It's 1959, and the season of badly-dubbed spaghetti-easterns. As the title suggests, this wasn't a Hollywood epic.
Steve Reeves briefly cornered the action-man market in the way that Stallone and Arnie did more recently. Here he plays a legionary who has come home to Pompeii. It's 79AD so that's not a very positive career-move. There's all kinds of trouble brewing in the old town, featuring a gang of nocturnal murderers, and hapless Christians who are always good for a stoning. But the real trouble - as we all know - is brewing underground.
Reeves had an excellent physique that is shown to maximum effect here. With one blow of his forearm he smashes a stout table in two. You don't want to upset him. Most of the movie fusses about the partisan squabbles and the murderous clique and keeps us waiting for what we know is going to happen.
For a small budget movie the volcano effects and town destruction are not too bad, really. But it's still rather an anti-climax. This is really an advertisement for Mr Reeves and his mighty sinews as much as the power of Vesuvius. If you're a fan of well-figured young men, you'll definitely enjoy this, otherwise...
It's about on a par with the longer, but similarly plotted and paced though better-dubbed 'Sodom & Gomorrah'. Don't wait up to watch either; you could have more convincing dreams.
Steve Reeves briefly cornered the action-man market in the way that Stallone and Arnie did more recently. Here he plays a legionary who has come home to Pompeii. It's 79AD so that's not a very positive career-move. There's all kinds of trouble brewing in the old town, featuring a gang of nocturnal murderers, and hapless Christians who are always good for a stoning. But the real trouble - as we all know - is brewing underground.
Reeves had an excellent physique that is shown to maximum effect here. With one blow of his forearm he smashes a stout table in two. You don't want to upset him. Most of the movie fusses about the partisan squabbles and the murderous clique and keeps us waiting for what we know is going to happen.
For a small budget movie the volcano effects and town destruction are not too bad, really. But it's still rather an anti-climax. This is really an advertisement for Mr Reeves and his mighty sinews as much as the power of Vesuvius. If you're a fan of well-figured young men, you'll definitely enjoy this, otherwise...
It's about on a par with the longer, but similarly plotted and paced though better-dubbed 'Sodom & Gomorrah'. Don't wait up to watch either; you could have more convincing dreams.