Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Photo of the Day

Belinda Lee, as MESSALINA(1960) tends to Spiros Focás' desires.

A PEPLUM that stands out from the rest of the pack not necessarily because it's great but because of its style and tone. It's totally different than any other Sword & Sandal films of the period: the main character is not meant to be likeable, the production values are tops but more realistic, not as flamboyant and the film wavers between dead seriousness and outright goofiness. It's an odd combination that's present in other Italian/Euro epics but not as jarring as in this film. It's very good but sometimes it's a head-scratcher. 

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