HD Alert!

Lisa Gastoni and Jerome Courtland in QUEEN OF THE SEAS (1961) 

A pristine print for this fun Swashbuckler from Italy and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Streaming in Europe. Aside from some transition scenes, and Jerome's bad hair day, there are no issues to report here. The one who provided this version also added the English audio to it. The movie is in the latest issue of BY THE GODS! magazine under 'Female Trouble.'

Updated the page 'List of PEPLUM movies in HD' 

Germano Longo and Lisa Gastoni

Cristal clear image.

Then & Now: Michèlle Mercier

Michèlle Mercier in WOMEN OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (1962); A recent photo of the actress

Musings!

Rosanna Schiaffino is a bad babe in THE LONG SHIPS (1964) 

This movie is an oddity in the PEPLUM genre. Produced by Columbia Picture with a predominantly Hollywood cast, except for Rosanna. It was released relatively late, in 1964, just as the genre was petering out. It was directed by the legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who didn't direct that many films. And he agreed to do a boisterous PEPLUM movie? This is the closest Hollywood has ever come to making an all out PEPLUM movie, along with ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT (1961). Personally, I like it but I don't find the story, about the bell, compelling enough. By the one hour mark, my mind is drifting away. I don't mind Richard Widmark but a Viking hero he is not. Sydney Poitier was, by then, an established actor and as good as he is, he seems above it (like Widmark). The only one that seems to get it is Rosanna. Her role in this movie is essentially the same role she played in her very first film, ROLAND THE MIGHTY (1956). She was great in that and she's the best thing in this movie. Her expression here sums it up. She seems like she's the only one having fun. I wrote about ROLAND THE MIGHTY in the latest issue of BY THE GODS! magazine. THE LONG SHIPS is a mix of Vikings and Arabian adventure. Cardiff was the cinematographer on THE VKINGS (1958), the Kirk Douglas movie. Widmark sorta resembles Kirk. Did I already write that it's very over-the-top boisterous? 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Italian poster of THE LONG SHIPS (1964) 

The portraits are very good but they made Richard Widmark look a bit too scraggly. 

BY THE GODS! issue 5 now available

BY THE GODS! issue 5 is now available to purchase

It's all about Swashbucklers, pirates, heroes in breeches! The subject is huge so there's a lot of stuff to cover. There are two categories: Land Adventures and Seven Seas Adventures. I wrote that there are two movies that influenced each individual category. 

Click on the link below.

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

Image of the week!

Aeneas (Steve Reeves) meets Achilles (Arturo Dominici) at the funeral of Patroclus in THE TROJAN HORSE (1961)

PEPLUM Movie Quotes

THE REVENGE OF IVANHOE (1965) starring Rik Van Nutter (Ivanhoe) and Gilda Lousek (Rowena)

Rowena: Softly, I beg you. There's a guard outside.

Ivanhoe: Yes, I know there is. That's why I came through the window.

Musings!

Atlas (Gordon Mitchell; Maciste in the original) helps with moving a huge barrel in ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961)

I love this movie and I love Feats of Strength but this scene sorta begs the question: how did they get those huge barrels on the cart in the first place if they need a strong man like Atlas to help with moving them around? If Atlas hadn't shown up how would they get down from the cart? Anyway, let's not think too much about it. Just enjoy the fun entertainment, and yes, this movie is entertaining.

Behind-the-Scenes

Jeffrey Hunter visits Debra Paget as she practices her dance number for their movie PRINCESS OF THE NILE (1954)

Clip of the week: THE LAST ROMAN (1968)

Welcome to Rome, where lions roam free...in THE LAST ROMAN (1968). With Robert Hoffmann and Ingrid Boulting.

Portraits

Bella Cortez, as Princess Mercedes, in GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)

HD Alert!

Pierre Cressoy in THE BARBARIANS (1953) 

Produced and written by Mario Francisci, related to Pietro Francisci, director of HERCULES (1958). So this movie has above average quality. It's an Italian production with two French actors in the lead. Pierre Cressoy and Hélène Rémy (below). It's streaming in HD. Black-and-white films in HD are so crisp and clear. The movie was dubbed into English back in the day.
 

Vintage Article

It's fun to find old articles on Kirk Morris since they're rare and hard to come by. 

Musings!

Horst Buchholz and Gina Lollobrigida in CERVANTES (1967) 

A late 1960s release, this movie, which is quite elaborate, is more entertaining than most films of this kind of the same era. The sea battle is spectacular. The movie was criticized for taking liberties with Cervantes' actual history. It is sorta melodramatic at times. The relationship between these two actually works. The two have chemistry, at the expense of the rest of the movie. It almost feels like two movie: the relationship - love story, and the rest. The love story works because both actors seem interested in each other, but casting Gina, who was 40, with Horst, who was 34, seems a bit odd, even if it works thanks to the actors. The age difference is part of the storyline. When the two are not on screen, the movie is on Horst's shoulders. And as good as he is, he's not a strong enough presence to support all of it on his own. The movie also stars Louis Jourdan, who's much better in this than the disappointing THE STORY OF THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1961). The film is filled with familiar actors of the PEPLUM genre, which is always fun to spot and one of the reasons I enjoy watching these films. A mixed bag but at times very entertaining, in a late 1960s kinda way. It reminds me of ROMULUS AND THE SABINES (1961). A mixed bag as well but still entertaining. The ending is a dud though.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Spanish poster of JULIUS CAESAR (1953) 

Julio? Pretty standard poster design from the US re-used here for the Spanish market. 

Image of the week!

A handmaiden (Edith Peters) tries to soothe the ordeals of the recently captured Briseis (Gloria Milland) and Xenia (Cristina Gaioni) with perfumes in FURY OF ACHILLES (1962)

At the movies...

ONE MILLION YEARS BC (1966) playing at the Roosevelt Theatre in Chicago.

Musings!

Mark Forest as Maciste in MACISTE - THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD (1961; aka Mole Men Against The Son of Hercules)

This slightly pixelated photo from the Spanish lobby cards set doesn't look like this in the movie. The scene is there but we don't get a clear view of Mark like this photo. He drinks the water in the bowl which hide his face and we see him from the back. It always irks me when photos from lobby cards set show more info than what happens in the movie. This photo also highlights one thing in this movie: his terrible haircut. Mark looks amazing but his haircut makes him looks like a taxi driver. His hair in this movie is, well, awful. This is not the only actor in PEPLUM movies with a bad hair day. Dan Vadis had the worst haircut ever in THE TEN GLADIATORS (1963). Dan and Mark would eventually fix their hair in future movies. Bad haircut aside, this is one of my favourites.

Behind-the-Scenes

Same behind the scenes pose, different films: Steve Reeves on the set of HERCULES (1958). And Brad Pitt on the set of TROY (2004). New Hollywood even copies old behind the scenes photos. 😂

Clip of the week: CLASH OF STEEL (1962)

Gérard Barray, Gianna Maria Canale and Kirk Morris in one film, CLASH OF STEEL. This is from an old print so sorry about the quality. 

And yes, I know there's a German Blu-ray of this movie available which I haven't purchased yet).

New PEPLUM Imagery

AVENGER OF ROME

MEN OF PULP

HD Alert!

Hildegard Knef and Sergio Fantoni in CATHERINE OF RUSSIA (1963)

Another classic PEPLUM movie, of Russian history, in HD and only available for streaming in Europe. It looks great. No glaring issues to report from this print. It's nice from beginning to end. A fun slice of history Directed by Umberto Lenzi, one of the most prolific directors of PEPLUM movies. 
 

BY THE GODS! issue no 5 now available!

BY THE GODS! number 5 is now available to purchase.

MagCloud often has specials, from 15%, 20%, up to 25% off. Make sure to visit the link to MagCloud to see if there's a special.

Click the link below:

https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3388773

You can buy any or all BY THE GODS! issues

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New Issue no 4

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

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Issue no 3

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


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Issue no 2

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

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Issue no 1

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

Musings!

Belinda Lee and Massimo Girotti in GODDESS OF LOVE (1957) 

The English audio to this movie is missing. It has never surfaced in any format even if the movie was released in English in cinemas. It's one of the most frustrating aspects of the PEPLUM genre. Today, some are using AI to generate the English dub. They take the English subtitles and process the dialogue via AI and voila, instant English dub. For some movies, it seems this will be the only way until the actual English dub surfaces but there are a lot of problems with this. I've heard films dubbed this way. It's not very pleasant. The voices are harsh and robotic. The voices also change in mid-sentence. It's one of the aspects of AI that's still problematic: consistency. Listening to a AI voice voicing dialogue changing repeatedly is not good. But the biggest problem is the voice matching the actor or actress. In Belinda's case, she has a very distinctive voice. She's British and I've heard her actual voice. Presuming that they used her real voice for this movie, the AI voice for her simply doesn't match. It's jarring. So, it's a noble idea but there are too many pitfalls and issues with using AI to recreate the missing English dubs of many movies.

Comments are back on...

I'm turning the comments back on. If things get wild and nasty again, I'll turn them off.