Virgilio Teixeira Movies
- 1989
In this war drama, based on a true story and set in an Indian village in the Peruvian Andes, a small squadron of soldiers on patrol are assigned to find and destroy communist guerrilla terrorists. One of the soldiers, dreams of becoming a hero. When the groups good commander is killed, a stricter soldier takes over. His tactics are almost unnecessarily brutal and the dreamer is horrified. His horror increases when he realizes that their new leader honestly believes that the local peasants are colluding with the terrorists. Sadly, the peasants care nothing for either side of the conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
A Mulher Do Proximo is Portuguese for Your Neighbor's Wife. In this instance, the wife was the mistress of her handsome, aging neighbor. Both lovers die suddenly, in circumstances that reveal their long-standing affair to the whole world. Now the families of the two decedents must come to terms with their loved one's peccadilloes; even more difficult, those families have to figure out how they're going to get along with each other. Filmed in Portugal, A Mulher Do Proximo more closely resembles one of those hot-n-heavy Brazilian soap operas than a feature film, which doesn't hurt the picture one bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmen Dolores, Virgilio Teixeira, (more)
- 1988
This South American melodrama was released in English-speaking countries as The Lion's Den. The film's backdrop is the long (and to some, never-ending) period of civil unrest in Peru. Government troops are pinned down by enemy fire in a remote Peruvian village. The tension is unbearable as the troops wonder when and where the communist guerillas will strike next. Comparisons to Vietnam are not only welcomed but openly encouraged. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gustavo Bueno, Tono Vega, (more)
Like a glossy wrapping around an empty box, this film about sophisticated gamblers with nothing deeper than their gambling addiction involves a story no deeper than the tracks along its plot line: win at the casinos alone, win with a woman companion, and then cheat to win some more. Elric (Jacques Dutronc) is a professional gambler successfully working the roulette wheel at the casino in Portuguese Madeira when he meets Suzie (Bulle Ogier) at 7:07 p.m. wearing a T-shirt with the number "7" on it. Convinced she will bring him luck if she stays with him at the games for 7 days, Elric talks Suzie into keeping him company -- he is also hoping her disinterest in gambling will cure him of his habit. The reverse happens; he infects Suzie with the gambling bug. At that juncture, Jorg (Kurt Raab), a skillful cheat at many games, cons Elric into taking off with him to scam their way through one casino after another. The men leave and when they return, the temporary rift between Suzie and Elric is healed -- she objected to Jorg's methods -- but Elric is now infected with Jorg's methods himself and uses a remote-control electronic device to cheat at roulette, winning a fortune. With these proceeds, he and Suzie can start building that chateau in the French Alps they have always dreamed of owning -- though it remains to be seen if the gambling bug has been exterminated or is just lying dormant for awhile. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Dutronc, Bulle Ogier, (more)
British comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise make the movie from the small screen to the silver screen with this zany tale of two traveling salesmen swept up in a South American revolution. Eric and Ernie are eager to test their salesmen skills in a new setting, but upon arriving in South America it quickly becomes apparent that the continent and its people are in a serious state of duress. Now, in order to save both of their necks, Morecambe assumes the role of a dead revolutionary's son. Unfortunately for the hapless salesmen, Morecambe is all too adept at the ruse, and once the uprising quells he is granted complete authority over the entire country. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, (more)
- 1966
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The first of two sequels to The Magnificent Seven (1960), this bloody western featured only Yul Brynner from the original picture's all-star cast. Once again, the residents of a pastoral Mexican village become enslaved by a maniacal brute, this time the insane rancher Lorca (Emilio Fernandez), who has corralled a small army of 50 gunmen to intimidate the citizenry into building a church in memory of his son. Chico (now played by Julian Mateos), an original member of the seven gunslingers from the first film, hears of the villagers' plight and sends for Chris Adams (Brynner), who rounds up another lucky seven shootists from various places of ill-repute (including prison). The new bunch, which now includes Warren Oates and Claude Akins, storms the storm, intending to restore order. This film was, in turn, followed by a pair of further sequels, Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yul Brynner, Robert Fuller, (more)
- 1966
This late-'60s spy spoof also borrows a page from late-'50s Alfred Hitchcock, with its everyday man becoming embroiled in the violent and baffling world of international espionage. When American businessman William Beddoes (James Garner) is traveling in Lisbon, he's mistaken for an English spy who's thought to possess a cache of industrial diamonds. Soon he is pursued by Aurora-Celeste da Costa (Melina Mercouri), Steve-Antonio (Tony Franciosa), and a host of other colorful troublemakers, all chasing him for something he doesn't have. Note Bert Kaempfert's music, introducing "Strangers In The Night". ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Melina Mercouri, (more)
- 1965
The final three days of Christ, covering his arrest, his death, and resurrection, are chronicled in this saga. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This biblical epic chronicles the rocky relationship between David the giant-killer and Saul, King of the Israelites who listens to the subversive whispers of his jealous wife and ultimately loses his life. This is one of a series of Bible tales. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Wooland, Gianni Garko, (more)
- 1962
The happy thieves in this international effort are Rex Harrision and Rita Hayworth, both specialists in swiping rare art objects. Their plan to pilfer a priceless Goya involves creating a public diversion at a nearby bullring. Oh, we forgot to tell you: the film was made on location in Madrid, the better for the stars to avoid stiff taxes. Though both seem too old for this sort of fluff, Harrison and Hayworth make the most of the comic opportunities afforded them by the script. Produced by Hayworth's then-husband James Hill, Happy Thieves was based on a novel by Richard Condon, who later turned out such efforts as The Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1960
In this comedy set in Spain, Paco (Maurice Reyna) is a young boy with a part-time job as a messenger at a local bank. Paco's father drives a taxicab but has fallen deep into debt, and he loses his hack when he's unable to pay a mechanic for needed repairs. All day long, Paco hears about people getting loans from the bank to pay their bills, and, unaware of the way these things work, he "borrows" one million pesetas from the till to help his father along. It doesn't take long for someone to notice the money is missing, and not only is the bank eager to get it back, a group of local mobsters are after Paco's new fortune as well. A number of cleverly designed chase sequences enliven the second half of this story, which was shot on location in Valencia, Spain. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virgilio Teixeira, Maurice Reyna, (more)
Whilst Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) is on his way to Baghdad, transporting the Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), who is to become his bride and secure peace between her kingdom and his, the ship encounters the isle of Colossa. Sinbad and his men are attacked by a gigantic, bestial one-eyed Cyclops, and are saved only when the mysterious magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) appears and uses a magic lamp to protect Sinbad's men. But in the process of escaping harm, Sokurah loses the lamp to the Cyclops. He desperately wants to retrieve it and tries to persuade Sinbad to put about and return to Colossa -- but the captain won't jeopardize the safety of the princess or the success of his mission, and the Caliph of Baghdad (Alec Mango) feels the same way, even after Sokurah amazes the court by conjuring up a snake-woman. It is only when the princess is shrunk by an evil spell, the breaking of which requires the shell from the egg of the giant Roc -- which resides on Colossa -- that Sokurah can get his expedition mounted, with Sinbad in command. With a crew made up of a handful of his bravest men and some of the most desperate convicts in the Caliph's prison, he has to contend with potential mutiny at every turn, and the men are driven almost to madness before they even reach Colossa. Once there, they find terrors as great as the Cyclops and the treachery of the magician, but Parisa -- in her tiny state -- also discovers the beautiful world inside the lamp, and the lonely boy genie (Richard Eyer) who inhabits it. They strike the bargain that, when Sinbad's bravery is added to the equation, will bring their quest to an end. If, that is, they can all survive the dangers that Sokurah puts in their path. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, (more)
The short life and quick death of Alexander the Great is recounted in this literate historical epic. Decked out in a blonde wig, Richard Burton stars as the Grecian warrior who conquered the known world while only in his twenties, then wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer. While the film's 141 minutes are occasionally bogged down by near-existential dialogue sequences (What doth it profit a man etc. etc.), the battle sequences are among the best and most accurate ever filmed. Fredric March and Danielle Darieux costar as Alexander's parents Philip of Macedonia and Olympius, Claire Bloom does what she can with the nothing role of Alexander's wife Barsine, and Michael Hordern and Harry Andrews are cast as Demosthenes and Darrius, respectively. Lensed in Spain and Italy, Alexander the Great conquered no new worlds at the box-office, perhaps because Richard Burton, brilliant though he was, hadn't yet attained "saleability". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Fredric March, (more)
