Shark [Blu-ray]

Sam Fuller or Burt Reynolds fans, approach this mess with care
A young man, scuba diving in the Red Sea off the coast of Sudan is killed by a shark. Anna (Silvia Pinal) who with "the Professor" (Barry Sullivan) had been his employer is seen paying off his mother...now the two must find someone new to help them in their hazardous (and semi-secretive) operation, but none of the locals are interested, understandably. But wait! Here's Caine (Burt Reynolds), an American gun-runner who winds up in town tired, dirty and broke after losing his truck and weapons shipment after a chase at a border crossing - maybe he's just the sucker they need!. Anna tries to seduce him, while Caine is trying everything to get passage out of this little town, and back to civilization. He meets Doc (Arthur Kennedy) a drunken American ex-pat who may or may not be a real doctor, and Runt (Carlos Barry), a kid who tries to steal his watch but soon becomes a fast friend, and the two become his only real allies as he eventually falls in with Anna and the Professor's...

SAMUEL FULLER, OPUS 18
** 1969. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller. Sudan. Two treasure hunters hire Burt Reynolds to help them find a treasure lying at the bottom of the Red Sea. Completely reedited by its producers, SHARK! was disavowed by Samuel Fuller. If you really want to discover Fuller, one of the most underrated American directors, buy Pickup on South Street - Criterion Collection, Forty Guns or The Naked Kiss - Criterion Collection which are true masterpieces.

The Troma edition I've bought here presents an awful copy of the film, not much better than my old VHS, with interviews as bonus features. The different stakeholders, I understand them very well, prefer to talk about Samuel Fuller than to try to convince us that SHARK! is of some interest.

A DVD zone...

Early Burt! Great Cast! Great Director!
This one of those great bad movies - Beautifully re-mastered in HD - Burt Reynolds co-stars with Arthur Kennedy, Barry Sullivan and Sylvia Pinal as an American on the run from the law. He signs up as a deck hand to a scientist supposedly researching rare fish specimens, but in actuality he and his mistress are treasure hunters looking for gold buried in the ocean. Great surprise ending! From the legendary Samuel Fuller, the director of "The Big Red One" and many other classics.

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