52 reviews
There was only one Hercules, and he wasn't from Mt. Olympus, he was from California, and his name was Steve! This movie proves it. Actually, it's a little better than his original flick, "Hercules". It's more polished, and has a little more action, but then, that's not saying much. It might have been exciting back in 1959 to see some guy pick up a tree, but the modern special effects fests have eclipsed it. Any kid interested in seeing fighting musclemen today wouldn't watch this, they'd be watching Smackdown or whatever it is. WWF. WWE. I don't know. Anyway, they'd rather see Rick Flair and John Cena insult each other.
But hey! I liked it, because I think Steve Reeves was cool! He looked the part with his beard. And he had some build, better than all the musclemen that followed, better than the bodybuilders today. This was his last good film. For all the others, he shaved off his beard and journeyed to strange places, like Russia and India. He should have stayed in ancient Greece.
If your a retro person, you would love this. I dig the retro dancing Greek island chicks. I dig the fake tigers. I dig the chariots, I dig Steve beating up the world's heavyweight champ. You might find other things to dig, so pay homage to old Steve Hercules Reeves himself. He might have been governor of California too.
But hey! I liked it, because I think Steve Reeves was cool! He looked the part with his beard. And he had some build, better than all the musclemen that followed, better than the bodybuilders today. This was his last good film. For all the others, he shaved off his beard and journeyed to strange places, like Russia and India. He should have stayed in ancient Greece.
If your a retro person, you would love this. I dig the retro dancing Greek island chicks. I dig the fake tigers. I dig the chariots, I dig Steve beating up the world's heavyweight champ. You might find other things to dig, so pay homage to old Steve Hercules Reeves himself. He might have been governor of California too.
Only a fool would curse a fairy tale because it narrates the actions of a witch. A good man has a strong enough heart to allow differences to flourish as long as people are allowed to live their lives in a peaceable manner.
That's the great lesson that underlines this film, otherwise silly and occasionally mawkish. I suppose that's why intelligent children have loved the Hercules myth ever since it could be recorded. Hercules is pretty dumb, but he's a nice guy with good intentions, the most important of which is to keep those who have let power corrupt them from bringing ruin to farmers and villagers and other peaceful working people.
Here he is threatened by three evil generals and an over-self-indulgent witch. The plot is partly based on the Hercules myth itself, but borrows freely from the Odyssey and from the Oedipus plays, with just a dash of the Argonauts legend tossed in briefly at the beginning.
Alright, so it's a mess. And the middle third is just outright dull as the witch grows to love her buffoonish captive.
Never mind. It's well-made for its time and place, colorful, and even occasionally lyrical. And some of the fight scenes retain their excitement, after all these years.
Perhaps best viewed - and understood - by children; but can provide real entertainment for intelligent adults in the right frame of mind.
That's the great lesson that underlines this film, otherwise silly and occasionally mawkish. I suppose that's why intelligent children have loved the Hercules myth ever since it could be recorded. Hercules is pretty dumb, but he's a nice guy with good intentions, the most important of which is to keep those who have let power corrupt them from bringing ruin to farmers and villagers and other peaceful working people.
Here he is threatened by three evil generals and an over-self-indulgent witch. The plot is partly based on the Hercules myth itself, but borrows freely from the Odyssey and from the Oedipus plays, with just a dash of the Argonauts legend tossed in briefly at the beginning.
Alright, so it's a mess. And the middle third is just outright dull as the witch grows to love her buffoonish captive.
Never mind. It's well-made for its time and place, colorful, and even occasionally lyrical. And some of the fight scenes retain their excitement, after all these years.
Perhaps best viewed - and understood - by children; but can provide real entertainment for intelligent adults in the right frame of mind.
The sequel to HERCULES (1958) is even less enthusing but remains, nonetheless, an adequate example of the peplum genre.
Sylva Koscina's role of Iole, Hercules' love interest, is diminished here since the most prominent female figure on display emerges to be the femme fatale-ish Queen of Lidia Omphale (the film's original title, incidentally, translates to HERCULES AND THE QUEEN OF LIDIA) – the latter is played by another red-headed beauty Sylvia Lopez, who died of leukemia not long after the film's release! Needless to say, the muscle-bound hero (Steve Reeves) falls under her spell after having conveniently drunk from a spring that renders him an amnesiac (though not before he's been engaged in an irrelevant wrestling bout with ex-heavyweight champion Primo Carnera as an irascible giant!); his friend Ulysses, however, is on hand to watch over him (ostensibly in the function of Hercules' deaf-mute slave). Meanwhile, back home in Thebes, two brothers fight it out over the throne – with Iole at the mercy of a cackling maniac (an over-the-top Sergio Fantoni)...
By the way, both of these Hercules films featured atmospheric cinematography by Mario Bava - who would himself direct one of the better adventures revolving around this mythical figure, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) starring Reg Park. As for Francisci, he worked most often in this genre: from ATTILA (1954; co-starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren) – which is overdue for a reappraisal and has, incidentally, just been announced as an upcoming DVD release from Lionsgate! – to the low-brow HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963; with Kirk Morris now as Hercules) and SINBAD AND THE CALIPH OF BAGHDAD (1973; his last film and which I recall watching eons ago on Italian TV).
Sylva Koscina's role of Iole, Hercules' love interest, is diminished here since the most prominent female figure on display emerges to be the femme fatale-ish Queen of Lidia Omphale (the film's original title, incidentally, translates to HERCULES AND THE QUEEN OF LIDIA) – the latter is played by another red-headed beauty Sylvia Lopez, who died of leukemia not long after the film's release! Needless to say, the muscle-bound hero (Steve Reeves) falls under her spell after having conveniently drunk from a spring that renders him an amnesiac (though not before he's been engaged in an irrelevant wrestling bout with ex-heavyweight champion Primo Carnera as an irascible giant!); his friend Ulysses, however, is on hand to watch over him (ostensibly in the function of Hercules' deaf-mute slave). Meanwhile, back home in Thebes, two brothers fight it out over the throne – with Iole at the mercy of a cackling maniac (an over-the-top Sergio Fantoni)...
By the way, both of these Hercules films featured atmospheric cinematography by Mario Bava - who would himself direct one of the better adventures revolving around this mythical figure, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) starring Reg Park. As for Francisci, he worked most often in this genre: from ATTILA (1954; co-starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren) – which is overdue for a reappraisal and has, incidentally, just been announced as an upcoming DVD release from Lionsgate! – to the low-brow HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963; with Kirk Morris now as Hercules) and SINBAD AND THE CALIPH OF BAGHDAD (1973; his last film and which I recall watching eons ago on Italian TV).
- Bunuel1976
- Mar 22, 2008
- Permalink
This is the second Hercules flick featuring Steve Reeves as the man of muscle. The legendary Reeves melds with the god/man Hercules and turns what could have been a cheesefest into an action/adventure spectacle as tightly woven as Hercules' toga. Competing with Reeves for biggest chest is his umptuous co-star Sylvia Lopez as the evil Queen Omphale who makes living statues out of her conquests. Hercules' pals include Gabriele Antonini as Ulysses who gives the man of muscle a mighty rubdown and competes for Herc's attentions with his sexy wife Iole, played with sweet sassiness by beautiful Sylvia Koscina. With Hercules shirtless (and occasionally oiled) for most of the flick and his mini-toga riding up his thick manly thighs there's something for everybody to enjoy. Of special note is the dance of Queen Omphale's slave girls and Herc's wrestling match with real life Italian pro-wrestler, Primo Carnera. Keep an eye out for plentiful low camera angles.
but not at the level of the original 1958 film also starring Steve Reeves in the lead role.
Still this does deliver some good thrills such as Hercules battling the giant Antaeus (Primo Carnera), trying to escape the influence of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez who I feel was truly bewitching in the role), tangling with deadly tigers and finally trying to rescue his lovely bride Iole (Sylva Koscina) from the crazed Eteocles all while trying to stop his homeland of Thebes from descending into war.
The middle portion of the film which has Hercules under the spell of Queen Omphale once his memory has been wiped away by the waters of forgetfulness is a bit slow but is still fun...fun adventure not to be taken too seriously is how I'd describe this one.
Still this does deliver some good thrills such as Hercules battling the giant Antaeus (Primo Carnera), trying to escape the influence of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez who I feel was truly bewitching in the role), tangling with deadly tigers and finally trying to rescue his lovely bride Iole (Sylva Koscina) from the crazed Eteocles all while trying to stop his homeland of Thebes from descending into war.
The middle portion of the film which has Hercules under the spell of Queen Omphale once his memory has been wiped away by the waters of forgetfulness is a bit slow but is still fun...fun adventure not to be taken too seriously is how I'd describe this one.
- Space_Mafune
- Feb 5, 2003
- Permalink
- classicsoncall
- Apr 1, 2006
- Permalink
"Hercules Unchained," the sequel to Steve Reeves' mega-hit "Hercules," isn't quite what I remembered it to be. Reeves definitely has the look of Hercules, much more so than most of the bodybuilders who followed or imitated him in these movies, and he's actually not a bad actor, all things considered. Sylva Koscina, playing his wife, is absolutely breathtaking. She just radiates class, is spectacularly beautiful and has a body to die for. Sylvia Lopez, as Queen Oomphale, is another case altogether. Although she's quite leggy and has a great body, and thankfully doesn't mind showing it, she's frankly not all that attractive, looks to be wearing about 50 pounds of makeup and a gallon of lip gloss, and is, to be honest, not a very good actress. However, that doesn't matter much, as she has a whole slew of young, gorgeous, scantily clad servant girls prancing and slinking around, which is a pleasant distraction. The action scenes aren't as good as I recalled them--I saw it the other day for first time in probably 30 years and was actually quite disappointed. Hercules' fight with a tiger is laughable--almost as phony as Victor Mature's fight with the lion in "Samson and Delilah"--his clash with Oomphale's guards near the end of the picture is very badly done and the climactic battle between the forces of the two brothers is handled extremely poorly. There were more than enough extras to show a good battle scene, but for some reason the filmmakers focus mainly on close-ups or two-shots of a few individuals fighting each other, which makes no sense at all, and the battle consists mostly of a lot of guys running around raising dust and some chariots racing around, and that's pretty much it. Time apparently really does play tricks with your memory; I recalled this picture as having much more action in it than it really did, but other than Reeves' fight with Primo Carnera, pretty much nothing happens in the first half of the film, and the action that does occur in the second half is mostly perfunctory and, as noted, not very well done.
Still, Reeves is impressive to look at and does have a certain presence, you can't take your eyes of Sylva Koscina, the servant girls are a treat, the photography is nice for the most part and some of the sets are impressive. The dubbing is, of course, atrocious, but it always is in these pictures, so that's not news. You could do worse than rent this once. It's just really not worth seeing twice.
Still, Reeves is impressive to look at and does have a certain presence, you can't take your eyes of Sylva Koscina, the servant girls are a treat, the photography is nice for the most part and some of the sets are impressive. The dubbing is, of course, atrocious, but it always is in these pictures, so that's not news. You could do worse than rent this once. It's just really not worth seeing twice.
This movie definitely is not the best or most exciting one around. Strangely enough it doesn't decide on picking a more adventurous story and restrains itself mostly to the same locations.
You can say that these early Italian genre movies set the later standards for the swords & sandals genre. The first movie "Le fatiche di Ercole" began with this and this movie further expands it, without adding too much excitement or fun though. The movie has the looks and right characters involved but yet the movie only at times manages to become an interesting and good one to watch. Most of the time too little is happening, which is a shame and a waste.
The set and colors of it all might seem fake and silly looking by todays standards but this at the same time has become part of the charm of these early type of genre movies. Also for it's time this movie must have been pretty good and impressive looking at times. It's at least not as cheap looking as many other later Italian genre attempts. The earliest Hercules, or Ercole, movies are still definitely the better ones to watch.
Steve Reeves certainly was an impressive presence and for some reason he's far better than most other actors who ever portrayed the Ercole (Hercules) character in these type of movies, without having too impressive acting talents.
It's really too bad that the movie its middle part is so poor. The movie begins quite well and promising and also ends well, when the movie turns into a more spectacular one to watch.
5/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
You can say that these early Italian genre movies set the later standards for the swords & sandals genre. The first movie "Le fatiche di Ercole" began with this and this movie further expands it, without adding too much excitement or fun though. The movie has the looks and right characters involved but yet the movie only at times manages to become an interesting and good one to watch. Most of the time too little is happening, which is a shame and a waste.
The set and colors of it all might seem fake and silly looking by todays standards but this at the same time has become part of the charm of these early type of genre movies. Also for it's time this movie must have been pretty good and impressive looking at times. It's at least not as cheap looking as many other later Italian genre attempts. The earliest Hercules, or Ercole, movies are still definitely the better ones to watch.
Steve Reeves certainly was an impressive presence and for some reason he's far better than most other actors who ever portrayed the Ercole (Hercules) character in these type of movies, without having too impressive acting talents.
It's really too bad that the movie its middle part is so poor. The movie begins quite well and promising and also ends well, when the movie turns into a more spectacular one to watch.
5/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
- Boba_Fett1138
- Sep 24, 2009
- Permalink
Even as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 send-up, this one falls flat if you watch it more than once. The riffing of Joel and the bots is still entertaining, but it can't disguise the fact this film is pretty thin on usable plot and relies mostly on Steve Reeves rugged looks to sustain itself. Think Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder" and you'll see what I mean. As painful as this movie is with their jokes, it would be completely intolerable without them. From cheesy costumes to badly dubbed dialogue to acting even high school drama teachers would turn their noses up at, this movie is like a 1970's kung-fu flick minus the saving grace of people getting their butts kicked. In fact for a so-called Hercules movie, it's long on bad dialogue and short on good action. If you're going to watch something called Hercules you'd actually be better off seeing the animated Disney film.
The movie opens with the musclebound mythical Hercules ( Steve Reeves ), his recent wife Iole ( Sylva Koscina), and the young Ulysses (Gabriel Antonini) setting off for the city of Thebes , continuing the end of the quest for the Golden Fleece (depicted in the former picture , Hercules , that was essentially a recounting of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts). Their trip is interrupted when Hercules must do battle with the giant Anteus (Primo Carnera), whose strength seems to exceed his own until he realizes that Anteus is the son of the earth goddess, Gea, and can't be defeated on land. On their arrival in Thebes, the trio discovers that the kingdom is in the midst of civil war , Oedipus (Cesare Fantoni), the blind old king, is dying, and his two sons, Polynices (Mimmo Palmara) and Eteocles (Sergio Fantoni), are confronting for the throne and threatening to destroy each other and the populace. Hercules must leave Iole in the hands of one side in order to try and settle the dispute between the two would-be kings. While en route between the two armed camps, however, he is put under the spell of Omphale (Sylvia Lopez), the Queen of Lydia .Hercules drinks from a magic spring and lost his records , then the Queen casts out his memory , is seduced and tangles him as a lover , in addition Ulysses in tow pretending to be his deaf-mute servant. Ulysses must figure out how to keep himself alive, restore Hercules' record, get them both out of Omphale's grasp before she tires of amnesiac Hercules and has him killed , and get them both back to Thebes before the kingdom is burned to the ground. His solution arrives in the form of his father, Laertes ( Andrea Fantasia ), and Hercules' companions as Argo (Aldo Fiorelli) the shipbuilder and the Argonauts from his voyage for the Golden Fleece. They all escape Omphale's clutches and arrive at Thebes where the political tensions raise as war has broken out between the Edipo's sons and their armies , furthermore his new spouse finds herself in mortal risk . In a breathtaking denouement, Hercules brings his chariot into the middle of the thunderous fighting , knocking down assault towers and sweeping cavalry before him to halt the battle.
This mythological movie is plenty of adventures , emotions, thrills , atmospheric settings and colorful scenarios well photographed by the maestro Mario Bava . The plot this time is drawn from the legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes, which are most familiar to audiences through the Theban plays of Sophocles as Aedipus at Colonia and Seven against Thebes by Aeschylus . It is widely considered to be one of the top 10 greatest Peplum films of all time. This great film will surely attract a whole new generation of classic movie fans. And for seasoned cinematic connoseuirs, Hercules Unchained (1959) will rekindle an era of film making at its best. This is Steve Reeves' second and last film portrayal of Hercules is, in certain ways, better than his first . For others who simply enjoy watching timeless pieces with icons such as Steve Reeves. The corpulent Steve Reeves was a hunk man who made lots of roman epic films also called ¨Musclemen movies¨. Luck's Reeves changed when Italian director Pietro Francisci persuaded him to go overseas to star ¨Hercules¨ and sequel ¨Hercules and queen of Lydia also titled Hercules unchained ¨ that served as the prototypes of all cloak-and-sandal movies to come and both of them became a surprise US hit smash . Later on, he followed with ¨Goliath and the Barbarians, The giant of Marathon, The Trojan horse, The son of Spartacus and The Avenger¨ among them . Steve was an American bouncing who emigrated Italy and created a true star-system based on pumped-up heroes. He paved the way for other actors to seek their fame and fortune in Italy playing bouncing adventurers . Other stars by the time on this type of movies are Mark Forest, Gordon Mitchell, Dan Vadis, Brad Harris and 'Gordon Scott' who made him more important competence. Nobody, nevertheless, topped Steve in popularity . Rating : Good , high recommended for Peplum fans
This mythological movie is plenty of adventures , emotions, thrills , atmospheric settings and colorful scenarios well photographed by the maestro Mario Bava . The plot this time is drawn from the legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes, which are most familiar to audiences through the Theban plays of Sophocles as Aedipus at Colonia and Seven against Thebes by Aeschylus . It is widely considered to be one of the top 10 greatest Peplum films of all time. This great film will surely attract a whole new generation of classic movie fans. And for seasoned cinematic connoseuirs, Hercules Unchained (1959) will rekindle an era of film making at its best. This is Steve Reeves' second and last film portrayal of Hercules is, in certain ways, better than his first . For others who simply enjoy watching timeless pieces with icons such as Steve Reeves. The corpulent Steve Reeves was a hunk man who made lots of roman epic films also called ¨Musclemen movies¨. Luck's Reeves changed when Italian director Pietro Francisci persuaded him to go overseas to star ¨Hercules¨ and sequel ¨Hercules and queen of Lydia also titled Hercules unchained ¨ that served as the prototypes of all cloak-and-sandal movies to come and both of them became a surprise US hit smash . Later on, he followed with ¨Goliath and the Barbarians, The giant of Marathon, The Trojan horse, The son of Spartacus and The Avenger¨ among them . Steve was an American bouncing who emigrated Italy and created a true star-system based on pumped-up heroes. He paved the way for other actors to seek their fame and fortune in Italy playing bouncing adventurers . Other stars by the time on this type of movies are Mark Forest, Gordon Mitchell, Dan Vadis, Brad Harris and 'Gordon Scott' who made him more important competence. Nobody, nevertheless, topped Steve in popularity . Rating : Good , high recommended for Peplum fans
The quality of the film was much better than many of these that I've seen. Here are some observations. For some reason, every character is named after a Greek or Roman god. Ulysses is a dork. How could he have fought those battles with Hercules. During the brain freeze that takes up about half the movie, Hercules seems to be having a good time. What exactly caused the brain freeze? Did I miss something. There are a ton of fights. Armies attacking one man and losing, of course. Hercules is tempted but has an excuse in that he doesn't know who he is. As usual, there is an evil queen. Are there any of these movies that don't have an evil queen. I never quite got the whole thing with the two brothers and their fathers and the big conflict, other than they wanted to keep what they had. I must admit, I just couldn't get into it. I've had enough Hercules for a while.
I grew up watching this stuff as a Saturday afternoon matinee 30 years ago & now, it's still as much fun to watch.
Hercules, now married to Ioli, is returning to Thebes to help sort out a dispute over who has the rights to the throne of Thebes. Along the way, Hercules loses his memory & is seduced by the evil Amphale who goes through husbands like Elizabeth Taylor, however, Amphale is something of a black widow & uses a few Egyptians to preserve her ex-husbands in the family crypt.
However, one look at the rugged carved from granite Steve Reeves & all her black widow tendencies fly out the window, but she still wants him for good.
Of course it all ends up in a good ruckus with sword fights, chariot duels, Hercules throwing tables & coffins at rushing troops, 2 insane brothers with a hatred for each other (& their father) & inevitably the faithful sidekick who chimes in with a few vital day-saving moments.
Clint Eastwood may have been the king of the Spaghetti Western, but Steve Reeves was the king of the Spaghetti Swords & Sandals. So if that's your cup of tea, I recommend this movie as an excellent addition to your collection.
Hercules, now married to Ioli, is returning to Thebes to help sort out a dispute over who has the rights to the throne of Thebes. Along the way, Hercules loses his memory & is seduced by the evil Amphale who goes through husbands like Elizabeth Taylor, however, Amphale is something of a black widow & uses a few Egyptians to preserve her ex-husbands in the family crypt.
However, one look at the rugged carved from granite Steve Reeves & all her black widow tendencies fly out the window, but she still wants him for good.
Of course it all ends up in a good ruckus with sword fights, chariot duels, Hercules throwing tables & coffins at rushing troops, 2 insane brothers with a hatred for each other (& their father) & inevitably the faithful sidekick who chimes in with a few vital day-saving moments.
Clint Eastwood may have been the king of the Spaghetti Western, but Steve Reeves was the king of the Spaghetti Swords & Sandals. So if that's your cup of tea, I recommend this movie as an excellent addition to your collection.
- bensonmum2
- Aug 5, 2007
- Permalink
- KOknockout920
- May 12, 2006
- Permalink
Laughing heartily in the face of danger, Steve Reeves leads the way in Hercules: Unchained, a film about just how much tail you can get with a good beard. Okay, so there's a story about two sassy brothers' fight over a kingdom, a random encounter with the son of the Earth god and waters of forgetfulness... great. The real story here: oiled-up men in loincloths having their way with giggling servant girls. This movie jam packed with servant girls running from Herc and Ulysses down stairs, around corners and pretty much any direction that shows off the goods. As if that wasn't enough to get you totally pumped about this movie while cleaning the house... fake tigers! If you're a fan of fake tigers in fake tiger fights... you'll need to rent this one soon. Mostly though, its about the servant girls. 8 out of 10.
But kind of forgetful. Which makes sense I get, because he doesn't get history right - ok so it's actually the filmmaker who doesn't get it right, but you get the point. Steve Reeves played Hercules a couple of times and he did do a blueprint sort of.
Hopefully you don't feel strange about everyone speaking english back then, but it was easier to market that way. Sword and Sandal movies where the thing, especially throughout the 60s. Choose your movies wisely
Hopefully you don't feel strange about everyone speaking english back then, but it was easier to market that way. Sword and Sandal movies where the thing, especially throughout the 60s. Choose your movies wisely
(1959) Hercules Unchained/ Ercole e la regina di Lidia (Hercules and the Queen of Lydia)
DUBBED
HISTORICAL FICTION/ ACTION
Co-written and co- directed by Pietro Francisci starring Steve Reeves playing the title character Hercules as he and his bride Lole (Sylva Koscina) and personal friend Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini) returns to his original home of Thebes, only to find that it was not what it used to be. It becomes complicated when Hercules loses his memory as that what the movie spends much of its time on him recovering all the things he should have remembered. He also ends up fighting on the opposition side as he is manipulated.
Co-written and co- directed by Pietro Francisci starring Steve Reeves playing the title character Hercules as he and his bride Lole (Sylva Koscina) and personal friend Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini) returns to his original home of Thebes, only to find that it was not what it used to be. It becomes complicated when Hercules loses his memory as that what the movie spends much of its time on him recovering all the things he should have remembered. He also ends up fighting on the opposition side as he is manipulated.
- jordondave-28085
- Nov 23, 2023
- Permalink
This film deserves at least some credit for having pretty good color effects. This was again in the early days of color. The acting and dialogue aren't even that bad. I will say that it's still a bad movie and you shouldn't recommend it. It's mostly because the plot is hard to follow. Then again, I'm not sure if it's that the plot itself is hard to follow, it's just that you don't really care. Most of us are probably familiar with Greek mythology. They reference the names a lot, but there isn't enough of a story to really care.
The final battle scene isn't bad, but what weighs this film down is the hokey acting. I feel bad for not knowing everyone's names. I mean, it's not a memorable movie, but you'd think I'd least know the names of the figures from classical Mythology. It just doesn't do it any justice. The weirdest part is probably when this one guy randomly goes nuts on the bed. I think this may be the longest movie ever featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I've heard the running time be 105 or 107 or just 96 minutes. I only saw 75 minutes on the version, but I'm too lazy to go and watch the whole full version. I just think that version is enough and besides, it's nothing to write home about. *1/2
The final battle scene isn't bad, but what weighs this film down is the hokey acting. I feel bad for not knowing everyone's names. I mean, it's not a memorable movie, but you'd think I'd least know the names of the figures from classical Mythology. It just doesn't do it any justice. The weirdest part is probably when this one guy randomly goes nuts on the bed. I think this may be the longest movie ever featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I've heard the running time be 105 or 107 or just 96 minutes. I only saw 75 minutes on the version, but I'm too lazy to go and watch the whole full version. I just think that version is enough and besides, it's nothing to write home about. *1/2
- ericstevenson
- Jun 14, 2016
- Permalink
Seriously folks, you won't miss anything. There's supposed to be a story about why Hercules left his wife and gets seduced by a foreign queen, then being rescued but all of that sounds a lot more exciting than what actually transpires over an hour and ten minutes. There's some politics, an old king's lament, and a few feats of strength, but nothing not seen later on or in other Hercules movies. The script actually gets worse as the movie drones on, acting is statuesque (meaning like stone, not in a good way), and I can't tell if there's any directing actually going on.
The end tries to rescue the film with an epic battle for a city, a fight with tigers, and a duel between kings. Some cool scenes can be found in the melee, but too little, too late for this tragic mess of a movie.
The end tries to rescue the film with an epic battle for a city, a fight with tigers, and a duel between kings. Some cool scenes can be found in the melee, but too little, too late for this tragic mess of a movie.
When I was growing up in the 60's I used to go matinées and watch Hercules and even the later TV series with Kevin Sorbo as Hercules.I read that Hercules is the son of Zeus and as the years passed into my later 40's I finally grew to accept there is only one God.The one who counts and God made it clear in His 1st Commandment Thou Shalt Not Have No Other gods Before Me.Zeus is a (false god) I used to think the Hercules films and TV show and even the cartoon were great,But after God wrote His Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai which I call The Capitol Of God's World was all I needed to know God is the only God,all other gods and goddesses are false and they go against God's 1st Commandment.So it was written by My Father.
- RichieLovesGodHisFather
- Jun 16, 2008
- Permalink
"Hercules Unchained" (1959) is an Italian/French/Spanish sword & sandal flick in the mold of Kirk Douglas' "Ulysses" (1954). "Hercules Unchained" is more of the same, with a similar plot, i.e. the journeying hero forgets who he is while bewitched by a beautiful babe on some island. "Samson and Delilah" (1949) is the crowning predecessor of the genre.
Californian muscleman Steve Reeves plays the titular hero/god to perfection. Reeves is most known for his Hercules role but interestingly only played the part twice, in this film and the first one "Hercules" (1958). Anyway, one good side-effect of watching Reeves is that it will likely inspire guys to get in shape (the way Stallone does when watching Rambo).
In this film Herc is married to the beautiful Iole (Sylva Koscina), but he forgets his wife and homeland after drinking of the waters of forgetfulness and falls under the spell of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) of the isle Lidia. So Herc is caught between two beauties: Sylva and Sylvia.
"Hercules Unchained" can be enjoyed by both youths and adults. It's a fun fantasy adventure with dated "effects," but it also addresses a few mature themes.
One theme is the boneheaded predilection of men to sexual gratification and their intrinsic weakness to the spell of feminine beauty. Herc is married to cutie Iole (Sylva), but it wasn't too hard for him to fall under the power of Omphale (Sylvia). And he has the perfect excuse: "Aduh, I forgot."
Another theme is that feminine power can be used for good or evil, productivity or destruction. Iole (Sylva) uses her feminine charms to catch herself a manly hunk (Reeves) for a husband and family, while Sylvia (Omphale) uses her womanly power to capture a never-ending succession of studs, literally. Sylva wants a lifelong mate and family, whereas Sylvia is a black widow who kills her "conquests" after she gets bored with 'em and puts 'em in her trophy case, so to speak.
Look around and you'll see both types of women in real life. One girl I knew in high school, for example, would catch herself a hunk boyfriend and ultimately start cheating on him when she eventually got bored; she would then let go of the boyfriend and officially hook up with the guy she was cheating with; once she got bored of him she'd start cheating with the next guy, ultimately dropping the boyfriend for him, ad nauseam. She was notorious, just like Omphale (Sylvia). She would even break up best friends with her expert feminine powers. The lunkheads could never come to the realization of what she was doing because they were too mesmerized by her bewitching charms.
Interestingly, Sylva is beautiful in a cute way, whereas Sylvia is beautiful in a sharp, leggy way. Both are worth catching the film for if you're a red-blooded male.
Another theme is that of negative rivalry. The two siblings vie for kingship (or control) of Thebes. Proud rivalry begats enmity and violence, and ultimately mutually assured self-destruction. Both actors are outstanding, displaying a palpable royal pomp.
The sets and costuming are noteworthy. Mario Bava did the cinematography and special effects, as well as some directing, so the film has that colorful Bava look.
BOTTOM LINE: If you can overlook certain dated aspects (like the editing) "Hercules Unchained" is enjoyable on numerous levels, both juvenile and mature. It's the obvious precursor to more modern films like "Troy" (2004).
The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes (with some prints 4 minutes shorter), and was shot at Titanus Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy.
GRADE: B
Californian muscleman Steve Reeves plays the titular hero/god to perfection. Reeves is most known for his Hercules role but interestingly only played the part twice, in this film and the first one "Hercules" (1958). Anyway, one good side-effect of watching Reeves is that it will likely inspire guys to get in shape (the way Stallone does when watching Rambo).
In this film Herc is married to the beautiful Iole (Sylva Koscina), but he forgets his wife and homeland after drinking of the waters of forgetfulness and falls under the spell of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) of the isle Lidia. So Herc is caught between two beauties: Sylva and Sylvia.
"Hercules Unchained" can be enjoyed by both youths and adults. It's a fun fantasy adventure with dated "effects," but it also addresses a few mature themes.
One theme is the boneheaded predilection of men to sexual gratification and their intrinsic weakness to the spell of feminine beauty. Herc is married to cutie Iole (Sylva), but it wasn't too hard for him to fall under the power of Omphale (Sylvia). And he has the perfect excuse: "Aduh, I forgot."
Another theme is that feminine power can be used for good or evil, productivity or destruction. Iole (Sylva) uses her feminine charms to catch herself a manly hunk (Reeves) for a husband and family, while Sylvia (Omphale) uses her womanly power to capture a never-ending succession of studs, literally. Sylva wants a lifelong mate and family, whereas Sylvia is a black widow who kills her "conquests" after she gets bored with 'em and puts 'em in her trophy case, so to speak.
Look around and you'll see both types of women in real life. One girl I knew in high school, for example, would catch herself a hunk boyfriend and ultimately start cheating on him when she eventually got bored; she would then let go of the boyfriend and officially hook up with the guy she was cheating with; once she got bored of him she'd start cheating with the next guy, ultimately dropping the boyfriend for him, ad nauseam. She was notorious, just like Omphale (Sylvia). She would even break up best friends with her expert feminine powers. The lunkheads could never come to the realization of what she was doing because they were too mesmerized by her bewitching charms.
Interestingly, Sylva is beautiful in a cute way, whereas Sylvia is beautiful in a sharp, leggy way. Both are worth catching the film for if you're a red-blooded male.
Another theme is that of negative rivalry. The two siblings vie for kingship (or control) of Thebes. Proud rivalry begats enmity and violence, and ultimately mutually assured self-destruction. Both actors are outstanding, displaying a palpable royal pomp.
The sets and costuming are noteworthy. Mario Bava did the cinematography and special effects, as well as some directing, so the film has that colorful Bava look.
BOTTOM LINE: If you can overlook certain dated aspects (like the editing) "Hercules Unchained" is enjoyable on numerous levels, both juvenile and mature. It's the obvious precursor to more modern films like "Troy" (2004).
The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes (with some prints 4 minutes shorter), and was shot at Titanus Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy.
GRADE: B
- BandSAboutMovies
- Dec 1, 2020
- Permalink
Hercules becomes amnesiac after drinking from the waters of Lethe. For years, the beautiful queen Omphale has been abducting warrior men who become amnesiacs off to her exotic paradise island where they give themselves up to sexual pleasures until the day she tires of them. That's the day they die, only to be immortalized as statuary in her garden of conquests. Hercules soon finds himself abducted and like all the others he is her completely willing slave.
But this time her soldiers bring back Hercules' traveling companion Ulysses, who has saved his life by pretending to be the hero's deaf-mute body servant. Ulysses continues in that role during Hercules' captivity and by keeping Hercules from drinking more of the magical water, restores his memory.
'I've been tricked by the gods.' is his summation of the situation. After all, he had been on an important mission of state with his wife the virtual hostage of a madman when all this happened. Of course he gets away, the first of Ompahle's slaves to escape her net. She statue-tizes herself over the lose and the movie moves on to its conclusion.
All Sons of Hercules movies have this same plot: Hercules falls under the sway of a powerful, beautiful and evil woman but comes to his senses and saves the day. At its core it is about sex and the taboo predilection of men to seek this enslavement. This plot is not fashionable any more. Too much sexual freedom in modern society has robbed it of its power. But it had power (over men) in the sixties, and this film exploited it expertly.
But this time her soldiers bring back Hercules' traveling companion Ulysses, who has saved his life by pretending to be the hero's deaf-mute body servant. Ulysses continues in that role during Hercules' captivity and by keeping Hercules from drinking more of the magical water, restores his memory.
'I've been tricked by the gods.' is his summation of the situation. After all, he had been on an important mission of state with his wife the virtual hostage of a madman when all this happened. Of course he gets away, the first of Ompahle's slaves to escape her net. She statue-tizes herself over the lose and the movie moves on to its conclusion.
All Sons of Hercules movies have this same plot: Hercules falls under the sway of a powerful, beautiful and evil woman but comes to his senses and saves the day. At its core it is about sex and the taboo predilection of men to seek this enslavement. This plot is not fashionable any more. Too much sexual freedom in modern society has robbed it of its power. But it had power (over men) in the sixties, and this film exploited it expertly.
This Italian sword-and-sandal adaptation of Hercules's adventures has good action and decent costumes, being amusing and, comparatively to most films about Greek mythology, it is not so inaccurate. Many situations happen in different circumstances or with alternative details and outcomes. However, the events that are connected in this film are indeed from Hercules's myths, and not borrowed from Belerophon or Perseus, as unfortunately often happens recurrently in cinema. Ulysses also appears here, as a young boy, and, despite being adapted to a story centered in Hercules, all his major traits do appear correctly in the movie: he is clever, a good archer and a master of disguise. The wrestling contest between Hercules and giant Antaeus is quite nice, although with a somewhat different (and softer) outcome and in a different moment: here, Hercules is not going to the Garden of Hesperides but to his hometown Thebes. The hero is also followed by his wife Iole, with whom he is shown in a very romantic and delicate relationship. Indeed, in mythology, she had not married him despite his wish, and became his concumbine when he was married to Deianira. The meeting with Lydian queen Omphale also happens in a very different circumstance in the movie relatively to well-known mythological event. There are also geographic and zoologic mistakes: Lydia is presented as an island (while it was located in continental Anatolia), there were not tigers in Thebes as shown in the film (if they decided alternatively to include lions, it would have been better, as those animals did live in Greece), and Omphale had no connections to Egypt (although other Greek myths had). The feud between brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and the position of Creon (at least in relation to Theban throne) are consistent with mythology (although quite summarized and lacking lots of information). On thenother hand, Oedypus appearance seems more symbolic than coherent. To resume, while obviously neither being a masterpiece or fully true to Greek mythology, this is a nice old fantasy movie, which brings more correct elements of Greek myths than most films, including the most recent ones.
The sequel to the original Hercules film has Steve Reeves just trying to get back home to Sylva Koscina and settle down and raise little muscle dudes. But he gets a mission from old King Oedipus living at the edge of the underworld. His two sons are not living up to what was a really crazy power sharing scheme whereby they would alternate the monarchy of Thebes for year intervals. The first one's year is up and he doesn't want to give up his royal prerogatives. The other one has hired a mercenary army and is threatening civil war.
While Hercules is trying to mediate the conflict he gets to drinking from the waters of forgetfulness and wakes up in the palace of Queen Omphale played by a fetching Sylvia Lopez. This woman with the help of some embalmers trained in Egypt is collecting a beautiful lifelike statuary and after some servicing by Hercules, she wants to add him to her trophy room.
This second Hercules film that starred Steve Reeves is a cut above most of the peplums out there. It even has an appearance by former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera who towers over Reeves playing the giant Anteas.
Nice stuff for the Saturday matinée trade.
While Hercules is trying to mediate the conflict he gets to drinking from the waters of forgetfulness and wakes up in the palace of Queen Omphale played by a fetching Sylvia Lopez. This woman with the help of some embalmers trained in Egypt is collecting a beautiful lifelike statuary and after some servicing by Hercules, she wants to add him to her trophy room.
This second Hercules film that starred Steve Reeves is a cut above most of the peplums out there. It even has an appearance by former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera who towers over Reeves playing the giant Anteas.
Nice stuff for the Saturday matinée trade.
- bkoganbing
- Dec 18, 2010
- Permalink