SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960)

This spectacular scene is one of the highlights of the movie and of the PEPLUM genre itself. Directed by Riccardo Freda, I still can't figure out how it was achieved. In this scene, you can see the small figure of Jason (Roland Carey, below) walk towards the statue unobstructed. This means the bottom part of the shot is a real and big set. The statue itself looks like a model and not a matte shot. I believe the sides and the statue are in the foreground, closer to the camera, while Carey and the water surface and plinths are part of a real set in the background. We see smoke flowing in between the sides and the statue. Therefore it's not a matte. This shot plays with perspective. In a brilliant way. I can't wait to see this in HD one day!

 

The armor of Phillip II of Macedon

The father of Alexander the Great was equally important, powerful and famous. Unlike Alexander, the tomb of Phillip II was found in the 1970s. The location of the tomb of Alexander the Great is still a mystery. And this armor and shield was found in it.  It's quite amazing. At the bottom is an AI  representation of the King.

Link

Musings!

Tanya (Chelo Alonso) learns from her dying father, Igor (Folco Lulli) that she'll be the next leader in QUEEN OF THE TARTARS (1960)

This movie is also known as THE HUNS, which I don't like. The story is about Tanya becoming leader. QUEEN OF THE TARTARS is very specific to the story while THE HUNS is just too general to be acceptable. This is one of Chelo's roles as leading lady. After the success of GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959), she was probably hot property and landed this role. She's pretty good in it. Directed by Sergio Grieco, the machismo is at 110% even if it's the story is centered around a woman. The costumes are a bit too 'costumey' but I like it, certainly the out of left field ending. Unfortunately, it's the PEPLUM movie with the ugliest poster ever!

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Belgian poster of GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961) 

Typically colourful poster from Belgium. But the artwork looks nothing like the movie. I think it's taken from a Kirk Morris movie.

Next week's banner!

Brad Harris in SAMSON got the most votes, after counting the votes here at the blog and at Facebook and X. So it's the banner for this week. Sylva will come back as a choice for another time.

Here are the choices for next week's banner.

Dancers from APHRODITE - GODDESS OF LOVE (1958) or Reg Park and Wandisa Guida in MACISTE IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1964)

Image of the week!

Ursus (Samson Burke) is forced to work on a millstone in VENGEANCE OF URSUS (1961)

PEPLUM Movie Quotes

 REVENGE OF THE BARBARIANS (1960) starring Daniela Rocca and Mario Scaccia

Onorius (talking to rooster): Or shall we say Caius Petilius (sp)? He's as brave as anyone. He's up on all the arts of warfare and I'm told he's always been very lucky which is a gift that's indispensable if one decides to become a great warrior.

Galla Placidia: You're still trying to make a counsellor out of your rooster who is so much wiser than you that he will certainly never give his approval whatever you propose.

Onorius: But why? Why shouldn't he give me an answer?

Galla Placidia: It would seem that the names you suggested aren't worth one single cock-a-doodle-doo.

Next week's blog banner!

Vote on which banner you want to see next week. I also count the votes posted on Facebook and X (twitter). For now, it's a tie, with 3 votes for Sylva and 3 votes for Brad. 

The banner is changed on Sunday night.

Sylva Koscina in SIEGE OF SYRACUSE or Brad Harris in SAMSON?

BY THE GODS! magazine issue no 4 on sale for a limited time!

Support the blog by buying the newest issue of BY THE GODS! Information on the discount at the link below:

BY THE GODS! magazine issue no 4

Musings!

Alan Steel, as Ursus, and his two Annoying Sidekicks, Arnaldo Dell'Acqua and Enzo Maggio, in THE THREE AVENGERS (1964)

I've already written about this movie in the past. I like it. Except for those two industrial-strength 'Annoying Sidekicks' of Ursus. They almost ruin the movie. Almost. But the location, great cast and, well, just Alan himself is enough to overlook those two liabilities. The story is not super compelling and there's a bizarre 'blind' interlude that doesn't go anywhere but for the most part is an eye-pleasing, fun movie. So today I want to write about Alan. 

Mind you, Alan is my second favourite PEPLUM star, right after Steve Reeves. I think he just adds so much to the movies he's in. With that being said, and if I'm being honest, Alan had some issue with body weight. In some movies he's super fit. In other, he obviously gained some weight, like in HERCULES AND THE BLACK PIRATE (1964). He still looked great but...plump. Sorta what they call Fit Fat. In this movie he's in between the two stages. The costume he wears here, well, mostly the pants, don't help him. I don't know if it's because of the heat of the Tunisian location, but his hair looks terrible as well. It's an odd situation in which his appearance fluctuated so much between productions. Sometimes even during the entire movie itself (movies can, in some cases, take months to shoot). It's the same thing with Steve Reeves but not weight issues but how his physique changed so much in between movies. In THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959), Steve looked fashion model slim but in HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959), he looked massive. It's one of those particular things which is part of dealing with and that's very specific to the PEPLUM genre.

Behind-the-Scenes

Fabrizio Mioni (Jason), Gianna Maria Canale (Antea) and Steve Reeves (Hercules) relax on the set of HERCULES (1958)

Clip of the week: THE SON OF SPARTACUS (1962)

Randus (Steve Reeves) escapes with the help of a friend (Hassan Ahmed) with good teeth. With Enzo Fiermonte.

 

Portrait

José Greci as Regia in GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963)

HD Alert!

Sybil Danning and Donald Pleasance in WARRIOR QUEEN (1987)

I got this HD copy a couple of years ago but never got to write about it. It's one of those Sex & Sandals movies from the 1980s, ala CALIGULA (1979), but on a much smaller budget. Joe D'Amato is credited so if you know you know. The movie is sorta listless and there's very little acting to be found. There are two versions, a shorter one with less explicit stuff and a longer version with more explicit stuff. Personally, I like it not because it's good (it's not) but this is the closest to a PEPLUM movie from the Golden Era made in the 1980s. Incidentally, the movie, which is set in Pompeii, has a lot of scenes from old PEPLUM movies, mostly from THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959), the Steve Reeves one. I love watching this back and forth switch. The HD copy I have is the shorter version and the image is surprisingly nice. The story centres around slaves sold to bored and lustful people who try to have their way with the women and men. There's even a character named Goliath but he's a bad guy. I'll post a clip from it soon. I don't remember what's the source of the print.

Added to the List of PEPLUM movies in HD permanent page.

 

Rick Hill and Tally Chanel.

Yes, there's gladiatorial action in it...so I'm watching it. 😂

Vintage Article

I posted this article years ago but it was incomplete. Here's the completed introduction.

 

Wandisa Guida and Samson Burke.

French article on Samson Burke on the filming of VENGEANCE OF URSUS. The title translates as: Yes, the first world war of muscle has been declared. 

The article starts with Wandisa Guida commenting on Burke's wide shoulders.

Musings!

Anne Heywood, as Fulvia, is about to be sacrificed in CARTHAGE IN FLAMES (1960)

This scene is way too short in the movie. The poster art of most posters for this movie feature the sacrificial offering scene but it happens so fast, you blink and you might miss it. It's one of the many frustrating things about this super-production. Her sacrifice is the pivotal point in the relationship dynamic between the main lead characters. She loves a man who doesn't love her, etc. The direction of the scene is very simple. In 5 shots or so. The direction is not bad but at times it feel like a rough cut, and not the final cut. In the versions I have, Anne appears very briefly topless. I don't know if it's the same in the US version. Anne's real name is Violet Pretty.

Blog's banner and a forum for 2026?

As you might have noticed, I changed the blog's banner for a new one. It's the poster art of HEAD OF A TYRANT (1959). For 2026, I want to change the banner every week! Instead of having just one banner for the entire year, to switch things up and have a new one on a weekly basis. 

Do you like the idea? Or prefer one banner for the whole year?

To make it more fun, I'll show two or different banners and people can vote on which one they prefer. The one that gets the most votes will be the banner for next week!

So let's start now. For next week's banner, which one do you prefer? 

Sylva Koscina in SIEGE OF SYRACUSE or Brad Harris in SAMSON?

If the weekly change for a banner fizzles out, I'll create one for the year. I'd like to do a weekly banner because it features movies that will never get featured otherwise in a banner.

And now about a forum...

Many have stated they wished there was a forum for the blog or on the PEPLUM genre. If I create one, will you post there? As I stated before, I actually created two forums in the blog's 15 years and no one posted anything.

I have to find a decent blog creator. It's quite different than how it was years ago.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Japanese poster of THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) 

I usually find Japanese posters of PEPLUM movies amazing. This one is rather ordinary. It doesn't help that the image of Steve they used is not flattering at all. 😂 It's good but not wow good.

BY THE GODS! issue no 4

Thank you to all of those who bought the latest issue of BY THE GODS! magazine no 4, DISASTER HITS! The more of you buy, the greater chance the magazine will keep being published. Sales have been good. Someone bought all 4 issues. Thank you whoever you are! I'm currently working on the next Spring/Summer issue. 

Check the links from time to time to see if there are discounts!

A reminder as well: I'm not responsible for the publishing and shipping of the magazine. MagCloud is.

New Issue no 4

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3205057

Issue no 3

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2963938

Issue no 2

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2740217

Issue no 1

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2574706

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year to all my followers and visitors, regulars and casual lurkers! 

Brigitte Bardot RIP

Brigitte Bardot in HELEN OF TROY (1956)

Ending the year on a sad note, Brigitte Bardot, one of France's biggest stars, died on December 28 at the age of 91. Adding her to the long list of actresses who passed away recently. I liked her a lot. She only did three movies that fall under the PEPLUM umbrella but they are memorable.

Au revoir Brigitte!

One of Brigitte's first noticeable roles was in ROYAL AFFAIRS IN VERSAILLES (1953; Si Versailles m'était conté). She's very charming in it.

Brigitte played Poppea in NERO'S BIG WEEKEND (1956). This one really put her on the map. She held her own against much bigger stars like Gloria Swanson (below) and Alberto Sordi. It's a fun role.

Brigitte and Jacques Sernas in HELEN OF TROY (1956)

Brigitte's next noticeable role was also a 1956 movie, HELEN OF TROY. She had a supporting role as a slave but her role was memorable and when she became a superstar, the re-releases of the movie had her on top billing. 

Musings!

Agrippina's handmaiden is swiftly killed in NERO AND THE BURNING OF ROME (1953)

In this movie, people, mostly women, are dispatched in a blink of an eye. It's quite amazing how brutal everything was, or at least in this movie. Agrippina came into power after plotting to kill Valeria Messalina (the infamous Messalina), the third wife of Emperor Claudius, in a swift and brutal scene. The movie starts with this scene! With Valeria Messalina's death, Agrippina married Claudius. Since she was the mother of Nero, Claudius adopted Nero. When Claudius died, Nero became Emperor at a young age. As an adult, Nero was married to his second wife, Poppea, which Agrippina wanted dead. We see her death in a brutal scene (she was pregnant btw). Waiting in line is Statilia Messalina, who was a mistress to Nero. When Poppea was killed by Nero, Statilia became his third wife. In this scene, after killing the handmaiden, the one on the right kills Agrippina and the men toss Agrippina's body into the sea. Also, we see Britannicus killed by poison. Phew! There's more killings than a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie. The portrayal of Agrippina is always different in almost every movie. She's either extremely evil or she's just cunning. BTW, the actors are extras and not credited. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

French poster of THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) 

This is an odd poster. The title is different but it was also released as LES DERNIERS JOURS DE POMPEI. Both Mario Bonnard and Sergio Leone are on the poster while the actors, including Steve Reeves, are barely noticeable. I've seen some with Sergio Leone crossed out. For Bonnard, they state 'Mise en scene' and for Leone is 'Realisation,' which, technically, is the same thing. I wonder if this a re-release. Disasters in PEPLUM movies is the subject of the main article in the latest BY THE GODS! magazine issue 4.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! Thank you for your continued support.

Musings!

Sabina Crassus (Gianna Maria Canale) torments her new slave, Amytis (Ludmilla Tchérina), while Marcus Virilius Rufus (Vittorio Sanipoli) watches, in SPARTACUS - SINS OF ROME (1953)

15 years ago, I started the blog with a post about this movie, and when 2025 ends, so will be its 15th anniversary. I like this movie in Black & White. I could have colourized the photo but I love it like this. IMO, a masterpiece!

NOTE: I'll be taking some time off during Christmas week and will post irregularly during New Years week!