The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) watch online HD

The Light At The Edge of the World marks Kirk Douglas's second filming of a Jules Verne novel. The first of course was one of his most popular films 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. But this film is far more serious and has far more adult themes than Walt Disney's film aimed for the kid trade.

This was the last novel Jules Verne had published during his lifetime and it's a story of survival against almost impossible odds. In the original novel Kirk Douglas's character was named Vasquez which certainly was more in keeping with someone assigned to lighthouse duty on Cape Horn. But in giving Douglas's character an Anglo name it better explains his presence on the island and it certainly is in keeping with the international tradition of Jules Verne's writings.

Cape Horn is one of the loneliest parts of the globe and the geography of the southern tip of South America. Look on a map of the many islands and rocks in that part of the globe and imagine how rough the sea is because it has only limited space. It's not without reason that sailors in all cultures say that no one is really a true sailor until they've made a voyage crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in that area. Remember also this is 1865 as Yul Brynner identifies the year and the Panama Canal had not been built.

Which makes the lighthouse at Cape Horn an international concern which was something that is ever present in Jules Verne's writings. But then as now there are malevolent forces in the world and they are in this story Yul Brynner and his pirate crew.

On one desultory like any other down there, Yul Brynner's ship docks at the island and kills lighthouse keeper Fernando Rey and his young assistant Massimo Ranieri. By sheer dumb luck Douglas is not at the lighthouse when this happens, but he becomes a hunted man by Brynner and his pirate crew who want to set up headquarters there and use the light to pile up as many wrecks as they can plunder. Also they want to eliminate Douglas who's now the only witness to their crimes.

I did like this film very much both when first seeing it in the theater and now on VHS. One thing of interest I found here is that there is no ambiguity, no shadings of character. Kirk Douglas is a good guy and Yul Brynner a bad one, no one is going to walk away thinking anything else. In fact Yul Brynner's pirate captain Jonathan Kongre is the most unredeemable villain we've seen on screen since Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance.

Definitely fans of Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner and Jules Verne should earmark this film for their collection.

One of my favorite films of all-time. Unusual because the pirates depicted in this movie are all too real. None of the romanticizing Errol Flynn or Jack Sparrow stuff. These pirates were shockingly ruthless and a real sense of danger permeates the film. Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas bring intensity to their roles. Brynner as the egotistic sociopath who is the leader of the cutthroats and Douglas as a man who must deal with a desperate situation in a fight for survival. Samantha Eggar as a woman with flawed instincts for her own preservation evokes frustration and pity. From the brutal opening scenes, the message is clear that these pirates don't play. A sense of urgency then takes over until the final outcome. A great movie!

This is an adventure film based on a Jules Verne's novel about a pirate captain and his crew that take over a small island with a lighthouse on it; the idea is to turn out the light at night when ships are at sight so that they crash against the rocks and the pirates can easily steal everything from the passengers and the wrecked vessel. The point is that one of the lighthouse servers -the only survivor- manages to escape into the island and will try to ruin the pirates sinister plans.

Though not a great film at all and a bit slow, "The Light at the End of the World" doesn't lack some sort of charm and interest perhaps because of the lone man's fight against the whole bunch of criminals all by himself and perhaps also because of the hostile and lonely atmosphere in which the action takes place.

Kirk Douglas is the lonely fighter and Yul Brynner plays the flamboyant and deadly captain Kongre, leader of the pirates. The feminine touch is brought by Samantha Eggar as a survivor of a ship wreck that is captured by Kongre's men.

Not a great adventure film, but sort of original and worth a look in my opinion for fans of the genre.

The film was shot in the coast of Spain, but Verne's novel settles the action in the "Isla de los Estados", a small Argentine island a few miles east of its most southern province called "Tierra del Fuego" (Land of Fire) where you can still visit the lighthouse that inspired Verne.

Surprising that Jules Verne would write such a story. Even more surprising that Hollywood would produce it. Yul Brynner is unbelievably good as a man freed of all bounds of convention, free to indulge his taste for cruelty and domination. Douglass is an excellent counterpoint, a courageous individual who's chosen simple solitude as a way to deal with the complications and turmoil society had imposed on him. And Samantha Egger's character is the capper, a woman willing to sacrifice far too much for comfort and safety. Inotherwords, everyman. The movie does show its age and is limited by the conventions of time and place and technology of the time. If you're looking for special effects and action as substitutes for thought, look elsewhere.

An interesting adventure film from the early ' 70s based on a Jules Verne story. Off the bleak location of Cape Horn around 1865,three light-house keepers: jaded ex-miner Will Denton (Kirk Douglas), Captain Moriz (Fernando Rey) and young Felipe (Massimo Ranieri) are confronted by wreckers led by pirate captain, Jonathan Kongre (Yul Brynner). After his companions are brutally murdered, Denton ekes out a passive existence in a cave till he resolves to fight back assisted by Montefiore (Renato Salvatore) a survivor from one of the ships lured to the rocks by the pirates. The desperate situation is complicated by another survivor, a young English woman, Arabella, who is used by Kongre to imitate Denton's former love, Emily Jane. Douglas and Brynner act with flair, Douglas gives another heroic Nietzschean performance vis a vis 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1954) and Ulisse (1955). In appearance he looks like a Nineteenth-Century hippie adventurer - bearded and with straight light brown hair. Brynner is a flamboyant counter-point. Despite some squeamish scenes and some illogical phases the extraordinary Spanish settings - the white-topped rising arches and surreal, psychedelic colours give this film a metaphysical feel.

Jules Verne wrote about 80 novels as well as plays and short stories in his career. He began writing in 1854 with a short story called "Master Zacharias, or the Clockmaker's Soul". It was the first time he talked of the negative side of progress - the evil that results from some discoveries or inventions when they fall into the wrong hands. This becomes a running theme in his novels: Captain Nemo in TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, or Robur (from ROBUR THE CONQUEROR and it's sequel, THE MASTER OF THE WORLD) are two of his best examples of this them. Kongre, in THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, is another.

Verne was so prolific that when he died in 1905 he left a dozen unpublished novels and stories that were not fully published until 1910. They include some of his best writing, such as THE BARSAC MISSION (partly written by Verne's son Michael), THE SURVIVORS OF THE "JONATHAN", THE PURSUIT OF THE METEOR, THE DANUBE PILOT. All of these dealt with science, but also dealt with political systems, and economics, for Verne was interested in all the problems facing modern man. THE LIGHTHOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD was the last novel that was published in Verne's lifetime. It does not deal with the political questions or economic ones that perplexed him, but seems to go back to his potboiler period, when he was turning out stories for money while considering better stories for later publication. But nothing Verne wrote is without interest. Rereading THE LIGHTHOUSE one sees what the subtle point is in it. It is the study of how the ego of a villain can prevent him from escaping retribution.

Kongre (renamed Jonathan Kongre) is one of the last pirates in the world of 1900. He and his gang find a damaged boat and repair it. They sail it across the Pacific, and reach Staten Island, a small island in the Straits of Magellan controlled by Chile. There they find a lighthouse with a crew of three men. They manage to kill two of them, but the third one (named Vasquez - he's from Chile, remember), hides on the island. Kongre and his men decide that they should prepare to leave the island shortly, before the Chilean Naval relief boat returns in three months to pick up the lighthouse crew. But first they will wreck any boat that comes to the passage, and increase their ill-gotten gains. But the key to the novel (and it is not in the movie) is that Kongre's right hand men (Carcante and Vargas) keep urging him to pack up his supplies and wealth and head to Asia where the money can be divvied up and everyone separate in safety. And each time Kongre won't do it.

Initially it is pure greed. He wrecks a boat, and massacres the crew (a scene that is done in the film). The sole survivor is an American, John Davis (the name became Denton in the film, except that it was given to the character of Vasquez). Now with an ally (and not a drunken one, as in the film), Vasquez starts sabotaging Kongre's activities on the island. Carcante keeps suggesting leaving, but Kongre (unused to someone annoying him successfully) keeps delaying in order to catch Vasquez and Davis. The end result is that when he thinks he has them cornered, the Chilean boat appears to sink his craft, kill most of his crew, and confront him. Kongre commits suicide to avoid capture.

Much of the mayhem of the movie (with Denton picking off crew members one at a time) is not in the book. Nor is there any female character in the novel (a rarity in most of Verne's stories - he could be quite a feminist when he wished). The egotism of "Jonathan" Kongre is well shown by Yul Brynner's performance, but the subtlety of that trait is lost. The writers presumably did not think the audience could appreciate it. Kirk Douglas does well enough as Denton, but his singlehanded success (Vasquez and Davis work together well to the end of the story, unlike Denton's ally who is killed by the pirates) seems unlikely. The bestiality of the pirates is well shown in the movie, particularly a singularly tall actor who in one scene wears women's clothing to particularly unsettling effect. The film is not a bad minor adventure film, but it could have been better if they had stuck to Verne's theme.

A lighthouse circa Cape Horn is cared by a keepers(Fernando Rey , Massimo Ranieri, Kirk Douglas). A gang of pirates attacks the lighthouse .The pirates(Aldo Sambrell,Jean Claude Drout, Tito Garcia, among others) are fiercely commanded by Kongre(Yul Brynner). Handsome hero named Will Denton(Kirk Douglas) with only company a little monkey ,suffering misfortunes for the conditions in which unlucky is forced to exist. Denton soon realizes that the island in the base of pirates who lure ships to their doom on the rocky coast and arrange shipwrecks(appear castaways as Samantha Eggar and Renato Salvatori) for profit . Denton discovers the truth and confronts Kongre in a fight to death.

This is an enjoyable adventures tale with tension, suspense, thrills and good action scenes. Some fierce hand-to hand combats and pursuits scenes will have you on the edge of your armchair. However the ending is some ridiculous, unconvincing and overblown. Spectacular landscapes shot in Spain : Cadaques and Manga Mar Menor, great location-footage of both locations, the Spaniard coast is the best thing about movie. Duo starring is frankly extraordinary. Kirk Douglas gives vigorous physical performance, he's magnificent as individualist, stubborn hero, such as ¨Spartacus, Vikings,Ulysses and 20000 leagues under the sea(also by Jules Verne)¨. Impressive Yul Brynner, as usual, playing exotic roles, such as ¨Taras Bulba, Salomon, The buccaneer and King and I ¨. The film displays a colorful cinematography by Henri Decae and Cecilio Paniagua , furthermore evocative musical score by Piero Piccioni. The picture is regularly directed by Kevin Billington. This is a highly agreeable movie and suits marvelously . I can recommend this work to everybody who enjoy good adventures and spectacular maritime outdoors, however no for small kids by violent and realistic scenes.

It would be very interesting to know who's decisions marred this potentially good film! Within the final cut of this gripping work lays a truly exiting story, dealing with survival in extreme situations. Between the Director; (failing to differentiate from drama and folly) Writers; (too many fiddled with it and lost sight of the seriousness of the situation) Editor; (missed important shortcomings) and Producer; (Mr Douglas himself) they failed to allow the strongest story elements to shine through.

In his fine book 'The Films of Kirk Douglas' Tony Thomas also highlights some of the above shortcomings (with the running time given for the version he reviewed even being 6mins shorter than other releases listed!) Tony also notes the overindulgence and explicit brutality that kept this film away from much of it's target audience. With smart post production editing this could have, should have (and still can be) a classic.

Look at the dynamics of the story: Will Denton, Assistant light-keeper, witnesses the terrifying murders of his only colleagues. He is alone in a hostile, desolate situation. He is unarmed, desperate beyond words. He is hunted from all quarters, and feels helpless at preventing some of the shocking activities he is witnessing.

While this screenplay is based on Jules Verne's fascinating book (the last sent for publication before his death) it only uses Verne's basic situation. Some of Verne's story tends to have its basis in Historical fact. Strangely, the film almost throws away an expensive opening scene (the inauguration of Argentinas first serious navigational aid 'The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World' on Christmas Day 1865) it does so, by presenting this colorful ceremony under the opening credits! No further mention is given to inform the audience of the significance of this historic event.

The film was released around the world in many varying lengths ~ between 95 and 126 Min's. Shorter versions were released in Australia and the U.K. etc, these were in many ways better...Several of the more overdone scenes were dropped, this offered considerable improvement to the overall believability, although, one cut left a gap in continuity...IE: Denton's underwater flashbacks to his past, following his fall from a cliff.

Surprisingly, the latest Studio Canal re-issue has removed one of the films stronger scenes (but sadly left in all the overindulged segments that would have been far better removed) The scene in question, involves Denton and Montifiore's escape on the antagonists magnificent white horse. In the original, during the escape, the horse stumbles and is unable to get back up, leaving no alternative than to shoot it. This cut leaves us with the question...where is the horse from this point on?! Why make this cut and not the others...?

The cast is strong and mostly convincing, even the support characters are interesting: Ferando Rey (Head Light-keeper) Renato Salvatori (Montefiore - ships engineer) with Massimo Ranieri's 'Felipe' adding innocence, warmth and credibility as apprentice light keeper. The film has a superb look via the work of top French Cinematographer Henri Decae. The man credited with creating the look of the French New Wave (his work has since been much imitated, but seldom to the same effect) Working within very difficult locations, Decae's camera is continually in motion, drawing the viewer in, forcing you to feel as if you are part of the action.

Second unit photographer Cecillio Paniagua contributed some additional shots of interest. The locations are eye popping, with rugged, wind swept land and seascapes creating a vivid, threatening atmosphere. The quality of the Sound recordists work, both 'on location' and post production is nothing short of superb.

The Music of multi talented Piero Piccioni plays an important part, it forms a virtual tone poem, a suite with themes written for each character and situation. His compositions constantly weave from glorious panoramic melodies ~ recollections of the past ~ to exiting gut tearing panic.

Leonard Maltin sums up a longer version fairly well: 'Has some excitement, but is more often unintentionally funny', but he too throws away the high standard of technical quality, and need for editing.

The special effects vary from very good, to average. Scenes involving the use of pyrotechnics are well done indeed. Good examples are, the blasting of Kongre's schooner, with the crew rushing and falling amid explosions and flames, this is always dangerous work and all done without CGI!. The fire in the lighthouse is a stand out, with exploding glass and twisting metal. And even though the sinking of a passenger ship is inter-cut with models (not too bad overall) the shots on board, involving the passengers desperate panic, are quite convincing.

It's difficult to understand though, with many well done effects, why the scene involving a dummy falling over a cliff was so badly done. The shot was not even necessary in the film... So why leave it in?

Come on Canal, give us the good film thats locked away amid the mess. Drop such scenes as Denton and Arabellas kiss (just a tiny clip during the 'charade' set up) The foolishness of noisy, cross dressing Pirates cavorting around the island. Ease off some needlessly overdone brutality and gore (the short versions did this very nicely) Drop the foolish shots of Denton and Montefiore calmly building a Bonn fire in broad daylight! Drop (or halve) the silly sequence involving Kongre and Arabella following Tarcantes death ~ just some of the scenes that helped to sink this fine production.

Mr Douglas has given us many great films, and even though this was nearing the end of his distinguished career, it seems he should have taken a far more focused approach. While its late, this work is still worth saving. A mere 10-15mins edited from various sections could do this....

Anyone interested could end up with a far better film, even a semi classic......KenR

Once I overlooked the slow moving action (at times) and hokey plot and dialogue, I found this movie really entertaining in a circus and carnival (freaky pirates, treasure, monkey, violence, wild colors in a rough landscape with spaghetti western flashbacks) sort of way. Seemed to really push the envelope for that time period in terms of gay and trans-gender undertones - what with the pirate captain's attachment to his butler and to his androgynous second in command (the character who paraded around in a dress and feathers and appeared much more interested in Will than in Arabella). I didn't even sense that the pirate captain was attracted to Arabella in a sexual way. Anyway,that made the movie all the more interesting and unique - although likely far removed from what Jules Verne envisioned.

After seeing "The Light at the Edge of the World," over 40 years after its release, I understand why it was a dismal flop in 1971. I remember the billboard advertising highlighting Kirk Douglas and Jules Verne, with small pictures of Yul Brynner and Samantha Eggar. I am certain many a parent dragged her kids screaming from a "Jules Verne/Kirk Douglas pirate movie" featuring mutilations, gang rape and the skinning of one especially beloved character. Those few adult couples likely attracted to the movie were likely put off by the weak pacing, inept direction and abysmal music.

However those of us who can look beyond the cheap jack trappings will be rewarded with strong lead performances by Kirk Douglas and, especially, Yul Brynner. Samantha Eggar, who has much less screen time, also impresses, even though most of her scenes are undercut by the weak direction.

At 2 hours and 7 minutes, "The Light at the Edge of the World" is at least 20 minutes too long. The flashback exposition regarding Douglas' character is not only unnecessary, it undercuts what little suspense the ineffectual direction could muster. One of these days, I would love to have video editing software to deconstruct and reconstruct this movie, removing unnecessary scenes, tightening camera fields and replacing the awful music. Barring that, "The Light at the Edge of the Word" is worth seeing, if only for Yul Brynner's chilling performance.

I give "The Light at the Edge of the World" a "6".

I once owned this movie on VHS and while it's been many years since I've laid eyes on it, I remember it well - and that, for me, is generally the sign of a good movie. Some of the criticisms levelled by fellow armchair critics are valid (e.g.overlong) but it's still a very picturesque and curious movie that's definitely worth a look.

Douglas is fairly restrained as the sole survivor of a remote island lighthouse, besieged by pirates led by the pitiless Yul Brynner, his clan of bandits opportunistically decide to use the lighthouse to misdirect approaching ships into the rocks where they can pilfer the payloads. Samantha Eggar plays one such shipwrecked maiden taken as a romantic gesture by Brynner, and who Douglas (who's taken refuge in a subterranean cave with his pet monkey), must try and free.

Reasonably violent, though it's Jules Verne inspired, it's not the typical family fare you might expect. Little dialogue and a fairly loose plot might not convince some audiences, but overall I remember it to be quite a sombre picture, with a few cruel twists and a fiery conclusion. Great cast as well with support including Fernando Rey and the familiar faces of Aldo Sambrell, Victor Israel and American ex-pat in Spanish pictures, John Clark.

Pirates led by the supremely evil Yul Brynner, take over a lighthouse run by Kirk Douglas, Fernando Rey on a rocky island. They then execute a devious plan to cause ships to run aground, pillaging their wrecks. Douglas survives, and he desperately fights their plot whilst plotting and planning to avoid Brynners gang of demented bloodthirsty savages, Sammantha Eggar is the shipwrecked maiden that avoids the pirates slaughter soon complicates the situation. 'The Light At The Edge Of The World' is based on a novel by Jules Verne. It is nothing short of thrilling and for it's time shocking, It deserves a little more recognition.

Kirk Douglas. and Yul Brynner. and a realistic story of survive. the atmosphere is the same from many films of genre from the period. the clear definition of evil does the difference. because it not propose only a black- white conflict. the nuances of gray, the inspired use of clichés, the portrait of pirates- who is far to be an usual one-, a good role for Brynner as more than the bad guy but a strange, cold blood, sadistic leader of a group of savages, the same status of Kirk Douglas as hero with few dark shadows of past, the terrible scene of arrival of pirate ship, the fight scenes are good points of an old fashion adventure film who reminds performances- Fernando Rey, in a short presence -, reimpose names - Renato Salvatori or Samantha Eggar- and the real flavor of genre.

Uneven and uneventful adventure in which a group of cruel pirates, led by Brynner, takes a far island and start a game of cat/and/mouse with the lighthouse keeper (Douglas). Interesting premise receives a juvenile treatment that spoiled all the real suspense. Brynner is good and malevolous. I give this a 5 (five).

Jules Verne a prolific writer gave us many classic adventures through his books, some were taken to the big screem and becames a huge success, this one is a minor movie but not disregarded of interest at all, having a strong duo leading roles as Douglas and Brynner enhance too much, the battle between the main characters are the key of all that, shot in a remote island almost entirely, it results a valuable improvement, besides it was explicity cost-effective on a tight budge, the nasty casting remind us some centuries ago and how those olds pirates really did killing, rape and torture, a bit underrated, this picture deserves a second chance!!

Resume:

First watch: 2005 / How many: 2 Source: DVD / Rating: 7

The Light at the Edge of the World

Lighthouses are the best places for troubled loners because they have all the comforts of a clock tower.

However, university students aren't the targets in this action movie, pirates are.

Fleeing from a failed romance and a murder rap back in the States, ex-miner Denton (Kirk Douglas) heads down south to Cape Horn in 1865 to man a lighthouse.

When Kongre (Yul Brynner) and his marauders land on the coastline intent on wrecking ships by dowsing the flame, it's up to Denton and his skeleton crew (Massimo Ranieri, Fernando Rey) to abate the cutthroats and liberate their female captive (Samantha Eggar) before the next cargo ship arrives.

Noted for its Spanish locales, particularly the craggy topography where the swashbuckling occurs, this adaptation of Jules Verne's novel is a forgotten gem in the adventure genre.

Nevertheless, it must be nice to get a visitor at the lighthouse that isn't a moth.

Yellow Light

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I'd never heard of this Jules Verne story before watching this movie - and after watching this movie, I think I know why. I don't know how closely this movie follows the story, but since there is hardly any action - or dialogue - I'd guess the story is a dull romp as well.

Poor special effects, lack of continuity, subplots barely treaded on then abandoned, the worst mannequins-for-bodies you can think of, characters that act stupid (especially Eggar's character) make a movie that you can miss. I have no idea why Douglas was attracted to this movie - maybe he thought lightning could strike twice after the success of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. He even produced this movie - maybe that explains things, including why there are so many close-up shots of his face, and that he seems to be doing all his own stuntwork.

it is a quite slow pace face-to-face Brynner/Douglas...i found there was some pretty heavy violence/gore but you know, seventies giallo style : (maybe some spoiler ahead) a little bit phony and fake but the image is there : the monkey torn apart, the flesh torn from the mechanic, etc...

i don't remember if it is alike the novel...but overall i think it is a OK action flick, hero flick : he stands all alone at the end, all the bad guys are out..........

and nice images too : a small rocky island, the sun over the sea

but not a typical Verne's story-on-cinema : subs, sci-fi; but the adventure seen in a lot of Verne's novels tough

Remove yourself from the Kirk Douglass aspects of the casting. It is essential to your enjoying the film. There is a beautiful young woman playing double roles - and in the photos from the 1800's, I can't believe how smooth and white her skin is. Also, there is an excellent degrading of the film stock which chills the mind if you like faded greys and yellows as I do. This film is played on TNT from time to time so see it.

As a young boy, I fell asleep at the drive-in while this movie was playing. It was part of a twin bill with "Twilight People", a very cheaply made version of "The Island of Dr Moreau". I had nightmares for years afterward. It wasn't because either of these movies were particularly scary--they weren't. I was mortified by how bad the acting, plot, & the writing were. It had something to do with pirates using a lighthouse to crash ships so that they could steal their treasure. Kirk Douglas was one of the people that lived on the island with the lighthouse. He had a monkey and hid in a cave on the edge of the cliff which conveniently had a hole in the floor. Gee, I wonder how that might fit into the film? When I say I had nightmares about this movie, I mean literally. It was not until I found it and "Twilight People" on video and relived the horror of these 2 awful films that the dreams ceased.

Having fond memories of watching this as a kid, being one of the first VHS I had gotten hold of (in the mid-1980s), I guess I'm more partial to it than would have otherwise been the case; a measure of my impatience to revisit this over the years is my having recorded it off of Italian TV, almost acquiring it as DivX and eventually coming across a copy of the Image DVD within the space of a week! Even so, reviewing the film now with an adult perspective clearly exposes its essentially flawed nature.

This was a typical (and typically misguided) international venture of the time, adapted from an obscure Jules Verne tale and roping in Hollywood veterans – Kirk Douglas (who even produced!) and Yul Brynner – in an effort to drum up sufficient box-office receipts (this was yet another effort by the Salkinds, who were responsible for SANTA CLAUS[1985], another very recent re-acquaintance: by the way, I've just recorded off Italian TV, dubbed and regrettably panned-and-scanned, their star-studded version of Mark Twain's THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER [1977]). Anyway, the film's thin plot of a lighthouse keeper (Douglas, still athletic at 55) combating a band of pirates led by a bored-looking Brynner is stretched for a hefty and slow-moving 129 minutes (which is 9 longer than the official duration given on most sources!). Even if I hadn't checked this out in 20 years or so, I still recalled some of the imagery involved – such as Douglas hanging upside down from the lighthouse tower, or his showdown with Brynner (which ends in a fire)…to say nothing of those indelible (and unmistakably European) faces, some of whom I've come to know by name in the interim, of Brynner's sinister cutthroat cohorts.

The rest of the cast includes Samantha Eggar (ill-at-ease as a shipwreck victim who unwittingly becomes an object of contention between the two male stars: a sure indication of how perfunctory the role was to begin with is that she's ultimately raped and murdered, with not even the hero bothering to do anything about it!), Renato Salvatori (as another survivor who befriends Douglas but, when finally caught by Brynner and his men, is painfully skinned alive!), as well as Fernando Rey and popular Italian crooner Massimo Ranieri – both of whose contribution is brief, being literally done away with as soon as the villains make their first appearance! While the film's tolerable enough as lowbrow epic adventures go, one can't really call it entertaining in view of the seediness and sadism on display; that said, the thing does become unintentionally hilarious with the clichéd flashbacks to Douglas' past as a gold-digger in the Old West, and especially the accidental slipping (almost at the cost of his life) of Brynner's wild-eyed, long-haired, right-hand man when engaged in an impromptu campy dance in drag!

Even with the enormous eye candy of Kirk Douglas and Yul Brynner in a pirate movie together, The Light at the Edge of the World isn't very entertaining. Kirk is the lighthouse keeper, content in his solitude, and Yul is the leader of a band of pirates who specialize in taking control of lighthouses and crashing ships. This is very much a "man's movie", as there's only one woman in the film, Samantha Eggar, and she isn't treated very nicely when Yul takes her prisoner. Yes, I know, if Yul Brynner took me prisoner, I wouldn't complain about it either, but trust me, in this movie he's a real bad guy!

There's lots of action scenes, and tension-filled violence, but not very much of a story. Dudes who like macho movies with senseless fighting between two macho dudes might like this one, especially since it's strongly implied that Samantha Eggar gets passed around the pirates during her capture. For normal men, or any women at all, you'll want to pass on this movie. Rent The King and I and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea instead.