River of Death (1989)

Name: River of Death
Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: 1989-09-29
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 5
Cast: Michael Dudikoff, Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence, Herbert Lom, L.Q. Jones

River of Death (1989), directed by Steve Carver, starring Michael Dudikoff and Robert Vaughn.

09/29/1989 BR Action and Adventure 1h 47m

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Synopsis

An adventurer (Hamilton) decides to go in search of the Lost City in the Amazon jungle. A motley crew of other people decide to join him for the wealth of the city, for reasons of their own. But to their horror they find out that they have bitten off more than they can chew, what with a Nazi doctor still using the place for his human experiments.

Avraham KarpickCinematography
Steve CarverDirector
Ken BornsteinEditing
Avi LernerProducer

About the film

River of Death is a 1989 American action film written and directed by Steve Carver and starring Michael Dudikoff. It is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean.

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River of Death is a 1989 American action film written and directed by Steve Carver and starring Michael Dudikoff. It is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean.

Plot

In the nightmarish last days of the Third Reich, a psychotic Nazi scientist (Robert Vaughn) escapes to the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon. Years later, a mysterious incurable disease breaks out among the natives and adventurer John Hamilton (Michael Dudikoff) is hired to lead investigators on a search for the cause. Braving bloodthirsty river pirates, hostile native tribes and headhunting cannibals, Hamilton guides a group of explorers up the deadly Rio del Morte to the fabulous lost Inca city.

Production

According to director Steve Carver, the movie was originally to be shot in Brazil. But this turned out too expensive. South Africa's Port St. Johns was then chosen as a location which, according to Carver was "dangerous as all hell". "We were lucky no one got killed."

Carver enjoyed working with actors Herbert Lom, Robert Vaughn and Donald Pleasence: "These guys were professionals. They would carry the equipment up the mountainside with the crew. Fantastic actors. You would tell them something, give them changes in dialogue and – boom! – they know it in seconds. You never have problems with these actors."

River of Death was shot during the cultural boycott, which resulted in director Steve Carver being fined by the Directors Guild of America. Carver remained unapologetic in 2020: "I had ignored the apartheid, because I am not political. I couldn’t give a damn about their apartheid at that time."

Cast

Michael Dudikoff as John Hamilton

Robert Vaughn as Wolfgang Manteuffel

Donald Pleasence as Heinrich Spaatz

Herbert Lom as Colonel Ricardo Diaz

L. Q. Jones as Hiller

Sarah Maur Thorp as Anna Blakesley

Cynthia Erland as Maria

Gordon Mulholland as Fanjul

Ian Yule as John "Long John" Silver

Reception

The Los Angeles Times said "this hapless movie's strategy seems to be to squeeze Alistair MacLean's story lugubriously through the send-up style of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and hope the jungle scenery and desultory hamminess of Pleasence and Herbert Lom (as another villain) will distract the audience from everything else. It doesn't work."

References

External links

River of Death at IMDb

Text from River of Death (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_of_Death_(film)

Trivia

It premiered on September 29, 1989, a Friday.
It runs 1h47 — a typical feature length.
This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosThe Cannon Group, Breton Film Productions
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

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Filming locations

South Africa

Cast

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Crew

Avraham Karpick Cinematography
Steve Carver Director
Ken Bornstein Editing
Avi Lerner Producer
Harry Alan Towers Producer
Andrew Deutsch Screenplay
Edward Simpson Screenplay

Questions about this film

What is River of Death about?

River of Death: An adventurer (Hamilton) decides to go in search of the Lost City in the Amazon jungle. A motley crew of other people decide to join him for the wealth of the city, for reasons of their own. But to their horror they find out that they have bitten off more than they can chew, what with a Nazi doctor still using the pla…

Who directed River of Death?

River of Death was directed by Steve Carver in 1989.

Who stars in River of Death?

The cast of River of Death includes Michael Dudikoff, Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence, Herbert Lom and L.Q. Jones.

How long is River of Death?

River of Death runs for 107 minutes, or 1h47.