Blu-ray SAVES Turkish sci-fi fave
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Ebbs and flows at MFHQ Remote being what they are in 2021, our previous jam-packed article about current Illinois independent horror films will be the last “big one” before Halloween. But, wait, there’s more! I’ll be rattling off a few bite-sized posts between this week and the next about offbeat topics that are still apropos for this frightful fall season. Opposite the expected parade of horror-themed retrospectives and listicles posted elsewhere, C-U Blogfidential will gladly bring the unexpected to light.
We start with a most head-popping situation. Orders are being accepted for one month only through Sunday, October 31, for a limited-edition Blu-ray of THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD (DÜNYAYI KURTARAN ADAM), the 1982 Turkish space opera produced on a serial adventure budget that we’ve known seemingly forever as TURKISH STAR WARS. Rescued from grey market oblivion by Ed Glaser of Neon Harbor Entertainment in Champaign, the sole surviving 35mm print of THE MAN is presumably the basis for this unexpected release from Big Bosphorus Media, LLC, named after a waterway in Turkey at the mouth of which sits its largest city, Istanbul. (Wikipedia’s entry for Bosphorus states that “[i]t is the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation,” a claim that pretty much describes the purpose of this disc and its main attraction.) Even a few years ago, when Glaser premiered a 2K digital restoration for select crowds on “Star Wars Day,” the prospects were vague that he could go any further with presenting his prize in North America due to its built-in legal barrier, the inclusion of unlicensed effects footage and music cues from several Hollywood touchstones including STAR WARS. And yet, here it is!
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Glaser, known for his efforts in educating English-language audiences about “remakesploitation” films from around the world that tweak Tinsel Town formulae in strange and brazen ways, discussed the story behind THE MAN in an episode of his well-regarded Web series, DÉJÀ VIEW. I’m including it for context and amusement, of course, but you can also compare the scratched-up transfer of the film intercut there with the trailer featured on the Big Bosphorus home page to promote the Blu-ray, filled bow to stern with remarkably clean and colorful clips. Their site outlines the film’s appeal to fans of cult films and science fiction as well as the modest details for the release: high-definition presentation, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, original Turkish language with English subtitles, and a mini-poster insert. Apparently the fabled 35mm copy is incomplete, per a special note on the page, so footage from other sources has been patched in to complete the film. Collectors who are well aware of this opus, which was a hit in Turkey despite its rushed production history and had an absolute lack of notoriety abroad until VHS and DVD bootlegs gave it fresh wings some 20 years later, will not balk at the $28.00 price for the BD-R.
For those of you corralling your feels over the newest trailer for ETERNALS or actively swooning over the second big-screen adaptation of DUNE, the brand of fantasy-adventure delivered by something like THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD may seem hopelessly lost in the galaxy, 40 years on. As a curio and slice of non-demanding entertainment, though, it might just be the sci-fi refresher that you’ve been looking for. DÜNYAYI KURTARAN ADAM is directed by Cetin İnanç (Neon Harbor’s RAMPAGE (KORKUSUZ)), stars Cüneyt Arkin, Aytekin Akkaya, and Füsun Uçar, and runs 98 minutes.
~ Jason Pankoke
p.s. Neon Harbor has been dormant in the public eye since 2017 when the label released an English edition of Dracula in Istanbul by Ali Riza Seyfioglu and the DÜNYAYI KURTARAN ADAM episode of DÉJÀ VIEW, the last to date. Will anything new emerge ever from the house that PRESS START built?
p.s.2 Notice I wrote CUBlog won’t post new long-form content before Halloween. I never claimed that a journalistic feat would not materialize on Halloween. Stay tuned, dearest creatures!
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