Mention the name Roger Moore to the average moviegoer and they'll most likely immediately associate him with the James Bond franchise. Makes sense to me. After all, Moore took up the mantle thrown down by Sean Connery and eventually made some seven Bond films, beginning with "Live and Let Die" in 1973 and ending with "A View to a Kill" in 1985. I'm partial to Roger Moore because of this very fact. He's definitely my favorite Bond; I enjoy his glib wit, expressions of fear when confronted with daunting situations, and just the way he handles himself onscreen. I never turn down an opportunity to watch one of his films when AMC or another channel runs yet another lengthy 007 marathon. It's natural, considering how much I enjoy his Bond films, that I would seek out other Roger Moore projects. Thanks to DVD, we're starting to see his work on "The Saint" and several other efforts reemerge. I'm still waiting for "The Wild Geese" and, up until a short time ago, I eagerly awaited the arrival of "ffolkes." Finally, I procured a copy and immediately sat down for a watch. I wanted to see if I liked the movie as much as I did ten or fifteen years ago.
"Ffolkes" is the story of Rufus Excaliber ffolkes (Moore, of course, with lower case last name for some reason), a crusty old tar who runs a mercenary security service in his retirement. You could say that this chap is the sort of gentleman businesses turn to when they need top-notch security. You could also say that governments might turn to him as well when faced with threats not easily deterred with conventional forces. And that, my friends, is exactly what happens when a terrorist named Lou Kramer (Anthony Hopkins) hijacks two British oil rigs in the North Sea. With the technical assistance of nerdy looking Harold Schulman (Michael Parks) and a gang of muscle, Kramer rigs the platforms with high explosives and then sends his demands to London. Predictably, the Prime Minister (Faith Brooks) and her cabinet are outraged. The tendency to not negotiate with terrorists, however, places the government in a real bind. Fortunately, certain insurance concerns--quite agitated that the destruction of the rigs could bankrupt the firm--call in Rufus Excaliber ffolkes to save the day. It's the sort of task he and his people relish, as Kramer's carefully prepared plans demand an intellectual as well as a physical response. It's a tough assignment made all the more difficult by the stormy, cold region.
Ffolkes rapidly coordinates his plan of attack with the help of Admiral Sir Francis Brindsen (James Mason). The outfit manages to remove one of the rigs from danger quite quickly and easily, but the second one is a bit harder since Kramer and his thugs float right beside it on a small boat. And Kramer's emotional state is deteriorating as fast as the weather outside. The Nordic crew of the ship, led by Captain Olafsen (Jack Watson), resents their kidnapping by Kramer and constantly irritates the terrorist. This cautious defiance, coupled with the grinding process of negotiating with the British government, soon wears heavily on Kramer. He oscillates between calm and explosive rages, always inches away from the detonator that will blow the rigs sky high. The vast majority of the film takes place on the boat and on the nearby rig, as ffolkes disguises himself as a British naval officer in the hope that he can board the ship as part of the negotiating team and bring the evil Kramer down. Needless to say, the plan doesn't go quite as smoothly as hoped. Can ffolkes and the British government save their oil production facilities in the nick of time? Watch and see.
Moore is great in this movie. He plays a no nonsense sort of guy set like stone in his ways. A misanthrope with a penchant for cats, needlepoint, a love of Scotch, and a loathing for women that runs to the core of his soul, ffolkes makes for an interesting character. As played by Roger Moore, he's hilarious because we immediately realize that this guy is about as far from James Bond as one could get. Less compelling, at least for hardcore action film fans, is the pace and content of the movie. The picture is one of the talkiest action movies you're likely to see, and even when the action breaks out it's not enough to tide over fans of big body counts and massive explosions. There are also several moments of incredulity where the viewer is likely to say, "No way. That would never happen!" But that's o.k. I like Moore so much, and I always enjoy watching Anthony Hopkins go off the deep end, that I forgave the director and writer for not giving us a non-stop action flick. But if you're the sort of filmgoer who eschews character development and tension in favor of cartwheeling bodies and stuff blowing up, you'll likely chafe at the bit with this movie.
I'd like to the give the DVD presentation of the film five stars. I'd like to, but I can't for a couple of reasons. One, nary an extra graces the disc. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not even a trailer for the film. Ouch! I don't know why "ffolkes" received such shabby treatment, but it's undeserved in my opinion. Second, and probably more germane to the actual film, I didn't enjoy the movie quite as much as I did when I saw it back when I was a younger lad. Like I mentioned in a vague way above, I encountered several unbelievable situations and scenes during my latest trip through the movie. Yet "ffolkes" is still great, still a lot of fun, and definitely worth seeking out not only for Bond fans but Moore fans as well.
Ffantastic Ffilm!
When Ffolkes came out, Moore was at the top of his game as 007. This made his character especially ironic in his disdain for women. The theatrical poster played this up with a bearded, Bondlike Moore nonchalant as women are crawling all over him. Ffolkes, like several other non-Bond rolls that Roger Moore made are really his best work (particularly Sea Wolves where he has a very Ian Fleming character). As Ffolkes, Mr. Moore absolutely shines and the film itself is a wonderfully taut thriller with Anthony Perkins as a superb psychotic villain. Too bad he couldn't have played Blofeld! This is also a great example of how it doesn't take a huge budget to make an exciting movie.
A sleeper, not to be missed.
This movie was a real sleeper and most people have never heard of it -- their loss. I have a copy in VHS (poor quality) and was excited to find it in DVD (and much improved in quality). Roger Moore plays Ffolks, a cat loving, needlepointing misogynist who has assembled a team of anti-terrorist operatives. When a oil platform in the North Sea is held hostage, whom can the British government turn to? Ffolks, of course.
The writing is great, the acting (how can you go wrong with James Mason, Anthony Perkins and Roger Moore?) is believable, and the story is still topical today. Get a copy of the DVD, you won't regret it.
I first saw this film on HBO. I tuned in because two long-time favourites (Roger Moore & Patrick Macnee) were listed. I watched it over several times, bought it on VHS, and now own it on DVD.
This is based on a true event in WWII, when the British were losing cargo to a U-Boat pack in the Indian Ocean. Since the problem stemmed from the neutral Portugese port of Goa, nothing 'official' could be done. The Calcutta Light Horse, a group of retired British military, are recruited to do the impossible, and pulled it off. The event was declassified in 1980, and the film was made. Most of the cast is portraying actual persons involved, as shown in the end credits.
Mixing action, humor, sentiment, and even a few righteous moral convictions, The Wild Geese is good, rousing fun. Released theatrically in 1978 (oddly, this 2005 DVD release is referred to as the "30th Anniversary Edition"), director Andrew V. McLaglen’s film depicts the adventures of a group of British mercenaries hired by a shady multinational corporation to free the benevolent leader of an African nation held captive by a ruthless dictator. Led by the caustic, no-nonsense Col. Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton), these soldiers of fortune are all stout fellows out to earn a big payday and restore a good man to his rightful place of power (the underlying message of universal racial brotherhood is effective, if somewhat simplistic), and they do their job swiftly and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Burton - Roger Moore - Richard Harris - Hardy Krüger - Stewart Granger Director(s): Andrew V. McLaglen DVD Release Date: Released the 27 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Out of step with the public mood when it was released in 1968, Ice Station Zebra has held up decently as a Guy's Movie. Based on an Alistair MacLean novel, the film is half submarine picture and half spy puzzler, short on action but long on military chatter and espionage gamesmanship. Rock Hudson, looking seasoned and just a little miffed, gives one of his better performances as the captain of a nuclear sub, ordered to the Arctic to check out a disturbance at a research station on the floating ice. He doesn't know the mission, but he's stuck with mysterious passengers: haughty British agent Patrick McGoohan, back-slapping Russian operative Ernest Borgnine, and hostile Marine captain Jim Brown. McGoohan gets the film's best lines and finest fur jacket, but Brown is pretty cool in a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Rock Hudson - Ernest Borgnine - Patrick McGoohan Director(s): John Sturges DVD Release Date: Released the 11 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of director Richard Lester's least-known films, Juggernaut was part of the wave of disaster movies of the early 1970s--and one of the only ones with a sense of intelligence. Richard Harris, in one of his most controlled performances, plays a bomb expert called aboard a luxury liner in midocean; the ship has been commandeered by an anonymous terrorist, demanding money before he starts setting off bombs he has planted around the vessel. The cast, which includes David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, and Omar Sharif, is a solid one, and the suspense is thick enough to cut through, with Lester's nasty sense of humor working at full throttle as the countdown gets into the single digits. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Harris - Omar Sharif - David Hemmings Director(s): Richard Lester DVD Release Date: Released the 15 July 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Back before Christopher Walken became a caricature of himself, when he was still considered a rising actor based on his Oscar® for The Deer Hunter, he made this graphic, exciting action film, about a group of professional mercenaries. Walken leads a band of soldiers of fortune, who are hired to overthrow a dictator in West Africa (think Idi Amin). But when their mission is compromised by political and monetary forces, Walken returns to the United States, disillusioned, battered, and not sure the high life of lawyers, guns, and money is really for him. Still, vengeance is sweet, as his partner, Tom Berenger, keeps whispering into his ear. A better film than it's generally given credit for, The Dogs of War features the kind of cool, detached performance Walken used to be... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Christopher Walken - Tom Berenger Director(s): John Irvin DVD Release Date: Released the 20 November 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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