TURKISH SUPERMAN DOUBLE BILL

SUPERMEN DONUYOR/DEMIR YUMRUK DEVLER GELIYOR

Yes, it's true. In 1978 the Turkish were quick to cash in on the global success of Richard Donner's SUPERMAN film, and produced their own reimagining of the classic superhero tale. And now, thanks to the fine folk at Onar Films, here it is for our enjoyment - paired with an earlier but equally insane superhero film …

The first film presented for our gratification is the main attraction: SUPERMEN DONUYOR (a.k.a. SUPERMEN RETURN; THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN; TURKISH SUPERMAN).

This truly demented slice of cinema begins with a narrator explaining how the planet Krypton has died, and a child was shuttled away from it to Planet Earth, in the hope that it would be nurtured there so that at least one life from Krypton would survive. You really have to see this opening to fully appreciate it - as the narrator speaks breathlessly, plastic stars and Christmas tree baubles (doubling up as planets) dangle from thin strings in front of a black velvet backdrop. This is the universe, Turkish cinema-style!

We then get a retelling of the Superman story, which concerns the bespectacled Tayfun (Tayfun Demir), who is told by his elderly parents one day that they are not his real folks - they found him as a child in a rocket wreck with nothing but a lump of green stone, and raised him as their own from that day on. His mother produces the piece of bright green kryptonite and gives it to Tayfun, who retires to his bedroom to digest their shocking news. It's here that he hears his real father's voice - coming from the stone - telling him the stone will lead him to his destiny.

Without further ado, Tayfun packs a suitcase full of clothes and announces that he's leaving. His mum gives him some lunch for his journey. The stone leads Tayfun to a cave where his father appears to him, telling him he's the sole survivor of the planet Krypton, and that he has special powers which he must use for good causes. But Tayfun's father also warns him that he can only use his powers when the lump of kryptonite is far away from him - and that a mortal can only defeat Tayfun if they have a piece of kryptonite to hand …

Oh, it's in this cave that Tayfun first acquires his superman costume too - and flies unconvincingly across superimposed backgrounds for the first time …

Back to the kryptonite. Would you believe that a renowned scientist returns to Turkey from overseas, and announces on TV that he's found a lump of the rare stone, declaring it to be a valuable source of energy? And that a criminal mastermind watches the TV broadcast, plotting to steal the stone for financial gain (he owns a machine that turns metal into gold, but it needs kryptonite to work)?

And, would you credit it … Tayfun's pretty colleague at the newspaper office where he works, Alev, is the scientist's daughter? Indeed, Tayfun gets a bad feeling when Alev sets off alone to visit her father at home one day, and has to put his special powers through their first real test as he rushes to save her from an on-the-road kidnapping.

From this point in, it's action pretty much all the way as Superman defends the hapless scientist and witless Alev respectively, knocking ten bags of shit out of mobsters occasionally in clumsily choreographed fist-fight sequences. All of which makes for tremendous fun, although the biggest titter is left until near the end when Superman's nemesis exposes him to kryptonite. Our superhero's physical withering at this point is Oscar-worthy!

From the laugh-out-loud ineptitude of the pre-credits opening, to the crazy melodramatic music that peppers the film (including liberal use of the patented SUPERMAN score, plus a main theme tune that sounds similar to the DANGERMOUSE theme), SUPERMEN DONUYOR is Z-grade exploitation filmmaking at it's most irresistible.

Okay, its 23 minutes in before Superman gets to act the hero, and for a 68-minute film that feels a little too long to wait. But elsewhere the flimsy sets, amateur FX work (you won't believe a man can fly …), lurid colour photography and bewildered "acting" all complement the childlike script perfectly, making this a turd that's impossible not to love. It even boasts a villain who cradles a cat in one arm while continually stroking it with his free hand, as he plots to take over the world …

The second film on offer is DEMIR YUMRUK DEVLER GELIYOR (a.k.a. IRON FIST: THE GIANTS ARE COMING).

Shot in stark grainy black-and-white, DEMIR starts off promisingly enough with a fantastically stirring opening theme.

Once the credits are out of the way, we're introduced to the criminal lair of Fu Manchu, a wheelchair-bound transvestite. Manchu tells his henchman - more for our benefit, methinks - that he is in search of a dagger that holds a clue as to the whereabouts of hidden treasure and uranium. If he finds the treasure and uranium, Manchu believes they will give him the power required to rule the world. Manchu has even kidnapped a professor who he believes knows where the dagger is hid.

There's just one problem: Manchu's criminal rival Zagof is also hunting the dagger for the same reason. Zagof is scheduled to arrive in Turkey later that night. Manchu is delighted, then, when he is told that the dagger is hidden in a coffin buried underwater, and orders two divers to retrieve it for him.

As Zagof arrives in Turkey he gathers his team of henchmen (and pretty new secretary Meral) together to tell them that he has come to track down the dagger. Their meeting is cut short when Zagof's assistant informs him that Manchu has been on the telephone, saying he has the dagger and wants to meet with Zagof to negotiate a deal.

Zagof agrees to a meeting, but in the meantime Manchu discovers that the coffin is empty - the professor lied to him! Which means, of course, that Manchu will have to think more dastardly deeds to get the professor talking …

Meanwhile we meet adulterous, muscular Enver (Enver Ozer), who girlfriend Meral catches in the act with another woman. They row over his misdeed, before falling onto their bed in a lover's embrace. Meral spoils the moment by explaining that their impending wedding will have to be postponed because her latest "mission" posing as Zagof's secretary will involve her spending a lot of time with the criminal kingpin.

Enver's not too keen on this predicament, but changes his tune somewhat when their bungling friend Orhan turns up requesting the two secret agents' presence is required by their boss, who has a new mission for the pair of them …

Can Enver and Meral sort out their relationship issues and foil the wicked plans of Fu Manchu and Zagof? Will they save the kidnapped professor and protect the safety of the all-important dagger? Will they even make sense of this nonsensical plot, in-between participating in badly staged fights in ill-fitting, suspiciously familiar-looking superhero costumes?

DEMIR is fun in places (it gathers a little momentum in it's final third, after a distinctly pedestrian first 40 minutes). The action is incompetent, but usually amusingly so. The music score is as wild as any that I've heard in Turkish films, and as melodramatically inappropriate as it could be. The acting and dialogue are sufficiently cringeworthy, ensuring lovers of this type of zero-talent madness will warm to it.

But DEMIR lacks the manic energy and so-bad-it's-good goofiness that makes SUPERMEN DONUYOR so endearing. Don't get me wrong, it's fun. But it soon becomes tiring and doesn't offer enough hoots to stop it from ultimately becoming boring long before it's 70-minute running time is filled.

Both films are presented uncut in 1.33:1 aspect ratios. Both are blighted by fairly soft pictures and specks onscreen, although Onar do warn about this on the back cover. Image contrast is generally good and despite the rough look of each film, the presentation is solid enough given that the original prints sourced were apparently in pretty bad shape.

The Turkish mono audio that graces each film is a good, loud and clear mix with minimal hissing. Optional subtitles are available for both features in English and Greek.

Among the disc's animated menus we find scene-selection menus offering access to each film via 6 chapters apiece.

Best of the extras is a 45-minute onscreen interview with SUPERMEN DONUYOR director Kunt Tulgar. He speaks in Turkish to offscreen interviewer Metin Demirhan, who as usual asked intelligent questions and pushed for comprehensive answers. Tulgar looks good for his age (59), and is served well by his memory when discussing his very prolific career. The interview is complemented by occasional scenes from various Tulgar films. Optional subtitles in Greek and English are at the ready.

We also get biographies and filmographies for Tulgar and DEMIR director Tunc Basaran, all of which are in English text.

There are nice - if brief - photo galleries relating to each film. DEMIR boasts the more interesting of the two, as it's gallery consists of poster art and lobby cards. The SUPERMEN gallery is made up of 11 stills from the film.

The disc is rounded off with 9 trailers for other titles available from Onar Films. These include the likes of KARANLIK SULAR, CASUS KIRAN and TARZAN IN ISTANBUL.

Finally, there's a nice fold-out poster for SUPERMEN DONUYOR inside the DVD case.

Another great disc from Onar Films, professionally put together and boasting a superbly insightful interview with cult icon Tulgar. DEMIR YUMRUK DEVLER GELIYOR is slightly disappointing and not likely to amuse upon repeat viewings. But SUPERMEN DONUYOR is a classic slice of no-budget madness, definitely worth a look. Overall, this set is very impressive indeed.

Review by Stu Willis