This is a spin-off to the TV ¨Sandokan¨ , a very popular epic series of the 70s with Kabir Bedi , Philippe Leroy and Adolfo Celi . Exciting story of love and adventure , the complete romance and the exotic events about the famous hero Sandokan (excellent Kabir Bedi radiating great charisma) based on novels by Emilio Salgari , including a top-notch main cast and agreeable secondary cast , as well as imaginative , touching soundtrack . Oriental adventure with Sandokan , Lord of Malaysia , along with Yañez battling the evil imperialists commanded by Lord Brook (Adolfo Celi) . Valiant Sandokan is a young Indian prince, who as a child lost his kingdom because of the English Invasion. He became a captain of a den of pirates who make constantly attacks against the British army ; nowadays , he is retired in India along with his lover Surama (Mirella D'Angelo) . It was decently directed by Sergio Sollima with an European cast and it contains rousing action , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine casting doing a fine job . In ¨La tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa!¨ our hero pirate saves the damsel in distress and fights an evil Brit imperialist . Set in India , it tells the tale of Sandokan , he is a Malaysian rebel who, with a group of renegades , goes up against a British General called Lord Brook . As Sandokan teams up with a bunch of pirates to even the score with a nasty Sultan during the 1800 . It starts with a young lady, Jamilah (Teresa Ann Savoy) whose father has been killed , returns to Mompracem to call the old 'tigers" to fight , but she is hunted by the sultan's guards and is about to be murdered , but she was saved by the Greek adventurer Teotokris (Massimo Foschi) . The latter decides to help her , making a long journey to India in search of Sandokan , sheltering there to convince him to resume his battle against the British . Later on , she goes on a quest to find Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia, and bring him back from India to fight, after Abdullah's reign, under the command of James Brooke (Adolfo Celi) who produced chaos , destruction , and executions in Mompracem . Sandokan , lord of Malaysia , helped by Kammamuri (Sal Borgese ) , sets out in pursuit enemies and rescue his lover accompanied by his European friend Yañez (Philippe Leroy) . Shortly after , things go wrong when Jamilah is abducted and held captive . Meanwhile in Mompracem villagers are scared and left hungry by the ferocious Sultan Abdullah (Garay) , a sovereign cowardly and ruthless, serving the British. The Prince Sarawah's kingdom is invaded by troops commanded by Lord Brook from Bombay . Sandokan is betrayed , discovered , but he gets a spectacular getaway . Along the way Sandokan takes on several dangers and finally takes place an impressive battle on the seaside against Lord Brook (this main antagonist James Brooke is a real historical person :1803-1868) and his hoodlums (Franco Fantasia).
This is an entertaining oriental movie , full of frantic action, thrills , intrigue, escapes, loyalty, treachery ,double-crosses and of course , a lot of duels and fights . Being an European co-production among several countries such as Italy /France /West Germany /United Kingdom . It is a grade-B flick , a sort of brave hero , Robin Hood-alike , playing in Malaysia , including noisy adventure , emotion , breathtaking attacks , elephant estampedes , and many other things . The flick packs enjoyable as well as exotic atmosphere , lush jungle , evocative sets , alright cinematography and powerful score from Guido De Angelis and Maurizio De Angelis with the unforgettable song : Sandokan , Sandokan... Sympathetic performances by main star cast as Kabir Bedi who looks like he was born to play the character , and possessing major screen presence. Kabir Bedi is an internationally acclaimed Indian actor . He is well-recognized for his role of Emperor Shah Jahan in "Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story".Popularly recognized in the West for his role as a villainous 'Gobinda' in the James Bond film, "Octopussy", Kabir also played a pivotal role in the Columbia Pictures' "The Beast of War", a film on the Russian war in Afghanistan. Being best known in Europe for playing the Pirate in "Sandokan", this popular TV mini- series. He also starred in "The Bold and the Beautiful", the second most watched television show in the world . Furthemore , he has played some international films as ¨The lost empire¨, ¨Lie down with lions¨, ¨Beyond justice¨, The beast¨, ¨Terminal entry¨, ¨Demon rage¨, ¨Archer , the fugitive from the empire . He is well accompanied by two gorgeous women : Teresa Ann Savoy and Mirella D'Angelo , both of whom played in the famous film Calígula . The marvelous main actors are completed by a stellar cast full of veteran Italian players as Massimo Foschi , Adolfo Celi , Sal Borgese , Franco Fantasia , and the French Philippe Leroy as Yanez de Gomera . Adding appropriate cinematography by Marcello Masciocchi . Being shot on location in Malaysia , Singapore , India and Bavaria Studios, Bavariafilmplatz 7, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany . This TV film which fictionally took place in the jungles of Sabah, Borneo, was filmed in the Malaysian Province of Terengannu, including Kapas Island, a small tropical island with palm fringed white sand beaches and dense jungles across the town of Marang. However , the film copy is worn-out , being necessary a perfect remastering . The motion picture was professionally directed by Sergio Sollima . This one was a popular film from the successful mini-series capturing the scope and flavour of the 8 episodes that have the series based on the classic personaje written Emilio Salgari and by that time , getting big hit at European TVs , but it has probably not been shown in American television nor transferred to video .
Other pictures about this fictitious personage are the followings : ¨Sandokan against Leopard of Sarawak" (1964) by Luigi Capuano with Ray Danton , Franca Bettoia , Mario Petri , Guy Madison , Alberto Farnese ; its sequel ¨Sandokan Fights Back¨(1964) with same players ; ¨Sandokan the Great¨ and "Sandokan : Pirate of Malaysia¨ (1964 ) both of them directed by Umberto Lenzi with Steve Reeves , Geneviève Grad as Mary Ann and Andrea Bosic as Yanez ; "Le Tigri Di Mompracem" (1970) by Mario Sequi with Ivan Rassimov as Sandokan , Claudia Gravy , Andrea Bosic , Luis Dávila , José Torres . . And finally "The return of Sandokán" (1996) , ¨Il Figlio Di Sandokan" (1998) , TV series played by Kabir Bedi and directed by Enzo G Castellari .
