Rare British special presentation poster of HERCULES UNCHAINED
I really like this one.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Photo of the Day
Gianna Maria Canale is about to get whipped in THE QUEEN OF THE PIRATES
Gianna made a bunch of PEPLUM Swashbucklers, playing lead action role, which was still uncommon in those days for women. She was a real trailblazer and because of this she's, imo, the Queen of PEPLUM Cinema.
Back on Monday!
Vintage article on Richard Harrison
Vintage Italian article on Richard harrison and his exercise regime.
PEPLUM GIF Animation : GOLIATH & THE VAMPIRES
Gordon Scott in action from GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES. He did most of his stunts in this film.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Photo of the Day
Ziva's role is brief and almost inconsequential. The fun part of this TV pilot is knowing Ziva was in THE GIANTS OF THESSALY as Creusa and the episode freely uses battles scenes from THE GIANT OF MARATHON.
The concept of the then possible series was bizarre. Two of the main actors (Joseph Cotten and John Cassavetes) were killed in the pilot which sorta makes you wonder how could they stretch out an entire year's worth of episodes with such big characters dispatched so early. What would draw viewers back to a possible series with those marquee names gone? The battle footage from THE GIANT OF MARATHON and the no-budget setting of the series didn't match at all. One could imagine Ziva returning in future episodes but all in all the it's not surprising the series wasn't picked up.
Katy Perry goes Egyptian
Pop star Katy Perry, like so many other pop stars such as Will Smith and Michael Jackson, has gone totally Egyptian (via Las Vegas). Her music video for Dark Horse is set somewhere in Memphis (but looks like super kitschy Las Vegas). I can't believe the music video has 312 million views. Eegah! The Egyptian theme is also present during her concerts (photo above).
Gladiator mosaics
I love these. Rodan the Gladiator? Cool!
Notice how little they wore unlike what Russell Crowe and the other gladiators wore in Ridley Scott's GLADIATOR. The Italian PEPLUM films have always been more authentic than films produced in Hollywood with the exception of DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS which was pretty accurate.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Photo of the Day
The cinematography is by Mario Bava. I have to say that the cult of Bava out there is a tad annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love Mario Bava but too many fans of Euro cinema focus too much on him while other artists/directors are overlooked or not given enough credit for the cool aspects of Italian cinema, like Riccardo Freda who directed this film. With this said I have to admit that I love the cinematography for this film. It's really gorgeous. Bava really topped himself here.
Behind-the-Scenes
Fotonovelas
Here are a couple of more French Fotonovelas
FURY OF ACHILLES
MACISTE AGAINST THE SHEIK
SWORD OF ISLAM (aka Oh Islam)
TRIUMPH OF MACISTE
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Photo of the Day
Henet (Belinda Lee) dismisses Joseph (Geoffrey Horne) in JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN (1962)
This scene is cut from the US DVD. Too sexy? The narrative suffers from it. Belinda wears some of the worst looking wigs imaginable, even by PEPLUM standards. This was the last film released posthumously for Belinda who died tragically in a car accident (see Tragic Stars). Geoffrey was born in Argentina and lived in Cuba before appearing in TV productions in the US before starring in Hollywood produced films and then European films. He was slated to be the lead role in BEN-HUR after his stand-out role in THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. He has been married 5 times!
Cinematic confusion
IMDb is well known for having many mistakes in their credit info of old Italian films. THE GIANTS OF THESSALY is a good example. In their information, Moira Orfei is credited as Atalanta. Cathia Caro (above) is actually Atalanta in the US version of the film but in the French version, Cathia's character is named Aglaia, also as written in the IMDb credits. I don't know how Moira's name ended up in this film but she's definitely not in it. Cathia should be credited as Aglaia and Atalanta. They most likely changed her name for the English version since Aglaia actually sounds like Ugly and Cathia is not ugly. Ah, the confusion!
Location : Circus Maximus
Along with the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus is the other athletic venue which enthralled Romans back in the day with chariot races. Little of it remains today except for a few crumbling buildings (below, photo from the 1970s). Like the Colosseum, versions of the Circus Maximus were also built, from inspiration or rivalry, in other countries in and around the Mediterranean.
A tad exaggerated in scope and grandeur, the Circus Maximus in BEN-HUR was apparatently inspired by the one in Antioch, now in modern day Turkey. The outline of the Circus Maximus was added to the arial photo below.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Photo of the Day
The only film Kirk and Moira made together which, in a way, is quite shocking considering both made tons of films during the same period and yet only starred together in one. They were good together and they should have made more films together. Oh well.... I like this film. Directed by Tanio Boccia (Amerigo Anton in the film credits), an average director who made 6 films with Kirk Morris, this one, along TRIUMPH OF MACISTE, is probably his most solid flick with the young PEPLUM star. Production values are solid and colorful.
Movie Poster Mondays
US poster of DEATHSTALKER 2
Familiar artwork by Boris Vallejo, who made so many posters during the 1980s.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Photo of the Day
The cult of female worshipers of Dionysus known as THE BACCHANTES (1961)
There were also male worshipers of Dionysus but the legend of the Bacchantes is about Dionysus' cult following amongst women. I uploaded the entire film this past Monday to Youtube. It's an exclusive Fan Dub version I made. Make sure to check it out.
I'm off for a full week!
PEPLUM GIF animation
GIF animation sequence from TRIUMPH OF MACISTE starring Kirk Morris. Classic 'Feat of Strength' scene.
Lobby Cards Set : Gold for the Caesars
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Photo of the Day
Howard Ross and Christa Linder, as Helen, in HELEN, YES...HELEN OF TROY (1973)
One of those Italian PEPLUM sex comedies of the 1970s. The PEPLUM genre had a small resurgence during the early to mid 1970s but it was nothing compared to the 1950s/early 60s. Howard Ross (aka Renato Rossini) was a veteran of the genre having starred in many films during the Golden era of the genre. He's still in great shape but he's definitely not as muscular as he was in his earlier PEPLUM films. German actress Christa Linder appears in the all together in this film. The English dubbing is horrendous, with the woman dubbing Christa being the worst.
PEPLUM Couple
Different Title Versions : Hercules Unchained
Original Italian version (translation: Hercules and the Queen of Lidya)
US / English version. The best title version of the bunch (which is rare for English versions)
German version (translation : Hercules and the Queen of the Amazons...what Amazons?)
French version which is the same as the Italian version
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Photo of the Day
Sandokan (Ray Danton) in SANDOKAN FIGHTS BACK
Excellent production values, good action, good cast. A surprisingly solid and entertaining film. In fact, all of the Sandokan films, including those with Steve Reeves as Sandokan, are good fun.