The most shameless example of copyright violation and delirious cinematic insanity has been restored to its former glory.
I’m not sure just what it says about the world that while numerous classic movies have yet to appear on Blu-ray, the batshit crazy Turkish Star Wars – or, more accurately, The Man Who Saves The World – is now available on the HD format, but there it is. Though not for long.
You’re probably all familiar with the film by now, but for those who are not: Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam is a 1982 Turkish sci-fi adventure that became notorious for its shameless disregard for copyright. While the story is not – contrary to what some have claimed – a knock-off of Star Wars (in fact, it’s more a superhero/martial arts/fantasy romp than anything), but the film earned its unofficial English title through extensive use of footage and music lifted directly from George Lucas’ film. It also uses music from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Moonraker, Ben Hur, Flash Gordon and others, making it a fascinating pick ‘n’ mix of stolen sound and vision. Suffice to say that Turkish copyright law used to be very loose. The film became the stuff of legend as copies made their way around the world alongside other examples of Turksploitation that remade hit movies, often lifting the soundtracks and entire scenes while adding in unique doses of delirious bad taste and region-specific concerns.
Watching this as a bootleg is one thing (it’s pretty easy to find now on most video streaming sites) but seeing it as a restored Blu-ray seems quite another. That’s just what is happening, though, via Big Bosphorus Media, who have a version that has been scanned in 2K from a 35mm print on sale now. They describe it as “the holy grail of cult cinema” which seems a bit of an exaggeration, given that it isn’t that hard to see – but then again, who wouldn’t want a pristine copy of this on their shelves?
If that’s you – and you know it is – you need to move fast as the disc is only on sale until October 31st 2021 and will then be pulled. Presumably, someone has calculated that it’ll take Disney’s lawyers that long to take the legal action necessary to have it pulled from sale. You can buy it here: https://themanwhosavesthe.world/
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I love that they used the Giorgio Moroder version of the Battlestar Gallactica theme!