tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post8349066335069452548..comments2024-03-27T20:35:30.401-07:00Comments on Cool Ass Cinema: The 26 Best Sword & Sandal Adventuresvenoms5http://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-79599396807279309852019-03-25T21:46:27.784-07:002019-03-25T21:46:27.784-07:00I've seen a lot of peplum and this is the best...I've seen a lot of peplum and this is the best "best of' list I've seen yet. Bravo!Mike Abatemarcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14417414464984448432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-20227086938643421672017-12-28T21:25:51.913-08:002017-12-28T21:25:51.913-08:00Two favorites not on your list: The Giant of Metro...Two favorites not on your list: The Giant of Metropolis and Il Conquistatore di Atlantide. Both are not traditional pepla because they have a heavy science fiction element.Elliot Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964519903027517480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-5863556727323227042017-08-29T12:49:40.476-07:002017-08-29T12:49:40.476-07:00Great article, thanks for separating the wheat fro...Great article, thanks for separating the wheat from the chaff - the genre contains so many clunkers it's hard to know whether or not a film with an intriguing title or premise is worth hunting down. There are a few others that - imho - are real stand-outs that deserve a mention as well - <br /><br />Carthage in Flames (1960), directed by Carmine Gallone, who also helmed Mussolini's grand-scale 1937 propaganda epic, Scipione l'Africano. <br /><br />Gold for the Caesars (1964), directed by Andre de Toth and starring Jeffrey Hunter and Mylene Demongeot.<br /><br />Massacre in the Black Forest (1967), perhaps a little late for the period your article covers, but the equal of any of its kind.<br /><br />And let's not forget 'Seven from Thebes', 'Conqueror of Corinth', and possibly 'Io, Semiramis'...<br /><br />Thanks again for your insights!The Cinecrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04636195678670680134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-56648378340926818322016-11-27T16:37:58.577-08:002016-11-27T16:37:58.577-08:00Hi, great list and great info. I've been a fan...Hi, great list and great info. I've been a fan of other cult genres for years (Spaghetti Western, Blaxploitation, Kung Fu, Kaiju, etc), but just as you mentioned above, I too had neglected the Sword & Sandal genre for all these years. So, I used your list as a starting point for building my collection. I'm in the process of purchasing and viewing all 26 films. I may even buy a few of your "worst" recommendations as well, because those can be a lot of fun too! The biggest problem, as you know, is finding quality widescreen English dubs. Between careful research on Amazon, an occasional public domain fandub, and a region-free DVD player, I'm doing OK. I'd love to see some S&S Blu-rays at some point (fingers crossed). Thanks for providing so much great info on the Sword & Sandal and other genres!KJBGojirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04594686522961150561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-12241773106374644002016-03-13T09:46:51.603-07:002016-03-13T09:46:51.603-07:00Ward, the movie you're looking for is HERCULES...Ward, the movie you're looking for is HERCULES (1983) starring Lou Ferrigno. venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-20718877611814973652016-03-13T05:35:53.638-07:002016-03-13T05:35:53.638-07:00Hey I'm looking for a Hercules movie where Her...Hey I'm looking for a Hercules movie where Hercules cleans out the augean stables by the river anyone knows that scene? From witch movie is it?<br />kind greetings<br />W<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10109669152240971007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-81513842961270912612012-08-05T14:45:45.908-07:002012-08-05T14:45:45.908-07:00Great list. I'm working my way through any of ...Great list. I'm working my way through any of them that I haven't already seen.Charles R. Rutledgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14265387377510655973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-81203622206058888992012-04-18T13:11:32.578-07:002012-04-18T13:11:32.578-07:00Hi, Traxxgalaxy. No, I don't find these movies...Hi, Traxxgalaxy. No, I don't find these movies erotic. I think the women are gorgeous in their outfits, the more revealing the better. Aside from that, I am secure in my sexuality enough to admire the physique of the guys playing the heroes. To me, these are fantasy superhero movies and nothing more. <br /><br />If somebody else finds the movies erotic, then that's up to personal interpretation. No doubt the homosexual community finds them erotic, but all I see are characters and situations no different than your average book on mythology or, even better, comic books.<br /><br />They didn't wear jeans and T shirts back then. Captured dissidents were generally chained up, or made into slaves of some sort. So to me I don't find that erotic. Now if there were women chained up, sprayed down to look all sweaty and torn up clothes, that might be a different story.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-65247147000931872332012-04-18T07:01:49.817-07:002012-04-18T07:01:49.817-07:00Do any of you guys find these films erotic?Do any of you guys find these films erotic?Traxxgalaxyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09925463973740752096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-73959090469516840842011-09-20T19:39:28.632-07:002011-09-20T19:39:28.632-07:00Hi, Dennis. I'm sincerely glad you enjoyed rea...Hi, Dennis. I'm sincerely glad you enjoyed reading this article. It's one of the biggest, if not the longest such piece here. I also have a S&S section with a ton of reviews with many using the gorgeous quality Italian DVD or Spanish release as a source. <br /><br />There's dozens upon dozens of these movies available in restored widescreen versions. Companies wouldn't need to do anything but license them and manufacture the discs. But likely the high fees Italians tend to have scare off the meager returns niche items like these bring in. And in this bad economic climate, we're likely to continue seeing suspect releases from retromedia and others for the time being.<br /><br />By the way, the most recent S&S films I reviewed here were the restored versions of SIGN OF ROME and HERO OF BABYLON.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-4026807141583560642011-09-20T19:30:05.968-07:002011-09-20T19:30:05.968-07:00Great article, and really puts the films in perspe...Great article, and really puts the films in perspective with the actors and directors relative to their other work in film. It's pretty hard to argue with most of your choices, too.<br /><br />Agreed that this genre has been almost criminally neglected by both film critics and buffs. It reminds me of the state of Japanese kaiju films in the late 1970s/early 1980s, when there was almost no attention or respect given to that genre.<br /><br />It seems to me that the logical starting point would be for some video company (Image Entertainment? Media Blasters? Shout Factory?) to put out a box set of Steve Reeves films (he being the most recognizable actor in the genre to the general public), hopefully transferred from clean widescreen prints of his best movies: HERCULES, HERCULES UNCHAINED, THE GIANT OF MARATHON, GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS, THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, DUEL OF THE TITANS, SON OF SPARTACUS, THE TROJAN HORSE, and THE LAST GLORY OF TROY. They should throw in THE FURY OF ACHILLES to round it out to 10 films and because of the story connection to the last two films, and to show that there was more to the genre than just Reeves. I really think a collection like this, if done with care would do more to bring attention to the genre than anything else, and hopefully would lead to more widescreen releases.<br /><br />In the meantime, I guess we'll all have to live with the low-rent shovelware collections (WARRIORS 50 Movie Set is an excellent starting point for the curious, although it's criminally missing a dozen or so of the best films) and the bootlegs from Sinister Cinema et. al.<br /><br />Your article definitely needs wider exposure to the public to educate them -- perhaps you could link it to Wikipedia's mostly good entry on "Sword-and-Sandal".Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06751939462958624387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-69657032297065724552010-01-24T06:03:33.124-08:002010-01-24T06:03:33.124-08:00A grand list, Lars. There's a couple there I h...A grand list, Lars. There's a couple there I haven't seen. SON OF SPARTACUS has eluded me for a long time, and is on my 'must buy' list.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-78488921692648457072010-01-24T02:55:37.239-08:002010-01-24T02:55:37.239-08:00Cool list! Here's my top 26:
1. Maciste Again...Cool list! Here's my top 26:<br /><br />1. Maciste Against the Vampire (Sergio Corbucci & Giacomo Gentilomo, 1961)<br />2. Maciste all'inferno (Guido Brignone, 1925)<br />3. Hercules at the Center of the Earth (Mario Bava, 1961)<br />4. Duel of the Titans (Sergio Corbucci, 1961)<br />5. Fury of Achilles (Marino Girolami, 1962)<br />6. The Witch's Curse (Riccardo Freda, 1962)<br />7. The Loves of Hercules (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1960)<br />8. Brennus, Enemy of Rome (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1963)<br />9. Hercules Unchained (Pietro Francisci, 1959)<br />10. The Giant of Metropolis (Umberto Scarpelli, 1961)<br />11. Hercules Against the Moon Men (Giacomo Gentilomo, 1964)<br />12. Giant of Marathon (Jacques Tourneur & Mario Bava, 1959)<br />13. Hercules and the Captive Women (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1961)<br />14. Hercules (Pietro Francisci, 1958)<br />15. Erik the Conqueror (Mario Bava, 1961)<br />16. The Last of the Vikings (Giacomo Gentilomo & Mario Bava, 1961)<br />17. Vengeance of Ursus (Luigi Capuano, 1961)<br />18. Conqueror of Atlantis (Alfonso Brescia, 1965)<br />19. The Queen of the Tartars (Sergio Grieco, 1961)<br />20. Kindar the Invulnerable (Osvaldo Civirani, 1964)<br />21. Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (Michele Lupo, 1963)<br />22. Hercules Vs. Moloch (Giorgio Ferroni, 1963)<br />23. Goliath and the Dragon (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1960)<br />24. Hercules and the Masked Rider (Piero Pierotti, 1964)<br />25. Son of Spartacus (Sergio Corbucci, 1963)<br />26. Goliath Against the Giants (Guido Malatesta, 1961)Lars Jacobssonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391509973612529806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-82630064414686382232010-01-11T14:52:56.718-08:002010-01-11T14:52:56.718-08:00Glad you enjoyed perusing the article, Max! Let me...Glad you enjoyed perusing the article, Max! Let me know what you think of some of the films when you get around to watching some of them.venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-53816028266316878972010-01-11T14:52:06.200-08:002010-01-11T14:52:06.200-08:00Hi, Adrian. I'm not sure what 'film meat&#...Hi, Adrian. I'm not sure what 'film meat' is, but I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for reading!venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-60017046021551134592010-01-10T23:29:51.624-08:002010-01-10T23:29:51.624-08:00For me, this post has done the very best thing you...For me, this post has done the very best thing you could have hoped for--educated me about a film type I knew little about; it also made me want to see some of the dvd titles I have in this genre that I've never made an effort to watch!<br /><br />Thanks!Max the drunken severed headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373555992387523559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-9075855704834135462010-01-10T19:59:07.420-08:002010-01-10T19:59:07.420-08:00This is a nice piece of film meat!This is a nice piece of film meat!Adrian Mendizabalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02627346620368062069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-6898564468532658412009-12-28T23:27:35.863-08:002009-12-28T23:27:35.863-08:00Hey, Sean! Thanks for stopping by!
No, I have ye...Hey, Sean! Thanks for stopping by! <br /><br />No, I have yet to see Leone's RHODES movie. I've been avoiding it on purpose, but will come back to it eventually. As you know, he gets so much exposure while so many others get little to nothing.<br /><br />You should definitely check out Harrison's costume epics. You'll see a noticeable difference from his westerns in terms of his performances. He's very energetic. GIANTS OF ROME is especially interesting and it's directed by Margheriti (VENGEANCE)venoms5https://www.blogger.com/profile/13655919099947763891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467807781586384838.post-71361774659456322822009-12-28T16:02:37.609-08:002009-12-28T16:02:37.609-08:00Wow what an exhaustive but entertaining and inform...Wow what an exhaustive but entertaining and informative article!<br /><br />It beats me too why this genre gets the cold shoulder from Eurocult fans who otherwise will lap up almost everything else involving certain directors/actors/other personel discussed here.I've only seen two of the films HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD and GOLIATH & THE SINS OF BABYLON both of which i can heartily recommend especially Bava's film for horror/Christopher Lee fans.I'm definitely intrigued too see movies involving Corbucci (ROMULUS & REMUS,this sounds great!),Richard Harrison(MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES,I've always liked CLASH OF THE TITANS which makes me doubly curious),Volonte(HERCULES AND THE CAPTIVE WOMEN),and generally the more action packed/gory and the Bava influenced both of which there'splenty discussed about here.<br /><br />It's quite curious that this genre experienced the same eventual fate as the sw's/Italian crime by descending into comedy in order to prop it up a while longer.<br /><br />BTW Brian did you ever get around to seeing Leone's THE COLLOSSUS OF RHODES(one i still haven't seen myself)?Sean Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13695535929871620460noreply@blogger.com