DVDs:

	She [Region 2] Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing Optimum average customer review:based on 15 reviews
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Set in Palestine in 1918 "She", relates the story of three wartime buddies Maj. Horace Holly (Peter Cushing), Leo Vincy (John Richardson) and Job (Bernard Cribbons), who at the end of the war find themselves at loose ends in the Middle East with no real desire to return home to England. Encountering a beautiful and mysterious woman called Ustane (Rosenda Monteros), one evening in a nightclub Leo is lured away and then knocked out. When he comes to he discovers himself in a strange house where he encounters another beautiful woman who calls herself Ayesha (Ursula Andress). She reveals the purpose of why he was brought to her, which is that he is the reincarnation of her lost love Killikrates from two thousand years previously and that if he can find his way to her mythical city of Kuma he will not only possess her but all the riches and glory he could ever want. Seeking adventure Leo enlists the aid of his two friends and sets out with the aid of a map given to him by Ayesha to find the lost city of Kuma. Along the hazardous desert trail they encounter desert fighters who steal their water and camels and finally they are captured by the hostile Amahagger tribe who believe in human sacrifice. Just as the sacrifice of Leo is to take place since he resembles a portrait of Killikrates on a gold medal, they are rescued by the soldiers in Ayesha's army led by the mysterious high priest Billali (Christopher Lee). Led to Kuma they are finally brought into the presence of the mysterious Ayesha who it turns out has discovered the secret of eternal life by bathing in a special blue flame that keeps her young and beautiful forever. It is revealed that in a jealous rage two thousand years previously Ayesha killed her lover and has been waiting for his return ever since. Ayesha seeing that Leo has survived the test of reaching her city becomes determined to share her secret of eternal life with him so that they can rebuild the glorious civilisation that she once presided over as Queen. Despite her cruelty to those that oppose her which includes the unfortunate younger men of the Amahaggers and her servant Ustane who are thrown into a flaming pit, Leo becomes bewitched by Ayesha's beauty and promise of eternal life. As Holly and Job are preparing to leave however the remaining Amahuggers break into the city led by Haumeid (Andre Morell), who was also Ustane's father. In the fighting Billali is killed and just as Leo joins Ayesha in the sacred flame suddenly the process is reversed and Ayesha reverts to how she would look after two thousand years and dies. Leo elects to remain in the city in the hope that the blue flame will return one day so he can reverse the process which has now given him this unwanted gift of eternal life.

Visually this film is probably unequalled in the productions to come out of Hammer Studios. The stunning desert vistas, beautiful cinematography and well staged actions sequences all rank with the best Hammer work past or present. Peter Cushing has a more rogueish character to play here and as always his teaming with fellow Hammer veteran Christopher Lee is excellent with the two squaring off in one vivid scene set in a room full of mummified high priests. Ursula Andress has been critised for her limited acting ability however I feel she is perfect for the role of the mysterious, cool and cruel beauty Ayesha who never grows old. Her delivery is perfect in both the romantic and brutal scenes and rarely has an actress looked more the part of the eternal beauty than Andress does when garbed in her flowing white robe billowing in the breeze. Production on "She", was not an easy thing with troubles in Israel during filming and also the record temperatures on the desert locations proving a real trial for all cast memebers involved. The musical score used for "She", composed by James Bernard is also breathtaking and in the Ayesha scenes in particular has a lyrical haunting quality to it that heightens the romance of her pursuit of a lost love over two thousand years.

"She", makes very interesting viewing and as long as you dont expect a close following of the original novel is sure to entertain. Seeing the unique talents of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together in the one film regardless of the size of their roles is always a treat but I think it is the mysterious image of Ursula Andress that will stay in viewers mind. She most definately becomes "She ...Who Must Be Obeyed", enjoy!

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They say a moth is attracted to a flame

Well not quite the novel "She", by Henry Rider Haggard, but a little closer than earlier versions this movie and is quit fun to watch.

Three men back from the war, Maj. Horace Holly (Peter Cushing), Job (Bernard Cribbins), and Leo Vincey (John Richardson) are just aching for adventure. While having a good time in the local bar in Palestine, Leo is vamped by a beautiful exotic girl Ustane (Rosenda Monteros.) He gets abducted and is confronted by a mysterious and mesmerizing timeless beauty Ayesha (Ursula Andress). She gives him a ring and a map and she says "find me." His friend sees the ring and the map and says treasure. So they are off in the desert. They will soon find more than they expected, and so shall we.

The story does not quite follow the book but the adventure is still there.

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What a wonderful way to waste a rainy afternoon.

If you're the type of person who enjoys high camp. Then
you'll just love "She". Ursula Andress (or Undress as I called
her!). was one of the most un-talented actresses of the 1960s.
Yet she was able to carry off this bad adaptation of H.Ryder Haggar fantasy novel incredible well.
For those who have never read the novel. "She" is the story of
a three soilders, who are cast adriffed in what was then known as Palestine after the end of WW1.
The leader of the trio is an old soilder named Holly.
the second man is a more muscular fellow in his early 30s named Job.
And the youngest is an incredibly handsome man named Leo Vincy.
It is he that the story is centered on. For Leo is the object
of desire for the beautiful and undying Ayesha, eternal queen of the lost city of Kuma. A fabled city who's wealth and
power and greatness surpassed that of even Egypt itself.
Ayesha believes that Leo is the reincarnation of Kilicrates.
her Greco-Egyptian high preist and lover. Whom she killed in
a passionate fit of rage.
She has waited over 2000 years for his return. So that she can
bestow upon him her secret of eternal life, and have him
forever!
But first he must find his way to her lost city, and go through
a series of trials in order to be truly worthy of her great gift.
I won't go through the whole story, but it makes for a good
read. And the movie its self is good enough to spend a do nothing day watching.
I recomend it for both the story and its campiness factor.

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She Who Waits

Hammer's 1965 version of She can't match Merian C. Cooper's 1935 version for spectacle but it's still rather more handsomely mounted than you'd expect from the studio: location shooting, numerous sets and more extras than usual even if these descendants of Ancient Egyptians seem to have an army consisting of Roman legionaries. The most commercially successful adaptation of `the famous novel by H. Rider Haggard' (as the credits bill it), even inspiring a dreary sequel, The Vengeance of She, it's also surprisingly good, with rather more substance than you might expect.

Played partially as an old-fashioned adventure with far more action than any other version, the story is updated to post-WW1 Palestine, its explorers (Peter Cushing, John Richardson and mild comic relief Bernard Cribbins) now reimagined as demobbed soldiers uprooted by the war. "She who waits" is introduced into the picture surprisingly early and long before they reach her domain - here it is Ayesha herself who urges Leo to make the hazardous journey to prove that he is the reincarnation of her lost love. The second half makes more of the battle for Leo's soul, with more of an argument made against the temptations of eternal youth than in other versions, and the film goes to much darker places than its predecessors: this time Leo is lost long before the blue flame appears, and the end remarkably bleak. Being Hammer it also ups the sadism, not only in a mass execution of chained slaves but in the manner in which one character is `returned' to their family.

With Haggard's novel touching on the worship of beauty and youth above character or even basic humanity (She is so in thrall to her image of a lover that she blames herself for his infidelity) it's actually rather fitting that both leads are dubbed: Ursula Andress because of her thick accent - but then, no-one ever cast her for her voice - and John Richardson because, well, with his zombie-like vocal delivery that made him the Clive Owen of his day, acting never was his forte as long as he had the looks to get away with not having to. It's left to the bearded Peter Cushing's Holly to provide the weight of authority and make the case for growing old gracefully, which he does with effortless professionalism, while Christopher Lee's ambitious high priest Bilali is a far more interesting and less blindly devoted character here, adding another layer of moral decay to the crumbling kingdom. The production design makes a virtue of its relative economy, Kumar past its prime and on the edge of rebellion, the lost city itself long crumbled and the kingdom retreated into the very mountains, though the fact that the sets are smaller than they look and shot with long lenses to look larger is occasionally given away by distortion in some of the panning shots thanks to the still far from perfected Scope lenses. The special effects, though not always photo-realistic, are rather good in their old-fashioned way while James Bernard's score features a particularly memorable desert trek theme. All in all, one of Hammer's finer hours, and still highly enjoyable.

Warner/Canal Plus' Region 2 PAL DVD boasts no extras but an acceptable widescreen 2.35:1 transfer, though the title sequence looks somewhat faded.

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A darned good flick, and Ursula Andress is stunning, as always

I saw this film a long time ago when it was released in theaters, and I really enjoyed it. Although it does not slavishly follow the story in the H. Rider Haggard classic of the same name, it is close enough. The story is simple. Three British adventurers on a quest for immortality stumble onto a mysterious society ruled by Queen Ayesha (Andress) who is "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed." Ayesha believes that one of the Brits, Leo Vincy, is the reincarnation of her former lover, who she killed in a jealous rage a thousand or so years earlier. (Ayesha is immortal.) There is more to the story, and in fact it all makes for a pretty good yarn.

I do not know why this one is not presently available on DVD, and I hope that it soon will be, as this is a pretty decent adventure flick, and the gorgeous Andress of course gives the viewing extra zippity-do-da.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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