Der Löwe von Theben

LION OF THEBES is the story of Aryan (Mark Forest), a bodyguard who has saved the life of Helen of Troy (a delicious portrayal by the ever-beautiful Yvonne Furneaux) as the Greeks sack the fabled city. Their flight leads them to the deserts of Egypt and finally to Thebes. There Pharoah Ramses goes mad for Helen and decides his intended bride (the wonderful Rosalba Neri) is no longer good enough for him. There is much court intrigue, an assassination, which naturally culminates in Helen being blamed for the whole mess. The true guilty parties attempt to put her to death but Aryan saves the day. This film could have used several hundred more extras but everything considered is not a bad peplum at all. Mark Forest considered this his best film and he certainly is good. The color is dazzling as are the lighting schemes and cinematography. These Italian sword and sandal epics are in serious need of re-evaluation because they certainly do not deserve the critical beatings they took in the Sixties. Worthy of a viewing by anyone who enjoys this genre.

What actually happened to the beautiful Helena after the Trojan War on the way back to Sparta to her old husband Menelaus? Homer and Herodotus give different answers.

The director Giorgio Ferroni gives us a third answer. With him, Helena (Yvonne FURNEAUX) ends up as a castaway in the land of the pharaohs, accompanied by her extremely strong bodyguard Arion (the body-built opera singer Mark FOREST). There, Massimo SERATO, Rosalba NERI and Pierre CRESSOY are both drawn into a crazy series of intrigues. It's good that Arion (in Herodotus he's still the guy with the dolphin) can fight so well! Against Cinecitta-known cascaders like Nello PAZZAFINI and the massive MESSINA brothers (Emilio and Roberto) he even manages to become the "Lion of Thebes"!

Honor where honor is due! But we know our sword and sandal films! Despite all the difficulties and surprises, the Greek beauty and her brave hero return home to Hellas. With a well-built lover like Arion at her side, Helena will be able to endure the Spartan conditions again.

Mark Forest's personal favorite of his films is one of the best Italian sword & sandal films of the 1960s. Superior writing and direction, and handsome Egyptian sets and costumes, make it seem like a wonderful comic book come to life. Forest, in great shape, has never been better or been better-photographed. Furneaux capably heads a strong supporting cast.

The story finds the Pharaoh Rameses in love with Helen of Troy (Furneaux), who prefers Aryan (Forest), her beefy bodyguard. A mythological mix-up, but it's one of the genre's strongest, most logical and compelling stories.

A film like this, in an unfaded print with strong bright colors, makes one wonder if some of these films aren't actually better than they seem in their ludicrously-dubbed American TV versions. If this had been made by Fassbinder, David Lynch or some other fashionable director, it might be acclaimed as an avant garde masterpiece.

Il leone di tebe(1964) Regia di Giorgio Ferroni Con Mark Forest, Yvonne Furneaux, Massimo Serato, Rosalba Neri, Pierre Cressoy, Enzo Fiermonte, Alberto Lupo

That the set are well done but a bit in the studio, the costumes and hairstyles are good.The story at the beginning is a bit' slow and boring, but then it becomes interesting.Yvonne Furneax is beautiful and she had breathtaking close-ups, has a wonderful body. No chemistry with Mark Forest and their love story is boring. The music is recycled and not very incisive.Rosalba Neri is beautiful and manages to be more provocative, sensual and charismatic of Furneax.Mark Forest better than usual but in the fight scenes you can see his double . Very good Alberto Lupo, Massimo Serato and Pierre Cressoy as the villains.There are some interesting twists. A good peplum film even if there are moments of bore.

In a beauty contest with contemporary Helen Diane Kruger in Petersen's extravaganza ,Yvonne Furneaux would certainly win hands down,weren't it only for her sublime eyes.

A "cultural" prologue tells us that the film was based on "documents" which would tend to substantiate a thesis that,for Helen,there was a life after Troy.And that she and Menelas were not exactly the best of friends when the war came to an end .I doubt,however,that a junior high school student would get an A plus if he wrote his essay about Helen's fate after watching this flick.

The star is actually Mark Forest a muscle man ,who left reportedly sword and sandals for the opera ,but his acting is so wooden that Yvonne Furneaux's beauty (a French Helen,why not?) is the main attraction.

The story? Helen and her attentive escort Arion arrive in Egypt where they are taken in by the pharaoh.Of course Helen's beauty is bound to cause more disasters but there are plenty of villains around including her hubby himself.Poor Helen is accused of pharaoh's murder and sentenced to a horrible death ( crushed between two stones).There are lots of treasons,murders,even a trial ,in a cheap Thebes.

Girogio Ferroni had directed another movie about Troy with Steve Reeves but he did not use the same actress for Helen:Yvonne Furneaux is an improvement on the former actress,this is the only nice thing I can say about "Leone di Tebe"