Sword and sandal film with Reg Park and Giovanni Cianfriglia
This late sword and sandal film by Maurizio Lucidi is burdened with quite a bit of a mortgage. The director and the film producers make it very easy for themselves by "muddying" key excerpts from Reg Park's performances in ERCOLE AL CENTRO DELLA TERRA (1961) and ERCOLE ALLA CONQUISTA DI ATLANTIDE (1961) for this film. Of course, this causes confusion and doesn't always fit well with the plot. One advantage of the film is that Reg Park (1928-2007) has a more than equal antagonist as Hercules in Giovanni Cianfriglia (*1935). Thanks to his appearance as the ultra-nasty Anteo, Steve Reeves' (1926-2000) former stunt double was able to really get started. As Ken Wood, Giovanni Cianfriglia then played several leading roles in superhero films (Superargo) and spaghetti westerns.
But first, let's get to the plot of this film! Hercules and his wife Deianira (Adriana Ambesi) are in great grief. Their son Xantos (Luigi Barbini) was so badly injured while hunting lions that he has been in a kind of vegetative state ever since. Hercules is convinced that he can only save his son by completing tasks in the underworld in order to please the gods. When Hercules has already set off, the desperate Queen Leda (Gia Sandri) of Syracuse appears and wants to ask Hercules for help in defending her throne. And now comes the big highlight! ;-) The evil goddess Gaia lured Hercules to the underworld to give her son Anteo the opportunity to bug the desperate queen. And the brazen muscleman does it brilliantly. By claiming that he is Hercules, the unscrupulous daredevil even manages to proclaim himself king of Syracuse. The queen realizes too late what monster she has brought into the royal bedchamber. Only the true Hercules can help. And so it comes to the final battle between the two muscular mountains, which even pushes a volcanic eruption into the background.
Despite the brazen reuse of the old film material, the encounter between two equal opponents still results in a very attractive sword and sandal film. And Giovanni Cianfriglia is really nasty in his role, which immediately increases the tension.
Recommended for all Peplum fans!
This late sword and sandal film by Maurizio Lucidi is burdened with quite a bit of a mortgage. The director and the film producers make it very easy for themselves by "muddying" key excerpts from Reg Park's performances in ERCOLE AL CENTRO DELLA TERRA (1961) and ERCOLE ALLA CONQUISTA DI ATLANTIDE (1961) for this film. Of course, this causes confusion and doesn't always fit well with the plot. One advantage of the film is that Reg Park (1928-2007) has a more than equal antagonist as Hercules in Giovanni Cianfriglia (*1935). Thanks to his appearance as the ultra-nasty Anteo, Steve Reeves' (1926-2000) former stunt double was able to really get started. As Ken Wood, Giovanni Cianfriglia then played several leading roles in superhero films (Superargo) and spaghetti westerns.
But first, let's get to the plot of this film! Hercules and his wife Deianira (Adriana Ambesi) are in great grief. Their son Xantos (Luigi Barbini) was so badly injured while hunting lions that he has been in a kind of vegetative state ever since. Hercules is convinced that he can only save his son by completing tasks in the underworld in order to please the gods. When Hercules has already set off, the desperate Queen Leda (Gia Sandri) of Syracuse appears and wants to ask Hercules for help in defending her throne. And now comes the big highlight! ;-) The evil goddess Gaia lured Hercules to the underworld to give her son Anteo the opportunity to bug the desperate queen. And the brazen muscleman does it brilliantly. By claiming that he is Hercules, the unscrupulous daredevil even manages to proclaim himself king of Syracuse. The queen realizes too late what monster she has brought into the royal bedchamber. Only the true Hercules can help. And so it comes to the final battle between the two muscular mountains, which even pushes a volcanic eruption into the background.
Despite the brazen reuse of the old film material, the encounter between two equal opponents still results in a very attractive sword and sandal film. And Giovanni Cianfriglia is really nasty in his role, which immediately increases the tension.
Recommended for all Peplum fans!