Inferno (1998)

Regista:

Fred Olen Ray

Sceneggiatore:

Sean O'Bannon (writer)

Genere:

Action

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Independent Film

Recensioni degli utenti:

Lowbudget actioner has moments, plus an alternate sound track

Cast

Don 'The Dragon' Wilson	...	Kyle Connors
Dipti Bhatnagar	...	Shalimar (as Deepti Bhatnagar)
Madhavan	...	Inspector Ravi (as Mahadevan)
Evan Lurie	...	Davaad
Rick Hill	...	Trevor
Tane McClure	...	Callista
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Grayson
Jillian Kesner	...	Jasmine
Fred Olen Ray	...	Interpol Chief (as Ed Raymond)
Russel Stevenage	...	Dr. Prakash
Neil Huhta	...	Captain
Kim Read	...	Bartender
Gary Graver	...	Conspirator
Ashok Kumar	...	Commisioner Gupta
resto del cast in ordine alfabetico:
Aylwin David	...	Guaya

Alias:

Operation Cobra (International: English title) (USA) (DVD title)

Durata:

82 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Divieti:

Germany:18 | USA:R

Luoghi delle riprese:

India

Company:

Concorde-New Horizons

Lowbudget actioner has moments, plus an alternate sound track

The other comments on this film sum up fairly well the dramatics of it. Don "The Dragon" Wilson is an Interpol agent whose best buddy is killed in an opening shoot-em-up scene. Still hunting terrorists, Wilson is sent to India (helmer Fred Olen Ray sits in for a cameo as Don's boss at Interpol), where he gets into a tangle that leads to a couple of revelations.

There's not much to distinguish this from any other quickie, straight-to-video actioner, except that much of the stunt work seems a little anemic. Nonetheless, I highly recommend the DVD edition of this film (which is entitled "Operation Cobra") to all fans of low-budget movies. One might say, "War, Pestilence, Plague, and Famine -- the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" but a close runner up for the fifth spot on that team might -- at first blush -- seem to be "With Director Commentary track by Fred Olen Ray." That conclusion would be a definite mistake.

The director's commentary track is the most fascinating part of the DVD package. Ray pulls relatively few punches in discussing the movie. We learn that the whole film was shot in Hyderabad, India, and Fred tells us that it was the first American movie to be filmed completely in India. (Was "Maya," in the 60s, not all shot on location?) We also learn that although Hyderabad is not among the scenic high lights of India, one of the producers owned a studio there, which made for economical filming! Ray also discusses the ins and outs of low-budget film-making, pointing out where specific locations were used for multiple purposes, and noting the Indian actors who had to be dubbed for the American release. We also learn a good bit about the crew's drinking habits and the outbreak of dysentery on the set, as well as the logistics of the big action finale sequence, which was filmed under less than ideal circumstances. (I got two words for ya -- Flies! Flies!) There is likewise a short on-set featurette, which is mostly home movie footage and not nearly as informative as the commentary track.

Fred Olen Ray makes straight to video/straight to cable movies for less money than Brad Pitt's personal assistant gets paid. Ray is not likely to win an Oscar any time soon (I always felt he should have at least been nominated for "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers"), and he's not remotely pretentious here. You wanna know about making movies for peanuts in a difficult overseas location? Here it is.

I watched the film once for story, then ran it again with the commentary track. Cut out the middle man and go straight to the commentary. Anyway, Ray throws in enough of the plot (sometimes puzzled by it himself) that you can follow the story with no problem. You can find the DVD, if you shop around, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5, and if you love Poverty Row movies as much as I do, you'll think it a bargain at twice the price. Forget about the plot and concentrate on America's most prolific non-porn filmmaker at work.