Overview: The writer Karl May is a household name in his native Germany, where he is associated with thrilling Western tales and sweeping adventure stories. Following earlier attempts to bring his novels to the screen, films adapted from May’s work found their greatest success in the 1960s. Seven of them were produced by Artur Brauner at CCC Film, all starring Lex Barker and directed by veteran filmmakers Robert Siodmak, Hugo Fregonese, Franz Josef Gottlieb and Harald Reinl.

Old Shatterhand and Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death both feature May’s most beloved characters: the frontiersman Old Shatterhand and the Apache chief Winnetou, who find themselves first caught up in a plot to start a war between Native Americans and white settlers and then a scheme to steal a gold shipment from the US Army.

The Shoot, Through Wild Kurdistan and In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion all follow adventurer Kara Ben Nemsi as he travels through the Balkans and the Middle East, while The Treasure of the Aztecs and The Pyramid of the Sun God chart the exploits of Dr. Karl Sternau as he seeks vast riches to fund political action in Mexico.

Wildly entertaining, shot in beautifully cinematic European locations and helmed by some of the most talented filmmakers working in Germany during the 1960s, these popular Karl May adaptations paved the way for the many Italian Westerns that would soon follow. The Masters of Cinema Series is honored to present all seven of Artur Brauner’s Karl May adaptations for the first time ever on home video in North America from brand new 4K restorations by CCC Film.

Includes: Old Shatterhand, Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death, The Shoot, Through Wild Kurdistan, In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion, The Treasure of the Aztecs and The Pyramid of the Sun Gods.

Blu-ray Verdict: First off is Old Shatterhand (1964). Before a peace contract with the natives will be signed, Captain Bradley and a bunch of outlaws try and sabotage it by faking Indian attacks on settlers. Old Shatterhand and Winnetou start searching for the members of this conspiracy.

It is a little bit strange that the movie doesn’t really click for me as I usually love these kinds of flicks, especially because it has all the ingredients of a typical Karl May western of that period, plus a perfect cast with Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, Daliah Lavi and Ralf Wolter as the good guys, facing excellent villains (Guy Madison, Rik Battaglia).

It is also somewhat too long with two hours for a rather straight story, and with its occasional brutality (even murder of a child) and carelessness for detail never develops the sense of magic that was typical for the best contributions to the series. That said, I still kept with it and so should you.

Then we get Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968). One of a series of popular German-made westerns featuring the duo of Shatterhand (Lex Barker) and Winnetou (Pierre Brice), this fast-moving saga benefits from grand scenery (Yugoslavia, I believe), a good musical score, and a well-chosen cast. (Karin Dor, even in a dubbed performance, scores especially-high marks).

Those looking for action of the violent variety will not be disappointed. Swarms of bees and slithering snakes attack unwary travelers, Winnetou engages in a hand-to-hand duel with a rival chief, and fiery explosions rock the aptly-named Valley of Death.

Most dramatic of all is the sequence in which the bandits capture an army lieutenant and gleefully whip him into unconsciousness. This flogging ranks #1 in the book, Lash! The Hundred Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies). After reviving him with a splash of water, the bandits then tie him between four horses and prepare to draw-and-quarter him!

Though often regarded as something of a joke in America during the latter stages of his career, Lex Barker gives evidence here of why he became such a well-respected star in European films.

Up next is The Shoot (1964). The Schut (Rik Battaglia) seems to be a king of the bandits; he controls the land in the disguise of the rich Merchant Nirwan. The corrupt police force does not take any action against him. The Schut holds an English aristocrat and a French merchant for a ransom, then he also abducts the beautiful Tschita (Marie Versini). Kara Ben Nemsi (Lex Barker) tries to find the Schut’s hiding place in the mountains and free the prisoners. But the Schut has many rogues and assassins under his command who make this search long and dangerous.

Hollywood director Robert Siodmak, famous for the Burt Lancaster classics The Crimson Pirate and The Killers, directed this picture on location in Yugoslavia. Despite his experience, some fights are not convincing (ie: Kara holding the weight of both Aladschy brothers on a rope!) and the low budget is occasionally revealed, but nevertheless Der Schut (The Shoot) is the best movie from the oriental branch of the May series in the 1960s. Solid action and a good sense of humor carried by Dieter Borsche (as Lord Lindsay) and Chris Howland (butler Archie) as well as Ralf Wolter (in the role of Kara’s sidekick Halef) fit well together, recommendable!

Then we get Through Wild Kurdistan (1965). Kara Ben Nemsi (Lex Barker) and his friend the sheik hear that the sheik’s son was taken prisoner by the evil Machredsch of Mossul. On their way to his rescue, they face many dangerous adventures and meet interesting characters such as the constantly drunk Mütesselin (Werner Peters = hilarious), the unshakable butler Archie (Chris Howland) and the beautiful dancer Ingdscha (Marie Versini).

Mostly solid, colorful fun, but not without flaws. Originally it was planned to shoot this picture at its historical location in Turkey, but for organizational reasons it was decided to make it in Spain instead; so I am led to believe Durchs wilde Kurdistan (Through Wild Kurdistan) was not huge, but successful enough to have a sequel following in the same year.

Up next is In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion (1965). This is the sequel to Durchs wilde Kurdistan, although the two novels by Karl May were not directly connected. So if you think only the title Im Reich des silbernen Löwen (In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion) was used for a newly created story, you’re close to the truth. Nevertheless, an enjoyable adventure in 19th century Turkey and the country we today call Iraq. Kara Ben Nemsi (Lex Barker) tries to save Ingdscha (Marie Versini) who was abducted by bandits, needs to prove to his powerful protector, the Padischah, that he is not a traitor and chases his enemy the Machredsch who wants to steal the treasure protected by Marah Durimeh.

It’s a hard day’s work for a hero! The most spectacular scenes are the fight on the salt lake where his dog becomes Kara’s best help and the duel between Kara and the Machredsch - hanging on ropes from a mountain top. Abu Seif, the leader of the bandits, is played with vicious intensity by Sieghardt Rupp (you will remember him from A Fistful of Dollars). Less memorable: the Marah Durimeh character who is quite wasted compared to the charisma she had in the novel.

Then comes The Treasure of the Aztecs (1965). This is a 60-year-old western movie starring Lex Barker who in the latter years of his career, actually starred in quite a few German films. There is a lot of cowboy and indian action in here, but then that is only to be expected given it comes from a Karl May novel. In fact, it took no less than 4 writers to adapt this piece and for that, the outcome is a bit weak, sorry.

The director is Robert Siodmak, actually one of Germany’s more known directors in Hollywood. He also has a nomination for directing and also scored a nomination in the Foreign Language Film category. He worked with Lancaster, Gardner, de Havilland, Peck, Stanwyck and Lollobrigida to name only a few.

In truth, personally, I thought the film took off too slowly and the action didn’t kick in until far too late; for my liking, of course, but as a fan. The drama is good enough, but the storyline from early on with the girl and her mentor telling her who to marry completely disappears until nearly the very end. There’s a Swiss guy in here too, but obviously for comedy reasons only, but even his shtick got old quickly and soon stopped being funny.

In closing, this is really only a film for hardcore western film lovers. Everybody else should give it a pass, but if you enjoyed it, take a look at its sequel which came out only roughly 50 days after this one.

Lastly, we get brought forth The Pyramid of the Sun Gods (1965). Die Pyramide des Sonnengottes or Pyramid of the Sun God is a German language movie from 1965 and a co-production between West Germany and a handful other European countries. Even without Winnetou in it, it is one of these many German Karl May adaptations from the 1960s as this was exactly what West German audiences wanted to see at this point.

It follows Der Schatz der Azteken and apart from Barker as Dr. Sternau, you will find many other actors in here that are very familiar faces from other Karl May films. But the story is a little generic and in a lot of ways extremely similar in terms of the plot compared to other films from this era. Not even the inclusion of director Siodmak and writers Fodor, Stemmle and Marischka, who worked on some quality films during their careers can elevate the material here. Not a horrible movie, but not the best from the team either.

Limited Edition Special Features:
Limited Edition Hardbound Set [2000 copies]
Limited Edition 60-page collector’s book featuring new writing on Karl May on page and screen by German popular cinema experts Tim Bergfelder and Holger Haase, a profile of Lex Barker by Boris Brosowski and an essay on Old Shatterhand and Winnetou by Lee Broughton, author of The Euro-Western [2000 copies]
1080p HD presentations of all seven features from 4K restorations of the original camera negatives undertaken by CCC Film
Original German audio tracks
Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
New introductions to each film by Sir Christopher Frayling, author of Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone
New audio commentaries on Old Shatterhand and The Treasure of the Aztecs by film historian David Kalat
Karl May at CCC – new interview with producer Alice Brauner, managing director of CCC Film and daughter of CCC founder Artur Brauner
Prodigal Son – new interview with film historian Sheldon Hall on the late career of Robert Siodmak
Archival making of documentary on Old Shatterhand and Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death
Archival featurette on Daliah Lavi, star of Old Shatterhand
Archival interview with Bernhard Schmid, co-editor and contributor to Karl May Verlag
Archival featurette on the restoration of The Shoot, Through Wild Kurdistan and In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion
Archival news footage on The Shoot
Original theatrical trailers

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