The Ark of the Sun God
The Ark of the Sun God
| 17 August 1984 (USA)
The Ark of the Sun God Trailers

A safecracker takes a job where he must go to Istanbul and steal a scepter that once belonged to the god Gilgamesh but is now in the temple of a secret cult.

Reviews
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Coventry I wholeheartedly agree with the other commenter who referred to "Ark of the Sun God" as a reunion of the dream team that previously made the similarly themed "Hunters of the Golden Cobra". Director Margheriti and cult cinema actors David Warbeck and John Steiner (and, optionally, Luciano Pigozzi as well) really do form a dream team and their exciting and adrenalin-rushing Indiana Jones imitations are truly a must for all fans of the Italian exploitation industry. Personally, I think "Ark of the Sun God" isn't half as action-packed and memorable as the aforementioned "Hunters of the Golden Cobra", but it still is a far above average and amusing adventure-movie with likable characters and some impressively spectacular stunts. David Warbeck portrays the acclaimed safe-cracker Rick Spears, traveling with his sexy girlfriend to Istanbul supposedly for a routing burglary job. It quickly turns out his hirers wanted to test his skills and entice him into accepting a much more adventurous job, namely the search for the lost Temple of the Sun God with its entrance gate of pure gold and the incredibly valuable scepter hidden somewhere in the tomb of the king. The journey to trace down the Temple is full of dangerous traps and the ill-tempered descendant of the Sun God also sends his troops after Rick to recover the treasures. "The Ark of the Sun God" (the "Ark"-part is presumably just to cash-in on "Raiders of the Lost Ark", as there's not an ark in sight) is a simple and straightforward adventure movie without much pretension, but with a lot of heart and spirit. It's simultaneously a buddy-movie with fun dialogs and comical situations and an action flick with delightfully fake car chases and virulent shootouts. Antonio Margheriti's direction is taut & fast as always, since he had an average of 3 films per year to deliver, and the majority of the cast clearly had an awesome time starring in this light-headed cult production. Although the ratings and reviews for this film are better, I would like to encourage fans to track down "The Hunters of the Golden Cobra". It simply has more ingenious action bits, including plane crashes, truck explosions, spiders, snake pits, cockfighting, black magic, spells, poisonous darts and volcano eruptions.
Maciste_Brother ARK OF THE SUN GOD is an INDIANA JONES & 007 copy that's an okay time waster. The real reason to watch this Italian made film is David Warbeck (THE BEYOND) who's a great action star, imo. He would have made a fun James Bond. The production values are good. I really enjoyed the car chase made with models, not real cars. And some of the effects at the end were pretty good. But the whole film is hampered by a grubby look/feel about it (dark and dreary sets; the two old and overweight men at Warbeck's side) and a vivid sense of Deja Vu for anyone who has already seen YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE, which sorta keeps it from being more fresh and fun. And that stupid song was really annoying. But it's a must-see for fans of David Warbeck. Those who don't know him or Italian cinema in general will probably not like this though.
cranston mcmillan The dream team of Antonio Margheriti, David Warbeck and John Steiner reunite for a thematic sequel to Hunters Of The Golden Cobra, and its a beauty, as good if not better than the earlier film. Warbeck is on top form and John Steiner is as magical as ever in a rip roaring adventure that will keep you hooked until the credits fade. Good guys, bad guys, fisticuffs, car chases and a lovely in joke about Roger Moore. This is a wonderful film.
Michael A. Martinez A fun movie to watch maybe once. Unlike Margheriti's earlier Warbeck films, this one seems oddly much more aimed at children. Well it's a pretty weak ripoff of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but it is fun in many ways. One of the most annoying theme songs in film history, though.. Contrary to what many say, this is NOT the same film as "Hunters of the Golden Cobra" which was made a year earlier. The two just had similar casts and crew, but different plots entirely! This one takes place in the desert and is much more slowly paced and dull. Warbecks's a cool guy though, too bad he died so young.