The DIABOLIKAL SUPER-KRIMINAL Documentary
Now in Production! See more at the DSK Doc page!
THE 11 KILINK FILMS:
KILLING in ISTANBUL!
NEW! SEE VIDEO CLIPS OF THE KILINK DVDs: SCROLL DOWN PAGE
“Wild over the top action superhero film, unlike anything you've probably ever seen!” ---imdb.com
For more viewers’ reviews of KILINK INSTANBUL'DA at imdb.com, click here!
KILINK INSTANBUL'DA (Killing in Istanbul)
was a landmark film for the burgeoning Turkish cinema when it was
originally released on Christmas Day in 1967. This humble movie
launched a series of wild action films that would be the
hallmark of 'Istanbollywood.'
In 1967, America, and indeed the whole world, went batty with the advent of the Batman TV show starring Adam West.
Comic book characters enjoyed a resurgence, becoming post-modern camp
pop art and moviemakers from Italy to Istanbul rushed in to cash in on
the craze.
Kilink and Superhero battle over Istanbul as they are flanked by the original movie poster for Kilink Istanbul'da and the cover of the Onar Films DVD (available below).
Many companies licensed existing comic book characters like Diabolik or created their own. Atadeniz Film in Turkey felt comfortable enough to just use an existing character without courtesy of license.
With the success of Diabolik and other
super-criminal types in the pages of European comic books, a new figure
appeared... but this time the stories were told with photos instead of
drawings. This costumed killer was called Killing in Italy, Satanik in France and is now known in America as SADISTIK in the series published by Comicfix. (For clarity the photo novel character will be referred to as Sadistik as opposed to Kilink in the film.)
The movie appropriates the title and costume from
the photo novels along with the protagonist’s mastery of disguise and
penchant for, well, killing. Though there are many scantily clad women
and Kilink has a lovely blonde sidekick, she is not Dana, Sadistik’s
partner in the books, but Suzy. Also Kilink is more megalomaniacal than Sadistik.
The former has plans of world domination and has a full cadre of
thuggish underlings while the latter works by himself for himself
(along with Dana).
Kilink only hangs out at the poshest Istanbul hot spots.
The film also appropriated other well-known
characters and elements from comics and movies. Kilink's adversary is
Uçan Adam, which in English is Super Man. The character also sports two
very distinctive shields with a familiar 'S' design. His mask is also
patterned after Batman and he's apparently wearing the Phantom's
shorts. And he gets his super powers from a wizard named Shazam. Most
of the music is cribbed from that year's 007 film, You Only Live Twice.
KILINK ISTANBUL'DA proved popular enough to spawn an
amazing 10 sequels. Kilink jumped into almost every genre and met up
with a few other well-known characters like Mandrake the Magician and
Frankenstein's monster. One was a western and in one Kilink was a
female! See a full list and some pictures further below!
With one magic word, "Shazam!"... It's a bird, it's a bat! It's Super-Batman?!
Long considered a lost film, a dark grainy version
was released on VCD but didn't have English subtitles. Recently, Onar
Films in Greece issued a super-limited edition DVD with superior
picture and sound and with English and Greek subtitles and menus. There
are also incredible extras such as a photo gallery of over two dozen
pristine stills from KILINK ISTANBUL'DA and outrageous trailers for
other Turkish cinema classics featuring Superman, El Santo the Mexican
wrester, Captain America and an evil Spider-Man! Comicfix is pleased to
be able to offer a limited amount of the Onar Films DVD of KILINK
ISTANBUL'DA to the American public. These DVDs are PAL (All Region) and
won't play on American DVD players unless you have a PAL system. But if
your COMPUTER can play DVDs then KILINK ISTANBUL'DA will
play on your
computer! For the time being it is the only way to watch it in America,
but if you're a fan of the ultra-psychotronic, then this DVD is for
you! And it is very unlikely there'll be a mainstream American release
of this disc because of copyright issues.
Images on the web don't do justice to the injustice of Kilink!
Here is the film synopsis from Onar Films: "Kilink, the
Turkish super anti-hero, who was a look-alike of the Italian
comic-strip hero Killing, opens the long series of Kilink installments
with this blockbuster cornerstone of the Turkish cinema! The only rival
who could possibly stand in his way is no other than... Superman!
Kilink visits Istanbul in order to grab a destructive formula, which is
in the hands of a once-allied scientist, Dr. Houloussi. He
murders him, kidnaps his daughter, tortures her in some gloomy dungeon,
and then kidnaps more people and tortures them but still, the formula
remains hidden. Meanwhile, the son of Dr. Houloussi is blessed by
a divine spirit named Shazam and turns into Superman! But will he be a
worthy opponent to the unbeatable and evasive master of all criminals,
Kilink? Well, at any rate, be prepared for a delirious, psychedelic,
jaw-dropping, sleazy, fierce pandaemonium!"
This import DVD presents the 70-minute black &
white film is in its original full screen ratio and is one of a limited
edition of 1000 copies. It features English and Greek menus and
subtitles and many cool extras. There's a photo gallery of over two
dozen rare original stills, a filmography of director Yilmaz Atadeniz
and all 11 Kilink films with a synopsis for each! The icing on the cake is three
trailers for other Turkish superhero films from the 1960s and 70s. 3
DEV ADAM (3 Mighty Men) features the Mexican El Santo teaming up with
Captain America to battle a wicked Spider-Man in Istanbul!
Onar Films just released the DVD. There are also two color
Turkish Superman trailers, SUPER ADAM ISTANBUL’DA (Super Man in
Istanbul) from the 60s as a black clad and masked crime fighter and
SUPERMEN DÖNÜYUR (Turkish Supermansee trailer here) a post-Chris Reeve swipe.
Onar Films latest King of Crime DVD release has both the first
sequel KILINK UCAN ADAMA KARSI (Kilink vs. Superman) and the third film
KILINK SOY VE OLDUR (Kilink Strip and Kill). There are also interviews
with director Yilmaz Atadeniz and actor Irfan Atasoy who portrays the
superhero Adam Karsi= Superman and the outrageous Turkish superhero trailers mentioned above. Scroll down for the direct link to Onar Films.
Here's the plot: After an extensive recap of KILINK ISTANBUL'DA
(with clearer source material than the first film), 'Superman' locates
Kilink's hideout on a remote island where his fiance is being
tortured.
Meanwhile, Kilink's scientists create a lethal death ray that
is able to blast mountains apart! Superman arrives in his non-powered
identity and becomes a target for the weapon. Of course, after saying
"SHAJAM!," Superman battles Kilink and his henchmen but the King of
Crime gets away and murders a rich foreign woman, stealing her jewels.
Like the first film, the rest of the Kilink
trilogy are officially 'lost' films. Onar Films has done a commendable
job of reconstructing these gems from what sources were available and allowing us a fascinating look
at a warped side of cinema. The interviews with director and star of
the films (with English subtitles) is an insightful look at Turkish
film history, and filmmaking and Turkish history as well.
Various
scenes from KILINK vs SUPERMAN: Kilink is up to his usual dastardly
tricks including shooting his patented Death Ray at the Turkish
SuperBatman.
KILINK SOY VE OLDUR (KILINK: STRIP & KILL) is
the the third film (and the second on this disk). This movie is more
like its photo novel counterpart since it actually lifted elements seen in the SADISTIK #1 Advanced Limited Edition (originally published in the 1967 Killing/Satanik
No. 10). There's grave robbery, hiding microfilm in a very specific
way, the kidnapping of Dana/Suzy, her escape and other escapades taken from the novel. In
this film, Kilink has ditched his army of henchmen with big 'K's on
their jumpsuits, but not Suzy. He's not so much into world-conquering
and even saves an innocent woman and her child from gangster death! In
fact, even though the plot was taken from the photo novel, there are
some Akira Kurasawa Yojimboinfluences as Kilink becomes a more semi-heroic and sympathetic character who tells a cop he only fights the 'bad.'
Here's Onar's description: "This
time Kilink is between 2 rival gangs and manages to turn one against
the other. All of them are after a precious microfilm and a big foreign
treasure. Kilink proves to be the most perfect Fantomas of them all,
changing disguises more often than he changes socks. At the same time,
it's raining gorgeous ladies all over the place. Most of them
rivals.... All of them falling for him or off balconies, pushed by him.
In a brilliant sequence, he punches a treacherous pussycat, strangles
her with his bare hands and chucks her off a balcony. Endless
shootouts, car chases, murders, beat-ups and plot twists make this
sequel one of the best Turkish actioners ever. This time, our anti-hero
proves to be a real HERO in at least one instance! But above all he
proves to be a fine nationalist who loves and supports his country!"
Some
images from KILINK: STRIP & KILL, part of the KILINK DOUBLE BILL
and directly lifted from the plot of SADISTIK Limited Edition: HELL WAITS! They even
say "Hell waits" and "Hell is waiting" in it! See the bad guys
exploit Suzy's unnatural fear of rubber snakes!
A clip from KILINK: STRIP & KILL that shows even KILINK can be a good guy!
If you’re a cult movie fan and like superheroes,
gangsters, spies, horror, American movie serials or Mexican wrestling
films, you cannot live without KILINK INSTANBUL'DA or the KILINK DOUBLE BILL: KILINK vs. SUPERMAN and KILINK STRIP & KILL! Remember: They're in
crusty black & white, have subtitles and will only play on your
computer if you have a DVD player program or a PAL DVD player. But it’s
a whole lotta fun! Comicfix offered this limited edition (only 1000 copies) import DVD of
KILINK INSTANBUL'DA and sold out very quickly, along with the follow-up KILINK DOUBLE BILL, an individually numbered limited edition from a run of 1200.
Onar Films is a great company with some very psychotronik films you
can't possibly find elsewhere. Click on their logo below and enter the
Weird World of Onar!
