Sandokan (TV series)

Sandokan is a 1976 Italian six-part television series directed by Sergio Sollima, based upon the novels of Emilio Salgari featuring the pirate hero Sandokan. It was followed the next year by a feature-length spin-off film, and another twenty years later by a sequel series named The Return of Sandokan, with Kabir Bedi reprising his role as Sandokan in both.

Universally recognized as one of the most famous television dramas in the history of Italian television, Sandokan was broadcast by Rai in 6 episodes from 6 January to 8 February 1976 on Rete 1 (now Rai 1), enjoying great success, especially among younger audiences.^[1] Together with the dramas The Odyssey (1968), Eneide (1971), and Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Sandokan inaugurated the beginning of forms of co-production with Italian and foreign producers; in this way, in the seventies, a different articulation of fiction began to emerge which tended to go beyond the "scripted from published work" genre to expand towards new frontiers, calling on directors and intellectuals to renew and expand the offer of fiction or other genres of the TV schedule.^[2]

The production of the drama was very complex and troubled: the production overall took about four years and its completion was mainly due to the great work effort of Sollima, whose intention was to create a realistic and impressive product; to achieve this goal Sollima dedicated almost all his energy during the production period.^[3] Precisely the production grandeur and the great success with the public make this drama a milestone in the history of television; it was, in fact, the first case of an Italian "teleromanzo" to be made with the care and production grandeur of a colossal film.^[4]

Malaysia, the second half of the 19th century. The English Queen Victoria owns the domain of the eastern lands of Borneo. The occupying British forces are commanded by James Brooke, oppressive and ruthless governor. The brave Sandokan is a young Malaysian prince who has lost his kingdom and title as result of the British annexation. Along with his friend Yanez De Gomera (of Portuguese origin), Sandokan is now the ruler of the isle of Mompracem, a den of pirates who make constant attacks against British forces.

One day Sandokan travels from the island of Malaysia to the lands of Borneo. Lured into a trap, Sandokan is injured in an attack, falls overboard, and is found and treated by the family of Lord Guillonk, uncle of the beautiful Marianna Guillonk, nicknamed "The Pearl of Labuan". In fact, Guillonk does not know Sandokan personally, and mistakes the pirate for an Indian noble. Sandokan plays along with this deception, as Marianna and he have fallen in love with each other. The love between them is not meant to last for long. Brooke continues to pursue Sandokan. This culminates in the invasion of Mompracem, in which Sandokan loses both Marianna and his base, but is able to escape and start his resistance against the English anew.

Towards the end of the 1960s, Sergio Sollima intended to adapt The Tigers of Mompracem into the form of a single feature film. The director contacted several Asian actors for the role of Sandokan, even the famous Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, and worked on the script for about a year. Despite this, the project did not take off and was abandoned.^[5] In the seventies, Goffredo Lombardo and Elio Scardamaglia, producers of Titanus and RAI respectively, joined forces to create a television drama starring the famous pirate created by Salgari. Their true inspiration was the general director Ettore Bernabei, who had long insisted on the idea of reducing Salgari's novels for the small screen.^[6] Damiano Damiani, Duccio Tessari, Suso Cecchi D'Amico and even Sergio Leone were considered for directing, but none of them accepted.^[7] Lombardo and Scardamaglia then chose Sollima. The director was busy editing The Devil in the Brain (1972) when Tullio Kezich came to him to propose Sandokan.^[8] Sollima was enthusiastic, but made one condition: he would direct the drama only on real locations, with Asian actors and with absolute realism.^[3]

Being a good connoisseur of Emilio Salgari, literary father of Sandokan and of the novels of the pirates of Malaysia cycle, Sollima had learned that all the author's works, although equipped with an apparently simple narrative line, were very difficult to transpose onto television.^[5][9] For the subject, Sollima decided to base himself above all on The Tigers of Mompracem and The Pirates of Malaya, expanding some subplots (English colonial development, the affirmation of the empire of the white raja James Brooke and the love story between Sandokan and Marianna). and the presence of some secondary characters (Yanez and Brooke).^[7][9] The screenplay was written by Sollima and Alberto Silvestri.^[7] Sollima committed himself to the search for actors "who, despite their inevitable realistic dimension, were capable of suggesting something heroic, magical".^[5] After having set aside Mifune for the role of Sandokan, Sollima organized a vast and complex research plan to find the protagonist's interpreter. The latter, Kabir Bedi, a young Indian of Sikh religion, who auditioned to play Tremal-Naik, was discovered in Mumbai in 1974.

• Kabir Bedi as Sandokan
• Carole André as Lady Marianna Guillonk
• Philippe Leroy as Yanez De Gomera
• Adolfo Celi as James Brooke
• Andrea Giordana as Sir William Fitzgerald
• Hans Caninenberg as Lord Guillonk
• Milla Sannoner as Lucy Mallory
• Renzo Giovampietro as Dr. Kirby
• Franco Fantasia as Captain van Doren

The musical score for the series was composed and performed by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis under their most famous alias, Oliver Onions. The score, released as an album, also included songs performed by the duo in Italian and English. Their title song, heard under the opening credits, became hugely popular in Italy and Europe.

• List of Italian television series

• Sandokan at IMDb