|
1958's
Le Fatiche di Ercole ("The Labors of Hercules",
released in the U.S. as Hercules
the following year) and this film, its immediate
sequel, touched off the pepla craze that
dominated European cinema exports for the next
five years. The beefcake heroes of this "Sword
and Sandal" genre would rule supreme until the
iconoclastic gunslingers and banditos of
the Spaghetti Western rode into town, the James
Bond wannabes of the Euro-spy knockoffs not far
behind in their bright red Alpha Romeos. In retrospect
it seems odd that the Greco-Roman myths hadn't
really been mined for movie material up until
that point (American cinema had stuck with biblical
epics), yet completely appropriate that it was
the Europeans who were the first to do so in a
major way. Ironically it was an American who became
the big pepla screen star, the enduring
poster boy for the genre: Montana-born bodybuilder
Steve Reeves (1926-2000). For those of us in our
forties and older, Steve Reeves simply is
Hercules, despite all the other movie and TV incarnations
of the character that followed. He's the Sean
Connery of Hercules actors.
Hercules Unchained
(Ercole e la Regina di Lidia, "Hercules
and the Queen of Lydia") picks up right where
the first film left off. Having completed his
voyage with the Argonauts, our hero disembarks
in Greece with his new bride Iole (the gorgeous
Sylva Koscina) and young Prince Ulysses (Gabriele
Antonini). Ulysses, heir to the throne of Ithaca,
is accompanying them to receive mentoring from
Hercules and to tour the city-state of Thebes,
Herc's home town. Even before they arrive there's
trouble. (And I'm not counting the sappy ballad,
"Evening Star", which Iole sings during the journey
— though I certainly could've done without it.
It's the worst dubbing in the picture.) While
passing through a rocky, bone-strewn valley, their
wagon is stopped by a loudmouthed, boastful giant
named Antaeus (Italian pro wrestler Primo Carnera)
who demands not only their horses and provisions
as tribute, but the lovely Iole as well. Hercules
isn't going to stand for that, of course
(he hasn't been married long enough), so he and
Antaeus have to fight. It's an amusing — and alas,
all too short — sequence, as Herc is genuinely
puzzled that each time he coldcocks him Antaeus
gets right back on his feet, laughing maniacally.
Ulysses provides the crucial information that
the giant draws renewed strength whenever he touches
the ground, so Hercules picks Antaeus up and tosses
him off a cliff into the sea.
Continuing
their journey, the travelers arrive at the outskirts
of Thebes to find the city on the brink of war.
During Herc's absence, blind King Oedipus abdicated
the throne in favor of his two sons, Eteocles
(Sergio Fantoni) and Polinices (Mimmo Palmara),
who agreed to rotate leadership of Thebes on an
annual basis. Now the year is up and Eteocles
refuses to relinquish the post. Infuriated, Polinices
is raising a mercenary army to attack the city
and claim the kingship by force. To end the crisis
Hercules proposes to act as an intermediary between
the feuding brothers; he and Ulysses agree to
carry an offer of negotiation to Polinices. But
misfortune befalls them almost immediately. Stopping
to rest, Hercules accidentally drinks the Waters
of Forgetfulness from a magic spring. This completely
wipes out his memory and knocks him unconscious.
Herc and Ulysses and captured by a soldiers and
placed aboard a ship, taking them to the island
of Lydia — ruled
by the cruel and very man-hungry Queen
Omphale (Sylvia Lopez, sporting some scary-looking
penciled-on eyebrows). A "black widow" of sorts,
Omphale has handsome men brought to her for amusement,
plying them with the amnesia-inducing water and
making them fall in love with her. Whenever she
grows bored the men are killed and then preserved
for display in her museum-like Hall of Dead Studmuffins.
Now it is Hercules —
who can't even remember his name —
who's consigned to this mink-lined deathtrap.
Meanwhile, as Ulysses desperately seeks a way
to revive his friend's memory, in Thebes the power-mad
Eteocles reveals his despotic nature by arresting
Herc's friends and family and preparing the city
for war. In revenge for his "betrayal" by Hercules
the king plans to feed Iole to his pet tigers
in the arena. Will our mighty strongman snap out
of his forgetful funk in time to save his wife
and city from destruction?
Hercules
Unchained just isn't as fun as the first
Reeves-Herc flick. Modern viewers will probably
find it tedious. It could certainly use more action.
Once waylaid by the Waters of Forgetfulness nearly
45 minutes goes by before Herc recovers his wits
and realizes it's clobbering time. In between
we get love scenes with Omphale, Ulysses' outwitting
of the queen's guards, Eteocles ranting and Iole
pining. Oh, and of course there's the obligatory
floor show courtesy of Omphale's dancing girls
— it just wouldn't be a peplum without
a dance number! (You might notice the zipper up
the back of the lead dancer's costume... Didn't
know they had those in the Bronze Age, huh?) When
Herc finally does break bad it's the usual statue
throwing, bar bending kind of stuff you'll get
in virtually every other pepla. Things
pick up considerably near the end, though, which
sees Reeves wrestling tigers and leading the soldiers
of Thebes in a big cast-of-thousands battle against
the mercenaries. Better late than never, I suppose.
So why not a lower film rating,
then? It a word: cheese. When I was 8 years
old I remember taking these movies (and TV shows
like Sons of Hercules) very seriously.
Now they're just silly fun. This isn't to say
these films are ineptly made. In the case of Hercules
Unchained, the production values, special
effects*
etc., are as good as anything out of Hollywood
from that time. But the dubbing, voice acting
and dialog are often laughable, and the acting
can sometimes be over-the-top. (With the Eteocles
character all these elements are combined.) As
femme fatale Omphale, Lopez is caked with so much
makeup she looks like a plastic animatronic figure
in Disneyland's Vegas Showgirls of the Ancient
World attraction. (Were there such a thing,
that is... And did I mention the über-scary
eyebrows? I did?) Hercules is really grouchy in
this film, too. It's amusing to watch Reeves bellow
with indignation — his voice dubbed by someone
else, even though his line readings are in English
— as he muscles his way through one situation
after the other.
While Hercules
Unchained may provide some unintentional
laughs, the film is certainly too slow and creaky
for action fans who just want to see the Greek
demigod doing what he does best: picking up big,
heavy things and whuppin' ass. At least it's Steve
Reeves in the role and not the likes of Reg Park
or Alan Steel. I'm giving it an extra rating point
for that aspect alone.
|
