In this weak but passable film there is intrigue, exploitation, brief nudity, intrigue, frenetic action and that is why it is fun enough. Adventure film by Alberto Vázquez Figueroa, filmed entirely on location in the Amazon River, Brazil, Chiapas, Mexico, Villahermosa and Tabasco, Mexico. At the beginning of the 20th century, some rubber plantation owners in the Amazon rainforest turn a town into a large prison. But the inhabitants have other plans and plan a revolt. Later, Fabio Testi and Jorge Rivero escape through the jungle with a native guide: Jorge Rivero and Agostina Belli, ex-lover of the evil owner: Andrés García. The group makes their way through the dangerous jungle suffering incessant persecution, thirst and hunger. They carry out a treacherous escape through the hell of the Amazon. Their walk lasts months and they encounter all kinds of unexpected dangers. This starts off quite creepy, but it doesn't end up being as extreme as one initially expects.
From start to finish, the drama unfolds with quite a bit of intensity including fights, shootouts, chases and being a bit violent at times. There is suspense, excitement, action, dramatic events and that is why it is mildly engaging. It is an uneven exploitation thriller with a quality cast, but some of whom do not have much to do. Manaus is a bit slow and the plot moves along in fits and starts suggesting that some connective tissue was left by the wayside. The film is passable and acceptable at times, although it contains a completely inappropriate soundtrack with disco tunes and some of Fabio Frizzi's music here also found in 'Zombie' from the same year. The film is based on a novel of the same name by the successful Spanish author, adventure expert and prolific author Alberto Vázquez Figueroa which has been adapted into numerous films such as: ¨Manaos¨, ¨Tuareg¨, ¨La Iguana¨, ¨Océano¨, ¨Oro Rojo¨ and ¨Rottweiler¨. Factual reports in newspapers about the suffering caused by the exploitation of the natives of Brazil for the rubber industry were a key source when author Alberto Vázquez Figueroa wrote the novel from which this film was derived. It features professional direction by Figueroa himself, who for his second film also wrote the script, adapting his novel of the same name, adding a decent cast and spectacular settings.
This adventure film also contains exciting and action-packed elements, as well as beautiful moments in which our protagonists escape through the jungle and are relentlessly pursued. On the one hand, it's an adventure story following the usual canons, including lush jungle, native attacks, wildlife and whatever else. On the other hand, the worthy cast and promising script are eventually undone by an at times slow pace. After his feature film debut, Oro Rojo (1978), Alberto Figueroa returned to the director's chair in 1979 with Manaus. This is guaranteed to be the only early 19th century film about slavery you'll see with an absolutely loud disco opening theme by Italian horror soundtrack maestro Fabio Frizzi. But it's very curious to see among the cast members the usual faces from others, more memorable Italian exploitation films.
Alberto Vázquez Figueroa was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands in 1936. When he was not yet a year old, his family went into exile in Africa for political reasons, as his father was a socialist republican and was imprisoned during the Civil War. He spent his childhood between Morocco and the Sahara until he was sixteen. His father was released, but he was hospitalised for several years due to tuberculosis. In addition, while in Africa, his mother died. Vázquez-Figueroa was then taken in by his uncle, the civil administrator of the military fort in the Spanish Sahara where they lived. He began to provide him with books to read, especially adventure novels by authors such as Joseph Conrad, Herman Melville or Jules Verne, which became his favourite genre. At the age of 16 he returned to Tenerife to study. He worked as a diving and scuba diving teacher on the training ship "Cruz del Sur" with Jacques Cousteau, where he would stay for two years. He worked on the rescue of corpses in Lake Sanabria after the Vega de Tera that destroyed the city of Ribadelago. As a journalist he covered wars and revolutions in Bolivia, Chad, Congo, Guatemala, Guinea, the Dominican Republic and others. As a writer he wrote Arena y viento, his first novel, at the age of fourteen (which was published at seventeen), but it was not until he had been a journalist for fifteen years that he began to earn enough to dedicate himself exclusively to his literary career, which includes more than sixty years with a lot of successful published books. His success came with his fifteenth or sixteenth novel, Ébano, which deals with the slave trade in Africa. A film was made of this book a year after its publication; it would be the first of more than fifteen. Other works of his that are recognized are Manaos and Tuareg. In 1975 he wrote an autobiography, entitled Anaconda. In 1966 he was nominated for the Nadal prize with the novel No creo en nadie, which was never published. In 1979 Manaos, directed by him, was released on the big screen. The Amazon, the desert, the African jungle, are some of his favorite themes, developed from extensive documentation. As he has commented, the fact of having traveled half the world has given him the experience and the necessary experiences to give realism to his novels. Rating for Manaos (1979): 5/10. Typical Spanish/Italian exploitation film with a simple escape plot, recommended for unconditional fans of exploitation films. In reality it is not bad at all, an interesting at times and tense action film.
