Musings!

Georges Marchal and Adriana Benetti in SINS OF POMPEII (1950) 

In this scene at the beginning, Lysia (Marchal) hits Nidia (Benetti) with his chariot. This sets off the story in this long and complex version of based on the novel, THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. Personally, and this is just me, I don't care much for stories which start by an accident or something out of the characters' control. To me, it always seems to be a bit of lazy writing. It doesn't diminish the movie's worth but I find such 'crashes into a story' kind of plot point facile. Do people actually continue to be friends with people they crash into? 

In this scene, everything looks great. The costumes, including Marchal's, the crowd, the lighting, It all looks amazing. Production wise, this movie is excellent. But the story, as I wrote in the BY THE GODS! magazine on disasters, is long and complex for nothing really. BTW, I didn't colourize the image because the movie is in black & white. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Candid photo of Gianna Maria Canale and Gordon Scott during the filming of THE LION OF ST. MARK (1963)

Clip of the week: THE PIRATE AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1959)

Fashion show! With Massimo Serato, Chelo Alonso and Lex Barker. 

FUNNIES

Gérard Landry in THE BLACK ARCHER (1959)

HD Alert!

Brad Harris and Gloria Milland in GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961) 

I usually post about special effects every other week but now with so many new HD films I got recently, I will go over these files and temporary stop the posts on special effects.

This HD print is stunning. The clarity in some scenes is breathtaking. These screenshots don't do it justice. The movie always had nice prints on DVD. But this HD streaming print blows every other ones previously available

The mystery of Burt Nelson in WITH FIRE AND SWORD (1962)

Burt Nelson is an American actor, born in Brooklyn, and who starred in a handful of PEPLUM movies. His most famous role was in REVOLT OF THE SLAVES (1960. He also starred in REVENGE OF THE CONQUERED (1962). That's him in the image on the left. But he also starred in WITH FIRE AND SWORD (1962), the image on the right, and yet he's not credited. I always wondered what happened. Everyone in the list of credits for the movie is accounted for except for a Bruno Nessi, who has not other acting credit. But Burt's name is not on the list. Now that is Burt on the right. He's still uncredited at IMDB and Wikipedia. Burt apparently introduced Reg Park to filmmakers in Rome.

Musings!

Deborah Kerr as Lygia in QUO VADIS (1951) 

In the original novel, Lygia is bound on top of a bull, naked, as Ursus fights with it and tries to save her. For the 1951 film, they clearly couldn't do this so they opted for Lygia being tied to a pole. It's a good compromise but it's clearly not as dramatic. The 2004 mini-series replicated the scene as it was in the book. The poster for the 1913 silent movie shows Lygia on the bull but fully clothed. Side note: speaking of nude, Deborah seems to be showing.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Turkish poster of ATTACK OF THE MOORS (1959) 

The title translates as Selma, Daughter of the Tribe Leader. Nice colourful poster.

Peplum Public Discussion

Comments are open in this post. You have something to mention about this week's posts? Or something else. This is the only place you can voice your opinion. Comments are curated therefore any bad comment won't be published! Be respectful!

Image of the week!

Ulysses (Kirk Douglas) meets the Cyclops, Polyphemus (Umberto Silvestri), in ULYSSES (1954)

At the movies...

THE BUCCANEER (1958) premiere at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans.

Musings!

Tony Russel is about to have his head cut-off in SWORD OF DAMASCUS (1964)

This movie is a lightweight comedy. It's about Tony being a friendly thief. It's one goofy and slapstick moment right after another. Until after this scene at the end. It becomes violent with a quasi-massacre of sorts. The tonal shift of Italian PEPLUM movies is something to behold. It's not the first film in which slapstick and super serious stuff mix but this one takes the cake. The ending clashes with the rest of the movie, which I like and watched it many times but they could have toned down the violence during the  resolution. Tony became, briefly, a popular figure in Italian movies. For a decade or so. Like a bunch of other actors, I'm sorta perplexed by the many movies he made. He played bit parts, mostly uncredited roles in US movies and TV before becoming leading star in Italian films. I don't dislike him. He's ok and his Italian sci-fi movies are fun to watch but his sudden 'fame' is a mystery.

Behind-the-Scenes

Raquel Welch at the London premiere of ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1965)

Clip of the week: ATTACK OF THE MOORS (1959)

Liana Orfei dances.

Portraits

Hedy Lamarr, as Delilah, in SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949)

HD Alert!

Virna Lisi and Steve Reeves in DUEL OF THE TITANS (aka Romulus and Remus; 1961)

I recently acquired a boatload of PEPLUM movies in HD with English audio added to them from a nice fellow. There are so many of them that it'll take some time to process all of them. One of the titles I got, and there are some amazing titles here, is DUEL OF THE TITANS. Now, people will say, 'Isn't there a German Blu-ray released a couple of years ago?' Yes, there was. And it's nice enough. In my review I stated that the Blu-ray was good but not a wow! There were issues here and there but at the time I took it since the previous copies, mainly from the DVD, wasn't that great. Well, now there's an even better version streaming from Europe. The colours are so much richer. The flesh tones are on point, compared to the BD. The German Blu-Ray (above) has this blueish tint, when compared to the Spanish streaming version (below), makes it look drab and washed out. 

In the GIF animation below, one can clearly see that the German Blu-ray was extensively cropped, or zoomed in. Steve Reeves' head is in full view in the new print.The top and sides have more information. Is it perfect? There's some issues with dark scenes but it's not as bad as the German BD. This is a clearly superior print. 

List of PEPLUM movies in HD

 

As I've stated, it will take a lot of time to review and process all the new HD prints that I got, and add them to the list. Much more to come in the future.

Then & Now: Sabrina Siani

Sabrina Siani in THE THRONE OF FIRE (1983); the most recent photo of the actress.

Musings!

Ursula Davis and Claudie Lange in THE INVINCIBLE BROTHERS MACISTE (1964)

When I watch these two ladies, my first thing I think: who dressed them up? You see, they live in an underground kingdom and how do they get all the stuff and cosmetics and fabrics to embellish these ladies. Where did they get the silver looking fabric? BTW, Claudie looks like a prettier Lady Gaga. Everything is clean and spotless. Not bad for an underground civilization. What's also interesting about PEPLUM movies is how the women's hairstyles bucked the trend of having short hairstyles. From the early 1950s to the late 1960s, the style for most actresses, in Hollywood and around the world, were short, short, short. Think of Doris Day. But somehow PEPLUM movies went against the trend and like Ursula here, many actresses of the PEPLUM genre sported long hair. Thankfully. It's so much prettier. It's a fun observation which I'll explain further one day. This movie is also one of those 'Unique' PEPLUM movies, which are totally different from the standard production of the time. I have to make a list of these 'Unique' PEPLUM movies. 

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Italian poster of THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE (1969)

This is a Mexican film so it's always interesting to see how artists from other countries interpret differently from the original source.

Peplum Public Discussion

Comments are open in this post. You have something to mention about this week's posts? Or something else. This is the only place you can voice your opinion. Comments are curated therefore any bad comment won't be published! Be respectful!

Image of the week!

Ulysses (Bekim Fehmiu) is put to a challenge against his wishes in THE ODYSSEY (1968; TV)

Lobby Cards Set: WAR OF THE ZOMBIES (1964)

US lobby cards set of WAR OF THE ZOMBIES (1964; 1965 US; also known as Rome Against Rome) starring Ettore Manni, Susy Andersen, Ida Galli and John Drew Barrymore. Excellent set. It features all the main actors I listed here. This is a great film and I'd definitely get it. Imagine looking at this set though, in the lobby of a movie theatre. Would you think this was a movie about zombies? 

Musings!

Louis Jordan, Yvonne Furneaux and cast in THE STORY OF THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1961)

I watched this movie yesterday and I have so many questions. The production is excellent. A+. Unfortunately, barely anything register. It's shot in super widescreen, as this screenshot shows, and a big chunk of the film is like this, distant. I think Yvonne Furneaux is miscast. I'm a fan of Yvonne but her role/performance doesn't work. The movie is very costumey. And Louis Jordan barely registers. In some long scenes he barely has any dialogue. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of Alexandre Dumas' most popular and filmed works. I believe there's over 40 adaptations. And yet there's no definitive version. Some say the 1934 version is the best but I saw it years ago so I have to re-watch it. Anyway, I had high hopes for this one but I was disappointed.

Behind-the-Scenes

Kirk Douglas, out of costume, and Silvana Mangano, in costume, on the set of ULYSSES (1954)

Clip of the week: DEATHSTALKER (1983)

Rick Hill vs Richard Brooker!