Search - Tower of the Firstborn on DVD

Desert Romance

St. Margo | USA | 07/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find it terminally annoying when "Kid's" who don't have a clue about either love nor romance rent a film and then trash it in a "Bubble Gum" review without actually expressing "why and what for?" This film is excellent for what it is, and it does not pretend to be anything at all other than "What it is!"



It is nothing more than a Desert Adventure/Romance set in a time when the very notion of such ideology permeated Western culture as a whole. Think, "Sheik Of Arabay" and such!



While not being a "Great" film such as Sean Connery's "Wind And The Lion" it is a good film for the genre of which it is intended to portray. The Costume's are excellent and fairly historically accurate; "ala" Jean Leon Gerome, regardless of whether or not they were made of polyester as was stated by one reviewer. No doubt that reviewer was part of the costume team on the set?



Jean Leon Gerome, for those of you either under 50 year's of age or having had little in the way of Art History in your education, was the leading painter of the "ORIENTALIST SCHOOL" of art in the 19th and early 20th century.



Therefore and henceforth, I would strongly suggest to those of you without such background knowledge to reserve your unfounded opinion's without due access to further study, or perhaps you might consider restricting yourselves to the common garden variety "Slasher Movie."



Might I suggest "Jason Go's To Hell." I'm certain that you might find him there?



St. Margo ......... !"

Despite other reviews, this movie is worh a look! Weller and

T. Thomas | TX | 12/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I will begin by saying that this is a movie that has a lot going on in it--the main plot centers around two brothers, played by Ben Cross (Michael Shannon--alias "Zadick") and Peter Weller (Dr. John Shannon) who are trying to find the mysterious tower which can either be good for the world, or hold a power evil enough to leash hell on Earth. You know from the beginning that both of them knew about this tower since they were young boys.



Is there romance? Yes there is. There are two couples involved, one of them also looking for the tower while the other only has one goal: survival. I am not going to give away the whole plot, throughline and summary here because all of it is interwoven into a tale of love, loyalty, betrayal, hate, revenge, treachery, retribution and reconciliation. If you can handle all of that, then this movie is well worth buying--especially at the price.



I agree with the other reviewer who stated that younger viewers are going to give this movie a poor rating because it is not a slasher flick. This movie is interwoven with plots throughout. The characters of Neil and Rashik are also fun to watch and while it does take a while to get from one sequence of the story to the next and back again, the fight scenes are NOT long. It isn't Lawrence of Arabia but Cross and Weller, as well as other members of the cast are excellent at bringing their characters to life--with only ONE exception and that was Ione Skye. I feel that she was either overly dramatic in some scenes or not convincing in others. I will say this though, it is revealed that Diane wants to find the tower simply to reunite with her father.



The real beauty of this film lies with the convincing performances of Cross and Weller. They have a gift for making these two brothers real and believable and the scenes between the two were outstanding. If you are a fan of either actor, you should have this in your collection. I can say this, you will somewhat empathize with Cross's character, even though he is portraying a villain here. In the scene where he is talking to Diane (Ione Skye)--the pain Michael reveals of losing her mother to his own brother is both convincing and moving. It also helps one to understand that rage and despair that burn within him, and it is done without trying to justify Michael's actions or to give him some sort of absolution in the eye of the viewer. Cross knows how to master these types of villains very well.



I thought the sets and costumes were rich in color and did not appear to be "low budget" or polyester as others claim. If you want an intelligent, old fashioned movie with real acting in it, then get this. Just overlook Skye when she does her overkill..."