MartinHafer It's amazing that this first 1950s Hercules film was the stimulus that led to bazillions of Hercules and Maciste films over the next 15 years. Why is this so hard to believe? Well, you'd expect that this film would be really, really good since it was such an important film--and you'd be 100% wrong. This mish-mash film was just as bad as many of the later films and is only marginally watchable. Not surprisingly, it has passed into the public domain--after all, who would want to renew rights to this film?! Some of the film's problems may or may not exist in the original Italian print. I don't know, as I have only just watched one of the English dubbed versions. The biggest and most obvious problem are the voice actors--their voices are too mechanical and bigger than life--so much so that they seem nothing like real people at times. The original Italian voices might be a lot better. Another problem (mostly for history freaks like myself) is that the films are a bizarre melange of both Greek AND Roman mythology--with Roman and Greek names interspersed throughout the film and the stories often bear little semblance to the originals. This is very sloppy but could also be the fault of the dubbers--perhaps the original film was based only on Greek or Roman characters--not both. Maybe in the original Italian it all made more sense.However, despite the sloppy dubbing, another major problem is that the film has too much in the way of plot. There are enough stories for two films. Why they chose to combine the story of Jason and the Argonauts seeking the golden fleece (a Greek tale) AND Hercules (Roman) dealing with an annoying king and his really annoying son is beyond me--especially because both characters could easily have several films of just their own adventures. In fact, with the story of Jason, huge portions of the tale are missing (such as the most important part--his relationship with Medea and her father) and the Hercules one simply doesn't look anything like the classical tales--nothing.The film has a few fun moments, but overall it looks cheap and sloppy--like most Hercules films. Some of the characters make no sense at all (such as the princess who loves Hercules but fights with him when Herc sets out to do EXACTLY what she'd asked him to do) and some are so one-dimensional they looked like they were written by a 3rd grader. If you LIKE cheap and sloppy films (I know I sure do), then this is definitely for you. If not, then see the Disney version. It's also very bad history and bastardizes the story terribly, but is still much closer to the original source material than this silly film.

Woodyanders Brave and honest legendary strongman Hercules (perfectly embodied by the brawny and handsome Steve Reeves) joins the noble Jason (solid Fabrizio Mioni) and his Argonauts on a perilous quest to find the golden fleece. During their dangerous journey Hercules and company encounter a tribe of beautiful, yet lethal Amazons, a bunch of savage apemen, and the lumbering dinosaur that guards the golden fleece. Director/co-writer Pietro Francisco relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, handles the fanciful subject matter with admirable respect and sincerity, maintains a serious tone throughout, and stages the action scenes with reasonable gusto (a lively climactic large scale battle is especially exciting). Reeves as Hercules makes for a touching and sympathetic hero as he wishes to be mortal and have human emotions so he can win over the favor of fair maiden princess Iole (the lovely Sylva Koscina). Hercules' feats of incredible strength are pretty nifty and stirring; highlights include wrestling both a ferocious lion and an equally vicious bull, pulling a tree out of the ground by the roots, and knocking over enormous pillars. The good acting by a competent cast qualifies as another substantial plus: Giana Maria Canale as ravishing Amazon queen Antea, Ivo Garrani as the weak and pathetic King Pelias, Arturo Dominici as the evil, treacherous Eurysteus, Gabriele Antonini as the eager Ulysses, and Mimmo Palmara as the arrogant Iphitus. Mario Bava's gorgeous widescreen cinematography gives the picture an impressively expansive scope. Enzo Masetti's robust, rousing score likewise does the trick. A fun flick.

MARIO GAUCI Being the film that really cemented the appeal of the peplum subgenre – to say nothing of the reputation of one of its most popular icons, the muscle-bound Steve Reeves – this film has much to answer for but, unfortunately, I have to say that the archetype (and its sequel) didn't exactly live up to expectations! I had watched both Hercules adventures as a kid on Italian TV and this recent re-acquaintance came via the R1 Goodtimes DVD, which presented the American-dubbed version (as prepared by Joseph E. Levine) in a washed-out, lamentably panned-and-scanned print! Mind you, the film is still enjoyable along the way but also rather juvenile and uninspired – centering as it does around the famous mythological tale of the search for the Golden Fleece (whose definitive screen rendition remains the splendid Ray Harryhausen extravaganza JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS [1963], a personal childhood favorite of mine, where Hercules was portrayed by Nigel Greene!). Two other Italian adaptations of Greek legends, both originally by Homer, proved altogether more satisfactory – the template for HERCULES was clearly the lively ULYSSES (1954), an Italian/US venture involving the likes of Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn among the cast and Ben Hecht and Irwin Shaw as co-writers (that film's titular figure actually appears here as a brash youth!), while THE Trojan HORSE (1961) gave Steve Reeves himself a more mature role in Aeneas and survives as possibly his best vehicle.Throughout the course of the film, our 'immortal' hero is seen performing several athletic feats (the original title, in fact, translates to THE LABORS OF HERCULES), romances "Euro-Cult" favorite Sylva Koscina, resists the temptations of the Amazon women (led by Gianna Maria Canale from I VAMPIRI [1957]), fights a lion, a dragon and a tribe of monkey men(!), routs the traitor among his shipping crew (BLACK Sunday [1960]'s Arturo Dominici) and, finally, brings down a temple by pulling at its columns a' la Samson (thus paving the way for Jason to assume his rightful place on the throne).

lastliberal Don't look for an Oscar moments here as the acting is wooden for the most part and the special effects a bit far-fetched, but this is a film that can be enjoyed by everyone.Mr. Universe 1950, Steve Reeves became a star with this film. People didn't come to see acting, they just wanted him to take his shirt off. He would be the role model for future Hercules like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, who gave him his due.After performing all the stunt he is famous for, he saves the day for Jason (Fabrizio Mioni, who went on to a long TV career in America) and rowed off into the sunset with Croatian beauty Sylva Koscina.This is the stuff epics are made of.