Sandokan was one of the most successful TV series of the italian television of the 70s An entire generation of children growed up singing it's main theme I can be biased but I remember it was a pretty good movie

When I was growing up in Spain, this was a must see for kids. I went to an all girl school, and we would recreate the episodes during our recess. I have never seen the mini series again, as I think it would tarnish the wonderful memories it holds. I always remember the TV promos: "Kabir Bedi, Sandokan" which served to permanently bond the names together. To this day to think of one is to think of the other. The "Tigre de Bengala" must have been our first collective crush, as we always commented on how handsome and valiant he was. Even the nuns would watch the series and comment on the adventures. It brings back fond childhood memories.

Excellent mini-series, filmed on location in Asia with lots of indigenous people as extras, lending the series a feel of authenticity and enhancing credibility.

Leading man Kabir Bedi looks like he was born to play the role, radiating charisma and possessing major screen presence.

Also notable is the great soundtrack, with the catchy theme by Oliver Onions.

I have first seen this series when I was a kid (about 10 years old). Most of the movies you liked as a child a you will laugh about when you are an adult. But now I am about 30 years old and I have seen the series again and I liked it again very, very much. The Actors are great - Carole Andre was my first "love" as a child, Kabir Bedi is a very cool pirate and many others are very good although they are only amateur actors from south east asia - the story has suspense and action. It's a sort of Robin Hood story playing in Malaysia. The best series I ever saw. And I found many people on the net that agreed... don't miss it... ahh I forgot: The soundtrack from Oliver Onions is the best soundtrack I EVER heard... you have to hear the music...GREAT!! I do not know why I am the only one up to now who voted for the movie. But believe me... I (a declared science-fiction fan) love this series... and it is wonderful although it comes from italy!!!!!!!

After sailing the seas with Sandokan, you might wonder what life on earth still has to offer us. Sandokan's charismatic and heroic behavior is brought to us with colorful exotic images and the most beautiful soundtrack, combining sitars with steady seventies grooves. I watched this series with a four year old kid, who can't read and doesn't understand a word Italian, but he was screaming along with me Sandokan!, whenever the title song started again. The fighting and the many exotic animals are also enjoyable for the very young, though I can imagine not for the most sensitive of them. Some people get killed pretty nasty. To nowadays standards the speed is slow, but that's OK, so you have more time to enjoy the eastern environments. This series must be inspired by Serge Leones spaghetti western moods and I know that the writer of the Sandokan story was a favorite of Ché Guevara. Sandokan is against the western imperialism, a fighter for freedom... and nice to watch with the kids on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

for the kids of Romanian "Golden Age" , front of scenes from a too far time and place, "Sandokan" was more than a cool series. it was the best. for exoticism, for the clichés, for the erotic nuances, for the values and fight scenes, for the brave hero and his girl friend , for the portraits of bad guys, for tension. and, sure, for the music. because , today, it is so easy to chaff a dusty series, with large parts from the adventure story for teenagers, with a story who seems a naive sketch. yes, "Sandokan" is a very old story. seductive, too. for the kid inside us.

To begin with, I recall catching a re-run of this on Italian TV as a kid (apart from an earlier cinematic adventure featuring the titular character as incarnated by popular muscle-man Steve Reeves). Incidentally, I had recently rewatched the big-screen follow-up to the serial under review called THE BLACK PIRATE (1976) – which I enjoyed quite a bit, and was actually reminded of this one even back then. Besides, a reduction of SANDOKAN – which was released to theaters under the lengthy title LA TIGRE E' ANCORA VIVA: SANDOKAN ALLA RISCOSSA! – has just been shown on Italian TV: I taped it but, knowing the serial was readily available for rental on DVD, I opted to watch the entire thing (I had intended to check out the film as a companion piece but, being currently swarmed by titles on various formats, I thought better of leaving this for another day!).

While somewhat leisurely-paced, SANDOKAN is never boring; its classical serial structure makes for sheer old-fashioned fun, with good action sequences (director Sollima had cut his teeth on Spaghetti Westerns and Gangster flicks) and a rousing score by the De Angelis brothers (several variations on the main theme are heard throughout). It also maintains a nice balance between literariness, local color, and the thrilling/romantic requirements of the genre – and is very well cast besides: Kabir Bedi (at once dashing and commanding in his signature role), Carol Andre' (one of Euro-Cult's loveliest starlets), Adolfo Celi (making for a formidable villain) and, especially, Philippe Leroy (as Sandokan's witty but resourceful sidekick).

With respect to the quality of the Yamato DVD edition I watched, it's not as bad as comments by disgruntled fans on the 'Net had led me to believe (for the record, the serial is also available as a 3-Disc Set from a different label); I do have one qualm, though, about the decision to use the reduced English credits (but, then, the originals are available as part of the bonus features). The latter includes a biography of the character's creator, Emilio Salgari: I was surprised to learn that he led a short and tragic life, but also that a later exotic serial I had watched – and in which Bedi was featured – called THE MYSTERIES OF THE DARK JUNGLE (1991) was based on his work.

Emilio Salgari is a famous non-English language adventure novelist of the Dumas/Anthony Hope/Rafael Sabatini school. The Sandokan books is one of his great series. This Italian mini-series, which I watched twice dubbed in Spanish, captures the entire scope and flavour of the first and best books of the Sandokan saga. It has pirates, tiger hunts, intrigue, escapes, loyalty, treachery, and, of course, a great romance. Sandokan and Yáñez and the lady Marianne and all other characters are featured. It is sad that the Salgari books have never been translated to English and that, indirectly because of this, this great mini-series has probably not been shown in American television nor transferred to video. I still hope some day to see it collected.

Its is over 4.5 hours long and spell-binding.

Originally this mini-series was also on Dutch television , somewhere around 1976.It was a major success; almost divine pictures and a true romantic story. I looked for Sandokan, first on Video much later also on DVD. When I found it, all the stores on the internet could not deliver this item. Finally got my new copy through Ebay; the whole series , plus the '63 release of the young Sandokan, and the '96 return of Sandokan.

for those of you not remembering all; He does get away in the end together with Yanes de Gomera and three other loyalist... In the return, 20 years later (both Kabir Bedi and Philippe Leroy are still the same!!!)they fight their way back to Mompracem...

Watching this series again made me feel proud to not be an Englishman.

I watched the series (3 big screen series) in Bulgaria early 80s.Later when I came to South Africa I found VHS in the Video rent shop. Ever since I've been trying to purchase a copy of the original 3 series. Is one of the best Pirates movies I ever seen, I lived with the exotic places and the events. It was not large budget movie but very well composed one. Still good to watch. My kids enjoyed it so much. Kabir Bedi have very muscular appearance for the role of Sandocan.I can't think of other actor that can do it better. I am recommending it if you can find it with subtitles on your own language. Something different than Hollywood way...Not so many special effects but looks so nice even now.

I was very pleased to find the 1974 RAI-Italy series SANDOKAN complete on DVD. While the picture quality is such that it appears to originate simply from video (cassette), the story and themes with conflicting characterizations is certainly there.

Lord Brooke, the villain of the piece, likens himself to Sandokan: he feels that he is acting in the best interests of England, just as Sandokan works similarly for his people. Of course, Brooke with his private empire in Borneo/Sarawak together with his private army of dayaks is more like a precursor to Joseph Conrad's KURTZ in HEART OF DARKNESS.

The power accorded Brooke and his allies the second ruling class - the EAST India (TEA) COMPANY seems absolute, and corrupting in its absolutism.

Some of director SERGIO SOLLIMA's best films explore the nature of authority and the struggle of those under a harsh and unforgiving authority (eg. THE BIG GUNDOWN; FACE TO FACE; THE FAMILY, the corporate nature of the underworld, and even REVOLVER (the links between politics and crime).

SANDOKAN makes for an admirable hero, and though his romantic with the very young MARIANNA, not yet 18, fresh and idealistic, seems trite, it forms one third of the triangle that keeps his world in balance. The other is his men and the community on his island stronghold of MOMPRACEM.

Some of EMILIO SARAGLI's works including SANDOKAN are finally available in English. I was amazed to see that you only have need of a reading ability of 9-12 years.

Not to belabour the point but SANDOKAN is a children's adventure story with wonderfully exotic locations (India and Malaysia were used) and characters, which actually should be watched by the parents too.

(I used to be proud of the British Empire and all its exploits, but over the years it is clear that their methods and their goals were not that noble; and of course, one only has to watch the television and read the newspapers - sometimes between the lines - to realize the problems still exist

I don't feel very much in mood to write review about that guy Emilio Salgari - author and creator of Sandokan. Salgari's legend as explorer, adventurer, and writer knew no bounds. By the 1950s he was the bestselling Italian author worldwide. Dante Alighieri was number 2. Yet critics said that Salgari was mentally deranged. His wife actress Ida Peruzzi got dementia in 1900s and Salgari with his family could hardly meet their ends. By 1910/1911 wife was committed and Salgari himself made suicide. These are facts from his biography while Wikipedia gives inadequate information. Best source on the Net is ROH PRESS at http://www.rohpress.com/salgari.html

Let me try to shuffle this material a bit. We've got here in our country a large array of translations from Italian Emilio Salgari. Those books appeared firstly in the 1920s and 1930s - they were handsomely illustrated and were paragon for adventure literature. For me, as a schoolboy, those hard to find assets were precious. Since Star Wars series were non-existent what else could be opulent for teenager. It was Indian actor Kabir Bedi as Sandokan who gained greatest cinematic fame. He was as popular as Karl May's hero and some other heroes from American Westerns that I couldn't differentiate well. But we were happy and growing up, and those were socialist times clean and uneventful otherwise.

On the parochial side Sandokan's role as cultural phenomenon is limited. If you ask someone from South-East Asia about Sandokan, be it Malaysian or Thai or else, and he had hardly heard of that cult hero. Sandokan appears to be imaginary and fictional creation - a Raja rebel against English and Dutch colonialists in middle of 19th century, sometime between 1849 to 1889. Mompracem, the island-fortress of Sandokan, is non-existent nowadays. On the map, you can see on that latitude the Labuan island which is north offshore Borneo and east of Brunei Sultanate. Now comes the catch, did ever Salgari in his life was seafarer to those places?

Salgari claims in one of his authorized novels that he was there in 1879-1881 for two years. Tremal Naik hired him from Bombay as captain for one of Sandokan's praho (light ship). Salgari willingly served as pirate, he lived with the Tigres of Mompracem and during one of his raids they caught an English ship. On that ship, there was an Englishwoman (called Eva Stevenson, the would be Marianne) that conceded with the pirates and became Salgari's sweetheart. They further continued to live in action but once were tracked in the jungle. Eva died there of tropical fever, while Captain Salgari escaped and was saved by Portugese merchant ship. So it appears that the author himself was prototype for Yanez de Gomera.

It gets too long a story to continue now. You can check in various sources for synopsis of Sandokan novels. I have read those books in confused order but you can make a hubris for oneself. Good luck ...

I've recently started re-watching this TV series in my fifties and I've come to realize that it was totally wasted on me as a child. The show is compelling, filled with political and philosophical nuances that had completely gone over my head originally. Thankfully, all the action it also has, made the series stick with me through the years and had me appreciate it even more now.

This show is so much more than its catchy musical theme!

Watched it in the early 90s. It was and I think it's still great.

Adventure from the far east. As a kid I watched it and was totally fascinated by our main character the pirate Sandokan. The theme music once you've heard it a few times it will never leave you, wonderfully orientalish, little words really, just mesmerizing. The character of Sandokan is very well played. You can believe he's a great man, a great pirate, an adventurer fighting for the rights of his people. Why if I like it so much did I give it only a 9? Well, the acting and special effects are sometimes a bit of a poor quality, it could have been so much better. But I would recommend watching it though as long as you keep this in mind, not the best quality. I just wish they would do a remake of this, but it needs the same characters though, the same theme song, it all comes together in this wonderful adventure movie that transports you to a world you don't know.

I saw this in high school and what's not to like - sun-drenched beaches and seas, romantic sail-boats, manly men (both the Goodies and the Baddies), swords, tigers, battles, adventure, pirates, Robin-Hood-type send-ups of authority, sexual innuendo (but not too much), action, humour and drama.

Kabir Bedi is great as the eponymous "Tiger of Monpracem", and the rest of the cast work well in their roles. The setting is reasonably authentic, but with the sets, costumes and location, who cares!

This is a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones (both copied Sandokan!), but without the ambiguities, star-centredness or the hocus-pocus.

If you live near the ocean, do not let your teen-age boys watch this!