The “Turkish Star Wars”: Film #060 - Dünyayi Kurtaran Adam (1982)
Viewed March 1, 2006
Dünyayi kurtaran adam (1982), also known as “The Turkish Star Wars”, earns every bit of its poor reputation, but does manage to land in that “so-bad-its-good” category thanks to the dramatic heights that it aspires to (and fails to reach).
Some of you may have already heard of “The Turkish Star Wars”. Made by director Çetin İnanç and writer/star Cüneyt Arkın, Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam tells the story of two humans’ struggle against an evil Wizard who seeks to destroy what remains of the Earth, which was shattered in a nuclear war. The bulk of the footage was shot in the Turkish desert, but much was lifted directly out of a print of Star Wars (1977). All space footage is from Star Wars, with the footage often rear projected behind the actors in flight suits to really put them “in” the footage. (On a side note, if I was following the use of the footage, the heroes apparently are meant to be in the TIE fighters, not the X-Wings.) Even some establishing shots were lifted from Star Wars, including Cantina footage, the Death Star briefing and the award ceremony from the end of of the film.
The music, meanwhile, has a more varied pedigree. Dramatic themes come mostly from Flash Gordon (1980) and Battlestar Galactica. The heroes primary theme, however, is the main theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and it often kicks in whenever we see the hero, regardless of context. (Oddly, no music from Star Wars is used. Perhaps the filmmakers felt that spreading the infringement around was the best plan.)
As for the story itself, it’s not the worst cobbled together plot I’ve seen. It is unoriginal and derivative. The characters are cardboard cutouts, without enough details to come through as full blown people. The one thing it does have going for it is its unique perspective. Turkey’s Muslim nature comes to play in the details of the plot and discussions of the characters, with many references to Islam and Christianity.
Aside from the Star Wars footage of course, the effects in Dünyayi kurtaran adam are mostly awful. The sets are found locations, so they look fine. Costumes, however, are ridiculously bad. Many of the aliens are obviously wearing cheap masks and even the heroes’ uniforms look like something thrown together in a few minutes.
The acting in Dünyayi kurtaran adam comes in too basic flavors: overacting and speaking quietly. Even when the two heroes are engaging in ‘witty’ banter, they never seem to emote. But they handle the action scenes with gusto and really seem to be doing their best.
In the end, if you are a Star Wars fan, you need to see Dünyayi kurtaran adam just for kicks. If you have an interest in foreign films, it’s also worth a look because of the local twist put on traditional sc-fi motifs. But it’s really not a very good film, and if you can’t look beyond it’s many deficiencies and enjoy it as it is, you’re not missing anything, really.