Wednesday, April 3, 2019

By the Gods!

Roland Carey and Sandro Moretti in the action-packed climax in SWORD OF EL CID (1962)

Carey, who was Jason in THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960), plays the villain. The impressive actor was versatile in many athletic endeavours, including fencing. Sandro doesn't seem to be a match to him but you can figure out how this scene will end.

Note on the production: this modest action PEPLUM, capitalizing on the big budget Hollywood epic, EL-CID (1961) starring Charlton Heston, is fun to watch. It's not comparable to the Heston film but it's fun nonetheless. The one problem with this movie (and others of the genre) is the setting. First, the landscape seen in the background is not the same as the exteriors seen throughout most of the film. More verdant than the dry landscape here. This tells me that the castle was either in a completely different location or these scenes were filmed in a different season. It's quite jarring to see. Second, the castle itself. It looks like it's rundown and abandoned. Couldn't they have just make the setting a bit more presentable. You know, cut the weeds and grass growing on it. Add some missing bricks, props and stuff to make it look lived-in. It doesn't seem to be much of a kingdom worth fighting for.




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