Deja View

The American remake of “Straw Dogs” hits theaters this week, but Turkey remade the film nearly 40 years before! Ed takes a look at the politically-charged “Kartal Yuvası”.

A young couple moves to a small rural village to start a new life together, but they find the locals less than welcoming. What begins as mere harassment becomes increasingly sinister, building to a siege on their home and an orgy of violence and bloodshed.

It’s a story about being pushed too far. In this case, all the way to Turkey.

I’m getting an uncomfortable feeling of Deja View.

When Sam Peckinpah adapted Gordon Williams’s novel “The Siege of Trencher’s Farm” for his violent and cruel film “Straw Dogs”, it was received with perhaps more controversy than acclaim.

This wouldn’t seem to make it a prime candidate for an international remake, but the power of its story spoke to Turkish director Natuk Baytan.

In “Kartal Yuvası”, a young Turkish doctor named Murat and his English fiancee Mary have moved to Murat’s hometown in Cyprus to live with his mother. But the political climate has turned hostile. The locals have chased out all but two Turkish families, and their tactics are becoming ever more aggressive.

While “Straw Dogs” was Sam Peckinpah’s response to American violence in the midst of Vietnam and the wake of the Kennedy and King assassinations, Natuk Baytan has reworked the same story to comment on a very Turkish crisis that was occurring in Cyprus.

In 1963 violence broke out between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, resulting in the Turkish Cypriots being forced out of rural areas and villages into enclaves, where many remained until 1974. But some refused to leave their homes, and this inhospitable environment forms the backdrop for “Kartal Yuvası”.

One of the film’s most obvious departures from “Straw Dogs” is with regard to its main character. Dustin Hoffman’s decidedly un-masculine David was not an acceptable archetype in Turkish culture, where men are traditionally seen as strong, macho figures. But the story requires a submissive homeowner to be ultimately pushed to the edge. So that role was given instead to Murat’s mother, and Murat himself is removed from the story almost immediately, whisked away to give medical aid to a band of Turkish rebels, never to be seen again.

The result is that the sense of isolation, alienation, and danger in “Kartal Yuvası” is decidedly more potent. One feels the animosity of an entire country against its extremely vulnerable female protagonists.

This is made even more clear by the gang of locals who persecute Mary and her future mother-in-law. From the very first scene they make their intention to force out the Turkish family clear. And the methods they employ are anything but subtle.

The film also duplicates “Straw Dogs’s” infamous rape scene. However it’s stripped of its most controversial aspect — Amy deriving pleasure from the attack. Baytan also emulates Peckinpah’s cross-cutting in this scene, and here it feels a little more pointed, switching between the rape and a woman giving birth.

Though where “Kartal Yuvası” truly differs is on an ideological level. Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” is commonly misread as a reprehensible glorification of violence. According to this interpretation, David is the hero, growing into more of a man over the course of the film, ultimately embracing his primal side to protect his wife and his home from invaders.

However, Peckinpah’s MO was to present the opposite of his message on screen. He forces his audience to witness the brutality of his characters, wanting them to be revolted by it and to examine their own nature. In fact Peckinpah saw David as the villain — inciting the violence against him.

The irony of Peckinpah’s film, then, is either missed entirely by Baytan — as it was by many critics — or knowingly ignored in order to tell a patriotic story about standing fast against those who would tear one from one’s home.

This patriotism is played up even more in the film’s final act. Most notably, the climactic siege on the Turkish home is juxtaposed with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, an actual event that occurred in 1974, the same year as the film’s production.

In addition, Murat’s mother proudly wears the Turkish flag and plays a record of Turkish Army Band music in an act of defiance. This latter sequence mirrors one in Straw Dogs, but with a nationalistic overtone not present in the original.

Overall, “Kartal Yuvası” is a fascinating example of how one story can resonate with the same power in two different cultures, but to diametrically opposite ends.

It’s not a film for the squeamish or faint of heart, however. Like its inspiration, “Kartal Yuvası” is often unpleasant and uncomfortable, and unlike Straw Dogs, it features sequences of genuine animal cruelty.

That said, for fans of Peckinpah or social commentary on film, it really is an interesting cross-cultural experience.

Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll see you next time.

Deja View is a Telly Award-winning series that explores foreign remakes of popular American films.

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The new “Conan the Barbarian” movie is out this week, and Ed is celebrating with a look at “Ator: The Fighting Eagle”. It’s “Conan” with spiders!

Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, a warrior destined to seek revenge against the mighty tyrant who slaughtered his people.

But this isn’t the Hyborian Age. It’s Italy, 1982.

And I’m getting that familiar feeling of Deja View.

The terrific success John Milius’s 1982 “Conan the Barbarian”, based on the stories of Robert E. Howard, led to a flood of sword and sorcery flicks in the ‘80s. Many of these were cash-ins aimed at the insatiable home video rental market. And several of them were Italian.

But perhaps the most blatant… was “Ator: The Fighting Eagle”!

“Ator: The Fighting Eagle” — or “Ator l’invincibile” as it was released in its native country — tells the story of the titular hero Ator, prophesied to overthrow the all-powerful Spider King. When his parents are killed, his village decimated, and his new bride abducted by the Spider King’s soldiers, he vows revenge.

Over the course of the film Ator teams up with a fiery blonde thief, just like Conan; is seduced by an evil witch, just like Conan, and must save a young woman from an evil cult leader, just like Conan.

These and other similarities map out a skeleton structure for “Ator” to follow, but the film fleshes out the rest of its plot with original adventures. Whereas Conan burglarizes one of Thulsa Doom’s temples and takes on a quest to save a King’s daughter, Ator tangles with Amazons, battles blind swordsmen, and quests for a magical mirror.

Playing James Earl Jones’s Thulsa Doom equivalent is actor and wrestler Dakar. His character is the high priest of a ruthless cult whose deity is the spider, differentiating itself from Thulsa Doom’s snake cult. And speaking of James Earl Jones, Dakar’s English language dub is suspiciously evocative.

But the most interesting piece of casting is the replacement for Conan’s sidekick Subotai. Ator’s companion… is an adorable scene-stealing bear cub named Kiog.

One of the film’s drawbacks is that its financial limitations are unfortunately noticeable. During his journey Ator encounters foes that are conspicuously budget-conscious, including, in one scene, his own shadow. And Dakar’s forces appear minuscule compared to those of Thulsa Doom.

“Ator” is also 40 minutes shorter than “Conan”, and therefore has little time for the deliberate character development seen in the first half hour of Milius’s film. This results in some key differences in character. Whereas Conan is fierce and aggressive — a genuine warrior — Ator, on the other hand, is naive and and lacks temerity, having been spared the brutal and grueling upbringing of his Cimmerian counterpart.

Central to “Conan the Barbarian” were issues of religion and cultism. Indeed, Thulsa Doom was almost certainly based to some extent on cult leader Jim Jones, who instigated the mass suicide of 900 followers just 4 years prior. “Ator the Fighting Eagle”, on the other hand, touches on none of this, content to tell a more straightforward adventure tale.

As with many Italian genre films of the era, one of its primary goals was to be sold to foreign markets. That meant forging a more marketable American pedigree and doctoring the credits. Thus, writer/director Aristide Massaccesi became David Hills.

But not everyone involved was secretly Italian. Ator himself is played by American actor Miles O’Keeffe, who had starred the previous year in MGM’s “Tarzan, the Ape Man”. And British actor Edmund Purdom plays Ator’s enigmatic mentor, Griba.

Overall, the film strikes one as a “junk food” version of “Conan the Barbarian”. The limited budget, straightforward writing, and utilitarian cinematography lacks the scope, gravity, and meticulously composed look of its inspiration. But it is nevertheless entirely enjoyable.

“Ator” was successful enough that it spawned 3 sequels of its own: “The Blade Master”, “Iron Warrior”, and “Quest for the Mighty Sword”. But interestingly, instead of borrowing exclusively from Conan, “Iron Warrior” took inspiration… from the Man of Steel! [The film features an trial scene almost identical to the opening scene from Richard Donner's "Superman".]

And this story shall also be told. Or maybe not.

Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll see you next time.

Deja View is a Telly Award-winning series that explores foreign remakes of popular American films.

Spread that feeling of Deja View! Submit this episode to your favorite cinema or pop culture blog, embed it on your favorite message board, or post the link on Facebook/Twitter:

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Did you know that the first ever Captain America movie was Turkish? Get ready for “Uç Dev Adam”!

After much anticipation, Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: The First Avenger” is exploding into theaters. But until now, the star spangled hero has never had a proper big screen outing in his home country.

For that, he had to hop a plane to Turkey.

So get ready for a patriotic triple punch of red, white… and Deja View.

Despite two TV movies and a direct-to-video feature, Captain America’s only prior appearance on the silver screen was in a 1944 Republic serial.

But in 1973, director T. Fikret Uçak sent him on a mission to Turkey, to hunt down that diabolical super villain with the red face… Spider-Man.

Superhero films were all the rage in Turkey in the ’60s and ’70s: “Spy Smasher”, “Iron Claw”; versions of “Superman”, “Batman”, and “The Phantom”; and even anti-heroes like Killing from the pages of lurid Italian photonovels.

Uçak was certainly no stranger to comic book movies, having previously directed an adaptation of Turkish comic “Tarkan”. But he wanted to take the trend a step further by incorporating several masked characters — favorites from his childhood — into one film.

The result was “Uç Dev Adam” — Three Mighty Men. It’s a truly international affair, bringing to Turkey not only Captain America, but also famed Mexican wrestler El Santo.

Fans will notice right off the bat that Captain America is missing his trademark shield and helmet wings, but the real aberration is the sinister Spider-Man!

With Captain America and Santo on the case, Uçak wanted an especially powerful foe to oppose them. His solution was to turn another major superhero… into a supervillain. Because Turkish audiences were only minimally familiar with Spider-Man, Uçak was able to take as many liberties as he wished. Hence, this Spider-Man is a sadistic, murderous crime lord with an international counterfeiting operation! And what’s more, he has the superhuman but distinctly un-spider-like ability to spontaneously duplicate himself.

Now what’s interesting about Turkish masked heroes is that most of the time their masks… are optional. Secret identities weren’t very common in these films, so the protagonists generally wore their headgear as a fashion accessory, used only as the mood struck them.

As such, Captain America and Santo spend most of the film in civilian clothing. Indeed, their explanation for wearing masks at all is… perhaps a bit dubious:

Captain America: Spider is a child-minded lunatic. He always wears a mask. When he sees someone else wearing a mask, he wants to destroy them. My special outfit is bulletproof.

Another common thread with these films is that the heroes rarely had real super powers, instead taking a cue from the Batman school of putting on a costume and beating up bad guys.

And as was always the case with Yesilcam cinema, the production’s resources were extremely limited, and special effects that Hollywood took for granted had to be invented from the ground up. Star Aytekin Akkaya describes a sequence in which bullets had to bounce off of Captain America’s chest.

Another tradition was to lift music from American sources, and the particularly attentive will notice many borrowed tracks here, including the main theme from the James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever.”

Actor Dogan Tamer explains that the four necessary elements for a profitable Turkish action film were violence, sex, sadism, and heroism — and “Uç Dev Adam” has them all in spades. Nevertheless, it took months for the movie to find success. Finally, Uçak rented a booth at a film festival where he found an international distributor who, among other feats, turned “Uç Dev Adam” into the first Turkish movie sold in Tanzania.

Happily it did find an audience, because this is an absolutely over-the-top, fantastically fun film. I truly cannot recommend it highly enough.

Unfortunately, the original negatives and film prints of “Uç Dev Adam” were destroyed in a fire, and the only copies that remain have been sourced from videotape. In fact the first 16 seconds of the film were thought to be lost entirely until Onar Films discovered them on a 20 year-old Greek VHS and restored them for an official DVD release. That’s the kind of dedication that keeps these films alive.

Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll see you next time.

The next episode of Deja View goes up August 19!

Spread that feeling of Deja View! Submit this episode to your favorite cinema or pop culture blog, embed it on your favorite message board, or post the link on Facebook/Twitter:

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