Fans of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow might disagree, but the most iconic on-screen pirate of all time was played by Indian actor Kabir Bedi in Sandokan, an immensely popular 1976 television miniseries. The series was so popular that it was shown in cinema theatres—a practice not that uncommon in days when impatient fans couldn’t rely on home video. Naturally, some sort of sequel or remake was bound to happen, and in the same year it came in the form of the period adventure film The Black Corsair.
The film follows the formula of Sandokan, not only with Bedi in the title role but also by having Sergio Sollima, renowned director of spaghetti westerns and poliziotteschi crime films, at the director’s helm, and being based on the novels by Emilio Salgari. The plot is set in the 1660s Caribbean, and Bedi plays Emilio de Roccabruna, an Italian noble whose parents were murdered and lands stolen by Flemish Duke Van Guld (played by Mel Ferrer). His search for revenge brings Emilio to the New World, where he begins a successful career as a buccaneer under the nickname “Black Corsair”, together with his brothers Enrico “Red Corsair” (played by Jackie Baseheart) and Amedeo “Green Corsair” (played by Niccolò Piccolomini). When they hear that Van Guld is arriving in Maracaibo to take up the post of Spanish viceroy, the brothers decide to go there and kill him. Emilio gets separated from his brothers and rescues an Indian woman named Yara (played by Sonja Jeannine) from Spanish soldiers who massacred her people. Meanwhile, Emilio’s brothers lose patience and recklessly venture to Maracaibo to openly challenge Van Guld, who has them treacherously murdered. Grieving, Emilio swears that he will wipe out Van Guld’s family just as Van Guld wiped out his. Soon afterwards, his men capture a Spanish ship carrying the beautiful Duchess Honorata (played by Carol André), with whom Emilio falls in love. As the buccaneers plan to raid Maracaibo, Emilio begins a race against time because he doesn’t want Van Guld to escape. Along the way, he discovers, to his utmost horror, that Honorata is Van Guld’s daughter and that he must stand by his word and kill the woman he loves.
Like Sandokan, this film features a potent combination of period details, exotic locations, swashbuckling action, spectacular battles and romantic melodrama, all guided by the steady and experienced hand of Sergio Sollima. Charismatic Bedi again delivers a powerful performance that transcends somewhat melodramatic dialogue and is in many ways aided by a very good cast, most notably Angelo Infanti as the real historical figure, the famous English buccaneer Captain Morgan. Ferrer is also good as the main villain and provides a somewhat unusual ending for this sort of film. The Black Corsair, shot in Colombia, nevertheless had serious difficulties during production and ran into budget issues, which might explain the somewhat rushed and not completely satisfactory conclusion. The need to squeeze material from two of Salgari’s novels—The Black Corsair and The Queen of the Caribbean—into under two hours of running time resulted in some unfortunate editing choices, mostly at the expense of scenes featuring Bedi and André, who were the iconic on-screen couple in Sandokan and here simply lack time to develop proper chemistry. Despite those flaws, The Black Corsair features enough entertainment to provide a superior alternative to whatever Hollywood imagines to be a pirate film in the 21st century.
RATING: 6/10 (+++)
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