The Mercenaries
This taut, very very exciting adventure, takes place in the Congo, where buddy mercenaries Curry (Rod Taylor) and Ruffo (James Brown) are hired by a shaky government president, to go deep into the jungle and retrieve uncut diamonds from a diamond mine that the president needs, to sustain his government!Selection of a crack troop of soldiers, and reluctantly -- a pro-Nazi officer to lead them under Curry's command, heighten the adventure by train into the jungles, threatened and under siege by Simbas...The exciting train ride into forbidden territory under scrutiny by NATO, eventually finds them at the mining site, to find the diamonds safely in a timed vault - not set to open for several hours yet - with the Simbas due at the perimeter - at about the same time!!!Tensions rise as they wait out the hours for the vault to time out. As the Simbas begin their attack, the vault clicks open, and all scamper to the waiting train with the diamonds.As they leave the site, a mortar explodes, hits the train, and separates a train car full of mine employees. The train car glides back into the hands of the Simbas... with the diamonds!!! Another mortar hits the tracks and the train engine capsizes...Now it's up to Curry and Ruffo to infiltrate the Simba encampment, and retrieve the diamonds! They do so successfully and begin their journey back to civilization, in vehicles with a short supply of gasoline. But the mean, vengeful Henlien (Peter Carsten) - has other ideas. He wants the diamonds for himself!!!From the jacket for the film:The year: 1964. The place: the blood-soaked Congo during the struggle for its independence from Belgium. The job: take a train 300 miles through dangerous Simba rebel territory to rescue 62 refugees and retrieve $50 million in uncut diamonds. Time allowed: 3 days. Chances for survival: slim...To soldier of fortune Bruce Curry (Rod Taylor), the assignment means a chance for a handsome $50,000 payday! To his partner, Ruffo (Jim Brown), it means returning to his homeland to help his people. But no matter what the motive, the result is one heck of a tough, raw action-adventure spectacle!With nary a moment free from anbushes, air attacks, and torture scenes -- there's even a chain saw duel -- director Jack Cardiff "keeps the action ablaze by setting off the most gawd-awful explosions of violence in many a moon" (Playboy).Brimming with cataclysmic intensity and well-orchestrated mayhem, Dark Of The Sun - like kindred film The Dirty Dozen -- achieves its particular potency by revealing depths of characeter and touches of humanity -- even nobility -- which enhance the spectacularly photographed roughneck action!
--------A rare film if you can get it -- was photographed in CinemaScope -- but only available in full screen on VHS...If you know where I can get in in Cinemascope, contact me at sekjr@juno.com
violence, murder