One of Quentin Tarantino's fave action films, 1968's DARK OF THE SUN is a rip-roaring, old fashioned thriller that's hard to find on video but worth the quest.
Rod Taylor stars as Curry, a tough mercenary hired to transport a mining company's people and $25 million in diamonds across the war torn Congo.
Jim Brown is excellent as his partner Ruffo, who wants to do the job for his country first and money second. Brown and Taylor play off each other well and are a great action team.
Yvette Mimieux stars as Claire, a woman who joins their mission halfway through after she is found in a village and Peter Carsten is perfectly evil as a former Nazi officer now an unwelcome part of the mission.
As Taylor and Brown put together their brigade of soldiers and the train, complete with gun turrets galore and explosives to match, it's action movie lover heaven and nearly non-stop momentum.
Director Jack Cardiff was one of the all time best directors of photography with credits like "The African Queen" "The Red Shoes" and "War and Peace" to his credit and does an excellent job in the director's chair.
Tarantino used parts of the clever music score by Jacques Loussier in "Inglorious Bastards" and as a Tarantino fan, you can tell why he loves this film. It's rough, violent and kicks ass.
Tough to find on video, I ordered it from Warner Archives on DVD and the print looks great.
An action classic that I'm glad I finally caught up with, thanks QT! Explodes an A- for me.
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