Steve Reeves returns as Hercules in this very enjoyable Peplum, with cinematography by Mario Bava. Concorde German R2 DVD.
The Film
With Hercules
(1958) wowing audiences in the USA, and breaking into the top
box-office draws of the year, and not peforming too shabbily in Italy
either, a sequel was all but inevitable.
Bidding fairwell to his
comrade Argonauts, Hercules (Steve Reeves) and his new wife Iola along
with the young Ulysses head for the hero's home town of Thebes. On the
way however they learn that the city is under threat of war. King
Oedipus gave up his throne to his two sons, agreeing that they would
alternate each year, but Eteocles has refused to ceed the throne,
and Polinices is prepared to make war to win it back, with a
vicious band of mercanaries. Hercules, not wanting to see his home city
torn by conflict, offers to mediate between the pair and heads up to
Thebes to talk with Eteocles. The latter sees sense, knowing that
he could not defend the city against such a force, agrees to surrender
and sends Hercules back with a peace treaty. On the way however
Hercules drinks from a forbidden stream and loses his memory, and along
with Ulysses he is taken by soliders to the palace of Queen
Omphale, who plans to keep the hero as a lover. Meanwhile, both
brothers think that they have been betrayed and battle lines are
drawn...
After a rather mysterious pre-credits sequence that will make sense much later, the film follows on directly from Hercules
(1958) - with a voice-over recapping the characters and how they came
to be there as Hercules and Iola big farewell to the Argonauts. While
those who have seen the first film should enjoy this
sequence, newcomers might find it rather dull and it relies on you
knowing and enjoying the characters of the previous entry. Similarly to
its predecessor, the film is noticable slow paced, especially compared
to many of the follow-ups, with only a couple of fight scenes in the
whole film and some scenes that do rather seem to be
padding.Fortunately this slow pacing provides plenty of opportunity for
storyline - and this film contains two. It does at first seem like two rather
unconnected stories have been combined, although in the film as a
whole they do seem to work quite well together. It is
a pity that more focus is not put on the duelling brothers story, taken
quite closely from a classic Greek legend, Seven Against Thebes (although the savage 'seven' are curiously absent), which is notably more interesting and original than the Queen Omphale romance, which does seem to drag the film down a little - this sequence is very loosely based on another Greek legend, Heracles and Omphale
in which Hercules is forced to become the servant of the Queen for a
year in punishment for murder - a rather more interesting story than
that presented here. Generally
the film is a lot darker than Hercules, and at times borders on the
surreal - the light hearted edge of many Pepla is missing here, and
although Hercules is certainly not an anti-hero, the film does not seem
to contain any typical villains - the brothers in particular are
neither heros or villains, both with a good claim to their actions
while Queen Omphale never really aligns herself and we cannot be sure
if she is evil or just mad. Eventually the film builds to a rather
dramatic and quite tense battle scene climax, although sadly this
doesn't quite get enough runtime to do it justice, and the ending seems
a little rushed - a shame since there are several scenes during the
film that could have been shortened. Director Pietro Francisci returns
from the first film to helm the production, but again it is the
cinematographer Mario Bava whose presence here can really be felt, with
the prudent use of matt paintings, and the impressive lighting effects
that lend the film his distinct atmosphere. The production as a whole
is very impressive, with some full size ships, and a good cast of
extras, particularly in the final battle which would rank among the
best in the genre if it had been given a little more time. The
soundtrack by Enzo
Masetti, who also worked on the first film, is quite typical and suits
the film just fine.
Steve Reeves gets to do some good acting here as the baffled Hercules, and puts on a good show in the fight scenes as well. Sylva Koscina returns as Iole and is as beautiful as ever. Alongside the returning crew from Hercules, there are a few recognisable faces in the cast, including Sergio Fantoni (Von Ryan's Express
(1965)) who gives a positively Shakespearian performance as Eteocles,
and the final film role for big heavyweight boxer Primo Carnera who has
previously appeared as a strongman in The Mighty Joe Young (1948).
Despite some problems with the pacing, Hercules Unchained
is a very enjoyable Peplum, and ranks among the genre's best - blessed
by good performances, and some very solid work by Mario Bava, the film
looks superb and comes recommended to all genre fans, and a good one
for newcomers (although it makes a lot more sense when watched
alongside Hercules (1958)).
In Brief
Anyone famous in it?
Steve Reeves - the iconic star of the Pepla, who also starred in Sandokan: Pirate of Malaysia (1964).
Directed by anyone interesting?
Pietro Francisci - an otherwise unknown director who helmed a couple of Pepla, including the original, Les Travaux d'Hercule (1959).
Who else was involved?
Cinematography on the film was by Mario Bava, best known for his horror work, including Black Sunday (1960)
Any violence/gore?
Nothing vivid.
Any sex?
None.
Who is it for?
A very enjoyable Peplum, and certainly recommended to all fans of the genre.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour The
print is very good most of the film, with minimal damage and grain - although some scenes are notably lower in quality.
Audio
German and English tracks. Both sound good, although there are some audio drop-outs.
Subtitles
None.
Extras
The disc includes some unrelated trailers. The DVD case includes a foldout poster for Hercules Unchained as well as a chapter insert.
Availability
German release. DVD Title: Herkules und die Königin der Amazonen Only available as part of a 2-disc pack with Hercules (1958) - the latter is sadly a cut and quite low quality print (see the review page for an image comparison).
Region
Region 2 (UK, Europe) - NTSC
Other regions?
Available on various public domain releases in the US with very low image quality and often fulscreen prints.
Cuts?
The
print is missing a very brief (1 second) shot from the end of the film
of bodies on fire - probably cut for the original German theatrical
release. This is not noticable when watching the film. The print used
is the English langauge print, with the German title overlayed.
Summary
An enjoyable film which despite some problems in the script, has good acting and very strong production. Recommended.
A generally good looking and sounding print, the best DVD currently available.
