DEMIR PENCE KORSAN ADAM

(a.k.a. IRON CLAW THE PIRATE)

The film opens attractively enough with stylish credits intercut between scenes of a half-naked girl gyrating in a bar to the porno-like sounds of the resident jazz band.

Then, without further ado, we get into the plot: masked master villain Fantomas (!) sends a video message to his henchman Behcet and his fellow secret agents, telling them that he will soon return to Istanbul to sort out his nemesis, the heroic Iron Claw (Demir Karahan).

In the meantime, we see Iron Claw being handed a special weapon (it's actually a gun), which his colleague "The Uncle" informs him will protect him not only from Fantomas, but all bad guys. And then Iron Claw hops aboard his motorcycle and tears away dangerously down the dusty Turkish roads.

Behcet and crew arrange to meet the local mafia in a haunted mansion, promising to hand over priceless microfilms in return for a professor Fantomas wants to make use of. But the plan goes awry when the mafia realise Behcet has handed them fake microfilms, and a shoot-out ensues.

Turning up moments later, Iron Claw gets into a fistfight with Fantomas' gang, before giving chase to Behcet and a sexy brunette as they race away in their car. Iron Claw loses them, but at least he manages to save the professor.

Back at their lair, Behcet and co receive a bollocking from Fantomas via video message. They now have several instructions to follow: locate the real microfilms, get the professor, kill Iron Claw and gather all secret agents together for a meeting.

The latter task is carried out immediately, with Fantomas' gang suggesting that all agents work together with the crimelord in an effort to stamp out Iron Claw, the mafia and the police. Wisely, the agents agree to work as a team.

The meeting however is cut short by the arrival of the cops, ensuring another madcap shoot-out unfolds. This results in the death of cop Yilmaz - a friend of Iron Claw's. The Claw turns up on the scene a little too late (again), and agrees to avenge Yilmaz's death as his friend dies in his arms.

Also wanting to nail Fantomas for this tragedy is Yildirim (Yildirim Gencer), Yilmaz's brother. He begs the Police Commissioner to put him on the Fantomas case - the Commissioner agrees, and arranges to introduce Yildirim to Iron Claw and his sexy sidekick Mine so they can work together against the bad guys.

Shortly afterwards, Fantomas arrives in Istanbul with a case full of TNT. He meets Bechet and his mob at a mansion hideout, and vows to have his revenge upon Istanbul (quite what it is Istanbul has ever done to him is unclear). This involves kidnapping the professor - and his daughter - naturally.

But Fantomas has his work cut out, what with The Uncle, Mine, Yildirim and Iron Claw to contend with …

DEMIR PENCE is quite a well-made foray into no-budget Turkish action. It's fast-paced and exciting, packed with amusing fistfights and clumsily staged shoot-outs. Whenever the convoluted storyline (honestly, there's too many characters introduced during the breakneck pacing, so it's really difficult to keep up with the hare-brained plot) feels the need to gather breath, we usually get treated to some scantily clad filly dancing to traditional Turkish music.

Elsewhere the score is sensationally melodramatic, exploding into loud burst of trumpet whenever the action escalates … which is every couple of minutes or so.

The black-and-white photography gives the film a modicum of style, and prolific director Cetin Inanc (CEKO) has an eye for interesting locations - shipyards, mansions etc - that keep the visuals noteworthy.

The script, of course, is preposterous. It's nonsensical and full of holes (why does Fantomas hate Istanbul? How does Iron Claw know where/when to pop up in the middle of shoot-outs?), but endlessly amusing in it's matter-of-fact delivery (along the lines of "right, I'm going to do this to you now" …).

But, although as mentioned earlier there is an over-abundance of characters to keep up with, this can be followed if watched closely. And if you lose the plot, it matters not a lot anyway. This is pure fun - fast-paced, loud, and with a nice surprise in store when Fantomas unmasks himself to a girlfriend.

And, is it just me, or does Karahan look like a young Elvis Presley from certain angles?!

Onar Films have done a great job in their DVD release of DEMIR PENCE.

The film is presented uncut in it's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The black-and-white presentation is served well with good contrasts and sharp, clear images. For an obscure 39-year-old film shot on 16mm, the transfer is amazingly clean and detailed. Despite a couple of specks here and there (and a couple of horizontal lines running down the screen during the opening credits), this is arguably Onar's strongest transfer to date.

The Turkish 2.0 audio is a reliable, consistent job. English and Greek subtitles are optional.

An attractive animated scene-selection menu allows access to the main feature via 8 chapters.

The main extra on the disc is an excellent documentary on director Cetin Inanc. This is hosted by fan club member Gokay Gelgec, who speaks to the camera with authority, taking us comprehensively through the director's career - from humble beginnings, through his homeland box office hits, to his latter days working on TV documentaries. The documentary is peppered with salacious clips from various Inanc films - the Turkish ROCKY and Turkish JAWS clips being personal highpoints. The opening moments of this documentary in particular consist of a montage of lurid clips from Inanc efforts, set to funky music - very reminiscent of Mondo Macabro's promo reels.

The documentary lasts an impressive 28 minutes and is presented in Turkish 2.0, with optional English and Greek subtitles. True to their word, Onar Films have dedicated the featurette to their late friend and collaborator Metin Demirhan.

Elsewhere there are filmographies and biographies for Karahan and Gencer, both presented in English text.

There follows a stills gallery of 15 images, including original theatrical poster art and lobby cards.

Finally, we get trailers for KARANLIK SULAR, ZORRO KAMCILI SUVARI, KIZIL TUG CENGIZ CAN and ASKA SUSAYANLAR SEKS VE CINAYET.

Also worthy of note is a nice fold-out poster insert inside the keepcase, and the fact that the disc is limited to only 500 copies.

Onar Films continue to impress with their sterling releases of obscure Turkish films. DEMIR PENCE is probably the best film I've seen so far from them, and arguably their best DVD effort too. And a must for fans of Fantomas!

Review by Stuart Willis