It would seem that Severin are having a 'films to give liberals palpitations' month, with both The Wild Geese and Ashanti being released. Certainly, one-time TV staple Ashanti no longer seems to turn up in the schedules, possible because the theme of swarthy Arabs kidnapping Africans to sell on the modern day slave market is going to trigger all manner of fretting about racism and imperialism. If you can get past such simplistic interpretations though, this is a solidly entertaining action-thriller, very much of its time (1979) and its origins (a multi-national co-production.

Michael Caine stars as Dr David Linderby, who is vaccinating villages in Africa when his black wife Anansa (Beverly Johnson) is kidnapped after a spot of gratuitous but appreciated nudity) by slave trader Suleiman (a very non-Arabic looking Peter Ustinov). Linderby has to track the slavers across the Sahara, assisted by Rex Harrison (who somehow makes his anti-slavery campaigner character seem extraordinarily seedy), mercenary William Holden and vengeful Bedouin Kabir Bedi.

Allegedly based on a true story, Ashanti is a handsomely mounted and lush adventure romp, with evenly spaced action sequences and enough moral indignation to allay suggestions of sensationalism. The pairing of Caine and Johnson is a novel one for the time, and notably (and admirably) only made the subject of discussion once (Holden's character, a rather badly drawn and quickly disposed of one, at once point seems to have a distaste for mixed race marriage). Johnson, in her first film, manages to hold her own with veterans like Caine, Ustinov, Holden, Harrison and Omar Sharif, though she – and several other characters – seem to be dubbed. But it's her scenes that stand out more than Caine's, interestingly. But most of the cast are solid, if not necessarily committed, except for Ustinov, who doesn't seem to have been capable of giving a serious performance – there's too much mugging, too much of a twinkle in the eye of what is supposed to be a ruthless character to really work.

Richard Fleischer directs with the expected efficiency and keeps the film moving, ensuring that Ashanti, though ultimately lightweight, is constantly entertaining and well worth a watch. There are a few flaws (some continuity errors at the end see Caine sporting a bloody nose before he's even engaged in the climatic fight) but nothing that spoils the fun of this boys own adventure.

Also on the disc is a fascinating and lively interview with Johnson, who still looks great and has some eye-opening stories about the production.

DAVID FLINT

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