Ricardo Palacios Movies

Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years Later, the film takes place (appropriately enough) two decades after the death of Milady de Winter. Though Milady may have died, her nefarious schemes have been taken up by her daughter Justine (Kim Cattrall), who maneuvers with the conspiring Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) to gain control of the crown through Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). D'Artagnan (Michael York) calls for his old compatriots Porthos (Frank Finlay), Athos (Oliver Reed), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) to once again go "one for all and all for one." But complications set in when Athos and Aramis take sides with the crown and Athos' adopted son Raoul (C. Thomas Howell) falls in love in Justine. The film is dedicated to character actor Roy Kinnear who plays Planchet, who died in an equestrian accident during the production. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A fantasy-adventure story in the manner of The Raiders of the Lost Ark, this particular lost Ark is located in Turkey at the site of the temple of the Sun God, where the legendary hero Gilgamesh lies buried. Inside, Gilgamesh keeps company with a jeweled sword that is a source of power for whoever owns it. Rick Spear (David Warbeck) is a safecracker who has been sent to open the temple and retrieve the sword -- no easy task, since if anyone tampers with the temple's locks, the entire building is designed to self-destruct. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This violent spaghettiesque western was filmed in 3-D and chronicles the adventures of a brave gunslinger who is determined to save his fiancee from her abductors, a brutal group of white slavers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the early 1900s, an American businessman was kidnapped by a rebellious Arab chieftain, principally as a means to embarrass the sultan of Morocco. This abduction sparked the threat of armed intervention by President Theodore Roosevelt, which was never carried out. In The Wind and the Lion, the unattractive male captive is replaced by the gorgeous female Mrs. Pedecaris, an American widow played by Candice Bergen. The ruthless but essentially decent Arab chief Raisuli is portrayed by Sean Connery, while Teddy Roosevelt is depicted as a jingoistic blowhard by Brian Keith. The film's main theme -- that of America's emergence as a world power -- is largely secondary to the growing mutual-respect relationship between Mrs. Pedecaris and Raisuli. After releasing his hostage, Raisuli is himself captured by German forces, who at the behest of the Kaiser are seeking out methods of laying the groundwork for what would evolve into World War I. Mrs. Pedecaris must then help Raisuli escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim Brown and Fred Williamson team up for this violent western, directed by Antonio Marghetti under the name of Anthony M. Dawson. Brown plays Pike, a stonefaced cowboy who meets up Tyree (Fred Williamson), a jocular and dishonest gambler. Together with a mute Indian scout Kashtok (Jim Kelly), the trio attempts to transport $86,000 across hundreds of miles of Western wasteland to deliver it to the widow of Pike's former employer. Along the way, they are pursued by bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef) and corrupt sheriff Kane (Barry Sullivan). Dana Andrews also appears in a cameo role as Pike's boss Morgan. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This Japanese/Spanish co-produced, bizarre mish-mash of genres has hints of everything from The Beguiled to Eating Raoul. Director Jacinto Molina (using the pseudonym "Paul Naschy") plays a mercenary who double-crosses his partner/girlfriend Meiko and gets shot for his troubles. Falling unconscious, he is taken in by a wealthy doctor, Don Simon, who has two beautiful daughters, Alicia and Monica. His recuperation is slow, and in the meantime he is seduced by both daughters and apparently haunted by the ghost of their mother. Then there's a veterinarian who gets bludgeoned by an unseen stalker and eaten alive by pigs. It turns out that Naschy is being fattened up for slaughter by the family, whose members learned cannibalism from their servant Rachel's dad while living in Africa. The ghost turns out not to be a ghost at all, but Don Simon's third daughter, who went mad and would not join the family in their new tastes. She ends up shooting everyone, but not until Naschy has been bled and butchered. This is a very confusing film with some really silly moments, like the jungle drums on the soundtrack whenever there's a close-up of the black Rachel's rear end. It's certainly a change from Molina's usual self-pitying werewolf roles, but whether that's a good thing or not is left to the viewer to decide. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This internationally produced adaptation of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty is essentially a vehicle for Oliver star Mark Lester. The young Lester spends most of the film trying to reclaim his beautiful black horse, which passes through several hands over the course of 90 minutes. All the setpieces of the Sewell original are in attendance, including the showstopping "burning barn" sequence. Walter Slezak is the only truly recognizable actor in the film outside of Lester. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director John Frankenheimer, extrapolating from his earlier films The Gypsy Moths and Grand Prix, examines machismo and how men test themselves to the limits of endurance in The Horsemen. The film takes place in modern day Afghanistan. Uraz (Omar Sharif), the son of Tursen (Jack Palance), the stable master for a feudal lord, is a master horseman who lives by a primitive code of honor. Uruz's family honor is damaged when he breaks his leg playing the game which is the Afghani equivalent of polo. His father, who lost a lot of money betting on his son, will barely speak to him. To regain the family honor (and wealth) he must somehow re-learn how to ride -- after his injuries cost him his leg below the knee. In the face of great obstacles, and despite the derision and treachery of others, he gains the chance to play in the games given by the king of Afghanistan. The footage of the horsemanship in these dangerous and anarchic games is one of the real highlights of this film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This epic Spanish biopic chronicles the life of Cervantes, Spain's great novelist, playwright and poet, during the 16th-century, when as a young man he goes to Italy to become a soldier for the Pope. Later he helps the Pope's emissary wage war against the Spanish Moors. His exploits win him great favor. He falls in love with a famous Italian courtesan and she with him. Unfortunately, the Pope splits them apart with his newest decree which demands that all prostitutes leave the city. Upset, Cervantes goes to fight in the famed sea battle of Lepanto and comes back a hero. Later he is captured by Barbary pirates and ransomed by Trinitarian friars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this spaghetti western, based on the Marvin H. Albert novel The Bounty Killer, a bounty hunter swears he will bring in a notorious Mexican outlaw. The outlaw is captured, but then, with the help of a pretty lady, escapes and goes to his hometown. There he enlists the aid of the locals and gets his old gang back together. The bounty hunter eventually catches up, but he is immediately captured and tortured by the outlaw who then robs and kills a few of the hapless townsfolk. This causes the woman to reconsider her actions. She frees the bounty hunter, and a violent shoot-out ensues. In the end, all of the bad-guys are slain, and the bounty hunter finds himself a rich man. There are no likeable or heroic characters in this film that is unfortunately marred by poor English-language dubbing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide