Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

ma-cortes In a lake high in the mountains of New Zealand hunter Gibbie Gibson (Donald Pleasence) discovers a plane wreck , the contents of the stash in the cargo aircraft comprised a shipment of gold war medals, Christmas mail correspondence, a crate of 100 bottles of Kentucky-made Old Crow bourbon whiskey, 1000 gold-bars in gold bullion and the entire payroll in cash for the American South Pacific Fleet. The value of the cargo in the film's story-line was said to be US $50 million . Finding it after four decades is quite a challenge , but holding onto it is really an adventure . It puts moody Gibson , her daughter (Lesley Ann Warren) and an adventurer , a helicopter pilot (Ken Wahl), chasing the treasure hidden since 1944 in the plane wreck of the Yankee Zephyr and risking their lives thereby. Meanwhile , a nasty gang boss (George Peppard) and his hoodlums on their tails . As a group of crooks follow and threaten them . This exciting film packs thrills , non-stop action , humor , helicopter pursuits , motorboat chases and wonderful landscapes . The picture was originally conceived as being a comic-adventure caper in the style of 1963's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the film was "New Zealand's first big budget ($6 million) co-production". There's denying the energy in the frenetically paced flick but it remains flawed and sometimes unfocused. One of the big early creative decisions about the picture was whether this action-adventure-race film would be an off-road land or underwater salvage movie . The movie was re-titled 'Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr' for its distribution in the USA and it was first shown in America via pay-cable, where it carried no rating but was preceded with a warning vis-a-vis violence and strong language . The casting is frankly good , as Star Billing the followings : Ken Wahl , Lesley Ann Warren , Bruno Lawrence and special mention to George Peppard as a snarling villain and Donald Pleasence as a likable drunk . Gorgeous outdoors shot in location in the rugged terrain from New Zealand . Although the film was made in New Zealand instead of Australia due to an Australian Actor's Equity dispute , this was due to the refusal to permit four foreign actors to be cast in the film's four top-billed lead roles ,as such, this meant there would be not one Australian actor in any of these parts . Before the picture's setting was located to the South Island of New Zealand due to union disputes, the film was originally intended to be set in the rain forests of tropical north Queensland, Australia, specifically in the region of Cape York. This was second of two Australian theatrical feature films that were directed by David Hemmings in the early 1980s , the first was The survivor (1981) . Both films were made with producer Antony I. Ginnane and both movies featured an airplane as a central story element . David Hemmings replaced Richard Franklin as director. The latter was the film's original director but withdrew from the production when the filming location changed from Australia to New Zealand . This was last cinema movie directed by David Hemmings for around eleven years until 1992's Dark Horse (1992). Hemmings' only other theatrical feature after that movie was 1996's Lone Justice 3 (1996). In between these three pictures Hemmings did direct in television such as A Team (1983), Airwolf (1984), Magnum P.I. (1980) and Quantum Leap (1989).

IMDd-626-767052 I was really surprised to see all of the negative comments, for even though all we have left is a very lousy copy, it is still watched occasionally and all of the family and friends that have seen it have had nothing but good to say of it.We must just be movie hillbillies as we can have a good time knowing that the movie is just there to entertain.Yes there are a couple of scenes that may not tie together very good but so what? There are similar dis-jointed scenes in Romancing the Stone and the Indiana Jones movies also. In my book this movie is as good as or even better than them because it is even more realistic.The drunk is always drunk, the bad guys are bad and the action is exciting. If anyone gets killed it's not dwelt on, there is no drugs (except booze), the sex is only hinted at and family (and civil) morals are left intact. (Could not sell it today)I am amazed at the number of Tape and DVD jacket covers that do not really relate to the film but the correct one does. Where the bogus covers came from, I don't know, but if you've seen the movie you know which ones are bogus. (The ones with the plane in the water are real)The only thing I would like of this is a good copy, like the first rental one we had that we should have stolen. No good copies seem to be available.

Woodyanders Scruffy rough'n'tumble helicopter pilot Barney (a likable turn by Ken Wahl), his boozy and crotchety hunter buddy Gibbie (delightfully played with deliciously hammy gusto by Donald Pleasence), and Gibbie's feisty daughter Sally (a fine Lesley Ann Warren) venture into the scenic New Zealand wilderness in search of the Yankee Zephyr, a downed American World War II Navy cargo plane containing valuable medals and $50 million dollars worth of gold bullion. Meanwhile, snooty, yet ruthless businessman Theo Brown (nicely essayed to the suavely slimy hilt by George Peppard) and his pernicious flunkies also try to get their wicked hands on the booty. Director David Hemmings, working from a witty, eventful and blithely silly script by Everett De Roche, relates the lively story at a constant snappy pace, maintains an engagingly breezy and lighthearted tone throughout, and stages the exciting action set pieces with a substantial amount of skill and flair (a thrilling boat chase rates as the definite heart-racing highlight). Moreover, the enthusiastic cast have a field day with their colorful roles: Wahl, Warren and Pleasence make for appealing protagonists, Peppard has a ball as the fey villain, and Bruno Lawrence does well as Brown's equally no-count partner Baker. Brian May's spirited score hits the stirring spot. Vincent Monton's sumptuous widescreen cinematography offers plenty of lovely shots of the exquisitely lush and verdant New Zealand countryside. The movie's overall amiable sensibility and infectiously giddy sense of good-natured goofy humor add considerably to the film's cheerfully inane charm. A neat little flick.

Dutch1955 I thought that the boat chase was exceptional, all of the scenery and locations were terrific. i believe that their should have been a sequel to this movie, or a lead in. This movie is a great tribute to the adventure writers of our time. The story is a bit slow at first but picks up in the typical movie manner. I believe that it could have been brightened by a deeper subject matter. i enjoyed all of the movie from start to finish and would like to see more of these brought to the screen for everyone's enjoyment. I truly was pleased with the action that takes place in this movie and would like to know more about the vehicles that were used, such as: i would like to know what type of boats were being used.