An Italian sword and sandal action film directed by Domenico Paolella.
A princess is captured by the Babylonians and hides her identity as a common slave. She sends for Hercules to come save her and the people of her kingdom from the Babylonian royalty who conspire against one another.
...and another one. Political intrigue, feats of strength, nobles in hiding, whatever. I don't even care anymore. It all just blends together so much that I can barely tell it's a different movie. Sometimes Hercules has a beard, but he never EVER wears a shirt. Before I go on another rant (saving that for the last sword and sandal debacle), I'll rate it bad.
An Italian action adventure film directed by Piero Pierotti.
A princess is engaged to a corrupt man who she does not love. Her true love returns from a war to find this and leads a band of gypsies and a strongman to overthrow the government.
Hercules outside of the sword and sandal genre? Too bad it didn't end up being any different. This is just like our famous hero's escapades in his own genre, with too much politics, crappy production and poor presentation. Again I don't feel the need for a long review and just rate it poor.
A French Italian sword and sandal action adventure film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.
After being forced into a sea voyage, Hercules meets a god called Proteus who is holding a young woman captive. After defeating the god, Hercules brings the woman to her home in Atlantis where he finds out that she was sacrificed by her mother, the queen.
Yet another sword and sandal flick that is just as worthless as the last. I think I only have a few more of these to go. No style, vague and muddy plot, forgettable characters, you know the deal. Rating it bad.
A French Italian sword and sandal science fiction action film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo.
Hercules saves the citizens of a city from their corrupt queen and the aliens with whom she has been plotting to rule the world.
Another crappy sword and sandal flick. More mandatory bar bending scenes for Hercules. This time they added a science fiction element to really spice it up and make things different (sarcasm). I don't think that a long review is necessary for this type of thing. I rate it bad.
An American western directed by Bernard Girard, starring James Caan, Stefanie Powers and Sammy Davis Jr.
A man who is released from prison teams up with a Mexican woman to destroy a town with a corrupt leader.
EDIT:
I just watched this a second time and I was wrong in my initial review. This is what would happen if Bakshi did a live action western. Most of the story is told visually and through changes in the musical score. The two main characters are very memorable and the simple plot makes it easy to pay attention to. My favorite scene is still the one with the Mexican woman trying to get the cowboy's attention. The ending (which I still won't spoil) is good too because they break the fourth wall. I had initially thought that the funk and fusion music in the soundtrack was out of place, but now that I see it again, it makes more sense. I was strongly reminded of the Wizards (1977) soundtrack. I realized that this was a repeat that I accidentally got again because of the folk song that accompanies the beginning and ending. Then I thought of the picture above and decided to give it another chance. Glad I did, because now I'm changing my rating from poor to awesome. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes '70s films.
A French Italian sword and sandal action adventure film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.
A Grecian strongman fights monsters to protect his loved ones, thwart political schemes and disturb the gods.
The only reason to watch this is for the way cheesy monster fights. The hero (Goliath or Hercules?) faces Cerberus, a flying demon, a real elephant and a wingless dragon. I can see why it was voted by The Official Razzie Movie Guide to be one of the best bad movies ever made. I don't want to give too much away about the monsters, but the budget was pretty low and the results are definitely entertaining. The plot was easy to follow, even while distracted, and the characters are identifiable. The quality of the audio and video were low, but what do you expect? The camera-work was shitty and any style present came from lack thereof. I'll rate it o.k. because it's so bad it's good.
An Italian Israeli spaghetti western directed by Gianfranco Parolini, starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett.
An orphaned boy is looked after by a priest. He thinks that his parents are dead. The priest has a gun behind the altar of their church which does not belong to him. When the priest is killed, the boy seeks out the owner of the gun and reveals his true history.
This diamond in the rough is what I'm talking about! The style is very much a classic western, with good camera-work and a fitting soundtrack. The plot and characters were interesting and plots for each character were developed as to how they fit together in the main plot. The costumes were awesome and made me want to dress like a cowboy. The sets were great because they looked old, lived in and dirty/dusty like the old west is supposed to be. The only criticism that I have for this film is that the barroom brawl/dry-hump scene was too long. I'm rating this good because it's exactly the quality of film that I want to watch more frequently.
