Dark of the Sun (The Mercenaries)

Dark of the Sun, based on a novel by Wilbur Smith, is a favorite of both Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese (who calls it one of his guilty pleasures). It's not the kind of movie that would ever win a price on the Cannes film festival, but most probably it won't disappoint any lover of tough action movies either. Of all war-adventure movies made in the sixties, about a small group of professionals sent on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines (The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, etc.), this is the most violent and sadistic.

The story is set during the so-called Congo crisis (1960-1966). Joseph Mobuto has seized power, but like most post-colonial African countries, Congo is plagued by tribal hostilities, soon leading to violent uprisings and murderous raids on houses of European citizens. A British mercenary (Rod Taylor) is asked by the Congolese president (he's called Ubi in the movie) to retrieve diamonds kept in a vault by a mining company in the northern province of Katanga. He's accompanied by a fellow mercenary, a personal friend and local (Jim Brown) and an alcoholic doctor (Kenneth More, in a standout performance); reluctantly he also accepts the company of a German, a former Nazi (Peter Carsten), the head of a small regiment supposed to protect the men on their mission. Yvette Mimieux plays a woman from Antwerp, who joins the men after her husband was killed by the rebellious tribe.

Many critics condemned the movie for being too violent and nasty. Even today, some scenes of civilians being humiliated, tortured and slaughtered by the rebels, might be quite disturbing. In reality things were even worse. Uprisings were frequent and bloody and civilians were nearly always among the victims.

Dark of the Sun is a well-made, violent action movie, with a story that is eventful and exciting. It even has a few things to say, even if the political (colonial) background of the conflict, is only briefly mentioned. In Belgium and Holland it was called Last Train from Katanga.

Aanraders in overeenkomstige genres, volgens Boobytrap:
- Die xue jie tou (Bullet in the Head) (actie / oorlog : 7)
- Bang Rajan (actie / oorlog : 7)
- Centurion (actie / oorlog : 6.5)
- Immortals (actie / oorlog : 6.5)
- Bang Rajan 2 (actie / oorlog : 6.5)

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Hoe beoordeelt Boobytrap categorie oorlog eigenlijk? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10