Raiders of Atlantis

Summary

“Can’t move… we’re immobilized!”

Recently Severin Films had its big Halfway to Black Friday sale. I had eagerly awaited the sale due to their focus this year on Post-Apocalyptic films from the Eighties. It hurt my pocketbook, but I ordered their entire lineup from the sale and then I patiently waited for my films to arrive. When the films arrived I wanted to start out by watching the film that had been most discussed in the Severin Films fan forum – Ruggero Deodato’s 1983 film Raiders of Atlantis. Raiders is an action film that leans hard into science fiction ideas that are entirely ludicrous and at the same time very entertaining. I had recently been watching both of the Strike Commando films from Severin, so I felt fully ready to embrace the wacky shenanigans of Raiders.

The plot is a little bit difficult to describe, so here is my best attempt.

The film begins in Miami. Two specialized mercenaries- Mike Ross (Christopher Connelly) and Washington – who calls himself Muhammad (Tony King) – perform a raid on a building. Having successfully completed their task and having been paid, they plan to take the proceeds and party at an island. Meanwhile, a Russian submarine has sunken near an artifact in the ocean. Brilliant female scientist Dr. Cathy Rollins (Gioia Scola) is called to an outpost in the ocean to analyze the artifact. Through a series of inexplicable occurrences involving the artifact, Atlantis raises up out of the ocean. The scientists accompanying Cathy, end up aboard a ship with Mike and Washington. When Atlantis rises, the Atlantians, who ride motorcycles and look like punk rockers, who are led by the ominous leather wearing Crystal Skull (Bruce Baron) begin to massacre the regular humans in cities. Mike and his ragtag group of scientists must figure out a way in which to defeat the Atlantians before the world succumbs to their terror.

The plot of the film is basically lost in translation, but that doesn’t stop the film from being incredibly entertaining. Deodato managed to borrow from Mad Max, Escape from New York, and The Warriors with a biker punk aesthetic that is incredibly stupid, baffling, and wonderful (depending on who you ask.) Like many of the Italian action films at the time, it was shot for the most part in the Phillipines on a limited budget, but unlike many of those other action films it was also shot in Miami and Rome. The production value is definitely a cut above what people might expect out of the film. Raiders is much more absurd and interesting than most action films of that time simply because of its insistence on pursuing strange tangents. The finale in particular features some really fun science fiction activity that features some really cool production design despite not making much sense. This is certainly one of those films where you need to turn off your mind and allow it to entertain you. In the supplements Deodato explained that the reason the film featured so many moments of action was simple – to pad out the length of the film into a feature.

The film benefits from some enjoyable performances by the actors involved. The lead role of Mike Ross is filled out capably by Christopher Connelly who feels like a Lee Majors purchased for pennies on a dollar. The actor seemed to be having a good time on the film and does well in the role. Washington (Tony King) – who refers to himself as Muhammad repeatedly to comedic effect – is fun to watch interact with Mike. Brad Henderson of Vinegar Syndrome mentioned on the commentary track with King that one of the key reasons he loves the film so much is that Mike and Muhammad’s relationship made him think of buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon. I agree with this sentiment, even if the pairing is not quite as iconic as Glover/Gibson. Character actor George Hilton is fun to watch in the film, and Gioia Scola is very easy on the eyes.

Raiders of Atlantis features fun VHS era B-movie insanity. Fans of this type of entertainment will find a lot to enjoy about the film.

Video

Severin Films has provided a pretty good looking transfer in 1080p of Raiders of Atlantis in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode from a brand new 4K scan of the interpositive. I was pleased with the work that Severin put into the release. Fine detail for the most part is solid and the film stays well saturated. This film was shot by cinematographer Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli and he aimed to shoot rougher surfaces with lots of shadows. This means that certain scenes feature a decent amount of detail. Some sequences are intentionally soft and diffused. The film has some light specking at times, and there are some issues that arise from the overall quality of the print itself, but I can not imagine a fan of the film being anything less than thrilled to see what Severin has accomplished on this transfer. I think that the 4K scan itself is of pristine quality, but newcomers should also temper their expectations visually in terms of how the film looks versus a mainstream Hollywood film.

Audio

Severin Films has provided enjoyable DTS-HD MA 2.0 tracks in English or Italian. The sound quality on the tracks is essentially reference quality, and the soundtrack by the Angelis brothers (performing under the name of Oliver Onions) is very fun. The Angelis brothers provide some fun synth disco for the film before moving into synths that sounds more like a John Carpenter score. The track are somewhat limited in what they can provide, but I enjoyed the work put into the tracks.

Supplements:

• Ruggero And The Fate Of Atlantis: Interview With Director Ruggero Deodato – This interview with Deodato is great. The director explains how the film was conceived based on his trip he took to the Philippines and made with a script that had some holes. Fans of the film will certainly enjoy this piece.
• Quest For Atlantis: Interview With Cinematographer Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli – Cinematographer Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli discusses his long working relationship with Deodato and how he came to work on the picture. He admittedly considers the film a lesser work, but seemed to enjoy being interviewed.
• Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome’s Brad Henderson and Actor Tony King – Brad Henderson is well known for his excellent work at Vinegar Syndrome, and he is also a super fan of Raiders of Atlantis. In this commentary track, Brad Henderson enthusiastically talks about the film to Tony King who played Washington. The actor seems pleased to be talking about his career, despite seeming to have difficulty remembering if he had been working with Deodato or Margheriti. It’s an entertaining track.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Raiders of Atlantis is an absolutely ridiculous action oddity from the VHS era. Severin Films have made fans’ dreams come true by rescuing the film from terrible prior transfers and bringing it into the 21st century with a brand new 4K transfer. Fans of ridiculous B-movie action films would be silly to neglect checking this one out. It has been requested often by fans of Severin Films with good reason. The technical specifications of the Blu-ray release are solid and the supplemental features are enjoyable. Fans of the film will be ecstatic, and newcomers to the film will enjoy seeing just how ridiculous this film allows itself to be.