PEPLUM Break

I take a break roughly every two months. My last break was at the beginning of May so it's that time again. 

So stay tuned!

I'll leave you now with King Leonidas (Richard Egan) from THE 300 SPARTANS (1962), saying "From this wall, we do not retreat!"

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!

Sara (Sandra Milo) is worried her husband, Aronne (Alberto Lupo), will be killed by King Herod in his latest trip in HEROD THE GREAT (1959)

MUSCLES Inc.

Steve Reeves on the cover of PHYSIQUE PICTORIAL, August 1959. It coincided with the North American release of HERCULES (1958). The image itself is from HERCULES UNCHAINED though.

Musings!

Hercules (Gordon Scott) battles with the gladiator leader (Nello Pazzafini) and to prevent Deianira (Jany Clair) from being executed by arrows in HERCULES AGAINST MOLOCH (1963)

The PEPLUM genre in one shot. This movie is filled with such memorable moments even if the story is a bit sketchy and the re-used scenes are a tad annoying. But overall, I love this movie because it delivers. Buff hero, slimy villains, damsels in distress, feats of strength, a terrifying monster, etc. Director Giorgio Ferroni knew what he was doing. When the PEPLUM genre died, Ferroni went on to other genres but it just wasn't the same. Also known as CONQUEST OF MYCENE.

Behind-the-Scenes

Richard Burton on the set of THE ROBE (1953). Fantastic photo. 

Impossible to colourize properly because AI can't figure out this is a studio set. Google also refuses to add links to this post. Amazing!

Clip of the week: THE TEN GLADIATORS (1963)

The Ten Gladiators in action! With big Dan Vadis, José Greci, Roger Browne, Mimmo Palmara and many more. With re-used scenes from GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS (1961).

FUNNIES!

SAMSON AND THE SEA BEAST (1963) starring Kirk Morris, Margaret Lee, Aldo Bufi Landi

HD Alert!

Steve Reeves and Daniela Rocca in THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959)

Some great news on the Blu-ray front. THE GIANT OF MARATHON will be released on Blu-ray in Germany. The bad news: no English dub included. Only English subtitles. This is the first official HD release on Blu-ray anywhere. It has been available via streaming services but not available for purchase. I assume the screenshots posted here are taken from the actual print. 

Correction: At Amazon.de, it doesn't show an English dub track but at the Blu-ray distributor's website, it does show the English dub is included. Yeah!

The German title is THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. I like the cover. Steve looks chiseled.

 

New posters for THE ODYSSEY

New posters for the upcoming THE ODYSSEY movie. The film is having its premiere today, as I'm writing this. These posters make it look like a Marvel movie. As I wrote at BY THE GODS, it's clear Oscar© bait in regards to the politically correct casting, but now they're going for the comic crowd with these posters. It also reminds me of the IMMORTALS (2011) poster campaign, which turned out to be the complete opposite of the mostly forgotten movie. There's apparently an embargo on reviews for the time being (don't ask me when it will be removed) but if the premiere is today, expect a flood of 'awesome' reviews on all social media platforms.

Musings!

Bella Cortez in VULCAN - SON OF JUPITER (1962) 

As I wrote at BY THE GODS blog, these new HD prints of old PEPLUM movies is revealing stuff that was hard to make out with old public domain prints. As I was watching the HD print of this movie, suddenly something that was sorta hidden because of the dark prints became  visible. I've watched this movie many times, I could never make out what was going on here with Bella and Mercury (Isarco Ravaioli) but with this new clear print, it's obvious and sorta amazing. I mean, PEPLUM movies got away with a lot of stuff back in the day. This is not the only movie with revealing stuff after watching it in HD. That's Iloosh Khoshabe on the far left.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of ATLAS IN THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS (1961) 

Great artwork and poster for a great PEPLUM! Gordon Mitchell is misspelled on the poster as well as in the movie credits.

Last Week's Views!

179k views for the week. That's an average of 25k views a day. 

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!

Maxus (Reg Lewis; Maciste in the original) ) lifts a big tree to prevent the bad guys from reaching the other side of the chasm in COLOSSUS OF THE STONE AGE (1962)

At the movies...

THE ROBE (1953) premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Musings!

Reg Park, as Hercules (Ursus in the original version) throwing a man in HERCULES - PRISONER OF EVIL (1964)

One of the criticism of the PEPLUM genre by those who hate it is there's a lot of fake stuff, like fake strength scenes lifting fake boulders, etc. In a way it's true but the point of these scenes is not how the scene was made but how fun is the illusion of super strength. No actor is actually as strong as making an entire temple crumble. It's acting. One has to be ready to watch such scenes. And then there are scenes like this one with Reg actually lifting a man up in the air and throwing him. You can see from his muscles that he's not faking it. In this movie, Reg becomes 'possessed' of a werewolf-type of curse in which he becomes evil after a sorceress made him drink a potion. This is not the first time Reg played a role in which he becomes controlled by evil. I like it. It's like a FRIDAY THE 13TH-style woodsy evil stuff. A lot of scenes in a forest or caves during the night.

Behind-the-Scenes

Gina Lollobrigida is getting fitted for her costume on the set of CROSSED SWORDS (1954)

Clip of the week: THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF GUERRIN MESCINO (1952)

Guerrin Mescino (Gino Leurini) confronts the sorceress Alcina (Tamara Lees). Directed by Pietro Francisci.

Portraits

Harry Hamlin, as Perseus, in CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)

SPFX DEPT.

Scenes from JOURNEY BEYOND THREE SEAS (1957)

Two matte paintings in this expansive movie which takes place 'beyond three seas.' The movie starts with these scenes and I love it. Since the Soviet era film's information is limited, there's no way for me to credit the artist(s). I did find the Soviet version listed at IMDb, under the same title as the Hindu version but no info on who is responsible for the paintings.

Who Wore It Best?

Who wore it best? 

Above: Jeanne Valérie in SALAMMBO (1960). Costume originally made for that movie. 

Or, below, Bella Cortez in a publicity photo.

Musings!

Roger Browne and José Greci in SEVEN REBEL GLADIATORS (1965)

José's acting career started as the Virgin Mary in BEN-HUR (1959) and her last PEPLUM movie was this one, 6 years later. I really enjoy watching her in PEPLUM movies. She's a genuine actress but, like so many others, I don't think her career went the way she expected to go. I find her role in this movie a bit sad. I like the cartoonish movie...for the cartoonish action but actresses in Michele Lupo films didn't have much to do since they were so focused on brawny action. Anyway, her role in this is a bit odd. As for Roger Browne, nothing against him but I still don't know how he ended up in PEPLUM movies. It's one of those things many have I asked me during the 16 years making this blog and I have to be honest, I just don't know. Wikipedia does have some info (he was a physical therapist of a client who worked in Rome and he tagged along...) but still, I don't know who discovered him for BARABBAS (1961) as an uncredited gladiator but moved on to lead roles with VULCAN - THE SON OF JUPITER (1962).

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of SAMSON AND THE SLAVE QUEEN (1963) 

Fun poster. The one issue: Zorro's mask is not like this in the movie and Pierre Brice, who plays Zorro, renamed El Toro for the US release, doesn't have a mustache. Alan Steel's likeness is on point.

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!