Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kingslaay Did anyone actually watch this film at face value? Other than that this is sadly another example of the snowball effect, we can't make our minds up on our own and follow others like sheep. Ashanti is a great film, packed with a superb class. It tackles a very real issue that might still be present, slavery. It shows how a simple doctor and love for his wife will see him go to great lengths to rescue her. The performances are very good from a very strong cast who execute a deep and bold story. A true gem of a film that if you somehow discover it, it will be a real treat to watch.

Wuchak "Ashanti" has loads going for it: Released in 1979, it was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars Michael Caine with an impressive supporting cast, including Peter Ustinov, Omar Shariff, William Holden and Rex Harrison (the latter three in very minor roles). If you're into exotic women there's Beverly Johnson, not to mention great exotic locations -- Israel, Kenya and Sicily (although much of the story takes place in the Sahara Desert). Caine's co-star, Kabir Bedi, is impressive as well.The story addresses modern-day slavery. Caine's black wife is apprehended by slave-traders and he chases them across the Sahara Desert all the way to the Red Sea. I know of two beautiful women who completely disappeared abroad. What happened to them? Were they apprehended by slavers? Did they become sex slaves? No one knows. The film illustrates this very-real possibility."Ashanti" plays like a wannabe "Lawrence of Arabia" but doesn't even come close. It's marred by a horribly dated 70s score whereas the score to "Lawrence" is timeless (even though it's older by about 17 years!!). Plus, "Lawrence" is believable from beginning to end, whereas I found myself mumbling "Yeah, right" numerous times while watching "Ashanti." In other words, too many scenes come off unconvincing or slightly awkward.BOTTOM LINE: "Ashanti" sounds great on paper but they needed to take more time in the creation process to work out the kinks in the writing, acting, directing and score.Still, the locations are great, there is a lot of action and the film provokes thought on an important subject. It's definitely worth picking up if you're a Caine fan or if you're into desert-survival flicks, especially since it's so cheap. Same thing if you favor Beverly Johnson (who's not the greatest actress). It's quite a bit better than Caine's similar African adventure "The Wilby Conspiracy" (1975).The DVD features only a full screen version but the picture is quite good. Unfortunately the menu is cheap, featuring only "Play Movie" and "Trailer;" there isn't even a scene selection option.GRADE: C

Paul I saw this recently with my wife and discovered it's better than Caine believes, although it's not much cop. Britain's greatest ever screen actor does not seem too interested in this role, which is a pity as he might have elevated it with more conviction in his playing. Rex Harrison seems even less bothered, perhaps unsurprisingly, as his character is very poorly written. William Holden is better, but his screen time is fleeting and, again, his character is not well scripted.Beverly Johnson is as beautiful a woman as I have ever seen, but is given very little to do, the film might have gained a great deal by concentrating more on her story. Ustinov steals the show, but basically by playing a comic character quite out of keeping with the film's serious tone. The music is poor and Omar Sharif makes one of his many pointless cameos (his career has been based on this for decades now).Richard Fleischer has to be blamed for not directing this more effectively, he was an infuriatingly unpredictable film director, and this is one of his weaker movies.

ragosaal Richard Fleischer was a very prolific director with a simple style but he was brave enough to enter films in all genres ("The Vikings", "Barabbas", "Compulsion", "Blind Terror", "The Boston Strangler", "Soylent Green", "Tora, Tora, Tora") with very good and acceptable results indeed.With "Ashanti" he gets a watchable film and a sort of testimonial one dealing with slavery in the XX Century as a pretty female Doctor rendering services for the United Nations among primitive tribes in Africa is kidnapped to be sold in the eastern Arabian markets; her husband goes on a long pursuit of the slave traders to recover her. Shoot in jungle and desert wide-open outdoor locations the film is sort of slow at times but it also has some good moments.An all star cast is a plus. Michael Caine renders an acceptable performance as the willing husband and model Beverly Johnson does too as his abducted wife. Peter Ustinov steals the show as the fiendish chief slave dealer Suleiman in what is probably the most interesting character in the film. Rex Harrison and William Holden not at the peak of their careers back then make correct appearances in small roles. Omar Shariff and Kabir Bedi are there too.Not a great film at all but worth a watch in my opinion. It's a 6 out of 10 for me.