- Joined
- May 11, 2004
- Messages
- 112
Just when I thought it was safe to forget Waterworld (thanks arty), the new release on the video shelves is Deathwatch: a WWI horror flic (as if gas and trench warfare werent horrific enough). So overlook the early debut of the No. 4 Mk I Enfield, Sten, and brass-bolstered khukuri, its all instantly forgettable anyway. Lets revisit some of the oldies, but goodies:
· The Drum (or Drums), 1938, Alexander & Zoltan Kordas colourful adventure yarn of the Raj in Indias Northwest Frontier of the 1930s. Look for real Gurkhas, leading the column at the beginning, in their slouch hats and Bombay bloomers with the SMLE Enfield. Raymond Massey does a wonderful foreshadow of a Bin Ladenesque fanatic. Where is Capt. Carruthers when we need him? Hoot mon! A must-see for any Scot!
· Flame Over India, 1959, with Kenneth More and Lauren Bacall. Its the Raj in the Northwest Frontier of the 1930s again, in a taut, cracking good chase film. (Look quickly, near the end, for the khukuri-waving rebel on horseback).
· Objective Burma, 1945, with Errol Flynn. Marauder patrol in Burma has two Gurkha scouts. The first half could be a classic, textbook Ranger operation. Overlook the para-drop at the end, which was really a Brit Chindit glider op at Broadway and White City.
· Never So Few, 1959, with Frank Sinatra and young Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. CBI again with OSS Det 101 and the Kachin tribesmen. Look for the khukuri chicken-carving scene at the clandestine jungle base camp Christmas party, complete with Tiki lamps. Also used to take out a Jap machine gun nest, but ultimately not quite fast enough on the draw. Bummer! CBI the way it should have been.
· The Man Who Would Be King, 1975, With Sean Connery and Michael Caine (and gorgeous real-life wife, Shakira). Classic Kipling tale features Gurkha Billy Fish wading into the Kafiristanis with his khukuri, shouting Ayo Gurkhali! Sean did his own stunt at the end too. Good show!
Perhaps, a separate thread on training films, but one worth mentioning is Bowie Knife, Big Knife Dueling, by Dwight McLemore from Lauric Press. Some techniques that are applicable to any big blade, and theres even a khuk on the wall (although he admits he doesnt know much about it, but would like to learn). Some nice slo-mo shots, to the soundtrack from Last of the Mohicans. Better for street brawls, is the stuff from Marc "Animal" MacYoung or Hock Hochheim.
Rio Jim
I am alone. In the land of the aardvarks, I am walking west...All the aardvarks are going east. Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels)
· The Drum (or Drums), 1938, Alexander & Zoltan Kordas colourful adventure yarn of the Raj in Indias Northwest Frontier of the 1930s. Look for real Gurkhas, leading the column at the beginning, in their slouch hats and Bombay bloomers with the SMLE Enfield. Raymond Massey does a wonderful foreshadow of a Bin Ladenesque fanatic. Where is Capt. Carruthers when we need him? Hoot mon! A must-see for any Scot!
· Flame Over India, 1959, with Kenneth More and Lauren Bacall. Its the Raj in the Northwest Frontier of the 1930s again, in a taut, cracking good chase film. (Look quickly, near the end, for the khukuri-waving rebel on horseback).
· Objective Burma, 1945, with Errol Flynn. Marauder patrol in Burma has two Gurkha scouts. The first half could be a classic, textbook Ranger operation. Overlook the para-drop at the end, which was really a Brit Chindit glider op at Broadway and White City.
· Never So Few, 1959, with Frank Sinatra and young Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. CBI again with OSS Det 101 and the Kachin tribesmen. Look for the khukuri chicken-carving scene at the clandestine jungle base camp Christmas party, complete with Tiki lamps. Also used to take out a Jap machine gun nest, but ultimately not quite fast enough on the draw. Bummer! CBI the way it should have been.
· The Man Who Would Be King, 1975, With Sean Connery and Michael Caine (and gorgeous real-life wife, Shakira). Classic Kipling tale features Gurkha Billy Fish wading into the Kafiristanis with his khukuri, shouting Ayo Gurkhali! Sean did his own stunt at the end too. Good show!
Perhaps, a separate thread on training films, but one worth mentioning is Bowie Knife, Big Knife Dueling, by Dwight McLemore from Lauric Press. Some techniques that are applicable to any big blade, and theres even a khuk on the wall (although he admits he doesnt know much about it, but would like to learn). Some nice slo-mo shots, to the soundtrack from Last of the Mohicans. Better for street brawls, is the stuff from Marc "Animal" MacYoung or Hock Hochheim.
Rio Jim
I am alone. In the land of the aardvarks, I am walking west...All the aardvarks are going east. Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels)
