PEPLUM Movie Poster

Thai poster of COLOSSUS OF THE ARENA (1962) 

Colourful poster of photos and artwork. Thai posters are great.

Image of the week!

Obro (Gordon Mitchell) fights with the giant Kronos (Aldo Pedinotti) in GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)

VHS Covers!

VHS covers of THE RED SHEIK (1960) starring Channing Pollock and Luciana Gilli. Difficult to find VHS covers for this one. No English cover.

 

German VHS cover. This one is amazing. The artwork has nothing to do with the movie and the photos on the back cover are from SANDOKAN - PIRATE OF MALAYSIA (1964) starring Steve Reeves. Talk about Cinematic Confusion. The German title translates as LORD OF THE DESERT.

French VHS cover. The artwork is from the posters of the original release.

VHS cover from Thailand.

Channing Pollock and Luciana Gilli

Musings!

Edmund Purdom and Rossana Podestà in FURY OF THE PAGANS (1960) 

Imagine GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959) but without Steve Reeves and you basically get this movie. Yes, the story is different but the production closely resembles the Steve Reeves movie. I mean, it's also known as FURY OF THE BARBARIANS. This movie is forgotten or is seldomly mentioned anywhere. Maybe have a Steve Reeves would have made it more memorable. It's not bad by any means, and the two actors are favourites but the movie is sorta bland. It needed more oomph, certainly with a movie with FURY in its title.

Behind-the-Scenes

Bette Davis visits the set of BEN-HUR (1959) with director William Wyler (left), and with Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd who are still in costume.

Clip of the week: HEAD OF A TYRANT (1959)

The great Holophernes (Massimo Girotti) arrives in Bethulia. With Renato Baldini. Top PEPLUM!

 

SPFX DEPT.

Astra (Gianna Maria Canale) invokes Kobrak (Guido Celano) in GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES (1961)

A simple special effects of superimposing Kobrak into scenes. The last image is a practical effect which is very cool. We never get to see Kobrak clearly though. 

Kobrak kills the Sultan (Mario Feliciani) 

Amahil (Van Aikens) handing Kobrak a cup filled with blood. Great scene. 

Ancient history stuff on TIKTOK!

If you have the TikTok app, there are some cool stuff on it of interest to those who love Greco-Roman history.


 

The TikTok above shows all the Roman Emperors from 27 BC to 1453 AD! Really amazing and informative video.

 

Above and below: from the account THE CULTURE MUSE, the lady is well informed on all things pertaining to Greek, Roman or anything from Antiquity. Make sure to follow her account.

 

Musings!

Yssour (Mario Petri) convinces Goliath (Peter Lupus) in participating in a wrestling match, while Fatma (Helga Liné) approves in GOLIATH AT THE CONQUEST Of DAMASCUS (1965)

Fun film which is still lacking a decent copy. I have multiple versions of this movie and they're mostly in bad quality. How bad are they? In this scene, Helga is cropped out. I only have two copies with the framing is sorta intact. And the quality of the image is not that good. Wrestling scenes were common in PEPLUM movies. Here, the wrestling matches are done in an open public space. Ah those days! 😂

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Original Italian poster of THE WARIOR AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1958)

Nice artwork. It has little to do with the movie itself but still nice nonetheless.

Image of the week!

Maciste (Kirk Morris) didn't have time to say goodbye to Fania in the climax to MACISTE IN HELL (1962) 

BY THE GODS! magazine...

You can get BY THE GODS! magazine at Magcloud.

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

15% off with the code NOV15. Valid until November 13.

At the movies...

QUO VADIS (1951) at the Astor in Time Square. Incredible display and billboard. That's a neon sign of Deborah Kerr tied at the stake.

Musings!

Lisa Gastoni, as Messalina, torments Marilù Tolo in THE LAST GLADIATOR (1964) 

This is, by far, the best performance of Lisa Gastoni in a PEPLUM movie. She's always good but this one is brilliant. The way she goes after poor slave girl Tolo is entertaining. Her interpretation of Messalina is great! Marilù looks great as a blonde but I have to say I prefer her with darker hair. One of the best late era PEPLUM movies. Well worth watching. 

Behind-the-Scenes

Ricardo Montalban, in costume, giving an interview on the set of THE QUEEN OF BABYLON (1954)

Clip of the week: COLOSSUS AND THE HEADHUNTERS (1963)

Kirk Morris as Maciste doing what he does best: thwarting the bad guys! 

HD Alert!

Sylvia Lopez and Edmund Purdom in HEROD THE GREAT (1959)

The movie is not available on Blu-ray, in Europe or North America. But it is (or was?) available for streaming in Spain, I believe. The print is stunning. I didn't retouch the images. Will it ever be available on Blu-ray?
 

Sylvia Lopez, Sandra Milo and Corrado Pani. 

Vintage Article

Old article on HERCULES and Steve Reeves. Nice.

 

 

Musings!

Lisa Gastoni and Jean Sorel in THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1966) 

Directed by Sergio Corbucci who directed DJANGO the same year which became a hit around the world. I like the movie but it's an odd film in that it feels more like a TV movie than something made for the big screen. It was produced by Joseph Fryd, an American producer who supervised a number of PEPLUM productions, including HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963), just as the genre was slowly dying. In this scene, the handsome Jean Sorel plays the disfigured man who covers his face. Sorel has a dual role in the movie. As I often say, any movie with Lisa Gastoni is worth watching including this one.

PEPLUM Movie Poster

Spanish poster of THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1959) 

Simple poster but cool. When Steve Reeves fights with the gladiator in the movie, he's not shirtless. In fact, he's pretty much covered for most of the film. 

Image of the week!

Hercules (Dan Vadis) is put to the test in HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE (1964)

BY THE GODS! magazine...

You can get BY THE GODS! magazine at Magcloud.

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

15% off with the code NOV15. Valid until November 13.

The magazine was featured at the MagCloud page for movies. Pretty cool.

 

Lobby Cards Set: TWO NIGHTS WITH CLEOPATRA (1954)

Original italian lobby cards set of TWO NIGHT WITH CLEOPATRA (1954) starring Sophia Loren, Alberto Sordi, Paul Muller and more. Great set but I doubt this set is from the original 1954 release. Alberto and Sophia are featured prominently.

Musings!

David and Peter Paul and Eva LaRue in THE BARBARIANS (1987) 

Directed by Ruggero Deodato, who began working on PEPLUM movies back in the day and directed the notorious CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979), decided to add to the whole 1980s PEPLUM revival with this you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it movie. Twin bodybuilders with no acting experince were cast in this somewhat colorful and yet messy movie. I don't dislike it. In fact, I watched many times but yeah, it's not CITIZEN KANE! I can't tell the difference between the two brothers. Eva would later work on the popular daytime soap ALL MY CHILDREN. Only in the 1980s.

Behind-the-Scenes

Director Arthur Lubin and Steve Reeves, in character, pose for a photo on the set of THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD (1961)