Ffolkes [Blu-ray]

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen Andrew V. McLaglen

Overview

This action satire sports an odd title derived from the last name of its hero, Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (no capital "f", played by Roger Moore). The story is based on a novel by Jack Davies, Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer, the names of a supply ship, a drilling rig, and a production platform, in that order. Misogyny of sorts is also the name of the game as it seems to be one of the guiding lights of mercenary ffolkes, whose name in the end, is open to all sorts of interpretations. A menacing psycho (Anthony Perkins) has taken over Esther and is threatening to bring down Ruth and Jennifer who are located in the North Sea unless his money demands are met. So ffolkes is called in by the powers that be to set his crew of frogmen into action and rescue Esther, thereby saving Ruth and Jennifer. With witty exchanges and engaging action scenes, ffolkes is enhanced by the star presence of Moore and James Mason, who plays a tradition-bound admiral.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/01/2019
UPC:	0738329240172
Original Release:	1980
Rating:	PG
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	28,607

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Roger Moore	Rufus Excalibur ffolkes
James Mason	Admiral Sir Francis Brindsen,Stallemo
Anthony Perkins	Lou Kramer
Michael Parks	Harold Shulman
David Hedison	King
Jack Watson	Olafsen
George Baker	Fletcher
Jeremy Clyde	Tipping
David Wood	Herring
Faith Brook	Prime Minister
Lea Brodie	Sanna
Anthony Pullen Shaw	Ackerman
Philip O'Brien	Webb
John Westbrook	Dawnay
Jennifer Hilary	Sarah
John Lee	Phillips
Brook Williams	Helicopter Pilot
Tim Bentinck	Harris
Saburo Kimura	Saburo,Saburo
Eiji Kusuhara	Eiji
David Landbury	Eriksen
David Lansbury	Actor
Alastair Llewellyn	Haakon
Sean Arnold	Schmidt
Thane Bettany	Heyerdahl
George Leach	Magnussen
Richard Graydon	Rasmussen
Mathias Kilroy	Olsen
Angela Thorne	Woman on Train
Martin Matthews	Man on Train
Lindsay Campbell	Shaw
Jonathan Nutt	Sir Edward Kirk
Robert Swan	Miller
William Abney	Gail
Michael J. Lewis	Composer
George Leech	Magnussen
David Ashford	Cab Driver
Dinny Powell	Member of Ffolkes assault team,Member of Ffolkes assault team

Technical Credits

Jack Davies

Andrew V. McLaglen	Director
Jack Davies	Screenwriter
Elliott Kastner	Producer
John Richardson	Special Effects
Moses Rothman	Executive Producer
Ken Barker	Sound Effects
Tony Dunsterville	Special Effects
David Hildyard	Sound Effects
John Hayward	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

The oddly-named Ffolkes is a bit odd itself, if ultimately rather engaging. This is, at heart, one of your standard issue "bad guy has a bad plan that has to be foiled by whatever means necessary" films, which means it should ultimately be all about all-out action. While there is action in Ffolkes, it's not so much of the over-the-top kind as is normally associated with the genre. Director Andrew V. McLaglen keeps things more on the human level than has come to be associated with this kind of film, and while that will disappoint those who want one explosion after another, with each much, much bigger than the last, it does allow him to concentrate a bit more on the story and the characters. And if neither the story nor the characters are as bracing and original as to quite deserve such treatment, they still benefit from this approach. Just the fact that frogmen are the heroes is a nice touch, and the characters have little quirks that add a little dimension to them. The title character might have even more to him were he played by an actor of more range than Roger Moore. Moore is perfectly fine in the part, and he does all that is expected of him; but he doesn't run with any of the opportunities given him. James Mason, as usual, makes his role seem more interesting than it is, and Anthony Perkins operates in his patented psychotic manner to good effect.