Review of Hercules Unchained (1959) by Robbie R — 07 Nov 2009

Hercules Unchained (Ercole e la regina di Lidia) is a superb offering from Pietro Francisci and his Italian filmed myths. What stands out immediately are the colors and art direction by Mario Bava. His rich, distinctive style is a sight to behold. He would later go on to produce rather famous Italian horror.

Steve Reeves is a terrific Hercules in this tale based on several of the Greek classical myths, of course, combined, altered and rewritten for the screen. Serbian born Italian Sylva Koscina as Iole has gifted on screen presence. Her tenderness is only matched by her beauty. There's lots of fun character actors as well added to the mix, including a playful version of Ulysses and heavyweight champion Primo Carnera as Anteo, the giant. Sylvia Lopez as Queen Onfale, of Lidia is terrific in every scene she's in. Tragically, she passed away while working on another film the same year. Watching her here, she looks as healthy as a human has a right to be. Hard to believe she was suffering from leukemia at the time of shooting.

The music score is almost as luscious as femme fatales in this epic. Enzo Masetti offers up a full bounty of a musical themed moments, particularly the love theme, used earlier from the first film of the Hercules series. As in most of these Italian productions, the voices are dubbed. But the quality and choice of voices is really rather good, each matching quite well the role of the character. Fans of old radio drama such as X minus One, Suspense, Dimension X, etc. will immediately recognize many of the familiar voices heard.

All in all this is a great diversion from the fast cutting, violent, in your face films that now take precedence in our lives (if we let them). Watch this hidden classic with your date, your parents or your children and do so with ease and joy, the way films were meant to be seen. Or, if you are of a different predisposition, like others who might have difficulty remaining still for 5 minutes, you might want to stay away from this kind of film, or really anything made before you were born. Rent something more 'hip' or 'edgy' or whatever. Perhaps SAW XCIIV, Hostel XII or some other charming sadistic fare again and again and hang out with those who see life in similar hues as your own. That way you're sure never to be disappointed or accused of the Herculean feat of seeing things other than how you are supposed to.