Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 36

Thread: Do you like movies about gladiators?

  1. #1

    Default Do you like movies about gladiators?

    I've always found inspiration in low budget gladiator or ancient history and mythology movies from Italy in the 1950s-1960s. They made dozens of these before the spaghetti western was invented and mostly displaced them.

    Here are some full length examples.

    Goliath and the Vampires - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjEf5rQ124
    Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdPGcC3xYE0
    Thor and the Amazon Women - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3NwDfPqI_k
    Hercules (the Steve Reeves version) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on2oY44h7R0
    Anthar the Invincible - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dpt-vaxMUk
    Giants of Thessaly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3zApRt-ONg
    Sappho, Venus of Lesbos - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz1NZ6mgsyE

    But films recognizably within the genre have had wide ranging settings including seventeenth century Russia (The White Warrior), some sort of American Aztec-Inca hybrid culture (Hercules and the Sons of the Sun) and the medieval China of fantasy (Hercules versus the Great Khan).

    Why do I find these pictures so amusing?

    Partially, it's the same sort of pleasure you get from watching any other sorts of movies that are so bad they're funny. Not all of them are like that -- nominally speaking, good films like Gladiator, Spartacus, Ben-Hur and Clash of the Titans fall within the genre. But the more serious in tone and intention, and the higher the production values, the less likely it is I will watch it over and over again.

    Bad dubbing, amateur acting by bodybuilder leads, and terribly low budget special effects make the films more fun for me. But it's the relentless kinkiness that adds special relish to these films. There's something for gay and straight viewers alike.

    This is fostered by the bog-standard plot that so many of them had. There will be an evil usurper and a good band of rebels gathered around a noble, rightful ruler. But the usurper will have an evil queen that's the true power behind the throne. She is busty and scantily dressed, to let us know she's dangerous. The evil usurper and queen may be the same person.

    Our bare and barrel-chested hero will inevitably be captured by the evil rulers. He's probably done some feats of strength before, wrestled guys in bear suits or thrown prop boulders around. But he will be put to the test by a contrived torture scene which he overcomes by brute strength. The evil queen will find herself rendered quite moist as she watches the hero flex his pecs and biceps. Her lust for Our Hero will undermine the usurper's tyranny and ultimately lead to the triumph of good over evil.

    And there will always be some kind of hooch dancing sequence. It's a low budget spectacle. And it lets the viewer know that the evil regime is composed of sensuous pagans with a serious taste for hooch dancing. Sometimes, it's the best thing in the picture.

    This is adapted from the intro essay to a DeviantArt group I started.
    Last edited by Heraclea; 9th March 2013 at 06:41.
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

  2. #2

    Default

    Romulus and the Sabines with Roger Moore and Mylene Demongeot
    Goliath and the Vampires with Gordon Scott
    Sandokan, Pirate of Malaysia with Steve Reeves
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

  3. #3

    Default

    This is one of my all time favorites:

    Triumph of the Son of Hercules with Kirk Morris.
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

  4. #4

    Default

    Aw, I'm a sucker for cheesy films sometimes. Gonna have to watch some of those later
    Expert Shield of the Risen opener.

  5. #5

    Default

    Invinvible Barbarian. So utterly atrocious ... and yet deliciously bad ...

    http://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Bar.../dp/B000Z16G1Q

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ibrock View Post
    Invinvible Barbarian. So utterly atrocious ... and yet deliciously bad ...

    http://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Bar.../dp/B000Z16G1Q
    I've seen that

    Here's another:

    Hercules Against the Mongols with Mark Forest.
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

  7. #7

    Default

    I would also add that if you aren't watching the Vikings show on the History Channel, you are missing out. You can stream them online.
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Heraclea View Post
    I would also add that if you aren't watching the Vikings show on the History Channel, you are missing out. You can stream them online.
    Agreed! Vikings rocks.

  9. #9

    Default

    It is a pretty good series actually, I'm currently catching up on it myself.
    Perception is everything, and yours doesnt matter.

  10. #10

    Default

    Duel of Champions (Les Horaces et les Curiaces)

    Very loosely based on the story of the Horatii from Livy. One of the best of its kind, actually.
    Quæ tam fera immanisque natura? - Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio
    ------
    Heraclea (conq)--Hippolyte (rgr)--Ursamaior (BS)--Turandot (demo)--Nhutruong (DT)--Grignette (barb)--Haboob (HoX)--Androctone (guard)--Almawt (sin)--Dysphemia (necro)
    讓我給你讀你的內臟

Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •