Ashanti

Released by: Severin Films
Released on: December 11, 2012.
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov, Kabir Bedi, Beverly Johnson, William Holden
Year: 1979
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The Movie:

Marketed as an exotic action movie with an all star cast, Richard Fleischer's 1979 film Ashanti stars Michael Caine headlining as David Linderby, a doctor who works for the United Nations and is sent to Africa with his wife, Dr. Anansa Linderby (Beverly Johnson), a member of the Ashanti tribe. When she takes a break from their work to enjoy a swim she's abducted by thugs lead by Suleiman (Peter Ustinov) who intend to sell her into slavery. In fact, these guys have even got a buyer in mind, Prince Hassan (Omar Sharif), a wealthy member of the upper class sure to pay top dollar for such a beautiful woman.

David isn't going to just let those guys take off with his wife, however. He enlists the aid of a British anti-slavery activist named Brian Walker (Rex Harrison) and an American mercenary named Jim Sandell (William Holden) to help track her across the wilds of Africa. They get some help from a nomad named Malik (Kabir Bedi) as their travels take them into Arab lands where things become increasingly dangerous.

Far from Michael Caine's best picture, Ashanti is, at the very least, pretty entertaining even if the leading man is obviously slumming it and only in it for the paycheck. As you'd expect from the director who gave us a film like Mandingo made only a few years prior, it's not particularly sensitive in its portrayal of slavery and tends to opt for sensationalism more so than realism. To the point, it's tough to buy Ustinov, who chews the scenery here as if he's famished and his life depends on it, as anything other than a goofy chubby guy. He provides no menace, only hammy theatrics. On top of that, Anansa's never particularly inevitable seeming fate is to live a life of lavish luxury with Omar Sharif. Couldn't the writers have come up with something far more terrible than that without having to really think about it for more than a few minutes?

Caine puts forth minimal effort here, just sort of cruising along and seeming to more or less enjoy himself despite his character's predicament. William Holden is fun as the mercenary and a good casting choice for a role like this, while Harrison sort of drifts in and out of the movie as the editors see fit. The whole picture is put together with such malaise that you have to wonder what they were all thinking.

This probably makes the film sound like an unwatchable disaster and that's not the case. It's a kick seeing some of the A list talent zipping around the exotic locations in something as goofy as this. Beverly Johnson looks great here, the camera loves her and the movie gets what it can out of that side of the equation (though some of the stories she relays in the interview in the supplements of this disc are more than a little telling) and while the movie doesn't have any super massive action set pieces, it has enough going on that it'll hold your interest. The photography is excellent and the use of color is consistently impressive. The whole thing is predictable and the score is goofy but it's a watchable enough time killer if not a whole lot more.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Ashanti arrives on Blu-ray from Severin Films in an AVC encoded 2.35.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer. While colors fare very nicely here, some obvious noise reduction results in a transfer that is less detailed and film like than some would probably have liked. This trumps DVD clarity but there's still some waxiness to the skin that you can't help but notice. Mild compression artifacts pop up here and there but thankfully the picture is free of any major print damage. Not a reference quality Blu-ray but watchable enough despite some shortcomings.

The only audio option on the disc is a Dolby Digital Mono track, there are no alternate language or subtitles provided. A lossless option would have been preferable but the track here is fine. Dialogue stays clean and clear, the score sounds good and there are no problems with the track. It shows its age in that it has limited range and some inherent flatness but outside of that it gets the job done.

The main extra on the disc is Beverly Johnson On Ashanti, an interview with the actress who speaks for just shy of half an hour about her experiences on the movie. She was pregnant during the shoot and this lead to some issues but she speaks fondly about her co-stars, shares some stories about the location shooting and offers up some bits and pieces about her character, her costumes and her thoughts on the film as a whole. She also manages to tie this into Oprah Winfrey, but we'll leave that surprise to the featurette. Aside from that we get a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter stops. As this is a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, a DVD version of the movie and identical supplements is also included inside the case.

The Final Word:

Ashanti is far from the best work of anyone involved but it's not as awful as its dire reputation would have you believe. Flawed, most definitely but entertaining enough and nicely shot. Severin's Blu-ray looks okay and offers an interesting interview with the film's leading lady. If you don't need to take this one too seriously you can have some fun with it.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!