Friday, September 9, 2016

By the Gods!

The tempestuous relationship between Lex Barker and Chelo Alonso in THE PIRATE & THE SLAVE GIRL

Yesterday, I uploaded two clips from this film at my PEPLUM TV Youtube channel. As I was creating these videos I quickly noticed the sequences / editing of the English version differed from the German version. In some parts, the audio didn't match with the image of the German copy. This is one of the films that desperately needs a Fan Dub. The audio of the English version is good but the image is terrible, but since the English version might not match with the picture of the German copy, it might be difficult to create a Fan Dub. I'll do more tests. I like this film. Both Lex and Chelo play anti-heroes of sorts and it's refreshing to see 'bad' guys being the leads. Ironically, the good guy in this film is Massimo Serato, who always plays bad guys in PEPLUM films. This alone makes it worth watching.

7 comments:

Scott Ochiltree said...

I agree that this is a most enjoyable Peplum.

If a fan dub is too difficult, subtitles would be fine for me (and probably many of your other fans).

Goo luck if you decide to tackle this project!

Anonymous said...

How on earth is this a peplum film? Every European costume picture with a sword isn't automatically peplum.

PEPLUM TV said...

Anonymous, you're confused. This is a typical PEPLUM film

Anonymous said...

You are right. I am confused. Just what is your definition of a Peplum film? It certainly is different from mine. Maybe you know something I don't. Do you consider Sword of Sherwood Forest to be a Peplum film too? If so, how? I really would be interested in knowing.

PEPLUM TV said...

Any film set in Antiquity can be considered to be a PEPLUM film as long as it falls under the PEPLUM umbrella. Many historical costume films aren't PEPLUM films but many films considered to be 'costume dramas' fall under the PEPLUM umbrella. THE PIRATE AND THE SLAVE GIRL is a perfect example of a PEPLUM film. Its production is 100% PEPLUM : cast, director, music, locations, screenplay. The film follows the same style and pattern of a PEPLUM film. There's no difference between this film and let's say ALI BABA & THE SEVEN SARACENS, which is a PEPLUM film.

The term PEPLUM was coined by French film critic as an umbrella term to describe films like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS to HERCULES (1958) to even recently JOHN CARTER film (Le Monde called it a PEPLUM in space).

http://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2012/03/06/john-carter-peplum-cosmique-et-numerique_1652129_3476.html

PEPLUM is a good term because it's a word that covers all categories. For a lot of people when they see a film set in Antiquity they call it a Biblical film or a Historical film. But HERCULES (1958) has nothing to do with Christianity and in essence it's not a Historical film but a film of Mythology. Same thing with something like ALEXANDER THE GREAT. It's not a Biblical film and yet a lot of people might confuse it as such since the story takes place in the past and people wear costumes. Same thing with CLEOPATRA (1963) etc.

So a PEPLUM depends on production and story / setting. It also depends on its sexiness. Most, but not all, but most PEPLUM films also have a lot of cheesecake and beefcake. It's de rigueur. A film like PIRATE & THE SLAVE GIRL has plenty of both.

Anonymous said...

When the French coined the phrase Peplum it was used to describe the cheaper European epic movies set in ancient times...Greek, Roman, Egyptian, mythological etc. It was never meant to include the big blockbusters like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, and Cleopatra. It was also not meant to include pirate movies and costume pictures set in Medieval times. I understand what you are saying about a movie like Pirate and the Slave Girl. The same people who worked on Peplum films are responsible for it but it is not a Peplum film by virtue of the time period in which it is set. Anyway, that is my opinion if you agree with it
or not. The important thing is that these movies be taken seriously, whatever they are called, and not dismissed as they have been over the years. Your website has done much to gain them the respectability they deserve.

PEPLUM TV said...

The time period is not the only important factor for the determining a PEPLUM. That's very odd. Yes, in general PEPLUM films are set in the distant past (Egypt, Ancient Rome, Babylon, etc) but the time period of stories can be as recent as the Renaissance. Many PEPLUM films actually happen in the present and go in the past and come back in the present again and they are PEPLUM films. MACISTE VS HERCULES IN THE VALE OF WOE or TIBERIUS just to name a few.

MACISTE IN HELL takes place entirely in 17th century Scotland and we see Maciste go in hell and it's most definitely a PEPLUM.

ZORRO VS MACISTE (Samson & the Slave Queen) or HERCULES AGAINST THE BLACK PiRATE or HERCULES AGAINST THE MASKED RIDER are PEPLUM films even if the time period is not, according to you, correct. Same thing with COLOSSUS OF THE STONE AGE. Time is not a determining factor. It's the elements, the style, the storyline, etc.

Also, I've read some old French film reviews of big Hollywood blockbusters and some used the term Peplum. It wasn't just for cheap films made in Europe. Also, I wouldn't call FABIOLA or other prestige films made in Europe at the time "cheap" films and they always been described as PEPLUM films.

Every book today lists all those titles as PEPLUM. Google even categorizes THE ROBE as a PEPLUM. See link.

http://www.peplumtv.com/2016/08/blog-notes-peplum-tv-has-conquered-world.html