Rattlesnake (1995 film)

Rattlesnake is a 1995 Nigerian action film written and directed by Amaka Igwe and produced by Austin Awulonu. It the director's first foray into making a feature-length film and was made in 3 parts. It featured Francis Duru, Okechukwu Igwe, Nkem Owoh, Anne Njemanze and Ernest Obi.

Synopsis
Rattlesnake tells the story of Ahanna Okolo who loses his father under suspicious circumstances as a child and ventures into a life of crime. Following the death of his father, Ahanna's uncle becomes his stepfather as he marries his mother. Ahanna's uncle sends Ahanna and his siblings to the village while he takes over Ahanna's father's property in Lagos. Ahanna ventures into crime and fends for his siblings with the proceeds of his criminal dealings. He goes on to lead a double life consisting of those of a respectable businessman and that of an armed robber, secretly. He had however turned a new leaf when his crimes were exposed.

Cast

 * Francis Duru as young Ahanna Okolo
 * Nkem Owoh as Odinaka, Ahanna's uncle
 * Sunny McDon as Ahanna's father
 * Ebele Uzochukwu as Ahanna's mother
 * Anne Njemanze as Amara (part 1 and 2)
 * Okechukwu Igwe as older Ahanna Okolo
 * Byron Ene as Egbe
 * Chris Iheuwa as The Godfather
 * Ernest Obi as Sango
 * Julius Agwu as young Peter
 * Ejike Methuselah as older Peter
 * Remy Ohajianya as Peter's father
 * Bob-Manuel Udokwu as Maduako Olisa Jnr
 * Uche Odoputa
 * Okey Okoronkwo
 * Tony One Week
 * Stella Damasus as Amara
 * Genevieve Nnaji
 * Chris Okotie

Production and release
Rattlesnake is described as the first Nollywood attempt at making an action film. It was listed as one of the 100 greatest foreign-language films.

The Last Operation was made as a sequel to Rattlesnake.

Remake
Charles Opaleke of Play Networks Africa obtained the rights to Rattlesnake, made and released the remake titled Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story in November 2020. In a review by Precious Nwogu of Pulse Nigeria, the remake was said to "pale in comparison to the original in terms of the depth of the original's plot and themes". But despite the storyline criticism, the acting of main character (played by Stan Nze) was critically acclaimed.