https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/29b32af3-d6b4-43df-991e-357565399388 Coleman Francis was an Auteur in every sense of the word. His films are either absolute genius with an incredible artistic vision of the dark side of human nature or they are horrible beyond belief. Yet, like all the greats, Coleman Francis movies are COMPLETELY unique. No one else ever made a film like he did and only you can decide for yourself if he is brilliant, insane or completely incompetent. He's right up there with people like Ed Wood Jr., Russ Meyer, Ted V. Mikels, Jerry Warren, Al Adamson, David L. Hewitt, Greydon Clark, Larry Buchanan, Ray Dennis Steckler, Hershell Gordon Lewis and Ron Ormond. He went his own way and his films reflect his singular and very dark vision of the world. Everyone in a Coleman Francis film is doomed and there is no way out! This vision reflects Coleman's life as the consummate outsider in an industry that never accepted him. It was only long after his tragic death in 1973 at the age of 53 that his films began to be distributed and appreciated. They all deserve a 4k restoration and blu ray release, but until then we will have to make do with what we have. To date, Red Zone Cuba was only released once more than 30 years ago on a very rare VHS tape which is the source of this version. Coleman was only able to direct and complete 3 films in his lifetime, but those 3 films are all unbelievable. Red Zone Cuba is the last of his films (the other 2 being The Beast of Yucca Flats from 1961 and The Skydivers from 1963). Although Coleman appears in all 3 of his films, he is the star of Red Zone Cuba as "Griffin." Griffin is dark and dangerous escaped convict who "ran all the way to hell" (according to John Carradine's comment near the beginning of the movie). While on the run, Griffin meets and teams up with "Landis" (played by Anthony Cardoza who also plays Fidel Castro) and "Cook" (Harold Saunders) who are ex-cons. They somehow hear about an opportunity to make some quick money being soldiers participating in the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba! They find "Cherokee Jack" who flys them to the staging area of the invasion and they undergo some laughable military "training." They also meet a guy named "Justine" who is fighting against Cuba for ideological reasons. Justine tells them about a mining claim he has on a moutain that allegedly has a large deposit of Uranium. Griffin, Landis and Cook soon arrive in Cuba but they are immediately captured and Justine is seriously wounded. Griffin, Landis and Cook manage to escape, leaving the injured Justine behind, and then they somehow steal a plane and fly back to the U.S. When they get back, they are determined to find Justine's mountain treasure. After robbing an incredibly depressing restaurant that has a big sign advertising "Frog Legs" and a blind female piano player(!) they find Justine's widow and she takes them to the mountain, but law enforcement is always on their tail. Landis and Cook are arrested and the police shoot and kill Griffin while he runs through a field. The theme song is SUNG by John Carradine who makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film. If you are a fan or student of the bad and unique, you must see the work of the visionary Coleman Francis. Sat, 04 Apr 2026 05:35:39 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tankie.tube https://tankie.tube/lazy-static/avatars/3ba3ff73-a8b6-49c9-add8-9653ef090c7f.webp https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/29b32af3-d6b4-43df-991e-357565399388 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tankie.tube/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.