French poster of THE WHITE WARRIOR (1959)
I'm trying to figure out if this poster is flattering to Steve Reeves. I like the art but Steve's expression is a bit funny.
Monday, December 21, 2020
Friday, December 18, 2020
By the Gods!
Larry, Moe and Shemp, the Three Stooges, in MUMMY'S DUMMIES (1948)
A Three Stooges short set in Ancient Egypt. Only 16 minutes long. Made before THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962). A fun short movie. If you haven't seen it it's available at Dailymotion.
Behind-the-Scenes
Jean Simmons and Laurence Olivier take a break smoking cigarettes during the filming of SPARTACUS (1960)
More Blu-ray news at BY THE GODS!
At BY THE GODS! I have plenty of info on upcoming Blu-ray releases. Make sure to check it out.
Titles include:
SODOM & GOMORRAH (1962; German Blu-ray)
IRONMASTER (1983; US Blu-ray)
DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI (1955; German Blu-ray)
HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN (1961; US Blu-ray)
DUEL OF THE TITANS (1961; Romulus & Remus; German Blu-ray)
NEFERTITI - QUEEN OF THE NILE (1961; German Blu-ray)
Problems
There are already problems on these upcoming titles. If you go to Amazon.de and look up DUEL OF THE TITANS without being logged in, it'll show that the movie is available. If you log-in to Amazon.de, the title will show that it's temporary out of stock. It seems Amazon doesn't want people outside of certain regions to buy these Blu-rays.
The DUEL OF THE TITANS link also shows that the movie will be released on Dec 31, 2021, NOT THIS YEAR. I believe this is an error but if it's not, wow!
If I try to purchase these titles at Amazon.de it will say the they won't ship to my location (Canada). I never had any issues buying from Amazon.de before. Too many people from outside Europe buying these German or Europeans Blu-rays, after reading my articles.
There are even more issues after trying to buy NEFERTITI - QUEEN OF THE NILE.
All the information at BY THE GODS!
Thursday, December 17, 2020
By the Gods!
Ida Galli and John Drew Barrymore in ROME AGAINST ROME (1964; aka War of the Zombies)
This movie needs an HD upgrade. Finding in widescreen such as this one is a good find but an HD print would be revelatory. This film has always been saddled with terrible prints that it's hard to give a genuine assessment of it. I assume that most of the quality of the movie will remain excellent for most of it except for the big battle scenes at the end. The movie didn't have a big budget and the big 'spooky' battle scenes at the end are its weakest part, which might look pretty bad in HD. The beautiful Ida is still with us while John died 16 years ago.
Lobby Cards Set: THE SWORD AND THE CROSS (1956)
- not to be confused by the Yvonne De Carlo 1958 movie with the same title. This one was released in 1960 in the US.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Clip of the week: THE TROJAN HORSE (1961)
Steve Reeves vs Mimmo Palmara (with stuntwork by Giovanni Cianfriglia)
EXTRA CLIP OF THE WEEK!
Clip from the CORIOLANUS HD Fan Dub I created.
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
By the Gods!
Babylon seen in SLAVES OF BABYLON (1953)
Directed by William Castle, this often misunderstood mini-epic from Columbia Pictures boasts many dazzling matte paintings. It's one of the reasons why I like it. The artist, or artists, responsible for these fun works of art is not known. I'll have more on this in a future post.
Different titles: THE CONQUEROR OF CORINTH (1961)
Today, it's THE CONQUEROR OF CORINTH (1961) starring Gianna Maria Canale, John Drew Barrymore, Geneviève Grad, Jacques Sernas and Gordon Mitchell.
Since acquiring the new HD print, I decided to do this one. Not many variations with this movie. The titles are almost all the same except for the French one, and the US title, which was THE CENTURION. Of course, as is often the case, the original US title is missing in action. The English title here is the International English title, presumably for the UK and Hong Kong, Australia, etc.
Original Italian title. Taken from the HD print.
The English, or International English title. The title for the US release was THE CENTURION.
The French title translates as THE BATTLE OF CORINTH
The German title is the same as the Italian one.
Gianna Maria Canale and Jacques Sernas, from the new HD print.
Monday, December 14, 2020
By the Gods!
Gordon Scott in CORIOLANUS - HERO WITHOUT A COUNTRY (1964)
This screenshot os from a HD version of the movie. It's beautiful. And I made a Fan Dub of it. I was actually working on a Fan Dub of this movie taken the Spanish DVD version when I got this one from my amazing source. I decided to do an upgrade and used this beautiful print instead of the one from the DVD. This my first Fan Dub in full HD. It's cool. Unfortunately, I uploaded to Youtube and they blocked it (even if it's available on other channel in albeit poor copies...). I have to find a new place to show these movies/Fan Dubs. Youtube has been on a blocking spree in recent weeks. Anyway, I'm pleased with the result. I'll try to upload a short clip of it.
PEPLUM Movie Poster
Original Italian poster of O.K. NERO (1951)
A comedy, and like so many comedies of the PEPLUM genre, it starts in modern Italy and the story goes back to the days of Ancient Rome. Not to be confused with NERONE E MESSALINA(1953), also starring Gino Cervi. Nice poster.
Friday, December 11, 2020
By the Gods!
Gianna Maria Canale in CONQUEROR OF CORINTH (1961; aka The Centurion)
Gianna in HD. These screenshots were taken from a beautiful new HD print I recently got (thanks to my amazing source). Gianna looks stunning. One of the better new HD prints. Now if only these prints were available in English! Click on images to view details.
Geneviève Grad, Nando Tamberlani, Gianna. Beautiful image.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
By the Gods!
One screengrab is from a recent copy broadcast in HD. And the other is a screengrab of the regular DVD. Which is which?
The one on top is the Italian broadcast in HD and the one below is from the German DVD. Aside from the stretched image issue, they're virtually the same. The HD print is not really a new HD print but the old one broadcast in HD. Remarkably enough the HD broadcast version is severely cut. I didn't have time to see which scenes were cut. The DVD itself had many odd issues so one day the movie will have a stunning HD transfer.
The Queen and her brother are supposed to be lovers and this scene was shot in a way to hint at their sexual relationship.
Behind-the-Scenes
Steve Reeves carries Sylvia Lopez for a candid photo while filming HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959)
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
By the Gods!
Vittorio Gassman in THE VIOLENT PATRIOT (1956)
A very well made movie directed by Sergio Grieco. Sergio went from somewhat quaint historical/costume dramas to uber macho action movies, set in the past or present. I think this was his transitional picture as some scenes are quite violent. I like it but some might not as it tends to be in the 'Melodrama' style of the 1950s. It doesn't bother me but some might have issues with this approach. This scene takes place at the end. It's very memorable and theatrical, the best scene of the movie. This is from an HD version but the image, as good as it is, is not pristine as most films in HD. Also known as JOHN OF THE BLACK GANGS, which I have in English.
Then & Now: Noëlle Adam
Noëlle in THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (1961); the most recent photo of the actress
Monday, December 7, 2020
By the Gods!
Walter Chiari, Abbe Lane and Ugo Tognazzi in TIBERIUS (I Baccanali di Tiberio, 1960)
Just got a beautiful copy of this in HD (screengrab was taken from it). I never really had a bad copy of this movie but the English version, which played on TV in the US, is still missing. Since the movie is a comedy and there's plenty of dialogue, following it in Italian is a bit hard (but doable). Abbe is really cute in this.
PEPLUM Movie Poster
Original Italian poster of GOLIATH & THE CONQUEST OF DAMASCUS (1965)
Nice, simple art. But he doesn't look like Peter Lupus.
Friday, December 4, 2020
By the Gods!
Kirk Morris as Maciste in TRIUMPH OF MACISTE (1961)
One of the many 'Feats of strength' in this classic PEPLUM which desperately needs an HD upgrade. I doubt it will ever get the Blu-ray treatment therefore a TV broadcast in HD will most likely be the only chance to view it in high definition.
Behind-the-Scenes
Photos from the premiere of HERCULES UNCHAINED at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1960. Jack Lemmon with a bunch of babes dressed in Greek costumes. Below: Mitzi Gaynor is helped by two muscular men, including Gordon Mitchell on the right.
