Set in anarchic South America, THE ADVENTURERS is a thunderously charged 1970s political action-thriller. Bekim Fehmiu stars as Dax Xenos, a troubled playboy whose politico father was killed during a revolution. Searching for enlightenment, Xenos travels from woman to woman in an attempt to cope with his tumultuous childhood. After having an affair with the older and refined widow Deborah Hadley (Olivia de Havilland), he switches gears and falls for the young and sultry Sue Ann Daley (Candice Bergen). The two have a child, but when tragedy strikes and their son is killed, Xenos breaks down and leaves her, opting to seek revenge on his father's murderer, Rojo (Alan Badel).

Produced as an end note to the 1960s, THE ADVENTURERS showcases some of the more risqué social trends of the time on both a micro (infidelity, drug use, debauchery, lesbianism) and macro (totalitarianism) scale and then attempts to explain their origins. In one of his darker films, director Lewis Gilbert manages to save viewers from the pitch blackness of utter despair by serving up some of his witty British-isms. Racy nudity and the well timed appearance of Ernest Borgnine as Fat Cat come as welcome bits of comedy relief in this otherwise bleak film. An underrated film that shares themes with works like Shakespeare's HAMLET and Gunter Grass's THE TIN DRUM, the overbearing melancholic truths of THE ADVENTURERS evoke both a crippling sadness for humanity and a hope for future generations to come.

In THE ADVENTURERS, the trials and tribulations of the rich and famous take place against a backdrop of political intrigue. A young socialite, whose family was destroyed by an important government official, returns from exile and plots his revenge.

The film is based on the novel, THE ADVENTURERS, by Harold Robbins.

According to VARIETY, although the screenplay is credited to Michael Hastings and Lewis Gilbert, at one point John Michael Hayes and Harold Robbins himself were set to do the adaptation. It is unclear whether or not they actually wrote anything; production on this film was delayed for several years.

Charles Aznavour is well-known as both an actor, particularly for his role in Traffaut's SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER, and a popular French singer.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 16.9

Charles Aznavour: French Singer/Actor/Composer
Candice Bergen: American Film and Television Actress, MURPHY BROWN
Ernest Borgnine: American Actor, MARTY
Olivia de Havilland: Oscar winning American actress, THE HEIRESS (1949)
Bekim Fehmiu: Yugoslavian Actor
Alan Badel: British Actor
Leigh Taylor-Young: American Actress/1970s
Rossano Brazzi: Italian Actor
Jaclyn Smith: American actress, CHARLIE'S ANGELS (1976)
Thommy Berggren: Swedish Actor

Lewis Gilbert: Director/Producer/Screenwriter