

Compelling Underreported Current Subject Matter, Good but Misses the Mark

My rating considers the subject matter, modern-day slavery (!), some good photography ( captives walking through Lawrence's desert, a couple of good cameos), and gives Caine, and the director, a pass for execution. I agree that there could have been a much better musical score, however, this film tickled my imagination when I first saw it in 1980; not just about how it could have been a better film, but simply by the fact that slavery, and a slave trade, continues to exist: a fact later confirmed and documented by activists as recently as 2001. As this film was originally released in 1979, I wonder how much of a budget the film would have had it been made more recently, in light of current knowledge about this phenomenon. I have ordered this film to be included in my collection. Some films' impact is only realized over time, perhaps with repeat viewings, or some time after viewing to consider their whole; some have their greatest impact upon first or second viewing, with subsequent consideration or viewing either reducing said impact, or by that impact's simply not continuing to swell. This is a film that, while it didn't continue to grow in significance for me, neither did its significance decline. It could certainly have been better, and it's unfortunate that Michael Caine, an actor whose work I largely admire, wasn't happy to have worked on this film, but I do believe that it is much better than many other b- films to be found.