Italian Peplum & Fusto Movies: The Good, the Bad & the Epic

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Here's an abridged piece I wrote on Italian Sword & Sandal movies a couple years back. Reviews follow the article. Credit to wikipedia for helping me decipher the numerous Italian titles.

ITALIAN PEPLUMS & FUSTO ADVENTURES

In 1959 the film THE LABORS OF HERCULES starring American born bodybuilder Steve Reeves would start an avalanche of muscleman movies that would enjoy a somewhat brief run from 1960 until 1964 when the genre was supplanted by the onslaught of the Italian Westerns. This film was a huge success both in Italy and abroad and detailed the trials of Hercules and his friend Jason and their search for the Golden Fleece. One of Herc's jobs is to rid frightened villagers of the Bull of Crete as well as take on a villainous monarch. The character of Jason gets a lot of screen time himself and even battles a giant dinosaur-like creature that (at least in the American release) has the same roar found in the Japanese Godzilla movies.

The film was very popular and a sequel was quickly made. Entitled HERCULES & THE QUEEN OF LYDIA in Italy, Steve Reeves returned for the sequel but not for any subsequent mythological strongman movies. The film was called HERCULES UNCHAINED for its US debut. Reeve's did appear in numerous gladiator movies and similar peplum style movies like SANDOKAN THE GREAT directed by the great Umberto Lenzi.

The peplums, or fusto movies were generally based on biblical or historical accounts and most often times mythological adventures. Sometimes there would be a melding of the historical with the fantasy elements but always these movies had the same ingredients--(mostly) American or Italian bodybuilders in the heroic roles, lavish sets, beautiful scantily clad damsels in distress as well as evil scantily clad sorceress' that would use their charms or magic to lure the heroes to their doom and lots of fights.

Most of the films were low budget, but made good use of the limited funds with the spectacle. The monetary limitations would be painfully obvious in the films that featured monsters or magical creatures. Even still, these entries possessed a sense of child-like wonder that makes them the most memorable of the genre.

There were at least 20 movies in Italy that utilized the Hercules character. There were also a series of films featuring a classic Italian folk hero Maciste. Over two dozen Maciste movies were produced during this time. Also the mythological characters of Ursus, Goliath and Samson had their own series of films as well. These featured such actors as Reg Park, Mickey Hargitay, Kirk Morris, Gordon Scott, Brad Harris, Mark Forrest, Alan Steel, Gordon Mitchell, Richard Harrison and my favorite actor from the peplums, Dan Vadis.

When one of the Maciste movies would be exported to American shores, the title was always changed. The American distributors assumed that audiences would not know who Maciste was and therefore changed the name and the same goes for the dubbing. Here are some examples--

MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS-- US title: SON OF SAMSON
MACISTE IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS-- US title: ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS
MACISTE AT THE COURT OF THE GREAT KHAN-- US title: SAMSON & THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD
MACISTE IN HELL-- US title: THE WITCH'S CURSE
MACISTE VS THE MONSTERS-- US title: FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES
ZORRO VS MACISTE-- US title: SAMSON & THE SLAVE QUEEN
MACISTE VS THE MONGOLS-- US title: HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS
MACISTE IN GENGHIS KHAN'S HELL-- US title: HECULES VS THE BARBARIANS

American muscleman Mark Forrest played Maciste more than the other actors and he was one of the most popular. Outside of Reeves and Vadis, he was one of the best peplum stars I saw on Saturday Afternoon movies. It was a double feature of HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS and its sequel HERCULES VS THE BARBARIANS. There were no monsters but lots of action. I don't remember much of either film other than Forrest ripping a huge tree from the ground and smashing the villains with it. Also I remember the main bad guy with his Mongolian looks and dress.

Forrest also starred in one of the most popular peplums THE REVENGE OF HERCULES aka GOLIATH AGAINST THE DRAGON. Released by AIP, new scenes utilizing a stop motion animated dragon replaced a mock up dragon in the Italian version. There is also a scene where Goliath goes to Hades to capture a magical stone and battles with a fire breathing 3 headed dog as well a giant bat creature. Broderick Crawford played the main bad guy. There is also lots of fights, feats of strength and an execution of a slave by being trampled by an elephant.

After the peplums finished their run, Forrest retired to become an opera singer(!) who still teaches today in LA among also being a fitness trainer.

Many of these stars were either previously, or soon to be part of Mae West's Revue. These included Gordon Mitchell, Dan Vadis and Mickey Hargitay who would end up marrying pin-up queen Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay would appear in one fusto along with his wife. That film is the hugely enjoyable THE LOVES OF HERCULES aka HERCULES VS THE HYDRA. Here, Herc battles a giant hydraulically controlled multi headed Hydra, an Ape creature in a cave and the inevitable evil queen who places a spell on Hercules' love interest.

Hargitay would go on to appear in numerous Italian genres including the Spy films and Giallo's and an occasional straight horror picture like THE BLOODY PIT OF HORROR where he played the Crimson Executioner.

Gordon Mitchell was one of the few fusto stars who made a successful transition to the Italian western movies where he found work as a villain. Having participated in over 200 movies of various genres, Mitchell passed away a couple of years ago. He appeared in numerous peplums that were watchable entries such as THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS, some so-bad-it's-good entries like ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS and some horrible, nearly unwatchable dreck like VULCAN, SON OF JUPITER aka VULCAN, GOD OF FIRE.

Former Mr. Universe Reg Park was notable for appearing in some of the finer examples of the genre like Mario Bava's HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1962) which also starred Christopher Lee as an undead sorcerer who lures Hercules to Hades where he does battle with zombies and other assorted terrors and traps. In America, Lee was marketed as playing a vampire since his DRACULA pictures were doing brisk business. Park was also in HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN where he did battle with an Atlantean army of female warriors and a lizard monster in a cave.

Kirk Morris, one of a handful of Italian born actors to portray super strong heroes, appeared in THE WITCH'S CURSE from 1962. An obvious take off on the much better Mario Bava directed HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD. Morris also appeared in the action packed entry HERCULES CHALLENGES SAMSON aka HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES. There's a great sequence where the two strongmen do battle among the ruins of an old temple. A sea monster (which looks a bit like a macro enlarged seal) also figures into the proceedings. He also appeared in an odd but fun entry, THE CONQUERER OF ATLANTIS. Morris would also appear as Ringo in the Italian western musical RITA OF THE WEST.

Dan Vadis was probably the most successful of the fusto stars from the 60s. He not only made the transition into the spaghetti westerns but also had a successful career in US productions. Most notably Clint Eastwood movies like EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE, ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN, THE GAUNTLET, BRONCO BILLY and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. I first saw Vadis in the third chapter of the TEN GLADIATOR series. The first film was called appropriately enough, THE TEN GLADIATORS aka TEN DESPERATE MEN.

The film dealt with Vadis, along with nine compatriots, leading a revolt against Emperor Nero. The second film was called SPARTACUS & THE TEN GLADIATORS and starred Vadis again leading his group against the ringleaders of brutal gladiatorial games. The third, TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS was more lighter in tone than the other two. Here, Vadis and his gang of grapplers take part in a futile mission to kidnap a queen. All three are from 1964 and feature lots of fights and abundant action. Future spaghetti western director Giancarlo Parolini directed the trilogy.

Vadis also played Hercules in the 1964 film THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES aka HERCULES VS THE GIANT WARRIORS. Here, Hercules is bewitched by an evil sorceress who desires his companionship only she must get his love interest out of the way first. Hercules does battle with the villains army of bronze automatons on several occasions as well becoming a villain for a brief stint and destroying a village. Herc is then stripped of his strength by Zeus and at the end he must try to save his lady love from a spiked contraption until Zeus finally gives him his strength back at the last minute. The closing moments see Herc's girlfriend dangling over the edge of a cliff above the ocean. The sorceress changes her appearance to look like the girlfriend but Hercules sees through this disguise and shockingly drops her to the craggy rocks below. His woman rescued and his strength returned, all is right with the world.

Vadis would die in 1987 after ingesting a toxic substance.

Brad Harris, another of Mae West's love interests, also was able to successfully transcend the genre and even become a producer. He also appeared in the British horror film THE FREAKMAKER starring Donald Pleasence and Tom Baker and was directed by Jack Cardiff, the award winning cinematographer of THE AFRICAN QUEEN! Harris did a lot of early gladiator style movies before trying his hand at the Italian spy thrillers. These were knock-offs of the JAMES BOND pictures often times starring Sean Connery's brother, Neil.

Italian born actor Alan Steel did one of the most well remembered and strangest films in the fusto films. Called MACISTE & THE QUEEN OF SAMAR in Italy, it was christened HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN for its US release. I don't remember much of the plot other than Herc must do battle with an alien creature and an evil queen who conducts blood sacrifices to appease a moon demon. Lots of atmosphere and action that sometimes borders on horror. An MST3K favorite.

American actor and one time Tarzan Gordon Scott (who also passed away this year), played in numerous peplum adventures. He starred in HERCULES VS MOLOCH and MACISTE VS THE VAMPIRES aka GOLIATH AGAINST THE VAMPIRES. This was directed by Sergio Corbucci and Giocomo Gentilomo and written by Duccio Tessari. Gentilomo would direct the Alan Steel favorite, HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN while Corbucci and Tessari would go on to very successful careers directing westerns. Scott would also star in a pilot for a proposed HERCULES television show that never happened. The pilot movie, HERCULES & THE PRINCESS OF TROY aka HERCULES VS THE SEA MONSTER was about Hercules trying to stop senseless virginal sacrifices to a giant sea creature. Directed by Albert Band, the special effects were surprisingly effective in this.

Although this show never got off the ground, a 1960s syndicated show entitled THE SONS OF HERCULES did. Re-packaged muscle movies that were cut down to an hour length and had a catchy theme song added, the films, as usual, were not always HERCULES features but were sold and dubbed as such. These included--

THE BEAST OF BABYLON VS THE SON OF HERCULES-Gordon Scott
THE TYRANT OF LYDIA VS THE SON OF HERCULES-Gordon Scott
THE TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES-Mark Forrest
MOLE MEN VS THE SON OF HERCULES-Mark Forrest
SON OF HERCULES IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS-Dan Vadis
MESSALINA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES-Richard Harrison

American Richard Harrison, one of the most wooden actors to ever grace the screen, had probably the busiest career of all the peplum stars. He did everything from the torch-and-toga adventures to westerns to action and war pictures to martial arts movies and even his own series of laughably bad ninja movies where he portrayed Gordon the Ninja who dressed up like a Ninja from outer space and battled bad guys in equally spacy outfits. It's blatantly obvious Harrison is not the one performing the actions but these are laugh riots.

Harrison's peplums were actually pretty decent and the one series of pictures where he seemed more at ease (and awake). One of his most notable but also quite silly is MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES which was called PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE in Italy. Here, Herc deals with another evil queen who can turn men into trees that bleed when limbs are broken off and the monster Medusa which also looks a bit like a tree with rubber snakes atop its head and a large glowing orb for an eye. Harrison also did various gladiator flicks like DUEL OF CHAMPIONS and THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATORS.

When these movies died out around 1965, they got a brief resurgence in the 80s after the release of CONAN THE BARBARIAN in 1982. Compared to the lesser 1960s fustos', these new features were far worse.

Probably the beginning of this new cycle was ATOR, THE FIGHTING EAGLE starring one time Tarzan Miles O'Keefe. This was a cookie cutter CONAN movie with twice as much action and a giant spider. The story is similar only more funny (unintentionally so). At least you have the gorgeous Sabrina Siani to ogle at. A sequel followed entitled ATOR THE BLADEMASTER. This film was even worse. It featured numerous glaring continuity errors to amp up the laugh factor and was a MST3K favorite. Only their version was called CAVE DWELLERS and sported different opening and closing credits that had scenes from another movie. A third ATOR movie called IRON WARRIOR was a little better but not by much.

Then, in 1983 the return of the most famous mythological hero was happening...HERCULES, starring Lou Ferrigno. Directed by passionate fantasy filmmaker Luigi Cozzi (STARCRASH), the film was a dismal misfire and a laugh riot made all the more hilarious in that it got wide release from MGM at the time. A sequel was shot back to back but it never saw release and instead went straight to video. In all fairness, the effects utilized had never been done before in Italy, but it's so in your face and they take it all so seriously and the films take blatant liberties from SUPERMAN you can't help but laugh.

Another 80s peplum starring Ferrigno was called THE SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS directed by Bruno Mattei and also starred Brad Harris, Sybil Danning and a villainous turn from Dan Vadis whom this would be his last film. The template was of course, THE SEVEN SAMURAI. This one was bad as well but nothing could prepare you for the badness that was Enzo Castellari's SINBAD OF THE 7 SEAS also starring Ferrigno. Other examples include the intresting Avi Nesher futuristic peplum SHE starring Sandahl Bergman, Gordon Mitchell and David Brandon, THRONE OF FIRE starring Sabrina Siani, the gory and violent CONQUEST from Lucio Fulci that starred Jorge Rivero and Sabrina Siani again, IRON MASTER starring George Eastman from Umberto Lenzi, the execrable THE INVINCIBLE BARBARIAN with Siani and one of my favorites, THE BARBARIANS starring twins David and Peter Paul in a lively and very violent peplum comedy adventure directed by Ruggero Deodato. Richard Lynch and Michael Berryman also star.

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SANDOKAN THE GREAT 1963 aka LA TIGRE DI MOMPRACEM

Steve Reeves (Sandokan), Andrea Bosic (Yanez), Leo Anchoriz (Lord Guillonk)

Sandokan, the pirate of the Eastern seas does battle with British colonialists who have kidnapped his father. In retaliation, Sandokan kidnaps the niece of the villainous Lord Guillonk in an effort to trade for his fathers freedom. All doesn't go as planned and a major siege in the British fortress brings the film to a close.

Definitely one of Reeve's best movies I've seen. I enjoyed this much better than HERCULES (1957). Reeves isn't that great of an actor, but he is most imposing as Sandokan. He even duels with a tiger early in the film. The fist fights may be a little slow, but for the time, they pass as decent enough. The action scenes are few and far between causing the film to seriously drag in spots but the island photography is very nice. Lenzi shot the film in India and was able to capture some nice shots of the jungles and wildlife there. That's not to say the film doesn't have lots of action, it's just not spread out evenly throughout.

While the film isn't action packed, especially at 111 minutes, the movie picks up considerably during the final 15 minutes with a massive assault on the fort. Sandokan and his men are to be executed but they manage to escape with the help of a monkey whom Yanez befriended earlier in the film. After the battle has begun, Sandokan and his men are cornered in a tower and out of ammunition. Help arrives with the Indian tribes joining the fight as well as the remainder of Sandokan's ship mates. Reeve's gets to man a gatling gun and mow down a bunch of the British soldiers.

This scene is quite violent for its time. Sergio Leone is often quoted as having first shown people being shot with both the gun and the victim in the same frame but it is here in abundance during the finale and this was a full year before FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Participants are shown shot with rifles then shot again once they're down with some impaled with spears in one take. Others are run through with swords or blown up with dynamite.

Reeves of course, was a natural at appearing in these kinds of movies and this was a slight departure from his usual sword and sandal movies like THE LAST GLORY OF TROY (1962;with SW regular Gianni Garko), THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959) and THE TROJAN HORSE (1961). However, Reeves did play a similar character to Sandokan in the rare THE WHITE WARRIOR (1959) where he played a Turkish warrior fighting against Russian invaders. Reeves also did one spaghetti western, which he also wrote, the interesting THE LONG RIDE FROM HELL (1968). He retired from movies after that reportedly from injuries sustained during his career.

Andrea Bosic can also be seen in THE WITCH'S CURSE (1961), a fusto movie starring Kirk Morris and also Corbucci's peplum ROMULUS & REMUS (1961) also starring Reeves as well as Gordon Scott. He appeared in later SW's such as the Gemma movies DAY OF ANGER (1967), FORT YUMA GOLD (1966) and ARIZONA COLT (1966) among many others as well as appearing in some of Lenzi's later war epics.

Anchoriz, who also plays the villain in the sequel to SANDOKAN, SANDOKAN & THE PIRATES OF MALAYSIA (1964) also appeared in the fusto favorite, PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1961) starring Richard Harrison. He, like so many others, carried over into westerns appearing in the lively and adventurous big budget Italian oaters 7 GUNS FOR THE MACGREGORS (1966) and the first sequel 7 WOMEN FOR THE MACGREGORS (1967) and also in the downbeat classic A BULLET FOR SANDOVAL (1969).

Umberto Lenzi is probably the single most underrated director in Italian cinema considering the man dabbled in every genre proving his diversity and versatility as a director. He proves himself capable of handling big action scenes such as the siege at the end which is probably what led to him directing the later war pictures. Lenzi also foreshadows his cannibal movies briefly when Sandokan and his cohorts encounter tribes of headhunters whom turn out to be loyal to Sandokan's father. One of my favorite directors of all time, the man is unjustly called a hack and this tag is based only on his most notorious films, his violent jungle movies and his more extreme horror works.

Sadly, these few films will probably be all he will ever be remembered for outside of Italy. The man is justly saddened and irritated in interviews when it appears the only subject warranting discussion is CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) when so many more better and respectable films fill out his exhaustive filmography. Without a doubt his cop and adventure movies are his best works and are all sorely in need of some attention to give the man the recognition he so vehemently deserves.

Lenzi also returned for the sequel which I have yet to see but will watch very soon. Lenzi also directed the peplums MESSALINA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964) aka THE LAST GLADIATOR and TEMPLE OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT (1964).

This new DVD of SANDOKAN THE GREAT has a 12 minute sequence that is obviously not remastered and the quality is not as good as the rest of the film. I assume judging by the opening disclaimer that this piece was not in the original release but it's quite good and contains an action scene in which Sandokan and his men are ambushed trying to escape the island and must retreat and journey deeper into the jungles. Aside from that, the remastering is gorgeous on this. The label has also released a number of other similar pirate films starring others like Gordon Scott and Robert Woods. If you are a true fan of Lenzi, you should definitely check out some of his other works unrelated to his more widely known horror and gore output.

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HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER 1964 aka GOLIA E IL MASCHERATO

Mimmo Palmara (Don Juan Phillippe), Alan Steel (Hercules), Arturo Dominici (Don Romero)

When Don Juan opposes his Uncle, Don francisco who wants peace between his enemies, he is banished from the kingdom. Don Juan takes up with a band of gypsies who also have Hercules among their group. Juan Phillippe is pitted against Hercules in a knife fight with the duel ending in a draw. Juan joins their ranks and becomes the Masked Rider. Don Romero assassinates Juan's uncle and takes over his kingdom prompting Juan, Hercules and the gypsies to avenge for Don Francisco and the people in the surrounding countryside.

An unusual entry in the peplum genre. For the English release, the character of Goliath is changed to Hercules which makes for a jarring experience especially the fact that "Hercules" takes up with a band of gypsies not to mention the time period. The title is also misleading in that the Masked Rider character gets a bit more screen time than Hercules. Herc is more his sidekick than anything else. Again, this is due to the mangling of the title by AIP for its US release.

Palmara I've seen before in some other films although he isn't overly memorable, he is a presence and imposing in the fight scenes. He wears a silly red mask similar to the black Zorro mask which covers his eyes. He uses only a couple of times before seemingly doing away with it for the remainder of the film. He has a nice rapier duel with Dominici at the end.

Steel (Sergio Ciani) is his usual stone faced self and gets to show off in numerous fight scenes although never taking the film away from Palmara who has a hard time competing against Dominici who really owns the film. Steel is the only real connection to fusto cinema this film has which was probably the intention by the producers anyway. Steel also starred in the classic fusto HERCULES VS THE MOON MEN (1964), HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964) and HERCULES & THE BLACK PIRATES (1964). He also starred in the serious western FAST HAND IS STILL MY NAME (1972).

Arturo Dominici who fans will no doubt remember as the evil Asa's brother Javutich in Bava's MASK OF SATAN (1959). He dominates the film delivering a suitably villainous portrayal as Don Romero who assassinates Don Francisco rather easily taking over his lands and even threatening to force Dona Blanca, Francisco's daughter, into marriage with him. He also threatens to burn a woman alive and hang another. The scene that really shows off his nastiness is one in which captives are forced into a duel to the death with whips, the winner going free. Although the fight scene is kind of haphazardly pulled off, it nonetheless shows Romero's penchant for blood and death. His right hand man, Captain Blasco watches as Romero laughs seemingly enjoying the men dying in front of him. Dominici also featured in HERCULES VS THE MOLLOCH (1963) and PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963) among others.

Frequent spaghetti western and action film character actors Nello Pazzafini and Sal Borgese feature as members of the gypsies.

This film was one of a few hybrid films melding swashbuckling adventure with traditional Italian peplum antics. Spurred from the apparent success of Umberto Lenzi's ZORRO CONTRA MACISTE (1963) other hybrids followed like SAMSON IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964) starring Reg Park, SAMSON & THE SEA BEASTS (1964) starring Kirk Morris, HERCULES & THE BLACK PIRATES (1964) and HERCULES & THE TREASURE OF THE INCAS (1964) starring Alan Steel and also directed by Piero Pierotti.

Pierotti handles the action scenes really well and sprinkles them consistently throughout the picture. Although it's nothing overly special, it is a good time waster with lots of action and adventure bolstered by a damn fine and bombastic score by Angelo Lavagnino which grabs your attention from the start. An unusually strong score for a year populated by dozens of similar films being cranked out in Italy at the time. Definitely an enjoyable curiousity piece, the film also has some gorgeous women thrown into the mix which is usually the case with these movies. A bit of romance is balanced out nicely with the action.

One of the best scenes has the gypsy women having infiltrated Romero's fort as dancers paying their respects to him, perform a dance in which the finale involves them tossing their daggers into the air landing in front of a person who will come to a bad end. Naturally, the daggers all fall at Romero's feet which prompts him to demand the execution of the women. At 82 minutes, I can't help but wonder if the film isn't missing something but as is the story comes across just fine and there's more than enough action to keep you occupied as well as the great antagonist turn from Dominici and the wonderful score.

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SPARTACUS & THE TEN GLADIATORS 1964 aka GLI INVINCIBILI DIECI GLADIATORI

Dan Vadis (Roccia), Helga Line (Dania), Sal Borgese, Milton Reid (Chimbro)

The rebel slave Spartacus leads the ten gladiators against an evil Roman ruler in an effort to put a stop to his tyranny and the brutal gladiatorial games.

The second entry in the popular TEN GLADIATORS trilogy is a non-stop barrage of action mixed with a smattering of light comedy. There's quite a few major set pieces scattered throughout the films 98 minute running time. The opening gladiatorial combat scene starts things off on a rather serious and somewhat violent note. The evil ruler in the film appears modeled after Emperor Nero and gets up to similar villainy (although far less vicious) as his historical counterpart.

The plot is a good one and with ten main characters (well, only one gets the most screen time) there is ample opportunities for lots of action. The antagonist tries to use Roccia and his men to kill Spartacus and his followers but when this fails resulting in Roccia and Spartacus joining forces, Farro the devious ruler must come up with a new plan. The remainder of the film is a series of captures and rescues leading up to a massive battle at the end. Bits of this sequence may be stock footage but I'm not sure. One of the best scenes has Roccia and some slaves being hung from a large tree by one arm for a long time. After a while, soldiers shoot them with arrows. The heroes arrive in time just before Roccia is killed, though. After the big battle, Farro is run over by a chariot by his own henchman, Chimbro who escapes kidnapping Dania (Line) in the process. Roccia and his friends pursue on horses until Chimbro is stopped and he and Roccia engage in a final fight beside a river.

Dan Vadis plays Roccia and although he isn't as huge as some of the other actors like Steve Reeves or Mark Forest, he is very athletic for his size and isn't shy in the action scenes. Vadis was part of the Mae West Revue and a good friend of fellow peplum star Gordon Mitchell. Vadis starred in THE THEN GLADIATORS (1963), SON OF HERCULES IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS (1963), THE REBEL GLADIATORS (1963), TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964), and THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (1964) among others. Vadis was one of the lucky few who made the transition into other genres and had one of the most successful careers of the peplum actors. e played convincing bad guys in the spaghetti westerns FORT YUMA GOLD (1966) and THE STRANGER RETURNS (1967). This may have helped him in landing recurring roles in movies directed by Clint Eastwood whom he would star in a series of films from early 70s into the early 80s. Vadis would briefly return to peplums with a lead bad guy role in Mattei's THE SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS (1983) before being found dead in his car in the late 80s of an apparent drug overdose.

Helga Line is on hand to provide some eye candy but unfortunately, she doesn't get to wear any outfits to show off her body. She is dressed in a gown through most of the movie, though. She spends the last half of the film filthy as she is forced into hard labor along with other slaves and captives.

Character actor Milton Reid stands out as the memorable henchman Chimbro. He looks like a Mongolian warrior in this film and although he is an imposing presence, he is a bit short and Vadis towers over him in their fight scenes. Reid played a number of bit roles in his career but he has a meaty role in this one. Another memorable role for Reid was in THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT (1977) as the nasty Sabbala, the leader of the Naga's. Reid looks like something out of a Robert E. Howard novel. He also appeared in DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN (1972) and as a nemesis for 007 in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977).

I had only ever seen the third film in this series, TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964) as a kid and I have yet to watch the first film. Hopefully it will be as good as the two sequels. It doesn't really matter the order in which you watch them as the films are not connected and are separate adventures. Exploitation fans should get a kick out of the fact that Bruno Mattei was the editor for this movie. The music is serviceable if nothing overly spectacular. Nick Nostro handles the direction well and seems to be comfortable juggling the comedy with the action bits but never allowing the comedy to overpower the finl itself. A recommended peplum romp peppered with all the ingredients that makes these movies fun to watch especially on a late Saturday night.

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SANDOKAN, THE PIRATE OF MALAYSIA 1964 aka I PIRATI DELLA MALESIA

Steeve Reeves, Andrea Bosic, Mimmo Palmara, Leo Anchoriz, Jacqueline Sassard, Dakkar

Directed by (the great and vastly underrated) Umberto Lenzi

Sandokan finds an injured man (Palmara) adrift in the sea. He tells of the British Lord Burke who has enslaved the Majaraja Hassim and made slaves of Malay and Indian natives using them in the seized gold mines in Sarawak. Sandokan goes undercover as the Rodger of Samaputra and infiltrates the house of Lord Burke in an effort to stop the evil of Lord Burke.

Reeves returns in the sequel to SANDOKAN, THE GREAT (1962) and is a rare instance of the sequel being better than the original. The action is far more plentiful and Lenzi shows an even more assured hand at handling multiple action scenes this time out. Although it's hard to tell being dubbed, Reeves comes off very well in this one displaying a bit more range than his previous outing as the famed pirate. Only his final duel with Anchoriz is a little disappointing coming off rushed as if the production may have been going over schedule.

Anchoriz shaves off the mustache here and his character is essentially the same from the other film but he is far more evil than his role as Lord Guillonk from the first SANDOKAN. He also gets a bit more screen time and one of the best sequences is Sandokan (under the guise of the Rodger of Samaputra) becoming a suspected guest of the house of Burke.

Bosic who returns as Yanez doesn't get to do as much but curiously, the guy dubbing his voice switches from his Brit accent to a more American sounding voice. This happens frequently so it's odd that the dubber would forget the character he was dubbing. I've seen this happen on some HK movies but this mistake happens for (usually) only one scene. Here, it's nearly the duration of the movie although it wasn't uncommon for a dubber to handle multiple voices.

Peplum and Fusto performer Palmara doesn't get a great deal to do here but during the latter half of the film he is involved in the many action scenes alongside Reeves. Palmara can be seen in HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER (1964), a film I believe was shot in 1961 but was released here in 1964.

Dakkar, the black assistant to Richard Johnson in ZOMBIE (1979) gets a bigger role here than previous and participates in several fight scenes including the finale.

The set pieces are varied and include an attack on a ship early in the film, a prison rescue and the heroes are captured on a couple of occasions throughout giving way to some nice cliffhanger situations.

Like the first film, this sequel was shot on location; this time in Singapore. A brief encounter with a tribe of headhunters would be a warm up for Lenzi when he would later begin his violent jungle/cannibal romp MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972) also shot in Asia. There is one glaring mistake however. During one of the escape scenes, this one inside a mine, Sandokan affixes a gatling gun to a mining car and fires on the soldiers as he and his men make their escape. The bullets never move through the chamber in wide shots when you see Reeves firing it but in close ups of just the barrel, you see cartridges being discharged.

An extremely entertaining and highly enjoyable sequel that would greatly benefit from a remastered DVD release. The more Lenzi movies I see outside of his horror output, the more respect I gain for the man and his work. Outside of his more known and lesser films, his body of work is seriously in need of re-appraisal and wrongfully ignored. Lenzi is/was an amazingly versatile director of repute and any comments he may make about his attributes are warranted should any fans happen to see some of his non-horror works. Hopefully, a book or in-depth interview with the man will surface with the focus being on his movies outside the horror genre.

[venoms5]

THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES 1964 aka TRIONFO DI ERCOLE aka HERCULES VS THE GIANT WARRIORS

Dan Vadis (Hercules), Marilu Tolo (Ati), Pierre Cressoy (Milo), Moira Orfei (Pasiphae), Piero Lulli (Gordio), Enzo Fiermonte (Aristeo)

Directed by Alberto De Martino; Music by Francesco De Masi

The King, Panteone, is assassinated by his nephew, Milo. With the help of an evil sorceress, Pasiphae, Milo takes the throne. Hercules is alerted and battles against Milo and his seven invincible golden warriors who are summoned by a magical dagger given to him by Pasiphae. Realizing his threat, Pasiphae and Milo devise an insidious plan utilizing Hercules who later has his strength taken away from him. An exciting finale ends the film.

De Martino really knows how to deliver a good actioner and he piles on the peplum thrills in this fast paced fusto film. There are so many set pieces in the films tight 90 minute running time. Just in the first 30 minutes alone, you have the opening death of the King, the sorceress attempting to kill a friend of Hercules before he can reach him, the first appearance by the magical Gold Warriors fighting off some rebels and gladiatorial combat in a tournament deviously set up by Milo to aid in his ascension to power.

Vadis is great in the role and although he is built, what he lacks in the massiveness of Reeves or Mark Forest, he makes up for in agility. He has charisma as well. Vadis is given quite an action filled role and he appeared to have fun in all his fusto movies at least in the ones I've seen him in. He also did most of his own stunts.

He duels a man riding a chariot aligned with swirling blades similar to the scene in Cozzi's HERCULES (1983) starring Lou Ferrigno. Numerous traps are set for him after he wins the hand of the beautiful Ati (Tolo). His first encounter with the Golden Warriors known as "The 100 Hands" is a humorous one. He is later entranced by both Milo and Pasiphae destroying a village and even accidentally killing his friend, Aristeo. This results in him having his strength taken away by his father, Jove. During the finale, Ate is about to be killed in a spiked trap and Hercules is helpless to do anything. He prays to his father to restore his strength. He does and after dealing with the evil Milo, Ate ends up dangling from a cliff ledge. The sorceress assumes the form of Ate and she, too, hangs from the cliff resulting in a difficult decision for Herc.

Tolo is suitably beautiful here as the love interest of Hercules. She isn't given much to do aside from look good and be placed in life threatening situations. She has appeared in all manner of Italo genre cinema including numerous fusto's, westerns, spy thrillers and giallo's.

Cressoy is wonderfully evil. He kills his Uncle, the King without hesitation and sets up a devious and crafty plot to usurp the throne. He also, along with help from the sorceress, devises a plan to have Hercules's strength taken away. Then finally eliminating Ati, his only remaining obstacle. This cliffhanger moment is expertly handled by De Martino. Ati is affixed to a spiked platform. Hercules, now a mortal, is forced to hold up a metal basket. Milo's men drop large bricks into the basket. If Hercules cannot hold up the increasingly weighted basket, Ati will be impaled by dozens of spears and at the moment of her death, Hercules will be killed as well.

Frequent Spaghetti western baddie Fiermonte gets to play a hero here as Hercules's friend Aristeo. He can be seen in the great THE FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO (1969), LONG RIDE FROM HELL (1968) starring Steve Reeves and CHUCK MOOL (1970) among others.

More action takes place as Hercules is given his strength back to save the innocent Ati as dozens of rebels swarm the palace. Milo escapes with Ati as his prisoner and Hercules pursues them into the cave where Pasiphae, his mother, resides. Inside the cave, a final battle with the 100 Hands ensues just before Pasiphae tries to avenge her son by giving Herc a difficult choice of which damsel to rescue when two Ati's hang over a cliff above the ocean. Of course, you know how it all ends and the last scene is a comical one involving two thieves who figured into the plot earlier in the picture.

I first saw this film on TNT back in the early 90s. On New Year's Eve they used to have an annual Torch and Toga marathon comprised of various Hercules films that ran all night. Other films that often got played were HERCULES VS MOLOCH, MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES, HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES and HERCULES & THE SEA MONSTER, the aborted pilot for the planned HERCULES TV show from the 60s.

An excellent entry in the genre that's over flowing with action and although it has a couple of silly parts, the plentiful fights and cliffhangers make it well worth the 90 minutes of entertainment the film provides.

[venoms5]

THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES 1963 aka PERSEO L'INVINCIBILE aka PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE

Richard Harrison (Perseus), Arturo Dominici (Acrisius), Leo Anchoriz (Galanore), Anna Rannali (Andromeda)

Directed by Alberto De Martino; writers-Alberto De Martino, Ernesto Gastaldi, Luciano Martino, Mario Caiano; Effects by Carlo Rambaldi & Amando De Ossorio

In an attempt to overthrow the people of Seriphos, Acrisius, the King of Argos utilizes the Medusa as well as an aquatic dragon to hamper a safe trade route for exports by their rivals. A marriage is agreed between Galonore, the son of Acrisius and Andromeda, the daughter of the King of Seriphos. But this is a ruse to launch an attack on the King. Shortly before, Acrisius's wife, Danae, whose previous husband was murdered by Acrisius, places a curse on Galanore that her real son, Perseus, is still alive and that when he returns to avenge his father and reclaim his throne, it will be Galanore's doomsday.

Again, like TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (1964), De Martino turns in an awesome action spectacle that is ripe with sword battles, monsters and some surprising violence as well. The technical crew yields an interesting pedigree. Rambaldi creates some hydraulically controlled monsters that for their time, are most impressive. The water dragon's head, legs and mouth move and looks better than numerous other similar creations. The Medusa is also striking. It looks a bit like a huge tree with tentacles, snakes and a large glowing eye in the center, the weapon it uses to turn its victims into stone. De Martino makes good use of these creations utilizing them on several occasions throughout the film. Ossorio must have been responsible for the numerous matte paintings seen in the valley sequences.

Harrison, as I made mention before elsewhere, is very good in his peplum adventures. He seems far more energetic and emotive in these movies than any other genre he has appeared in. This is without doubt, one of his best films. An action highlight features a tournament which includes men taking turns firing arrows at one another with the other participant holding a shield. The final duel ends up being Perseus against Galanore in which he realizes just who Perseus is and what he means for his future.

Both Andromeda and Perseus had met earlier in the film only Perseus was unaware she was royalty. When Galanore catches the two in each others arms, his rage is fueled leading to the scene where Acrisius and his son wrestle Seriphos away from their King. Also realizing the prophecy will no doubt come true, Galanore must eliminate Perseus at any cost. Perseus barely manages to escape with his life and even less so when he encounters the aquatic monster. Believing him dead, Acrisius and Galanore return to their newly captured kingdom.

Dominici and Anchoriz look like they could be father and son in real life and both really know how to play a villain. Both have the natural looks for it with their devilish features. Anchoriz really steals the show however, as Galanore. He was already a memorable force in the two SANDOKAN films he appeared in as well as the first two MACGREGOR spaghetti western movies. Both characters only care about each other and do not care who it is they murder to ensure their positions of despotic rule.

At one point in the film you feel Acrisius may have some good in him after all when he chastises his son for being afraid to duel with Perseus a final time. At this time, Perseus and his real mother, Danae, are finally brought together. Immediately after informing him of the treachery of Acrisius, the vile father and son murder Danae and her servant. Perseus escapes to rally his people. The battle leads to the lake where the dragon resides. Perseus takes to the water where neither he nor the monster surface. It is believed he has perished. With the dragon vanquished, Perseus assembles the people of Seriphos for a final battle with the Argosian villains. But first he must deal with the Medusa. Only by destroying it will the numerous warriors be returned to normal.

This was another in a line of Italian muscleman movies which were re-edited and used as part of the syndicated SONS OF HERCULES television show which played in America in the mid 60s. A song entitled 'The Mighty Sons of Hercules' played over the credits for the films. It would be interesting to know how much, if anything was removed or shuffled around for these acquisitions.

This film also treds mythological waters dabbled in by the classic and hugely enjoyable 1981 fantasy movie spectacular, CLASH OF THE TITANS. A film that would be Ray Harryhausen's final film utilizing his groundbreaking stop motion animation. Another fantasy film even more ambitious than CLASH was begun but was abandoned when studios suddenly lost interest in these kind of adventure pictures. The film was to be called THE FORCE OF THE TROJANS and storyboards of the elaborate monsters are all that remain.

With a show stealing performance by Anchoriz, some interesting creatures and abundant action, this is another wonderfully fun entry in the peplum genre and another fine adventure film for De Martino.

[venoms5]

GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS 1959 IL TERRORE DEI BARBARI aka THE TERROR OF THE BARBARIANS

Steve Reeves (Emiliano/Goliath), Chelo Alonso (Landa), Livio Lorenzon (Igor), Arturo Dominici (Seyvo), Andrea Checci (Delfo), Bruce Cabot (Arboina)

Directed by Carlo Campogalliani

In 568 AD bloodthirsty barbarians invade Barona slaughtering everyone in their path. A band of survivors, led by Emiliano flee into the forests. There, Emiliano swears vengeance for the brutal death of his father at the hands of the barbarians. Proving himself to be an almost invincible adversary, the barbarian hordes name him the Goliath. A brutal struggle ensues to drive the invaders from the lands of Barona and the surrounding provinces.

One of the best peplum/fusto movies as well as being the best Steve Reeves picture I've yet seen. A stunning adventure filled with action, intrigue, blood, violence and gorgeous women. Reeves name here is Emiliano but is called Goliath on occasion as well as THE Goliath by the brutes. He does perform a number of super human feats of strength throughout that are probably symbolic of his burning desire to kill the barbarians as opposed to portraying a God or demi-god of some kind. Possibly the Italian dub would reveal more.

Reeves isn't the best actor obviously, but he's intimidating and possesses a lot of charisma and this is the best film performance I've seen him in aside from his wonderful portrayal of the pirate Sandokan in two of the SANDOKAN movies. When Reeves swears to kill the invaders, he does so initially dressed up wearing some fur claws and a sort of furry tiger mask. He watches the neighboring villages and when the savages come, he attacks them saving the innocent people. The word spreads among the hordes that a Goliath is loose who "roars like a lion" killing many with great strength. Emiliano soon does away with this costume and is later captured in the wilderness whilst chopping up logs. Reeves gets ample opportunity to show off his muscular attributes which will please female fans of these films. It's a shame the women couldn't reveal as much skin as the men in the peplums but in many cases you get to see just enough to make you desire to see more. Reeves also has a good chemistry with his co-star mentioned below.

The striking beauty Chelo Alonso plays the fiery Landa, the daughter of Delfo, the leader of the hordes under the command of Alboina. She is lusted after by Igor, the leader of the barbarians who wishes to eliminate Delfo and take his daughter without reprisal. Landa will have nothing to do with him but after being thrown from her horse, Emiliano saves her and of course, you know what happens next. He doesn't want anything to do with her because of her relation to the enemy and even threatens to kill her should she return. Emiliano eventually falls for her, too and this adds another element to the storyline concurrent with the revenge theme. Alonso has a dynamite body and she gets to show it off, albeit teasingly in two VERY suggestive dance scenes. Even if you're not a peplum fan, just seeing her sexy figure promenade about is enough reason to tune in.

Aturo Dominici plays a supporting role as Seyvo, one of Igor's subordinates. He gets to display a good amount of villainy before his exit during the final moments although I would have preferred he met a more dramatic fate than the one he gets. Dominici was made for villain roles with his devilish features and put them to good use in HERCULES (1957), PERSEUS, THE INVINCIBLE (1963), HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH (1963), HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER (1964) and one of the most famous Italo horrors ever, Bava's MASK OF SATAN (1959).

After Emiliano is captured by Seyvo, he is accused of being the Goliath and is to be put to death. Landa intervenes and her father agrees to free him per their rules that if he can survive two torturous tests, he will be free. Of course, releasing the threat to the barbarians success of conquest enrages Seyvo further giving weight to the notion that Delfo won't make it to the final credit crawl. The tests involve spears thrown into a wooden board. Emiliano is then pulled with ropes by other men to try and impale him onto the spearheads. When it seems two men can't do it, about a dozen of them try at the same time. After passing this test, his arms are tied to two horses which are supposed to rip his arms from their sockets. Emiliano passes this one, too. He is freed much to the chagrin of Seyvo and Igor. This leads to an interesting plot point which isn't explored for very long.

After he earns his freedom, Emiliano's people begin to suspect him since he is in love with the daughter of their enemy. He now seems reluctant to wage war against them. One of his people points this out to him and when Landa meets him in the woods one day he tells her he doesn't want to see her anymore but this is only temporary. Perhaps if the film were longer than 83 minutes this bit could have earned some more dramatic miles. Possibly the Italian cut is longer.

The level of violence in this film is very high for a movie of this type in 1959. There are some brief bits of brutality throughout but the scenes of vehemence hits a high note during the last 15 minutes just after Emiliano and his men ambush an escort of the sacred crown of Arboina led by Seyvo. The good guys kill most of the barbarians and steal the crown but seyvo escapes. In retaliation, Igor orders seyvo and his brutes to burn and kill everyone in the subjugated villages until the crown is returned. Here, you see a man trampled by a horse; it's a dummy but you see the act which is followed by an axe to the face, children killed, people tied to stakes and impaled with spears affixed to wagons, a guy burned in the face with a hot branding iron, a guy burned alive tied to a cross, people herded together and shot down with arrows and victims tied to the ground and passing horsemen throw spears into their bodies. It's not Fulci level violence but it is shocking to see such things in movies like this.

After this ferocious village massacre, Emiliano goes to the barbarian fort to give conditions on the return of the sacred crown. The release and freedom of the villagers in exchange for the crown. The plan doesn't go quite as expected and the stage is set for a huge battle inside the fort resulting in a violent revenge on the barbarians by Emiliano when he suddenly learns that Igor is the man who killed his father as he wears his father's necklace. The manner in which Reeves kills Igor is a bit of an eye opener as it is as savage as a number of the brutish acts committed by the barbarians.

Directed with an assured hand by Carlo Campogalliani, he also directed SON OF SAMSON (1960) starring fusto favorite Mark Forest as well as Chelo Alonso and a young Terence Hill. He also directed URSUS (1961), the first film in a series of at least nine entries this one starring Ed Fury who would appear in at least two more URSUS films.

A classy peplum/fusto actioner with some very nice studio sets as well as some beautiful shots of the countryside. It's a shame that there aren't more quality releases of these movies but there's hope for the future. This is the Wild East release paired with GOLIATH AGAINST THE VAMPIRES (1961). This release is a port of the Spanish Warner Bros. release which has English options. A very good and frequently exciting Italian muscleman movie that's an awful lot of fun and is one of the best I've ever seen and is highly recommended for any Reeves fan and that gorgeous Chiquita, Chelo Alonso.

[venoms5]

ROMULUS & REMUS 1961 aka ROMOLO E REMO aka DUEL OF THE TITANS

Steve Reeves (Romulus), Gordon Scott (Remus), Franco Volpi (Amulias), Virna Lisi (Julia), Andrea Bosic (Faustalus), Laura Solari (Rea Silvia), Massimo Girroti (Tasius Nemulias), Jacques Sernas (Cursias), Ornella Vanoni (Tarpea), Piero Lulli (Sulpicius), Giovanni Cianfriglia

Contributing Writers: Sergio Corbucci, Luciano Martino, Sergio Leone, Duccio Tessari; Cinematography by Enzo Barboni; Music by Piero Piccioni

Directed by Sergio Corbucci

Born of a God and a mortal, two babies are abandoned to a river. Nurtured by a wolf, they are later recovered by a shepherd. They grow up to lead a band of thieves in an effort to eliminate two cruel Kings-- Amulias and Nemulias, the King of the Sabines. After 20 years the two twins are briefly reunited with their mother. Before she dies, she tells her sons that they are destined to be the founders of a great city. Having fallen in love with the daughter of Nemulias, Romulus is unaware of his brothers ambitions as Remus steadily succumbs to the temptations of power and greed. King Tasius pursues the brothers and their followers both to retrieve his daughter as well as avenge the destruction of his city of Abalonga. Soon, a rift develops between the two siblings leading to a death duel between both sons of the Gods to determine the true founder of Rome.

A fine directorial effort by spaghetti western master filmmaker Sergio Corbucci. A great number of Italian technicians worked on this picture including Sergio Leone. Both Sergio's careers parallel each other (in Italy anyway). Both Sergio's worked as AD's on THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) which led to Leone directing THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES (1961) and Corbucci handling ROMULUS & REMUS (1961). Corbucci also had a hand in MACISTE AGAINST THE VAMPIRES (1961; aka GOLIATH & THE VAMPIRES) co-directed with Giacomo Gentilomo. While it's one of the finest sword & sandal movies, ROMULUS & REMUS (1961) bears none of the marks of Corbucci's later career (although the extreme violence inherent in his westerns is foreshadowed here) but the film is directed with great care and a fine script and memorable performances by everyone.

Steve Reeves puts in possibly his best acting gig as the gentle and kind hearted Romulus. Choosing to think his way out of a fight and save those around him as opposed to his brother who cares only for his own personal gain and glory. Reeves doesn't do any superhuman feats but flexes his acting muscle as does Gordon Scott as the supercilious Remus. Corbucci carefully builds these two characters to the breaking point till avarice and sovereignty totally consumes Remus. Even at this point, Romulus doesn't want to fight his brother only when it is obvious that the two must duel does he take up arms against him. In death, Remus realizes his mistake but finds content in the notion that it was destined from the beginning.

Destiny and fate play an important role in this movie. After Remus defies the Gods by crossing the shorter route to the prophecised city of glory, he and his followers must traverse an unstable volcano. Inevitably the volcano erupts splitting the mountain in two sending everyone to their doom save for a badly injured Remus and Tarpea, the woman who loves him. As she prays for the Gods to save him, the Sabines arrive with the intentions of killing both of them. Tarpea gives the information to Tasius as to the location of his daughter. He gives his word to spare them should she speak where Romulus and the others are. When she does, the easily riled Cursias adamantly disapproves of letting them go free. King Tasius responds, "That man has his destiny...as have all of us." The Sabines are, surprisingly, not the real villains here but Remus who eventually becomes overpowered by his ambitions to rule a city; a city by which he is willing to sacrifice all for his own gain. At the end, the Sabines join forces with Romulus and it is here that Remus appears and attempts to kill his brother to rule what is to become Rome.

Frequent Spaghetti Western villain Piero Lulli plays a rare good guy role and gets more screen time than another heroic peplum role in THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (1964). Steve Reeve's stunt double, Giovanni Cianfriglia also plays a small role in the film attempting to have his way with the beautiful Julia until Romulus intervenes and let's his fist explain that the lady isn't interested.

In what is essentially a chase movie in a Roman setting, Corbucci keeps the action moving at a smooth pace perfectly balancing the plot, characterization and the action sequences never allowing the film time to become tiresome. It would be interesting to learn if there were any conflicts on set between both Reeves and Scott but they work well together and both play vastly more interesting personalities than their usual brawny types. I'd definitely rate this as one of Corbucci's best films and worthy of a wider audience.

[Xenorama]

the dragon in the Medusa movie later on showed up in the Shaw Brothers movie MONKEY GOES WEST, in both real presence and stock footage from this movie.

nice reviews, very enjoyable to see positive ones.

David

[venoms5]

the dragon in the Medusa movie later on showed up in the Shaw Brothers movie MONKEY GOES WEST, in both real presence and stock footage from this movie.

nice reviews, very enjoyable to see positive ones.

David

Cool! Unbelievably I haven't yet watched MONKEY GOES WEST. It's one of a small few I have yet to open and take a look at.

I think this genre gets a bad rap most probably due to the lack of proper restored widescreen prints. There are a fair number of such releases from European companies but so many of them lack English options. Also, I don't buy into the whole homo-erotic underpinnings this genre gets saddled with. But then, it seems "critics" slap this ridiculous notion on the kung fu as well as the spaghetti western genres.

I do have a few negative reviews for some of these I just haven't posted them yet!:D

[venoms5]

ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS 1961 aka MACISTE NELLA TERRA DEI CICLOPI aka MACISTE IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS

Gordon Mitchell, Chelo Alonso

The ancestors of the evil Circe and the flesh eating cyclops under their control place a brutal revenge on the family of Ulysses for their defeat. The evil queen Capys targets the new king of Sadok, still an infant, as the next meal of the cyclops. Maciste comes the aid of the people of Sadok.

For a film with quite a bit of action, this movie moves at a snails pace. Often times dull, even the massive chest of Chelo Alonso can't save this one. Gordon Mitchell's first peplum isn't without some good moments just not enough to recommend this one to anyone other than Mitchell fans and fusto completists. I doubt even a decent looking print would make a difference. The action scenes are sloppily handled rendering them hilarious and ripe for MST3K treatment. Oddly enough, this being a retitled Maciste movie, the dubbing refers to Mitchell's character as such as opposed to the name of the title, Atlas.

The cyclops, which for the time, is fairly impressive. Although you only see him twice. Once at the beginning (and you only see his back) and again during the finale. The filmmakers did do a fine job of depicting the monster as enormous and the fight between the cyclops and Maciste is a bit longer than many monster fights in these movies. The violence is unusually high as well. There are numerous impalements with spears and the like as well as the cyclops ripping a guy in half at the end (off screen, but you know what's happening) as well as one of the villains preparing to feed the infant boy king to the beast.

Another scene that's pretty decent is when Maciste is drugged and tortured by being suspended over a pit filled with lions. He stands on two thin boards and men on both sides of him play tug-of-war with his arms in an attempt to jerk him into the pit of lions. An earlier scene near the beginning has Maciste battle a lion who is attempting to kill the infant boy king. Mitchell is very naive in the role and the bulk of the middle portion of the film is stopped dead by a change of character for Capys as she falls in love with Maciste and the two spend a chunk of the running time professing their love for one another. Sadly, you get far more flexing and bare chestedness from Mitchell than you do from Alonso.

The film is a showcase for Mitchell though, the camera lingering on his muscles during scenes involving him throwing huge boulders, ripping iron bars apart or rowing a ship by himself. This bit is especially amusing as it's obvious Mitchell is flexing for the camera as he's rowing and the lustful look on Alonso's face gives one the impression she is far more interested in a sweaty romp than saving the child. The film was obviously successful because Mitchell went on to do more films in the genre (I think this was his only super hero entry) including the sci-fi tinged peplum, THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961), the awful VULCAN, GOD OF FIRE (1961), FURY OF ACHILLES (1962) and SINBAD AGAINST THE 7 SARACENS (1964).

Alonso, a drop dead gorgeous Cuban actress with an incredible rack, made an impression in a handful of these movies including GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS (1959) and MACISTE THE MIGHTY (1960). She featured as the hot tempered chiquita opposite Tomas Milian in RUN, MAN, RUN (1968).

Future exploitation sleaze master Bruno Mattei worked on this film as a sound technician.

A below average fusto adventure that could have done with more interesting and lively action scenes as well as some more skin from Alonso. Fans will probably still want to see it, but the print on this Mill Creek edition is badly washed out and the sound is weak also. I think the Retromedia release may fare a little better but not by much and even that won't make this one any more enjoyable.

[venoms5]

FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES 1962 aka MACISTE CONTRO I MOSTRI aka MACISTE AGAINST THE MONSTERS

Reg Lewis, Margaret Lee

Two prehistoric tribes, the Sun Tribe and the evil Moon tribe, are at war with one another. Into the middle of this tribal war comes Maciste who tries to stop the sacrifice of the virginal women captured by the villainous cave dwellers in between battles with prehistoric monsters.

An oddball entry in the fusto genre, this one taking place during the ice age(!) The setting is unusual and adds something different to the usual temples and valleys seen in these films. The one hilarious aspect of this movie that guarantees this on every bad film buffs list is Reg Lewis. The only fusto movie he did and he makes quite an impression but for all the wrong reasons. He looks for all the world like he just walked off the set of the next Frankie & Annette BEACH PARTY movie. His Elvis hairdo is a riot, also. Every time he appears it's such an attention grabber. This ridiculous hairstyle looks incredibly awkward and jarring amidst all the dirty cave people and their rather scraggly appearance.

The fights are lively even though the choreography consists of the 'swing your club left, swing your club right' variety. And a couple of them get repetitive after awhile looking interchangeable as some of the fights take place on the same sets. I can't help but wonder if Hammer or Harryhausen hadn't seen this one before embarking on ONE MILLION YEARS BC (1966). The scene near the beginning with the water monster is pretty good. The creature effects are quite notable and it appears this hydraulically controlled beast may be a refurbished version of the dragon seen in PERSEUS, THE INVINCIBLE (1962).

One fight scene is reminiscent of KING KONG as Maciste lifts a huge fallen tree stretched across a gorge as a number of the bad guys try to cross. Maciste is then overcome by even more of the villains. He is then buried up to his neck in the dirt,'food for the worms' as one of them puts it. Margaret Lee tries to save him and she, too is buried along with him. The bad guys take turns tossing spears at their heads until a volcano erupts causing an earthquake which frees them. This is where the films one striking scene takes place; We see Maciste and Moah ascend a precipice against the backdrop of a breathtaking series of waterfalls.

The US title is a little misleading as there aren't any actual Fire Monsters but there are a huge water dragon, a brief shot of a macro lens enlarged lizard, a big, toothy creature in a cave and some underwater snake creatures. Also, this is another in a series of retitled Maciste movies. Here, the dubbing refers to Maciste as Maxus, one of the sons of Hercules. This was part of the US syndicated television series THE SONS OF HERCULES which were a series of Italian fusto's repackaged for American viewers.

Director Guido Malatesta also directed the Kirk Morris adventures DEVIL OF THE DESERT AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964), SAMSON & THE SEA BEAST (1963; Samson fights pirates on the high seas) and COLOSSUS & THE HEADHUNTERS (1960). He also directed the pretty good Spaghetti Western, A COFFIN FOR THE SHERIFF (1965) starring Anthony Steffen.

There's nothing overly special about this one other than the plentiful girls on display who partake in numerous cave people dancing. And there's also the beautiful Margaret Lee, too! Reg Lewis pops in at regular intervals to break the monotony granting the viewer a chuckle at the expense of his hairdo. A huge howler moment occurs when Maciste and Moah are awakened in the night by an intruding giant monster. The sight of Maciste and his rockabilly hairstyle in death combat against a prehistoric beast is priceless. One minute his hair is slicked back, the next minute it isn't. Another funny moment comes when the bad tribe leader proclaims to their God that the time has come to sacrifice virgins regardless that the first woman to lose her head looks all of 50 or more. But then this is the dubbed version so who knows what's really being said? I doubt it could be any funnier than this, though.

I would recommend this movie to anyone in need of a good laugh, as the film is seldom boring. Lewis's Elvis 'do being the major highlight. I'll have to post a pic of this as it's extremely hilarious and is worth taking a look at the film for that alone. But if you're looking for some serious peplum thrills, your best bet is to look elsewhere.

[venoms5]

HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL 1964 aka URSUS, IL TERRORE DEI KIRGHISI aka URSUS, THE TERROR OF THE KIRGHIZ

Reg Park, Ettori Manni, Maria Orsini

Directed by Anthony Dawson (Antonio Margheriti)

A werewolf-like monster slaughters gypsies and men from a rival tribe who are near all out war with Hercules and his people of Maleeva. An evil sorceress is behind it all turning men into monsters with a magical potion.

British born Reg Park plays Hercules, or actually Ursus in the Italian original. One of nine Ursus films to be produced during the peplum and muscleman craze between 1957-1965. One of many to have its title changed by American International Pictures for a more digestive US consumption. Despite having an interesting premise and Margheriti directing, this is one of the least exciting movies in the genre.

It's hard to believe that Margheriti had anything to do with this as there is literally nothing of interest aside from a fairly exciting opening and a special effects shot of Hercules pushing a huge boulder off a cliff to break a dam to put out a massive fire. This brief miniature scene was probably the work of Margheriti since he enjoyed doing special effects sequences and he was very good at it having done all the miniature work on Leone's DUCK YOU SUCKER! (1971) involving the train sequence which, save for a couple of close up shots of the wheels, was all miniature work.

Sporting what has to be one of the worst werewolves ever on screen even more laughable than the one featured in Rino Di Silvestro's WEREWOLF WOMAN (1976). Here, the actor wears some fright make up and has small patches of hair placed on his body. He also wears a cape which I guess conceals the lack of hair needed for his back considering the budget obviously didn't allow for a full make up job for the "monster". On several occasions the hair appears and disappears from shot to shot.

Also, Hercules (or Ursus) is out of the picture for a good chunk of film after he is injured in a fight with the werewolf. The sets are very sparse and the bulk of the film takes place in the woods. To add insult to injury the audio on this Retromedia disc is out of sync at approximately 16 minutes in and remains that way the remainder of the film.

Keeping with the US title, Hercules is turned into a monster during the last 10 minutes in what seems to be a last minute script addition. It would have made for a slightly more interesting movie had this conceit been introduced earlier in the film. Also, the time period is unclear in the film as it doesn't take place in Rome or even in Italy for that matter but possibly another European country.

Reg Park only did five peplum/fusto movies two of which he did in fact play Hercules. Of the three I've seen of his so far, the Bava film HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) is easily the best. Christopher Lee also stars in this one as the main villain.

When I first heard about this film when I was a kid it was one I wanted to see for a long time. Peplum thrills mixed with werewolf horror! How could it miss? Seeing it now, it's a major disappointment. A sad, missed opportunity.

[venoms5]

GLADIATORS SEVEN 1962 aka I SETTE GLADIATORI

Richard Harrison

Directed by Pedro Lazaga; screenplay by Bruno Corbucci, Alberto De Martino (along with two other contributors)

Darius, the first son of the Emperor of Sparta, is imprisoned for helping five Spartan gladiators escape their prison. Darius is promised his freedom if he can defeat a gauntlet of gladiators atop a deadly platform aligned with sharp stakes. He wins his freedom and upon returning home to Sparta, he learns his father has been murdered; the scene made to look like a suicide. Hiarba, evil ruler of Rome, then tries to arrest Darius again this time framing him for the murder of his betrothed's father. He escapes once more and recruits a number of other Spartan gladiators each skilled in various arts to topple the treacherous and evil Emperor.

Richard Harrison is really good here as he is in all the other peplums I've seen him in. He's not great, but considering his catatonic performances in future movies, his peplum roles are Oscar worthy. He's very lively in the fight scenes participating with a zeal not present in much of his later work in various genres. Harrison has starred in a great number of movies over the years appearing in mostly Italian movies but did show up in about a dozen "ninja" movies, the result of cut-and-paste jobs taken from unfinished or unreleased movies with the new footage of Harrison and other Australian or British actors added in. Harrison also appeared in two Shaw Brothers movies, THE BOXER REBELLION and MARCO POLO (both 1975).

GLADIATORS SEVEN is obviously a take off of SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) which had already been remade as THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960). There would be at least one more peplum to be modeled after the Kurosawa film, Mattei's THE SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS (1983) starring Lou Ferrigno, Dan Vadis and Brad Harris.

An unusually large budget was apparently utilized here as MGM had a hand in the production. The action scenes are very well staged and the film gets off to a rousing start with Darius's death duel in the arena to earn his freedom. One exciting scene has Vargas, another slave (about to become the seventh gladiator) placed into a confined arena with a raging bull. Darius and his band show up and toss him a spear to which he fatally gores the bull (it appears real and not staged). Then a fight ensues. A lion is then let loose in the small battleground but the gladiator escapes in the nick of time with the help of Darius. The effects are also well handled especially the scenes of people being thrown or falling from cliffs. Usually it's obvious a mannequin is tossed over but here the effect is handled with a bit more care.

The actor playing Hiarba, Gerard Tichy, is quite vicious in the role of the despicable Roman ruler. His total disregard for his subordinates and his attempts to make Darius's woman, Aglaia, believe he is a killer only because he lusts after her himself inevitably brings about his downfall during the conclusion. The gladiators split up, four of them attack the encampment below the fortress utilizing a stampede of bulls and Darius and two others sneak in by ascending a steep and dangerous mountain to get inside using stealth. Here, they dress in Roman regalia to get inside Hiarba's room for the chance to kill him. Things don't quite work out to plan though and the last fight is held atop a gigantic stone tower affixed to the mountain.

A really good peplum adventure movie with a steady helping of action laced with a bit of humor. The action is very serious but the humor is very light and doesn't get in the way of the action scenes. This print is quite nice and is widescreen and bears the MGM lion at the beginning. I'm not sure where this was taken from but TCM is a possibility. A remastered version on DVD would be welcome however highly unlikely. Recommended.

[venoms5]

GOLIATH AGAINST THE VAMPIRES 1961 aka MACISTE CONTRO IL VAMPIRO

Gordon Scott (Goliath), Leonora Ruffo (Julia), Guido Celano (Kobrak), Jacques Sernas (Kurtik), Gianna Maria Canale (Astra), Mario Feliciani (Sultan Abdul)

Directed by Giacomo Gentilomo & Sergio Corbucci; written by Sergio Corbucci & Ducio Tessari; Executive Produced by Dino De Laurentiis; Score by Angelo Lavagnino

Kobrak, a vampire who wishes to rule the world with an army of faceless zombies created from captured slaves must deal with Goliath as well as a mysterious man named Kurtik who leads an army of Blue Men. Together, Goliath and Kurtik plan to put an end to Kobrak's reign of terror.

One of the strangest and most violent fusto adventures ever to come out of Italy. A successful melding of both horror and muscleman thrills with both getting equal screen time. There are a number of memorable scenes including the opening raid, a fight between Goliath and the Sultan's men in a marketplace, the first appearance of Kobrak aboard a pirate ship and an attack in a swamp on Goliath and the Blue Men by Kobrak's faceless, zombie horde.

Former TARZAN, Gordon Scott asserts himself perfectly as Goliath (Maciste in the Italian original) delivering a performance fueled by revenge as opposed to simply overthrowing a despotic ruler. Scoot also played Hercules in the pilot for the aborted HERCULES tv show entitled HERCULES & THE PRINCESS OF TROY (1965) aka HERCULES VS THE SEA MONSTER. He also appeared in a large number of fusto movies like TYRANT OF LYDIA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1963), HERCULES VS MOLLOCH (1963) and opposite Steve Reeves in DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961). Scott passed away earlier this year.

While the film is credited to Giacomo Gentilomo, it is known that Corbucci had a hand in the direction as well. It's not known the extent of his involvement but considering the high level of violence and blood on display including the death of a little boy, I'd say he might have had more to do with the production than a writing credit which he shares with future Spaghetti Western director Ducio Tessari. Gentilomo also directed another outrageous fusto flick, the fan favorite HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964).

The opening village massacre features a man shot in the eye with an arrow in addition to the women being kidnapped and the remaining men strung up and burned. Once on board the vessel, the old women are thrown to the sharks. For added effect, you see shots of sharks swarming around the ship. The women in the cargo hold have their arms cut and blood poured into a chalice. As the ships Captain brings the blood filled goblet to Kobrak, a clawed, hairy arm reaches through a red curtain followed by a massive gust of wind. Terrified, the Captain quickly exits the hellish cabin. Another violent scene has a man forced to climb a pole with sharp spikes placed around it. As he climbs, an executioner lashes him with a whip until he falls impaling himself on the spikes.

About the only somewhat negative thing I can say about the movie is the plethora of characters on display. Many of them are killed off almost as quickly as they are introduced. The beautiful actress playing Magda is summarily killed when she discovers the truth behind the kidnappings of women. Kobrak appears in spirit form and slashes her throat with his clawed hand. The Blue Men, while a nice addition to the numerously quirky elements of the film, feel like an afterthought almost. Also, the Sultan isn't really needed as his participation adds nothing to the film other than being a pawn in the hands of the monster Kobrak who is the real ruler of Salmanak. During the final minutes, it's learned that Kurtik is the Sultan's brother but this, too seems a late addition to the script as it means nothing.

The action scenes are pulled off admirably especially the fight in the marketplace. During the finale, Kobrak assumes the appearance of Goliath and tries to poison Kurtik and his remaining army but the real Goliath shows up and has a fight with himself! Kobrak's real face is revealed for a few seconds before he is destroyed by a magic potion created by Kurtik who is also an alchemist. And this wouldn't be a fusto movie without feats of strength and this film has enough for a couple more movies. The paper mache artist was kept busy on this one. The sets are quite lavish with an interesting mix of opulence and the macabre.

The number of gorgeous girls on display is also a plus. Particularly the conniving and sensual allure of Astra played by Gianna Canale. Her character is the subordinate of Kobrak and she gets the women needed to satiate his appetite for blood. She briefly switches sides towards the end when it seems she falls in love with Goliath but then captures his love interest only to revert back to good again before Kobrak punishes her for her betrayal. She was also in the original HERCULES (1957).

Jacques Sernas, who plays Kutik can also be seen in Ferdinando Baldi's DUEL OF CHAMPIONS (1961) as well as Corbucci's DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961).

Composer Angelo Lavagnino is quickly becoming a favorite of mine with his scores for these movies. Some of his other scores include THE CLOSSUS OF RHODES (1961), DUEL OF CHAMPIONS (1961) and the action packed HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER (1964).

An unusual but fun horror/hero hybrid that delivers lots of thrills and a curious amount of bloodletting. A great Saturday night popcorn movie for those interested in something a bit different. A very much recommended entry in the peplum/fusto sweepstakes.

[Xenorama]

i love FIRE MONSTERS, for all the reasons you mention. apparently the lead actress did a lot of her own dubbing, since she was fluent in both Italian and English.

Maxus is such a great name though. this one is much better than LAND OF THE CYCLOPS, though i like that one OK.

i prefer my peplum to have monsters or fantasy elements, but some of the gladiator flicks are OK. do you have the Muscle Men book Steve Flaccasier put out? it was decent, though long before cheap-o DVD brought out tons of the lesser known and "lost" movies. he does seem to want to see homo-erotic overtones in lots of the movies, but people will see what they want to look for in anything.

David

[venoms5]

GOLIATH & THE SINS OF BABYLON 1963 aka MACISTE, L'EROE PIU GRANDE DEL MONDO aka MACISTE, THE WORLD'S GREATEST HERO

Mark Forest (Goliath/Maciste), Guiliano Gemma (Xandros), Mimmo Palmara (Alceas), Susan Paget (Rezzia), Erno Crisa (Morakeb), Piero Lulli (Pergasos), Livio Lorenzon (Evandro), Arnaldo Fabrizio (Ninetto), Paul Muller (King Calphus) Nello Pazzafini

Directed by Michele Lupo; Music by Les Baxter (US version)

After the city of Nephir is conquered by the might of Babylon, a heavy tribute must be paid once a year in order to maintain the truce; thirty of their most beautiful virgins must be handed over to the Babylonian guard for delivery to the evil King Calphus where they are to be sacrificed for the amusement of the Babylonians. However, Princess Rezzia, the daughter of the dead King of Nephir cannot assume the throne of her land unless she first takes a husband. A group of conspirators, anxious for action, plot to overthrow King Calphus and rescue the virgins. They meet up with Goliath and convince him to help in their cause to free Nephir from the clutches of Babylon and bring an end to the cruel sacrificial tributes forever.

Lupo directs one of the best peplums ever armed with an obviously bigger budget than usual. An ambitious, lavish production with several major set pieces including an impressive ship battle at sea as the rebels ambush the heavily armed Babylonian vessel, the sacred Tryhrim, at least that's what the characters proclaim it as. Many critics who enjoy badmouthing these movies with such remarks as 'low budget' and 'shoddy' would do well to pay attention to this sequence as it rivals anything seen in any US swashbuckler. But then, that's the attitude generally given to any film that isn't 'Made In The USA'.

Another extraordinary scene is the finale in which the people of Nephir unite with the rebels to burn down Babylon. Some nice miniature work found in this sequence. Another major highlight is the fast paced chariot race. Forest appears to do the scene himself although it's possible a stuntman may have taken his place somewhere but clearly it's him in a number of shots which adds more realism to an already exciting scene. Another nice bit is a brief scene right after the revolt resulting in Pergasos's death where the Babylonians release the lions and leopards into the dungeons to slaughter the resistance.

Mark Forest as Goliath (Maciste in the Italian original) was one of the most popular of the fusto actors to come from America to star in the films. Oddly enough, only three actors (that I'm aware of) outside of America got starring roles in these movies; two Italians and one Hungarian. Forest starred in at least a dozen of these films including GOLIATH & THE DRAGON (1960), HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963), HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964), KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE (1964) and THE LION OF THEBES (1964) among them. Forest retired from acting to pursue a musical career in opera as well as being a fitness trainer. One of the least stiff looking peplum performers in action scenes even with his massive frame, Forest was also a bit more emotive than many of his contemporaries.

In order to fulfill their plan to eliminate King Calphus and Morakeb, the rebels must pretend to give themselves over to the Babylonians. One man must give up his life to make the scheme believable. Goliath steps forward and is fingered as the man behind the revolt. Morakeb orders that Goliath is to be put to death and that his friends, the ones who have handed him over as part of their plan, must carry out the execution. This striking, suspenseful scene has Goliath bolted to a table below a metallic roof with about a dozen holes above. Inside the holes are massive spears attached to ropes. Some of the spears are designed to miss, some to hit the victim and at least one to kill. The purpose is to instill fear of death before the execution is carried out. It's probably the best scene in the whole movie and Lupo handles it masterfully.

About the only thing negative I can say about the film is that Goliath, or Maciste, doesn't get to perform much in the way of superhuman feats. A minor quibble but you expect those kinds of things in the movies featuring the mythological characters such as this. Either way, it's also not Forest's movie solely. He shares equal screen time with his co-stars, Gemma, Palmara and even the midget actor, Fabrizio who is the comic relief in the film.

In fact, the film has a good amount of humor; not so much that it takes away from the film, but much of it is pretty funny. I don't quite understand all the flack given to films that feature midget actors. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a little person in a film but Fabrizio is hilarious, and if you dig midget humor, you'll get a lot of it here. Midgets were also employed in the awful VULCAN, GOD OF FIRE (1961), the TEN GLADIATORS trilogy and SAMSON'S MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964), a film that also featured other Italian fusto faves Hercules, Maciste and Ursus.

Considering the initial plot of the virgins being sacrificed, you might think there's an abundance of beautiful women on display. Not so and Susan Paget is the sole female of attention who loves Xandros and she races in the chariot challenge with the winner getting her hand in marriage, but a ruthless scheme keeps Xandros from taking part in the race. Paget is lovely but she's no Chelo Alonso or Rosalba Neri who also frequently appeared in these movies.

Guiliano Gemma needs no intro to Euro film fans as he made his name predominantly in westerns especially the classics A PISTOL FOR RINGO (1965) and THE RETURN OF RINGO (1965). Gemma worked with Lupo again on the Spaghetti westerns ARIZONA COLT (1966) and CALIFORNIA (1977). His other peplum credits include TWO GLADIATORS (1964) and HERCULES VS. THE SONS OF THE SUN (1964) also starring Mark Forest. Here, Gemma is as athletic and spry as he is in his westerns. Gemma was one of a few actors who successfully made the transition to all manner of Italian cinema appearing in numerous action, crime, drama and horror films in addition to his peplums and westerns.

Mimmo Palmara was a regular peplum/fusto star and appeared in at least 20 torch and toga movies throughout his career appearing alongside most of the other main muscleman stars mostly as a supporting player. Palmara did get to headline HERCULES AND THE MASKED RIDER (1964) which also featured Alan Steel as Goliath in the original Italian print.

Lorenzon was an ace as the lead heavy in the Reeves vehicle, GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS (1959) as well as a fair number of other peplums, but here he gets to play a hero as he did in the Richard Harrison gladiator film GLADIATORS SEVEN (1962).

Also on hand are two actors who will be most indentified with Spaghetti Western fans, Nello Pazzafini and Piero Lulli. Nello plays one of the heroic gladiators. He lives amazingly, but he gets no lines of dialog. Lulli, as usual, plays the villainous Pergasos here. However, in THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (1964) Lulli got to play a heroic role for a change.

Another fine peplum adventure that benefits from a large budget and some spectacular set pieces as well as assured direction from the underrated Michele Lupo. Any fan of the genre or even the spaghetti westerns would do well to check this one out. There is much to recommend here.

[Xenorama]

the faux Goliath in THE VAMPIRES is allegedly Steve Reeves!

David

[venoms5]

i love FIRE MONSTERS, for all the reasons you mention. apparently the lead actress did a lot of her own dubbing, since she was fluent in both Italian and English.

Maxus is such a great name though. this one is much better than LAND OF THE CYCLOPS, though i like that one OK.

i prefer my peplum to have monsters or fantasy elements, but some of the gladiator flicks are OK. do you have the Muscle Men book Steve Flaccasier put out? it was decent, though long before cheap-o DVD brought out tons of the lesser known and "lost" movies. he does seem to want to see homo-erotic overtones in lots of the movies, but people will see what they want to look for in anything.

David

Is that the Retro-Stud book? A friend of mine has it and I read it. Interesting thing about FIRE MONSTERS is that some of the earthquake scenes make it into the same directors COLOSSUS & THE HEADHUNTERS with even a shot of Lewis carrying Margaret Lee away from the destruction. I have a review of that one, too. I used to prefer the ones with just monsters and fantasy elements but now I like them all. GOLIATH & THE BARBARIANS is a huge fave of mine and Chelo Alonso exudes so much sexuality in that film. One of Reeve's best ever, IMO and a massive hit for AIP back when it was released.

[Xenorama]

i'll have to look and see who published it, but it's a decade old at least by now. he reviews JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, but leaves out CLASH OF THE TITANS. weird.

David

[venoms5]

the faux Goliath in THE VAMPIRES is allegedly Steve Reeves!

David

That's funny as it's obviously Scott in the role of Maciste. Was there some review of the film that had Reeves as the star? These two were considered the two biggest stars of these movies. You should definitely check out the clash of these two titans in ROMULUS & REMUS aka DUEL OF THE TITANS. No monsters though.

[venoms5]

TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS 1964 IL TRIONFO DEI DIECI GLADIATORI

Dan Vadis (Roccia), Helga Line (Queen Maluya), Gianni Rizzo (Sestus), Enzo Fiermonte (Rettzius), Stelio Candelli (Glauco), Ivano Staccioli (Alamandro), Halina Zalewska (Myrta), Leontine May (Saleema), Jeff Cameron, Sal Borgese (Menos), Aldo Canti

Directed by Nick Nostro; Music by Carlo Savino

For their impressive skills and loyalty to Rome, the famous ten gladiators are hired by Prubius, a council member for the Emperor of Syria to travel to Arbela, a neutral kingdom between Rome and Parthia. With war inevitable between Rome and Parthia, the mission is to learn of the Parthians true intentions involving a pact between Queen Maluya and the Parthian Prime Minister in allowing them passage through the free lands of Arbela. However, the real mission is to kidnap Queen Maluya, the ambitious leader of the Parthians and smuggle her into Syria as a hostage for Rome.

The third and final entry in the popular TEN GLADIATORS trilogy is a more light hearted and comical romp with a bit of violence and torture towards the end. Vadis again essays the role of Roccia, the leader of the band of brawlers. Although he isn't playing a HERCULES-like character, he does perform some Herculean style actions from time to time. Vadis appeared in a fair handful of the peplum/fusto movies near the end of the cycle. He was one of the more action oriented of the stable of muscle stars and emoted far more than other actors in the genre. He would easily make the transition to westerns and from there he would apparently become good friends with Clint Eastwood as he would appear in a number of Clint's movies such as HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973), EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE (1978) and ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN (1980). Vadis would return to peplums alongside Lou Ferrigno and Brad Harris in the terrible SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS (1983) as the main villain. Sybil Danning also starred in this one.

All of the ten fighters appear to be having a great time in this one. Quite a bit of the running time is not taken very seriously but near the end, the film gets a bit violent. I have yet to see the first film but unlike the previous entry, the other gladiators get a lot of screen time on their own. Vadis is still the main star, but the others get to shine as well. Sal Borgese especially, as the mute Menos, is primarily comic relief for the other fighters when they all aren't involved in comic shenanigans. Spaghetti Western fans will recognize Nello Pazzafini as a gladiator during the beginning and also Aldo Canti is one of the ten main gladiators. Canti was featured in the SABATA trilogy (he played the acrobatic Indian in the first film) and also the war film FIVE FOR HELL (1969).

Helga Line is gorgeous as usual playing Queen Maluya who may or may not be an enemy of the Roman Empire. She has some brief scenes of romantic chemistry with Vadis. Line also stars in the previous movie as well. She gets to wear some nice dresses that tease with her assets.

Leontine May plays the villainess of the piece and in one of the best scenes, she attempts to cut the ropes suspending Myrta over a pit containing a big constrictor as the ten gladiators fight their way to free her. In the most disturbing scene of the film, Myrta is captured and tortured with whips and a branding iron by Saleema and Alamandro in an attempt to get her to reveal the whereabouts of the gladiators.

Fans of the series tend to prefer the second film, SPARTACUS & THE TEN GLADIATORS (1964), but I like them both about the same. TRIUMPH was the first one I saw as a kid and was more than likely the first peplum I was exposed to. This film has all the elements that make the genre so enjoyable to watch-lots of action, larger than life heroes, beautiful women in often times revealing attire, elaborate plots and devilish villains. Not to mention the comedy which adds an air of fun to the proceedings and the film is serious when it needs to be.

The action is plentiful and well done most of the time. A couple of the fight scenes seem lazily done but aside from that, the choreography is good. Some of the stand out scenes are the opening scene which introduces the ten men. Vadis runs at the screen as if he is fighting the camera. Followed by the other participants who do likewise. Borgese appears with his back to the camera until an off screen voice yells, "Hey, Menos..." then Borgese turns and fights at the camera. The scene in which the ten gladiators are tricked in the arena by Maluya's warriors only to repay the supposed treachery by tossing their spears at her feet in defiance is another and the finale is also well done with a good fight between Roccia and Alamandro.

Some of the torture devices are intriguing such as a stone coffin cut with the shape of a victim. Another huge stone with a cut out of the individual is lowered down on top of the screaming captive burying them alive within the stone tomb. Another highlight, even thought it's a bit silly, has the ten gladiators dressing up as women to gain access back into the city to rescue Myrta.

Considering this film was at the end of the torch and toga cycle of Italian adventures, the budget must have been smaller than usual. It appears some stock footage from earlier movies has been inserted to depict an attack on Parthian forces by the Roman army. It doesn't matter though as the action is near constant and you don't have a lot of time to ponder the films deficiencies. The score from Savino is memorable and the film as a whole is a great deal of fun and recommended if you like these kinds of films. There is a German widescreen DVD of this movie but it has no English options.

[Xenorama]

Do'h! i meant that the Kobrak/Goliath was Steve Reeves (under the mask) who fights with Goliath. my poor grammer! it was in an old issue of Monster! International, which is sorely missed.

[venoms5]

HERCULES THE AVENGER 1965 aka LA SFIDA DEI GIGANTE (DEFIANCE OF THE TITAN)

Reg Park (Hercules), Gia Sandri (Queen Leeda), Giovanni Cianfriglia (Antius), Adriana Ambesi (Dianera), Franco Ressel (Aetiaclese)

Directed by Maurizio Lucidi

Out of revenge for his slaying the Hydra, the Earth Goddess Gia steals the soul of Hercules's son, Xanthus whilst on a lion hunt. Hercules must then journey to the Cenerean Marsh, an underworld hell to save him. Meanwhile, Gia sends her own wicked son, Antius, masquerading as Hercules to oppress the people of Syracuse by enslaving, torturing and killing those who disobey.

A fairly routine and somewhat dismal entry in the sword & sandal sweepstakes. There's no shortage of action but much of it is footage lifted from HERCULES AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1961) aka HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD and HERCULES CONQUERS ATLANTIS (1961) aka HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN. The story has lots of potential but it's fortelling of the genres impending extinction by the obvious lack of budget resulting from the recycled footage.

Once Hercules returns home from his journey, he learns what has happened in Syracuse and sets about carrying out his prophesised vengeance by activating a volcano to annihilate Antius and his followers. This scene is well done and I imagine the bulk of the budget went into this minor bit as people are engulfed in flames and the temple of Jove collapses on Queen Leeda who had inadvertently sided with Antius. Antius pleads with his mother, Gia to save him from the fury of Jove so she opens up a crack in the Earth by which he jumps in and is met by Hercules and the two engage in a so-so wrestling match. As long as Antius keeps his feet on the ground, he cannot die.

The actual plot that sets the subsequent events into motion involves Queen Leeda whose husband, King Cadmius, has died and six suitors have come to marry her. However, she wishes to rule alone and consults a female seer to learn what the future holds for her should she not remarry. A prophecy states that Hercules will come and take revenge on the son of the Earth and kill the enemies of Syracuse. Queen Leeda believes her suitors to be her enemies as she doesn't know who the son of the Earth is and when he does arrive, he pretends to be Hercules but having never seen him before, she doesn't realize his identity until it's too late. She is warned by the seer that the word of the Gods are never clear and could possess different meanings but she doesn't heed this advice which ultimately brings about her downfall.

The violence level in this movie is high as well. The scene where a group of men on chariots chase a small pride of rampaging lions is well done but the spearing of one of the animals is a bit uncomfortable. Numerous female cast members are speared or stabbed and one poor girl is suspended by her hair until her father reveals the location of his gold.

British born Reg Park stars in his fifth and last of his fusto adventures. Park was one of the best remembered of the muscleman actors and was a close friend and mentor to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two of his films, the aforementioned HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (directed by Mario Bava) and HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (both 1961) are two of the best loved entries in the genre. Sadly, On November 22nd Reg Park would pass away from Melanoma after battling skin cancer for a number of years. Schwarzenegger hosted the memorial service in Los Angeles. Park died in Johannesburg, South Africa where he'd lived since the 1960s with his wife and two children. One of his films, MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964) was shot there. He was a highly successful businessman whose cinematic contributions were a minor footnote to a life filled with numerous accomplishments and prosperous endeavors.

Prosperous Italian actor Cianfriglia plays one of the most vicious villains I've seen in these movies. He would make a career out of portraying bad guys in spaghetti westerns and Euro crime movies. This is the biggest role I've seen him in and later films had him playing minor baddies or simple thugs. Some of his later films are BEN & CHARLIE (1972), W DJANGO! (1972), HIGH CRIME (1973), KILLER COP (1974), VIOLENT ROME (1975) and VIOLENT NAPLES (1976) among many others. Cianfriglia had a good face and could probably play good guys equally as well. Cianfriglia can also be seen brawling with Alan Steel in the anachronistic peplum HERCULES & THE BLACK PIRATE (1964).

Franco Ressel has a supporting role as one of the six suitors and the most determined to win the hand of Queen Leeda. He usually played villains and is probably best remembered for his lead heavy role in SABATA (1969). Ressel also features in the horrible KID TERROR OF THE WEST (1973).

A middling fusto flick with a few decent spots but nothing particularly memorable and it's a shame as the plot offers some intriguing possibilities that are mired by the plethora of footage from better movies. However, if you are a fan of Reg Park you'll probably want to see it.

[venoms5]

HERCULES & THE BLACK PIRATE 1964 aka SANSONE CONTRO IL CORSARO NERO aka SAMSON AGAINST THE BLACK PIRATE

Alan Steel(Hercules/Samson), Rosalba Neri(Rosita), Andrea Aureli(The Black Pirate), Piero Lulli (Don Rodrigo), Nello Pazzafini

After defeating the Black Pirate and his men in a sea battle, Hercules falls in love with Rosita, the daughter of Don Alonzo. He disapproves of the son of a fisherman marrying the daughter of nobility and Hercules leaves the castle to return to his home village. Don Rodrigo secretly plots the death of Don Alonzo to usurp his power as ruler of Valencia and to also win the hand of his wife, a former lover of his before she married into royalty. Rodrigo sides with the Black Pirate to fulfill his plan. Eventually, Hercules must once again do battle with the malicious pirate as well as duel with the conniving Don Rodrigo to save the King, Rosita and his kidnapped daughter, Alma.

One of a handful of hybrid peplum movies this one very similar to the slightly better HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER (1961/64) and even borrowing much of that films score. Ciani played second fiddle to Mimmo Palmari in that movie and considering when it was made, Ciani hadn't become a proven commodity in the genre. Like that film, there is an even stronger THREE MUSKETEERS vibe going on this time with some sea battles and decent sword fights. Though it's nothing spectacular, HERCULES & THE BLACK PIRATE is a decent time-waster but will more than likely be soon forgotten after you've watched it.

Steel (Sergio Ciani) is obviously suited to these roles but he never emotes when the scene calls for some strong reaction unless it involves fisticuffs. He was apparently popular as he continued to get roles for a number of years in movies that didn't require throwing logs or big rocks around. Other movies with Ciani are SAMSON & THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963), THE REBEL GLADIATORS (1963), HERCULES AGAINST ROME (1964), the popular cult film HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964), the terrible SAMSON & HIS MIGHTY CHALLENGE (1964), SLAUGHTER ON THE KHYBER PASS (1970) and FAST HAND IS STILL MY NAME (1972).

Neri is as sensual as ever as Rosita. Like most all beautiful women in these movies, she isn't given much to do but dote after the hero. Women in these movies were either damsels in distress or were wicked villainess's plotting the downfall of the hero's. Neri can also be seen in KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE (1964), HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH (1963), ARIZONA COLT (1966), DAYS OF VIOLENCE (1967) and in far more revealing roles like THE DEVIL'S WEDDING NIGHT (1973) and SLAUGHTER HOTEL (1973).

Lulli is again excellent as the cunning bad guy Don Rodrigo. While I prefer Arturo Dominici from the earlier, similar movie, Lulli suffices and would make a career out of playing despicable villains most especially in spaghetti westerns like the SARTANA series and THE FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO (1969) among many others. Lulli did get to play a hero in the Dan Vadis fusto movie THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (1964).

Frequent peplum and Euroater actor Nello Pazzafini is a bit jarring here with his black face role. Not sure if he's supposed to portray an Indian or someone with a dark, dark suntan.

Future Euro cinema heavy Giovanni Cianfriglia has a brief duel with Ciani upon his return to Alonzo's castle after the opening defeat of the Black Pirate. This fight is actually better than the one at the climax of HERCULES THE AVENGER (1965) between Cianfriglia and Reg Park.

The set design is passable and the budget allows for a castle set as well as a couple of ships. The action scenes aren't stupendous but do showcase some fair fisticuffs that are a bit better than the sword duels. Some of the stunts are good and Hercules (Samson in the Italian version) gets to take part in some superhuman displays of strength despite the Elizabethan timeperiod in which the film is set. Not as fun as HERCULES & THE MASKED RIDER (1961/64) it's a decent diversion if you've nothing better to watch.

[venoms5]

COLOSSUS & THE HEADHUNTERS 1963 aka MACISTE CONTRO I CACCIATORI DI TESTE aka THE FURY OF THE HEADHUNTERS

Kirk Morris (Maciste), Demeter Bitenc (Ariel), Laura Brown (Queen Amoa), Ines Holder (Asmin), Frank Leroy (Kermes), Nello Pazzafini (Guna)

Directed by Guido Malatesta

Taking refuge on an island, Maciste and a group of survivors find the remnants of the Urias tribe whose city was demolished by an enemy tribe of vicious headhunters. After the Urias are attacked again, Maciste and Ariel travel to the ruined city of gold taken from the Urias to locate the captured King Olibana. Blinded by the traitorous Kermes, King Olibana is forced to give his daughter to him. Maciste must put an end to the savage headhunters and free the Urias as well as Queen Amoa.

The film begins with an island about to explode from a raging volcano. This is stock footage from FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1962) also directed by Malatesta. The scenes of people dressed in cave man attire are at odds with the subsequent shots of the toga dressed participants. Not a good sign to start your movie with stock footage from a lower tier fusto movie (you even see a shot of Reg Lewis carrying Margaret Lee away in his arms!), things don't improve much from here. Not long after arriving on the island, Maciste gets put down by an arrow while the villains take his friends hostage. Maciste then finds out that this tribe of people are not the villains after all. Instead, a group of headhunters are the real brutes of the story and they deliver on the moniker, too. Their camp is riddled with heads on large poles and frequently chop off the noggins of their captives.

Morris doesn't really do much here as Maciste. He pops in from time to time to show off the requisite strong man skills inherent in these films and saves most of his super strength deeds for the finale. The movie is already a brisk 77 minutes long. No one is particularly memorable here but the film goes by fairly fast and the action scenes are pretty decent for the most part. The island setting offers a nice change of scenery from the usual coliseum's and marble pillars. Morris was apparently popular back then as he did a fair number of these movies including HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES (1963; in which Morris sports a beard), SAMSON & THE SEA BEAST (1963; where he battles pirates) and THE CONQUEROR OF ATLANTIS (1965). Morris seemed to always be sucking his gut in for whatever reason possibly to poke his chest out more.

Malatesta also directed the above mentioned and better FIRE MONSTERS AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1962) aka MACISTE AGAINST THE MONSTERS and GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961). So far of the films I've seen of his, Malatesta is a fairly mediocre director with some decent films to his credit.

Not one of the best entries in the genre but it is good for a few laughs. One of the funniest scenes takes place during the wedding scene. A dancer (Moana) is brought out to perform and the lady doing the routine looks totally disinterested and probably isn't a real dancer anyways. The violence level is quite high in places with people being shot with arrows in the eye and throat and lead henchman Pazzafini putting one poor fellow into a full nelson before burying his face in a pit of fire.

The picture quality is nice on this DVD and it's 2:35 widescreen. The sound for the English track is right loud and clear during the bulk of the film then towards the end, the audio is muffled a bit. The Spanish audio sounds newly created for this release. For peplum fans or completists only. A casual fan would be disappointed by this one as the violent scenes aren't really enough to recommend it.

[venoms5]

GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS 1961 aka GOLIATH CONTRO I GIGANTI

Brad Harris (Goliath), Gloria Milland (Princess Elea), Fernando Rey (Bokahn), Barbara Carroll (Daiena), Fernando Sancho (Namath), Nello Pazzafini (Jagoran), Mimmo Palmara

Screenwriters: Gianfranco Parolini, Sergio Sollima; AD: Romolo Girolami; 2nd Unit director: Jorg Grau; Music by Carlo Innocenzi

Directed by Guido Malatesta & Gianfranco Parolini

Away fighting in a war for five years, Goliath plans to return to his homeland after learning King Argastese of Beyrath has been dethroned with the evil Bokan taking his place. After rescuing a mysterious and beautiful maiden on the island of Ayallus, Goliath and his crew are attacked by a sea monster. His ship destroyed, they end up on the beaches of Veyrath where more dangers ensue including a motley of giant men whom Goliath banished to the valley of Janafar. On his quest to restore his homeland, Goliath must battle assorted monsters and armies of soldiers to eradicate the treacherous Bokhan.

Original director Malatesta was replaced by Parolini after he lost control of the production. Parolini was able to get the film back on track and the resulting film proved to be a hit both domestically and internationally. While the bulk of the film is of a higher quality than the usual Malatesta movie, the chaotic nature of the film shows that enough of Malatesta's scenes remain in the final product. There are enough monsters and action for several fusto movies combined. The finale seems to never end with the city of Beyrath being liberated then Goliath goes after Jagoran before dueling with the giants of the title when out of nowhere, another dragon shows up(!)

Earlier in the film, Goliath's ship is destroyed by a sea monster which in some shots is a real lizard inside a tank of some sort. A rather detailed upper torso of the lizard is also utilized for the action shots with the actors. Aside from the fakeness of the bits using the real lizard, the sequence is well handled. Irregardless of what many reviewers may say, I find the hydraulically controlled monstrosities in Italian muscleman movies to be quite well designed some of the time They're clearly fake, but a lot of care went into their creation and most should remember that this was in Italy in the 1960s. They couldn't match most US productions in the budget department and had to make do with creativity. In addition to two dragons (probably the same creation refurbished to look different), there's also an army of Amazons, a huge ape creature, an attack by some lions and the giants of the title.

Brad Harris is perfect for these kinds of movies and is one of the better actors to play the muscleman roles. He has a ruggedness that gives him an almost comic book appearance that adds another layer to the films of this nature he participated in. He was an American performer who also appeared in SAMSON (1961) and THE FURY OF HERCULES (1962) among his sword & sandal credits.

Fernando Sancho is almost unrecognizable as Namath, the faithful compatriot to Goliath. He is a bit smaller in weight, his hair is curly and he is without his bushy mustache seen in his countless spaghetti westerns. An unusual role to see him in for sure, he exits the picture rather early. It's a shame he didn't make a bit further in the film as he was definitely an unusual presence in a film such as this.

The gorgeous Gloria Milland is a stand out beauty with some very fine curves. Like most all other peplum actresses, she's put into harms way on mulitple occasions allowing several glimpses of her heaving chest bound within tight dresses. She also features in THE REBEL GLADIATORS (1963) starring Dan Vadis and Alan Steel and HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964) starring Mark Forest.

Fernando Rey brings a classiness to his role as the evil usurper Bokhan. He attacks his role with conviction unlike most actors playing sadistic rulers in these movies. Rey is one of many bright spots found here. Nello Pazzafini rules a number of scenes as Bokhan's main heavy. He's more of a presence here than in a fair number of other peplums he featured in. In this genre, Pazzafini fluctuated from playing good and bad guys.

Again, there are some strong scenes of violence one featuring the villains tossing some men and an old woman from a cliff. We see the body (a dummy obviously but still effective) as it rolls and tumbles bones breaking as it crashes to the craggy bottom below. An arrow delivered to the injured winner of a bloody game of gladiatorial death matches and a vicious sword to a bad guys face round out the brief bits of startling violence not normally seen in the US import versions of the Torch & Toga flicks.

GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961) is a very silly movie. Some of the fights seem almost like rehearsals but there's so much energy and near nonstop action that any shortcomings are easily forgiven. The film delivers lots of popcorn thrills for viewers who simply want to be entertained for 90 minutes. The film was popular enough that it led to bigger things for Parolini but sadly, things didn't work out so well for Malatesta whose resume is made up of lackluster and easily forgettable movies that are fun in their own right, but aren't of the same quality as this picture. It's also obvious a bit of money was lavished on this production. Not quite as big a budget as say GOLIATH & THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) but more than was usually afforded movies of this type. Also of curious note are the various behind the scenes technicians such as master director Sergio Sollima who had a hand in this films script. Romolo Girolami/Gurierri who became a famous director in his own right and Jorg Grau who helmed the famous Euro horror film THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE round out the most notable and famous of this films behind the scenes participants. The musical score from Innocenzi is noteworthy especially the main theme.

GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961) is well worth the purchase and a good time for watching with the kids save for a few strong moments, the various monsters provide a fun distraction for the young as well as the young at heart.

[venoms5]

THE GIANT OF MARATHON 1959 aka LA BATTAGLIA DI MARATONA

Steve Reeves (Phillipides), Mylene Demongeot (Andromeda), Sergio Fantoni (Theocrates), Daniela Rocca (Karis), Alberto Lupo ( Miltiades), Daniele Varga (Darius), Ivo Garrani (Creusis), Sergio Ciani/Alan Steel (Euros), Mario Adorf (wrestler), Giovanni Cianfriglia (gladiator)

Directed by Jaques Tourner & Mario Bava (uncredited); Cinematography by Mario Bava

During a time of war between the Athenians and the Spartans, the Olympic champion and newly crowned commander of the sacred guard, Phillipides is approached to lead the fight against the invading Persians. Theocrates envisions that if he and Creusis (both members of the Athenian Council) can control the sacred guard, they can rule over Athens. After a chance meeting with Andromeda, the daughter of Creusis, Phillipides instantly falls in love with her. However, she is promised to the ambitious and villainous Theocrates. In an effort to secure dominance of Athens, Theocrates along with the exiled Athenian Hippias, plots to align with the Persian King Darius for the surrender of the Athenians. Realizing his scheme, Phillipides refuses to join the traitors and retires from the sacred guard choosing to become a farmer. When the invasion becomes iminent, Phillipides returns to Athens. To save his people and the woman he loves, Phillipides procures an alliance with their long time enemies, the Spartans to drive out the Persian hordes.

An Italian-French co-production directed by Tourner and distributed by MGM. Although Tourner gets sole credit, Bava finished the film when Tourner became ill. Despite that, the film is a high mark of the sword & sandal genre. One of the biggest peplum productions, the film is notable for some sprawling battle sequences, intricate set design (with numerous composite shots courtesy of Bava's photographic effects) and a good script peppered with some engaging cliffhanger moments.

Steve Reeves lights up the screen as the Olympic champion Phillipides whose deeds (according the opening credits) layed the groundwork for the Olympic games to come. Reeves, looking more lithe than his previous outings, plays his character as a stubborn but love sick individual. He ignores the wiles of a busty seductress whose purpose is to lure him into helping the conniving Theocrates. This love story subplot never proves detrimental to the film but instead enhances it especially during the final 30 minutes which looks to be where the bulk of the budget went.

Andromeda (played by the gorgeous Mylene Demongeot) is kidnapped by Theocrates after nearly killing her father. He uses her to bring Phillipides. After securing the help of the Spartans, hope for the survival of Athens seems assured until the Spartans don't show up. Instead, the 100 sacred Athenian guard take on the Persian horde alone. They come with an ingenious plan of placing metal spiked tipped poles into the water held in place by huge rocks. when the Persian ships cross, the stakes pierce the hulls of their ships. But the Persians are not without their own weapons--the flagship has a giant spiked pincher that opens to crush the Athenian vessels in its jaws. It's here where there is some rather shocking scenes of violence. The Athenians jump into the water and the Persians fire arrows and spears at them while submerged. Blades pierce into stomachs, eyes and necks followed by the ejection of blood. The remaining Athenians make their way to shore while the Persian army close in on them. When defeat appears imminent, the Spartans finally show and turn the tide of the battle resulting in the retreat of the Persians.

The striking beauty of French actress Mylene Demongeot is one of the most lovely female stars to appear in these films and also does not appear to be wearing anything under her skimpy attire. Daniela Rocca provides some added femininity with her voluptuous figure but demongeot has the most appeal. THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959) has everything that makes (good) sword & sandal movies great matinée entertainment--larger-than-life heroes, feats of strength, beautiful women, insidious villains (sometimes monsters), ornate sets and big action set pieces.

Actor Fantoni is supremely villainous as the traitor Theocrates who pretends to want the greater good for Athens but in reality only wants sole power over the city and will sacrifice anyone to get it. The scene where he repeatedly slaps Karis for her failure and refusal in seducing Phillipides followed by his decree to kill her should she not follow his command is a strong scene and his demise at the end is expertly handled and imaginatively staged as opposed to the usual dispatch of the villains in these movies. Here, Phillipides duels with Theocrates atop the Persian ships mast which also binds Andromeda. Credit to the filmmakers for some damn fine action sequences. However, this film features some painful shots of violence towards horses. ROMULUS & REMUS (1961) had an immense amount of horse falls, but here these bits appear increasingly dangerous.

Future fusto star Sergio Ciani has a small role as the Spartan leader Euros whom had a fight with Phillipides in the past; it's only spoken of and not shown. Early in the picture, Phillipides watches two men beat the hell out of one another, a fight set up for his supposed enjoyment by Karis. Phillipides sees these two men as savages and not wrestlers. The winner tries to stop Phillipides from leaving resulting in the wrestler being bested. The man playing the wrestler looks very much like Mario Adorf although he is not credited but then nor is Ciani. Reeve's stunt double Cianfriglia is seen briefly as a gladiator.

A classy effort from the director of NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957), THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (1964) and the loose Poe adapted WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP (1965) starring Vincent Price. Ably finished by Italian master of the fantastic Mario Bava (who would get his first major horror film off the ground due to his assist here) and he also contributes some very nice photographic effects to heighten the allure of this films production. A quality peplum all around and must see entertainment for fans of Reeves and the genre in general.

[venoms5]

Do'h! i meant that the Kobrak/Goliath was Steve Reeves (under the mask) who fights with Goliath. my poor grammer! it was in an old issue of Monster! International, which is sorely missed.

Wishful thinking I guess as the actor, Celano isn't as big as Reeves and he had a somewhat hairy chest if I remember right.

[venoms5]

A couple months back I watched most of the German DVD of THE TROJAN HORSE starring Reeves which is considered one of the best ever. It's definitely one of the most expensive looking of the sword & sandal movies. I haven't watched the sequel yet, WAR OF THE TROJANS aka THE LAST GLORY OF TROY aka THE AVENGER also with Reeves as well as SARTANA's own Gianni Garko. I'll finish TROJAN HORSE sometime or other.

[Kwok Choi]

Thanks Venom5 quite impressive you have single handedly covered this interesting period of film-making so there is not much to add.I grew up watching some of these films and this was one of my favourite genre.Unfortunately I haven't been blessed with seeing these movies again on any format since the mid to late 70s in theatres when they were re-released therefore those names of top actors of that era brought fond memories.
Roger Browne is a worthy mention who worked his way up to a leading man with 7 Magnificent Rebels (excellent),7 Slaves Against Rome,Venus Against The Son Of Hercules,The Revenge Of Spartacus etc.
Mark Forest also did a rare one as "Kinder" titled Kinder The Invincible (good story) and of course Dan Vadis' The Ten Gladiators was a classic.
Kirk Morris,Reg Park and Ed Fury also did a couple.All these guys did their own different interpretations of the Hercules,Goliath,Maciste,Ursus,Ulysses etc etc characters.

[gravedigger666]

Do not think as negative issue but venom5 do you have life besides movies?I have impression you have seen almost every movie made+I admire your verbal skills a lot in this forum.How huge is your collection?

[venoms5]

Thanks Venom5 quite impressive you have single handedly covered this interesting period of film-making so there is not much to add.I grew up watching some of these films and this was one of my favourite genre.Unfortunately I haven't been blessed with seeing these movies again on any format since the mid to late 70s in theatres when they were re-released therefore those names of top actors of that era brought fond memories.
Roger Browne is a worthy mention who worked his way up to a leading man with 7 Magnificent Rebels (excellent),7 Slaves Against Rome,Venus Against The Son Of Hercules,The Revenge Of Spartacus etc.
Mark Forest also did a rare one as "Kinder" titled Kinder The Invincible (good story) and of course Dan Vadis' The Ten Gladiators was a classic.
Kirk Morris,Reg Park and Ed Fury also did a couple.All these guys did their own different interpretations of the Hercules,Goliath,Maciste,Ursus,Ulysses etc etc characters.

Hey, Kwok. I have that Mark Forest movie, too but the credits on mine say KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE. The few you mention with Roger Browne I've never seen but they sound good. I never had the luxury of seeing these in a theater but saw them on television as a kid.

[venoms5]

Today, or actually yesterday, Turner Classics had showings of HERCULES, SAMSON & ULYSSES and TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES aka MACISTE, GLADIATOR OF SPARTA. Neither were widescreen but both had been cleaned up nicely from past editions I'd seen of these two films.

[jiujitsu77]

venoms5...i think it is safe that no one screws with brad harris, steve reeves, gordon mitchell, and richard harrison

oh and my man franco nero

glad you started this thread. very informative

[venoms5]

Cool. Thanks for the kind words. I was hesitant to post this thread but did so just to see if there were any other fans of these movies here. I wrote the initial article late '06 or early '07 and have been writing the reviews off and on ever since for these and other genre flicks.

[jiujitsu77]

i think it is safe to say that when we have started a forum to feed our nerdish leanings, nothing should be left out, no matter how off topic it is. we are a rare breed, so let us celebrate this. never be hesitant to post anything, for im sure SOMEONE in this damn forum will know something. networking and swapping info is key

[jiujitsu77]

i think it is ALSO safe to say that since this forum is for film geeks like us, nothing is sacred or off topic. that is what we are here for. to be with like minded people. if anything it could open up someone's interest

[Kwok Choi]

Yeah Venoms5, jiujitsu77 has taken the words right out of my mouth;well said! This was an important era in the history of film-making which inspired the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and others whose contribution to the magical world of cinema has now left a deep impact worldwide so its good for youngsters to know that once upon a time there was http://www.hollywoodcultmovies.com/html/muscle_men_of_peplum.html
One can also check out some of these movies and their poster artwork at
http://www.hollywoodteenmovies.com/Sword%20&%20Sandal.html
http://www.cinesud-affiches.com/movie-posters-PEPLUM+t_24.html
So feel free to post whatever type of cinema you fancy.Spaghetti Westerns,Classic War,Spaghetti War,Bollywood etc etc as there will always be some interest on this unique forum.

[jiujitsu77]

i think it's safe to say that i say "i think it's safe to say" alot.

spaghetti cinema has always been an interest to me. has anyone tried to search out some spaghetti KF classics like "the kid in the golden kimono" or even the western/eastern crossover "my name is shanghai joe"? (which i believe has a sequel that is hard to find). also, anyone hear of "tiger over river kwai"?

[venoms5]

Yeah, there's a couple of SHANGHAI JOE movies but I only have the first one. I didn't like it that much. There's also a spaghetti Eastern with Pai Piao although I forget the name right now.

[venoms5]

So feel free to post whatever type of cinema you fancy.Spaghetti Westerns,Classic War,Spaghetti War,Bollywood etc etc as there will always be some interest on this unique forum.

Alright, cool:). I just posted some past articles I wrote on other types of genre cinema, abridged articles though. I had planned to use them for something else down the road.

[venoms5]

HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD aka HERCULES IN THE CENTER OF THE EARTH aka ERCOLE AL CENTRO DELLA TERRA aka HERCULES VS. THE VAMPIRES

Reg Park (Hercules), Christopher Lee (Lyco), George Ardisson (Theseus), Leonora Ruffo (Deianira)

Directed by Mario Bava; Cinematography by Mario Bava; Music by Armando Trovajoli

After thwarting an assassination attempt on his life and that of his best friend, Theseus, Hercules returns to Ecalia. Upon his arrival to see his beloved, Deianira, Hercules learns that Uriteis, the king of Ecalia has died under mysterious circumstances. Deianira, the king's daughter, has suddenly taken a strange illness rendering her incapable of ascending the throne. Her uncle, Lyco, has taken over in her place as a great evil descends upon the city of Ecalia. Hercules learns the only way to cure Deianira is to traverse the horrors of Hades and retrieve a magical stone. But first, to be able to enter and leave the Land of the Dead alive, a Golden Apple, a treasure of the evil God Pluto in the marshes of Hesperides must be obtained. Meanwhile, the vile Lyco plans to sacrifice Deianira to Pluto during an eclipse drinking her blood gaining immortality in the process and plunging Ecalia into eternal darkness forever.

Exquisitely stylish and visually impressive film from Mario Bava who is like a little kid in a candy store with his new play toy--technicolor film stock. Regardless of whatever people may think of the genre or prudes who mock the limitations of older genre cinema, this is hands down, one of the most gorgeous 81 minutes of film you will ever see. A macabre painting brought lovingly to life by Mario Bava's gleefully inventive approach to the material. Anyone familiar with his techniques showcased in such films as THE MASK OF SATAN (1960) or THREE FACES OF FEAR (1963) will know what to expect only here you get Bava's trademark style in abundance. With what was reportedly a miniscule budget than was sometimes afforded these films, Bava of course, used his ingenuity to cover up budgetary shortcomings making use of limited sets by simply rearranging or combining existing sets to make them appear different. Also, the use of mirrors is employed to give the illusion you are seeing more than is actually there. Painted backdrops are used to there fullest effect in complimenting the nightmarish world of Hades. This also lends the proceedings a cadaverously opulent, operatic feel. Bava also goes the full mile incorporating opaque colors and gels and milky black shadows to drive home his fantastic vision.

Not content with just the films direction, Bava also handles the cinematography as well as the effects work which itself, saved some production money. What is immediately noticeable upon seeing this film is that Bava creates some interesting ways to shoot action sequences. Numerous shots display some wonderfully varied angles with which the action takes place. Bava utilizes wide shots from afar to allow the viewer to see the scope of the scene at hand. There are also some striking composite shots during the lengthy Hades sequence including one in which Hercules and Theseus are atop a massive precipice looking down into an enormous sea of flame. Directors both before and after Bava's entry were content with "playing it safe" when it came to shooting the action scenes. This is taking nothing away from the number of true artisans that labored in the genre, it's just refreshing to see it done with so much vigor and love for creating something special. Bava not only loved movies, but loved making them, too.

HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) is not Bava's first foray into the fusto realm. He had previously finished the classic Steve Reeves peplum epic, THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959) when original director Jaques Tourner became ill. Bava also performed photographic duties there as well. Bava also worked on the special effects for Vittorio Cottafavi's HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1961), also starring Reg Park. There would also be a small number of sword and sandal films that would have an air of horror about them. These include THE WITCH'S CURSE (1962) starring Kirk Morris and GOLIATH AGAINST THE VAMPIRES (1961).

Reg Park was a former Mr. Universe having won the title in 1951, 1958 and 1965. He had even attained second place against Steve Reeves in 1950. Park didn't partake in Italian cinema for the fame but for a stepping stone for his future business ventures in bodybuilding and fitness. He starred in five films in the genre. The remaining four being HERCULES & THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1961), HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1964) and HERCULES THE AVENGER (1965). Each of Park's torch and toga movies diminished wildly in quality especially HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1964);a limp and lazy effort from Margheriti that returns to the horror elements that made Bava's movie so enduring. And the film isn't really a Hercules film but one of the Ursus series retitled for foreign consumption. One of the most famous men to follow in Park's footsteps is none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger who held great reverence for Park even plastering his walls with posters and articles about the distinguished British muscleman. It was also Park that talked Arnold into taking the role of the Olympian Demi-God in HERCULES IN NEW YORK (1970). Reg Park would die on November 22nd of 2007 after losing his battle with skin cancer.

Christopher Lee is an odd but easily gratifying choice to play the lead villain, Lyco. What is disappointing here and really the only negative I can levy at the film is that Lee did not dub his own voice. So much more depth of character and malice would have been evoked had Lee dubbed his dialog in his patented deep, commanding tone. Lee was a great admirer of Bava and I'm sure was delighted at the chance of working with the grand old man of Euro horror. However, Lee was not enamored with Bava's trendsetting BAY OF BLOOD (1972) after witnessing the cavalcade of gore on display. Lee was of course famous for his portrayal as Dracula in the Hammer films series and whether the role was advantageous or detrimental to his career is entirely up to interpretation. But vampire lore seeps its way into the narrative of HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD. Although Lyco bears no fangs, he intends to drink the blood of Deianira "when the dragon devours the moon" gaining him eternal life and transforming Deianira into the undead. While it's not shown on screen, Lyco kills a beautiful woman in vampiric fashion; her blood running out onto the marble floor and Lyco's visage suddenly appearing in the pool of plasma.

Without reiterating too much that has already been said, the set design is stupendous and Bava clearly shows his knack for making so little appear to be so much more. Other than a clunky rock monster (this was 1961 and such things should be overlooked given the circumstances), the effects are incredibly imaginative and innovative with what little Bava had to work with. The gloriously spooky score by composer Armando Trovajoli is suitably fantastical and even includes a nicely bombastic Hercules Theme. Given that so many composers who got much notice internationally for their scores on Italian westerns, I find there orchestral scores just as memorable if not more so adding a sense of majesty that belies the budgets on many of these productions. This version of the film utilizes the original title HERCULES IN THE CENTER OF THE EARTH moniker. Bava's sole directorial effort in the fusto arena would be distributed in America by the Woolner Brothers as HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD re-edited and cut eliminating some important exposition. The Woolner Brothers version was released to VHS back in the late 80's from Rhino with terrible sound quality.

Enough cannot be said about Mario Bava's commendable journey into this misunderstood genre. An auspicious start for Bava entering the world of color photography, his stamp hovers and engulfs every frame of this picture. One of his finest achievements of his career and easily one of the best and best loved muscleman movies to ever come out of the fabled Cinecitta Studios of Italy.

[Xenorama]

i just do not care for this movie that much. i prefer the other Reg Park movie, the Women of Atlantis- it's got more going on. sure, this one looks great, like all of Bava's movies, but it just lacks something.

great review though! you need to publish a book!

David

[venoms5]

It's missing the sword fights and abundant action in most all of these movies. Aside from the opening and a spot here and there, it's all horror and atmosphere. But what bit of action there is, Bava shoots these bits in a way the other directors never did. Bava used different angles and wide shots with actors in the foreground as well as the background in the action. I hadn't seen this film since I had bought the Rhino tape years back and didn't care for it much then but after seeing this version of it and in widescreen it's a different story altogether for me. This review was a bit longer and I trimmed some of it including a George Ardisson paragraph and I think I also cut off the one where I mentioned the above info. Thanks for the kind words, David.:)

[venoms5]

HERCULES UNCHAINED 1959 aka ERCOLE E LA REGINA DI LIDIA aka HERCULES & THE QUEEN OF LYDIA

Directed by Pietro Francisci; Special Lighting and Effects Director: Mario Bava

Steve Reeves (Hercules), Sylvia Koscina (Iole), Sylvia Lopez (Omphale), Gabriele Antonini (Ulysses), Sergio Fantoni (Eteocles), Mimmo Palmara (Polineces), Guliano Gemma (Beranipo), Sergio Ciani

Hercules attempts to thwart war against Thebes after the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polineces, feud over their yearly rotation to rule the great city. On his way to mediate for the two begrudged siblings, Hercules is entranced after drinking the "water of forgetfulness", found emanating from a fountain near the entrance to a cave. Omphale, the bewitching man-eater of Lydia, forces her men to lust after her by using the powers of the magical waters. Hercules comes under her spell but is saved by his friend, Ulysses in time to save the city of Thebes from certain destruction.

Sexually charged sequel to Pietro Francisci's HERCULES (1957) has the Olympian Demi-God at the mercy of the man hungry Omphale of Lydia. As a good number of fusto movies take bits and pieces from Greek mythology for these cinematic tales, this portion of the film is taken from the story of Hercules who, according to Greek lore, was a rather unhinged man with violently murderous tendencies.

The legend states that Hercules was to marry Iole after defeating her father and brothers in an archery contest. But after unknowingly purchasing stolen cattle belonging to Iole's father, her brother confronted Hercules about the theft only to have the angered strong man toss him from a tower. Not long after, Hercules asked an oracle to purify him yet again only to be refused. After destroying the shrine and battling with the God Apollo, Zeus proclaimed Hercules would be pardoned if he became a slave for three years. He was sold to Queen Omphale of Lydia who then forced him to dress as a woman and perform womanly duties as well as being her lover until his three years were up. In the film, Hercules becomes easily enraged after repeated ingestion of the magical waters, another nod to his mythological personality.

An interesting plot point regarding Omphale is her black widow-like behavior regarding males. She uses them sexually till they begin to bore her only to have them killed then "mummified" as stone statues by a group of Egyptians living beneath her domicile. The grotesque statues are then placed in Omphale's secret garden of the dead. Of course, Omphale ultimately falls in love with Hercules and finds it difficult to allow him to meet the same fate as her previous suitors. Still, it's up to Ulysses, pretending to be Hercule's deaf servant, to help the strong man escape Lydia alive just in time to prevent his home of Thebes from certain war.

The brief sequence where we see the Egyptians "disposing" of Omphale's lovers provides a parallel to their mummification practices of preserving the dead and is even mentioned in dialog by Omphale that the Egyptians will one day become widely known for their art.

Steve Reeves returns in this Italian-French co-production. A better sequel to the original film that made him an international star. And again, as always, (like the other actors in these movies) Reeves is dubbed by a voice actor because, according to a colleague, his voice wasn't "Herculean" enough. Guiliano Gemma and Sergio Ciani (Alan Steel) make very brief appearances as centurions.

Although the action slows down a bit during the section of the film when Hercules is under the spell of Omphale, there is still much to enjoy about the production. Whether it be the beautiful women or some stunning locations accompanied by colorful set design ably photographed by the esteemed Mario Bava.

[venoms5]

I added the complete article here with a plethora of pics. Still need to add some more, but this piece is for the most part, complete although I plan to add some additional paragraphs on the beauties present in these movies...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Italian%20peplum%20and%20fusto%20movie%20overview

[kowloon]

THE SEQUEL OF SHANGAI JOE IS:

Che Botte, Ragazzi!
Cast Klaus Kinski, Karin Field, Fortunato Arena, Rick Boyd, Paolo Casella, Dante Cleri, Consalvo Dell'arti, Attilio Dottesio, N. Duong, Tom Felleghy
Regia Bitto Albertini
Sceneggiatura Bitto Albertini
Data di uscita 1974
GenereComico/Commedia

[venoms5]

THE SEQUEL OF SHANGAI JOE IS:

Che Botte, Ragazzi!
Cast Klaus Kinski, Karin Field, Fortunato Arena, Rick Boyd, Paolo Casella, Dante Cleri, Consalvo Dell'arti, Attilio Dottesio, N. Duong, Tom Felleghy
Regia Bitto Albertini
Sceneggiatura Bitto Albertini
Data di uscita 1974
GenereComico/Commedia

Cool. But what does this have to do with the peplum thread?

[venoms5]

Put up some new sword and sandal reviews....actually, they're the same as ones I already posted here with only minor alterations but there's a generous amount of pictures.

http://www.coolasscinema.com/

I already added some others different from the write ups I posted here and these as well have a lot of pics accompanying the review to give fans (or curiosity seekers) an idea of what the films are like. I believe all of these are still available for purchase...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Goliath%20and%20the%20Barbarians

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Hercules%20In%20the%20Haunted%20World

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Romulus%20and%20Remus

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Sandokan%20the%20Great

[kowloon]

romolo e remo i've the restored version

[venoms5]

romolo e remo i've the restored version

That's the one I've reviewed. It has an interview with Reeve's stunt double and frequent actor, Giovanni Cianfriglia.

[jiujitsu77]

crazy.....just was watching giant of metropolis at the store yesterday. came home late last night and read it on your page. good reviews too by the way. not too wordy or long winded. me have a.d.d., so your page suits me just fine hahaha

[venoms5]

GIANT OF METROPOLIS is with Gordon Mitchell. I haven't done that one yet. GIANT OF MARATHON stars Reeves. Which one did you see jujitsu?

[jiujitsu77]

the giant of stupidity...me. it was marathon. metropolis was a trade in we got about a month ago. marathon i had picked up at godzilla fest last year

[venoms5]

How was that Godzilla fest? I've always wanted to go to one of those.

[jiujitsu77]

bro it is sweet ass sweet. not just godzilla stuff either. great kung fu and italian traders.

it really is alot of fun. if anyone wants to go next summer, you can all stay at my place

[venoms5]

Do they still get the Japanese actors and actresses to attend?

[jiujitsu77]

nakajima and satsuma (?) were both there, as well as don frye. alot of actors and spx guys too. seriously a great time

[venoms5]

Sounds awesome. Don Frye would have been great to meet as well. Although I HATED FINAL WARS with a passion. There was one or two other PRIDE fighters in that movie too. Gary Goodridge and I think one other.

[jiujitsu77]

yeah gary was in there. he is one of the nicest guys i have met through MMA events and so on. don frye was a class act too

for real...i start another thread, but i think if anyone wants to come to this even, lets make it a group trip...i really do have a big home, so i figure i wouldnt have any problem housing 5 or 6 new people.

[venoms5]

I posted write ups for both GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS and GOLIATH & THE VAMPIRES earlier this evening. They're the same reviews I posted in this thread only now there are a generous amount of pics and I added a bit to each one and changed some things here and there. The links are on the front of this news page...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/

[venoms5]

Two new reviews for two films I remember vividly seeing on a Saturday afternoon back in the early 1980's. HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS (1963) and HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS (1964), two similar movies, one with an accent on the action, the other a mix of fantasy elements and lots of intrigue. Both films star Mark Forest, Ken Clark and Renato Rossini and the exotic beauty that is Jose Greci (Susan Paget). I would love to see both of these to receive a widescreen and restored release on DVD. Both are linked on the main page below along with two Brit horror pics. Anybody else remember catching this peplum double header on television?

http://www.coolasscinema.com/

[venoms5]

Watched THE TERROR OF ROME AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES the other night from a very nice print I recorded off TCM late last year. One of the last of the genre and one of the last to feature Mark Forest as Maciste. Review linked below...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Terror%20of%20Rome%20Against%20the%20Son%20of%20He rcules

[venoms5]

For those interested, scroll down to the bottom of the link here for a new review of SPARTACUS & THE TEN GLADIATORS as well as the now split up Peplum/Fusto article. It is now four parts with a fifth and final piece coming. Initially, it was only going to be four parts but I was too tired to add the remainder and decided to split it into five pieces. Part 4 is all new and the others have some new pics and a bit of new info here and there. I also de-squeezed the pics from part one.

http://www.coolasscinema.com/

[kungpowmaster]

I recently aquired and watched Collossus of Rhodes, for the 1st time, and it was really good. had that odd science fiction element, these films often have, with it's giant statue. It's a Sergio Leone film too. Very well done.

[AlbertV]

"Trinity" himself, Terence Hill, has a new western coming out called Doc West. It's an Italian movie he co-directed with Giulio Base and it co-stars PauL Sorvino. I put it here because we all know he is known for his films with Bud Spencer. Here is a pic of him on the set of the movie from his official website (http://www.terencehill.com). Hard to believe that he is already 70!!!

http://www.terencehill.com/gallery/docwest/images/docwest_02_big.jpg

[GazzO]

I actually wrote an essay on the differences and similarities between the peplum and the surge of Italian post-apocalypse movies of the eighties, there's quite a lot of similarities.

Films like Bronx Warriors and The New Barbarians etc could be seen as the peplums of the eighties!

[venoms5]

Here's more new, or recent sword & sandal reviews. All of them are from Italian or Spanish DVD's...

MACISTE IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS aka SON OF SAMSON

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Maciste%20In%20the%20Valley%20of%20the%20Kings%20( Son%20of%20Samson)

MACISTE AT THE COURT OF THE GREAT KHAN aka SAMSON & THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Maciste%20At%20the%20Court%20of%20the%20Great%20Kh an

WARRIOR & THE SLAVE GIRL aka REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Warrior%20and%20the%20Slave%20Girl

REVENGE OF SPARTACUS

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Revenge%20of%20Spartacus


Below is a comparison between the Italian DVD and the washed out US public domain release. These are the same films that "DVD companies" claim the prints no longer exist resulting in just the bad quality prints being all that's available stateside.

Dan Vadis (Black Widow gang member in Eastwood movies) and Milton Reid (PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT) do battle

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aCoHZTRbI/AAAAAAAAN9M/Qbxyn1m-7Kk/s1600/PDVD_004.BMP

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aDRt7XjkI/AAAAAAAAN9s/LcsQwAEZknY/s1600/PDVD_064.BMP

The gorgeous Helga Line (HORROR EXPRESS, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aCx0InDSI/AAAAAAAAN9U/igcQakbyjhQ/s1600/PDVD_005.BMP

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aDX-ZjRTI/AAAAAAAAN90/L0CD9WDSwVc/s1600/PDVD_065.BMP

Dan Vadis and Helga Line at the end of the movie

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aC8GQo7xI/AAAAAAAAN9c/87jdBM00CEc/s1600/PDVD_007.BMP

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kRBTLr-TZ68/S8aDLq3GRnI/AAAAAAAAN9k/tu2HPsTYlB4/s1600/PDVD_079.BMP

[venoms5]

To put things back on track, here's a couple recent sword & sandal reviews....

SEVEN SLAVES AGAINST THE WORLD (1964). The follow up to Lupo's REVENGE OF SPARTACUS (1964)...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/2010/05/seven-slaves-against-world-1964-review.html

and the rare Mark Forest Maciste movie, COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA (1962) also from Michele Lupo (ARIZONA COLT). Dan Vadis (a regular in Clint Eastwood movies) makes his first appearance in this movie as one of the main villains and shows off some amazing agility...

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Colossus%20of%20the%20Arena

[bratty]

This is a pretty good place to start.

http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-50-Movie-Pack-Collection/dp/B000F9SUT4/

Most wide screened, remastered peplum DVDs out there are expensive imports. If you've got the scratch for it I would highly recommend Koch's R2 'Romulous and Remus' , which is probably my fave peplum /sword sandal DVD release ever

http://www.amazon.de/Romulus-Remus-Steve-Reeves/dp/B000G6H538/

[venoms5]

This is my list of the 26 Best. Granted, I've seen a few more that should be on here which I will link below as well. This 26 contains some bonafide best and a lot of truly fun entries. Some of the films listed here I have since bought a better version of. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with any of the ones listed here.

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/The%2026%20Best%20Sword%20and%20Sandal%20Movies

These are also very good movies...

Steve Reeves

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Son%20of%20Spartacus

Roger Browne and Gordon Mitchell

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Revenge%20of%20Spartacus

Ettori Manni and George Marchal

http://www.coolasscinema.com/search/label/Warrior%20and%20the%20Slave%20Girl

[Alexandra]

Peplum is a fillm genre that was great in Hollywood.
I remember Julius Caesar with Marlon Brando... but there are fabulous mega productions shot in the 50' and the 60' decades...