Starring Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo, George Ardisson, Marisa Belli
Directed by Mario Bava
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
In order to save his love from a hypnotic spell placed on her, Hercules and his friend Theseus must journey into the underworld, brave perilous terrain, and do battle with monsters.
One of the best Italian sword-and-sandal films is augmented by the work of Mario Bava, who not only directed and contributed to the screenplay and the film's special effects, but served as the director of photography, creating many vivid scenes of color to illustrate Hercules' supernatural voyage. British horror star Lee is brought in to play the demigod's nemesis, a political usurper who calls on the supernatural to bewitch Hercules' princess and although it's not one of his most dynamic roles, the actor is more than effective in the part. Unlike a number of sword-and-sandal efforts, the film never drags, with a great number of perils for Hercules and Theseus to face, including scaling a tree for the golden apple of the Hesperides, battling a stone monster, crossing a pit of bubbling lava, and fending off zombies rising from their underground coffins. Armando Trovajoli's musical score is well-suited to the action, and the special effects are cleverly done. The script is action-packed and smart enough to even not let Franco Giacobini's comic relief character overstay his welcome.
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