Erkekçe

Manly (Erkekçe) (translated)

Movie · 1983 · 5 people

Adventure, comedy and crime come together in Erkekçe (Manly), a Turkish film from 1983. Çetin İnanç both directed it and wrote the screenplay. Shot in colour on 35 mm, it runs 79 minutes and is also classed as an action comedy with slapstick.

The story follows a tough guy trying to avenge his former partner. When the famous mob boss Hulusi is murdered, the underworld erupts in fury. While the mob argues over who will lead it next, Hulusi's will turns up: he has left his entire estate to Gırgır Ali, but on a condition. If Ali cannot find the killer within a week, everything goes to Hulusi's representative, the lawyer İhsan. Cüneyt Arkın plays Gırgır Ali, with Ali Şen as Beybaba, Necla Fide as Gönül, Aydın Haberdar as Aydın, Hüseyin Peyda as the lawyer İhsan and Nilgün Saraylı as Yaprak. Nuri Kırgeç, Oktar Durukan (Hulusi) and Mehmet Samsa (Cafer) also appear.

Mehmet Karahafız produced it for Anıt Film, with cinematography by Sedat Ülker. Many of the actors were dubbed; Abdurrahman Palay voiced Cüneyt Arkın and Timuçin Caymaz voiced Ali Şen. It is one of many collaborations between Arkın and İnanç.

DirectorÇetin İnanç
Production companyAnıt Film

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Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Cüneyt Arkın, a one-week deadline, a mob boss's fortune and a killer to find: the setup is solid and the clock starts ticking right away. At 79 minutes it never hangs around, moving fast from scene to scene. The slapstick does take over, though; just when the tension should build, the clowning can break the rhythm. Fun if you want Arkın in action, too loose if you are after a serious crime story.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

Seeing Cüneyt Arkın as Gırgır Ali, in a film that leans towards comedy and slapstick, is a curiosity in itself, and Ali Şen's Beybaba brings a familiar warmth. Still, the crowd of types, from the belly dancer to the simit seller, and the loud, crude humour are not to my taste. A story that opens with a will could have made a charming black comedy with a lighter touch. Hearing Arkın speak in Abdurrahman Palay's voice, though, brings back the dubbing tradition of the era and the feel of the old days.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Erkekçe is one of the many Arkın collaborations that Çetin İnanç both wrote and directed, and it tries to hold adventure, crime and comedy under one roof. The will and the one-week limit set up a sound ticking-clock device, but the weight of slapstick leans the structure towards gags rather than suspense. The belly dancer, inspector, policeman and simit seller work more as comic material than as characters. The 79-minute running time forgives some of the looseness. Post-dubbed actors are a familiar trait of the period's cinema, and here the gap between voice and performance also affects the comic timing. A study piece for anyone curious about the Arkın and İnanç partnership, a weak link for anyone wanting a coherent film.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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