This review is from: Treasure of the Four Crowns [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I’ve always had a soft spot for this movie. We (my wife and I) first saw it in the early eighties and loved it. What makes this movie so special was that it was filmed in Spain (for the most part) and that is where we lived at the time. That scene where Tony Anthony walks down that passageway underneath that waterfall is where we used to walk. Driving down Paseo Del Prado and then the scenery in Madrid as they go to the museum gave us a thrill. When they went to the snow to get the drunk, that was Navacerrada, a ski resort we used to visit all the time even in the summer.
The second thing I like about this movie is that it is so awful it is great. Sort of like a Plan 9 for the Indiana Jones set. You can see the string holding up the props that are supposed to be 3-D. Shoving everything into the camera unnecessarily is really dumb but cool. The plot is ok but there are only three crowns (like a previous reviewer pointed out) and the dialogue is only a notch above Plan 9. Still, it was an absorbing story that had us hooked at that time. I had a recording of the movie and lost it over the years. Just found a copy in a video store and rented it. They would not sell it to me though. I tried to look up a history of the movie and there is not much out there. It seems like Treasure was Tony Anthony’s last movie as his movie history cuts off at that point.
Overall, if you like cheesy Mystery Science Theater type movies, this one is for you! Highly recommended.
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This review is from: Treasure of the Four Crowns [VHS] (VHS Tape)
As the founder of the Theatre of Cheese film club for the appreciation of hideously awful / camp cinema, I must credit Treasure of the 4 Crowns for starting me on the road to bad movie heaven. Just to set the stage, I was in Russia, on a student exchange trip when my host insisted we see a movie. Since this one was in 3D we figured, “Hey, why not?” Within the first 10 minutes my American friend and I were literally falling out of our chairs, and we couldn’t stop laughing for long enough to breath properly. This was at that point the worst movie I had ever seen (I have since seen “Manos, the Hands of Fate”, “Hobgoblins” and “Tomcats” but I am not proud of this). The funniest thing? The Russians weren’t laughing… Anyway, Treasure of the Four Crowns is a grade D Indiana Jones clone, centering on our middle aged, hairpiece toting hero J. T. Striker. He and his band of semi-elderly misfits are recruited to retrieve three (yes, only three) enchanted crowns from the compound of a twisted cult leader. I have never laughed harder than this at a bad film… EVER. Why? Where to start? It’s all golden cheese. From the most dodderingly [simple] line readings in history, to the huge spots that disappear and reappear from the camera lens, to a hero who seems like he’s going to wet himself whenever he’s trying to seem heroic, to some downright inexplicable special effects… Ok, wait, have to calm down. Okay, I’m just going to tell you that if you are a lover of bad film, perhaps even if you’ve collected every MST3K episode, you NEED this movie. I assure you, the price is steep, but it is worth every penny. If nothing else, this is a classic example of 3D technology in the hands of people who really shouldn’t be using it. Everything gets shoved into the camera at some point (“Hey, could you pass me that magnifying glass?” zoooOOOOOM…) And the best thing is that unlike some other films, this one practically MST’s itself. It’s actually FUN to watch, and it’s a riot with friends. You will thank me. Please, keep the cheese alive, and buy Treasure of the Four Crowns, one of the best times I’ve ever had at the movies…
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This review is from: Treasure of the Four Crowns [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I saw this film in 1983 and I loved it. Some 15 minutes of this film have been posted on You-Tube and I can’t believe how much I remember, even though it was 25 years ago that I saw it. I particularly remember how good the soundtrack music was. (no wonder–the composer is none other than Morricone!) I thought the music sounded like Wagner’s Tannhauser Overture and whenever I hear that piece I think of the Treasure of the 4 Crowns. This is the last 3D film made that anybody can remember, until the awful Spy-Kids in 3d and the recent Beowulf. According to Wikipedia, this film was rushed into production by Cannon films (remember them?) after the success of “Comin at Ya”. I remember taking the bus down Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Cannon films had a building at the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega. After a while, the Cannon logo disappeared and was replaced with “Pathe Films”. After a while, another name appeared on the building, so a lot of turmoil must have been taking place in the film industry during the 1980′s (the era of the VHS tape and before the internet). Needless to say, I wish this film were on DVD!
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The Ultimate in Cheese,
I’ve always had a soft spot for this movie. We (my wife and I) first saw it in the early eighties and loved it. What makes this movie so special was that it was filmed in Spain (for the most part) and that is where we lived at the time. That scene where Tony Anthony walks down that passageway underneath that waterfall is where we used to walk. Driving down Paseo Del Prado and then the scenery in Madrid as they go to the museum gave us a thrill. When they went to the snow to get the drunk, that was Navacerrada, a ski resort we used to visit all the time even in the summer.
The second thing I like about this movie is that it is so awful it is great. Sort of like a Plan 9 for the Indiana Jones set. You can see the string holding up the props that are supposed to be 3-D. Shoving everything into the camera unnecessarily is really dumb but cool. The plot is ok but there are only three crowns (like a previous reviewer pointed out) and the dialogue is only a notch above Plan 9. Still, it was an absorbing story that had us hooked at that time. I had a recording of the movie and lost it over the years. Just found a copy in a video store and rented it. They would not sell it to me though. I tried to look up a history of the movie and there is not much out there. It seems like Treasure was Tony Anthony’s last movie as his movie history cuts off at that point.
Overall, if you like cheesy Mystery Science Theater type movies, this one is for you! Highly recommended.
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|One of the best, worst movies ever created by man!,
As the founder of the Theatre of Cheese film club for the appreciation of hideously awful / camp cinema, I must credit Treasure of the 4 Crowns for starting me on the road to bad movie heaven. Just to set the stage, I was in Russia, on a student exchange trip when my host insisted we see a movie. Since this one was in 3D we figured, “Hey, why not?” Within the first 10 minutes my American friend and I were literally falling out of our chairs, and we couldn’t stop laughing for long enough to breath properly. This was at that point the worst movie I had ever seen (I have since seen “Manos, the Hands of Fate”, “Hobgoblins” and “Tomcats” but I am not proud of this). The funniest thing? The Russians weren’t laughing…
Anyway, Treasure of the Four Crowns is a grade D Indiana Jones clone, centering on our middle aged, hairpiece toting hero J. T. Striker. He and his band of semi-elderly misfits are recruited to retrieve three (yes, only three) enchanted crowns from the compound of a twisted cult leader. I have never laughed harder than this at a bad film… EVER. Why? Where to start? It’s all golden cheese. From the most dodderingly [simple] line readings in history, to the huge spots that disappear and reappear from the camera lens, to a hero who seems like he’s going to wet himself whenever he’s trying to seem heroic, to some downright inexplicable special effects… Ok, wait, have to calm down.
Okay, I’m just going to tell you that if you are a lover of bad film, perhaps even if you’ve collected every MST3K episode, you NEED this movie. I assure you, the price is steep, but it is worth every penny. If nothing else, this is a classic example of 3D technology in the hands of people who really shouldn’t be using it. Everything gets shoved into the camera at some point (“Hey, could you pass me that magnifying glass?” zoooOOOOOM…) And the best thing is that unlike some other films, this one practically MST’s itself. It’s actually FUN to watch, and it’s a riot with friends. You will thank me. Please, keep the cheese alive, and buy Treasure of the Four Crowns, one of the best times I’ve ever had at the movies…
Was this review helpful to you?
|Check out this film on You-Tube!,
I saw this film in 1983 and I loved it. Some 15 minutes of this film have been posted on You-Tube and I can’t believe how much I remember, even though it was 25 years ago that I saw it. I particularly remember how good the soundtrack music was. (no wonder–the composer is none other than Morricone!) I thought the music sounded like Wagner’s Tannhauser Overture and whenever I hear that piece I think of the Treasure of the 4 Crowns. This is the last 3D film made that anybody can remember, until the awful Spy-Kids in 3d and the recent Beowulf. According to Wikipedia, this film was rushed into production by Cannon films (remember them?) after the success of “Comin at Ya”. I remember taking the bus down Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Cannon films had a building at the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega. After a while, the Cannon logo disappeared and was replaced with “Pathe Films”. After a while, another name appeared on the building, so a lot of turmoil must have been taking place in the film industry during the 1980′s (the era of the VHS tape and before the internet). Needless to say, I wish this film were on DVD!
Was this review helpful to you?
|