That Man from Rio (1964)

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Saw this delightful action film about a week ago.

There was some prior discussion of it in the Secret of the Incas megathread:

Stoo said:
The 1964 Jean-Paul Belmondo movie, "That Man From Rio", is well worth watching! Not only is it loaded to the brim with action from the very start but it has a sequence which is very similar to "Secret of the Incas" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark": In a South American cave, the location of treasure is found by a sunbeam reflecting off of a succession of 3 different jewels placed at certain spots.

This film has fights, chases, golden idols, vine-swinging, a (small) rolling boulder and a collapsing cave! Belmondo does almost all of his own stunts, too. This is a fun flick!

Archaeos said:
That's so funny that you mention this film...

I saw "L'Homme de Rio - That Man From Rio (1964)" as a child on German television, and it left me quite impressed: the fast-moving pace, the hands-on style of JPB as actor with his irreverent wittiness (so great, so underrated outside Europe); then of course Oscar Niemeyer's nascent Brasília and the scenes of Paris from 1964. Not to forget the wonderful Françoise Dorléac, the sister of Catherine Deneuve, who tragically passed away some time later in an unnecessary car accident (speeding to catch an airplane in time).

In the US and UK, it's often put aside as just one of those Bondmania espionage spoof flicks, just one step away from "eurotrash", but I think the story is very original, far away from the spy spoof genre, closer to adventure but just set in the contemporary era and not in the colonial exploration context (in which Indy is still - to some extent - operating). And unlike other Bondmania films, it got nominated for the Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay! Plus: it starred Adolfo Celi a year before he became associated with the Bond films through "Thunderball".

Always wanted to see it again, but never found a DVD of it, yet accidentally discovered it on YouTube this March and watched it again after certainly 2 decades or so.

Of course director Philippe de Broca and Jean-Paul Belmondo would shoot the 1965 film "Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine" ("Chinese Adventures in China"/"Die tollen Abenteuer des Monsieur L."), loosely based on the 1879 novel Tribulations of a Chinaman in China by Jules Verne. Another film that regularly ran on German television, but I never encountered in the US or UK; ain't available on DVD, and which would love to see again in any way or by any means...

Stoo said:
Archaeos, I really enjoyed your post about "That Man From Rio"! There are reasons why Jean-Paul Belmondo is so loved and that film is just one of them. Adventure film buffs should see this with all due haste. Energetic, fast-paced with an Indy-esque climax. It's a good one, not to be missed.

The Cohen Media Group performed a 2K restoration of the film for its 50th anniversary in 2014, along with its spiritual successor <I>Up to His Ears</I>, also starring Belmondo, directed by de Broca, and scripted by Daniel Boulanger, one of the writers of <I>That Man from Rio</I>. (<I>Up to His Ears</I> is the English title of the Verne-inspired film Archaeos mentions above.)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ceB4bqJVEYg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

These remasters are available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and, at least presently, on Hulu. But you might want to buy or support your local video rental place, should you be lucky enough to still have one, so you can check out the special features. The main making-of extra on <I>That Man from Rio</I> includes the claim from Stéphane Lerouge, a film restorer that "Spielberg saw the film in 1964 in Cincinnati. He was 17 at the time, and it left a long-lasting impression on him. You can see it, 18 years later, in <I>Raiders of the Lost Ark</I>." Moreover, it includes archival footage of de Broca himself: "Spielberg wrote me a letter before he made <I>Raiders of the Lost Ark</I>, and he said 'I wanted to let you know that I made a film entirely inspired by <I>That Man from Rio</I>.' I replied that it was all thanks to Hergé."
 

emtiem

Well-known member
I saw this myself a week or two ago; it really does have the spirit of Indy in there. Especially the little comedy moments where our hero encounters various tertiary characters who often have a little comedic scene to themselves (admittedly that's very Tintin too). It's lovely breezy fun and does deserve to be watched alongside the Indys I'd say.
There's also a prototype Short Round character in there; it feels like SS got a few of his ideas from this film.
 
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