Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (English: The Man Who Saves The World) is a 1982 Turkish science fantasy martial arts superhero adventure film directed by Çetin İnanç, and starring actor/martial artist Cüneyt Arkın. It was first released in November 1982 by Anıt Ticaret in Turkey, and later in 2005 by BijouFlix Releasing in the United States.

The film is popularly known outside Turkey as Turkish Star Wars because it incorporates footage, music, and sound effects from Star Wars and other science fiction and adventure films without authorization. The film, part of a wave of Turksploitation superhero films produced during the 1970s to early 1980s, Phil Hall of Film Threat gave the film a perfect 5 stars, calling it "jaw-droppingly insane ... a film that makes criticism moot."

David Elroy Goldweber has criticized the "Turkish Star Wars" fan title. He notes that, while the film has science fiction themes, it is more of a martial arts fantasy film that has much more in common with 1970s Hong Kong martial arts films from Golden Harvest than it does with Star Wars.

The sequel was released on 15 December 2006. Some fans expressed their disapproval that the special effects were not similar to the original film, where all the space scenes were ripped directly from science fiction titles of the time, such as Star Wars, the Star Trek series, and Battlestar Galactica. Famous actors from Turkey, such as Mehmet Ali Erbil took part, and Kartal Tibet directed.

Alternate sequel

Çetin İnanç proposed his own ideas for a much grander sequel, involving the creation of "zombie ninja space warriors," the abduction of the Turkish and American presidents by aliens, and a journey to a planet that is on the other side of a black hole. According to İnanç, it is a story that "pits God against the Devil in an epic war for Earth."

Revivals

Foleyvision, an Austin, Texas-based comedy troupe who showed films replacing the original soundtrack with new dialogue, music, and sound-effects live in the theatre, used Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam as one of their performances in 2004, providing what troupe leader Buzz Moran said was "the first English translation of this film ever in the world." During the introduction to the show, Moran stated that the translator had told them that "It doesn't make any more sense in Turkish."

Filmusik, a Portland, Oregon-based collaborative performance group, similarly screened Turkish Star Wars with live voiceovers, music, and sound effects in late 2012.

Restoration

In 2016, film historian Ed Glaser purchased the only known surviving 35mm print of the film from a retired projectionist. As a result, the film received a 2K scan whose quality far surpassed any previously available copy (until then, the film had only been available in versions sourced from a poor quality videotape). Glaser's restoration went on to receive a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom in 2018. This restoration received a limited Blu-ray release from Big Bosphorus Media, being sold from 1 to 31 October 2021.

See also

  • Mockbuster
  • List of cult films
  • List of 20th century films considered the worst

References

Further reading

  • Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam on Nanarland
  • Review/commentary of Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam at The Wave magazine