Turksploitation (a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of "
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
" and "exploitation") is a
tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
label given to a great number of
Turkish low-budget
A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor.
Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced o ...
exploitation films that are either
remakes of, or use
unauthorized footage from, popular foreign films (particularly
Hollywood movies) and television series, produced mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
''
Der Spiegel
(, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' labeled these films the "most sympathetic and anarchical subgenre of
exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...
". Filmed on a shoestring budget with often comically simple
special effects
Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...
and no regard for
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
, Turksploitation films substituted exuberant inventiveness and zany plots for technical and acting skill, although noted Turkish actors did feature in some of these productions.
The original soundtracks of the original film or of other Hollywood films were often reused. On occasion whole segments of the original film, such as special effects shots, were copied into the adaptation.
List of Turksploitation films
Noted examples of Turksploitation films include:
*''
3 Dev Adam'' ("3 Giant Men"), 1973. Features heroes
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
and
El Santo (a
Mexican wrestler), a villainous
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
and reuses the soundtracks of ''
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
'' movies.
*''Altın Çocuk'' ("Golden Boy"), 1966. This Turkish version of the ''James Bond'' film series was followed by two sequels.
*''
Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde'' ("Little Ayşe and the Magic Dwarves in the Land of Dreams"), 1971. Based on ''
The Wizard of Oz'', it featured child star
Zeynep DeÄŸirmencioÄŸlu
Zeynep DeÄŸirmencioÄŸlu (born 12 September 1954) is a Turkish people, Turkish actress.
Biography
She was born in Istanbul in 1954. She made her first appearance as a one-year-old baby in "''Papatya''" and established herself as a childstar with ...
.
*' ("Buddy"), colloquially "Turkish E.T.". Based on ''
E.T.'', the theatrical release poster also features the
Starship Enterprise
''Enterprise'' or USS ''Enterprise'', often referred to as the Starship ''Enterprise'', is the name of Spacecraft in Star Trek, several spacecraft in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise.
The ''USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Enterprise'' ma ...
.
*''Bedmen - Yarasa Adam'', 1973. Based on the 1960s ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' U.S. TV series.
*' ("Executioner"), based on ''
Death Wish''.
*' ("Desert"), referred to as "Turkish Jaws" due to a scene two-thirds of the way into the film that resembles ''
Jaws'' and even uses the theme from the film, but has nothing to do with ''Jaws''.
*''
Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'' ("The Man Who Saved The World"), colloquially "Turkish Star Wars", 1982. A
science fantasy
file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy."
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
superhero film
Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
, combining elements from Hollywood
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
and
Hong Kong action films
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures, including Chinese opera, storytelling a ...
. Includes footage from ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' and reuses the soundtracks of ''Star Wars'', ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'', ''
Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'', ''
Moonraker'' and ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...
'', as well as the theme music of ''
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
''.
*''Drakula İstanbul'da'', an adaptation of Bram Stoker's ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'' set in Istanbul.
*', colloquially "Turkish E.T. 2", or "The Other Turkish E.T.". It is unrelated to ''Badi''.
*''Kara ÅžimÅŸek'' ("Black Lightning"), based on ''
Rocky
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...
''.
*''
Karateci Kız'' ("Karate Girl"), 1973. A
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
action film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
.
*', 1982. Based on ''
Dirty Harry
''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...
'' and featuring
Cüneyt Arkın
Fahrettin Cüreklibatır (7 September 1937 – 28 June 2022), better known by his stage name Cüneyt Arkın, was a Turkish film actor, director, producer and physician. Having starred in somewhere around 300 movies and TV series, he is widely co ...
.
*''
Korkusuz'' ("Rampage"), colloquially "Turkish Rambo", 1986. Based on ''
Rambo: First Blood Part II'' and one of the few Turksploitation productions available on DVD.
*''Ölüm Savaşçısı'' ("Death Warrior"), a 1984 film belonging to the
ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
exploitation genre.
*''Ramo'', based on ''
Rambo''.
*''
Åžeytan'' ("Satan"), 1974. A scene-by-scene remake of ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
'', even reusing the original soundtrack.
*''Sokakların Kanunu'', based on ''
Death Wish 2''.
*''Süpermen Dönüyor'' ("Superman Returns"), based on ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
''.
*''
Turist Ömer Uzay Yolunda'' ("Ömer the Tourist in ''Star Trek''"), 1973. Based on
an episode of
the TV series, this first film adaptation of ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' preceded the official ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' by six years.
*' ("Wild Blood"), based on ''
First Blood
''First Blood'' is a 1982 American war action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, the film was co-written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Stallone, deriving from the 1972 no ...
''.
See also
*
Blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
*
Bruceploitation
Bruceploitation (a portmanteau of "Bruce Lee" and "exploitation") is an exploitation film subgenre that emerged after the death of martial arts film star Bruce Lee in 1973, during which time filmmakers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea cast ...
References
Cinema of Turkey
Exploitation films
{{exploitation-film-stub