wes-connors In the frequently fighting Democratic Republic of the Congo, manly mercenary Rod Taylor (as Bruce Curry) arrives to consider a dangerous assignment. He is asked to organize a crew and retrieve $50,000,000 in diamonds from rebel territory. A relatively cheap hire, Mr. Taylor doubles the offer of $25,000 and takes the job. Considering the fortune in diamonds, he shouldn't have accepted anything less than a million. Chief among Taylor's crew is brawny Jim Brown (as Ruffo), his right hand man. The main recruits are: nasty neo-Nazi Peter Carsten (as Henlein), handsome young Olivier Despax (as Surrier) and alcoholic doctor Kenneth More (as Wreid). Along the way, they pick up pretty blonde Yvette Mimieux (as Claire), who appears to have survived a rebel assault. Men like to yank off Ms. Mimieux' clothes...While tame by today's standards, "Dark of the Sun" goes to the edge in its depiction of violence...Young children are shown after they are shot, a young man is raped, another torched, some pierced… It is an action-filled, quick-paced story. Accepting the violence is necessary part of the story (and the camera moves away during the most gruesome moments), the story has some problems. Expert cinematographer-turned-director Jack Cardiff and his editor Ernest Walter are often too choppy. The man committing double suicide is nicely done, from establishing shots to a final shot; many other events are brief and presented without detail. There are some extremely exciting sequences that are made less exciting in their presentation. Original novelist Wilbur Smith's basic story, involving the lead actors and their relationship with the Congo, is a good one. Jacques Loussier's music and the film's sound are obvious assets.***** Dark of the Sun (The Mercenaries) (1968-02-08) Jack Cardiff ~ Rod Taylor, Jim Brown, Yvette Mimieux, Peter Carsten

rpvanderlinden I first saw "Dark of the Sun" when I stumbled across it on TV. I was prompted to phone a friend and urge him to switch on this wild movie I was watching. Yesterday I saw the letterboxed version, and it's every bit as good as I remember it, plus it's not just a bone-head turn-on, but a fairly intelligent piece of cinema with an introspective hero and interesting themes. It reminds me of the Leonardo DiCaprio flick "Blood Diamond". Both films portray mercenaries, rough and cynical men who are on the edge and are pushed toward a state of grace.It's a guy thing. "Dark of the Sun", on the surface, is a violent, kick-ass action yarn about two mercenaries (Rod Taylor and Jim Brown) heading by train deep into the interior of the Congo to retrieve a cache of diamonds and, if convenient, some white refugees. A savage civil war is going full tilt. There's a nasty Nazi with an agenda, lots of blood-letting, total breakdown of law and order, wild, drunken black revolutionaries raping nuns and sodomizing young white guys. Polite it is not. Lots of brawn, muscle and sweat. It's as if the director (Jack Cardiff) grabbed a megaphone and screamed at the actors and extras: " Alright! Are you ready to ROCK?" To say that the action is energetic is an understatement. To quell your misgivings, though, I should add that much of the goings-on has a frenetic comic book feel. The poster for the movie actually gives a good idea what the movie is like. If you're a fan of Roberto Rodriguez, particularly his "Planet Terror", this movie should be right up your alley. I admit that there's a place in cinema and in my heart for heads-on bad taste.

bigguy2011 This action film was BY FAR the favorite war movie of the foreign volunteers with whom I served in the Rhodesian Army. We probably all thought of ourselves as Bruce Curry clones.Once, when on a leave from a bush trip, I saw that this film, under the title The Mercenaries, was showing in a Salisbury theatre so, of course, I had to go see it. I arrived slightly late and the house lights were already dark, so I took my seat and enjoyed the ride.When it was over and the house lights came on, I looked around and saw that probably EVERY one of the foreigners who happened to be in town at that time was in the audience with me. Some of them were even going to stay and watch it again.

Paul Andrews The Mercenaries is set in the lawless brutal jungles of the Congo during a bloody civil war & starts as President Ubi (Calvin Lockhart) & Belgian diamond mining company owner Delage (Guy Deghy) hire American Congo Special Forces mercenary Captain Bruce Curry (Rod Taylor) & his Congo native partner Sergeant Ruffo (Jim Brown) to travel to a small town, save it's people from rebel Simba forces & also bring back $50 million worth of diamonds. Togethr with forty odd soldiers from 'Striker Blue Force' as protection the men travel across the Congo jungle by train but rebel forces & danger is never far away & having $50 million in diamonds also creates it's own problems as Captain Curry has to mastermind the rescue of innocent civilians as well as keep himself & his men alive...More commonly known under the title Dark of the Sun these days this British production was directed by famed Oscar winning English cinematographer Jack Cardiff who was actually the uncredited cinematographer on The Mercenaries & is a pretty good action adventure featuring plenty of heroes, villains, battle scenes, some nice jungle scenery, some moralistic preaching & a solid plot although it did leave me slightly cold for some reason. The script was based on the novel by Wilbur Smith which was called Dark of the Sun rather than The Mercenaries & by all accounts has significant differences although I have not read it. According to the IMDb diamonds aren't mined in the Congo so I guess authenticity wasn't high on the makers agenda despite being set in & around historically accurate events. The plot moves along at a decent pace, there's enough action & adventure to stop most viewers becoming bored & it's also a film that tries to have many messages & themes run & develop concurrently along with the story. From the likes of trust, friendship, redemption, the moral problems of war & Colonial rule, several themes revolving around racism & the exploration of several strikingly different mens motives for being who they actually are & why they are doing what they are doing. One good aspect is that the moral issues never really bog down the main story & are fairly well judged, sure by the end it might have spent a little bit too long on the drama aspects but not really at the expense of the action & I personally thought it was a well paced & well judged film never letting any one particular aspect overtake the film as a whole. Clocking in at around the 100 minute mark the film doesn't outstay it's welcome & it never becomes boring but for some reason it never really excited me, it never really drew me in or engaged me, the character's were broad stereotypes & I also thought it was a little predictable. The Mercenaries is good for sure but just how good will probably depend on the viewers tastes, I think most people would enjoy it (like me) but maybe not everyone would love it (like me).The Mercenaries actually looks terrific & was apparently shot on location in Jamaica, the jungle scenery is very nice, lush & exotic with director & cinematographer Cardiff making good use of the 2:35:1 Panavision frame & full widescreen is really the only way you should be watching this. For a fairly obscure film such as The Mercenaries a lot of time & effort seems to have been lavished on it, the sets, the action, the location filming & cast are very good & very polished. The action scenes are fun & suitably explosive, there is a bit of blood, a bit of torture at the end, a cool chainsaw fight & some bad language which all seem tame by 2008 standards but for a mainstream film way in 1968 this was probably quite shocking & graphic.The production values are high & the film looks really nice with good stunt work & effects. The acting is pretty good although not outstanding, Rod Taylor & Jim brown make likable heroes while the obligatory female love interest Yvette Mimieux has little to do.The Mercenaries is a good old fashioned action adventure film that I liked but didn't love, despite not being able to say exactly why there was something about it that left me a bit cold & detached. Good but not great.