Herkules und die Königin der Amazonen

I grew up watching this stuff as a Saturday afternoon matinee 30 years ago & now, it's still as much fun to watch.

Hercules, now married to Ioli, is returning to Thebes to help sort out a dispute over who has the rights to the throne of Thebes. Along the way, Hercules loses his memory & is seduced by the evil Amphale who goes through husbands like Elizabeth Taylor, however, Amphale is something of a black widow & uses a few Egyptians to preserve her ex-husbands in the family crypt.

However, one look at the rugged carved from granite Steve Reeves & all her black widow tendencies fly out the window, but she still wants him for good.

Of course it all ends up in a good ruckus with sword fights, chariot duels, Hercules throwing tables & coffins at rushing troops, 2 insane brothers with a hatred for each other (& their father) & inevitably the faithful sidekick who chimes in with a few vital day-saving moments.

Clint Eastwood may have been the king of the Spaghetti Western, but Steve Reeves was the king of the Spaghetti Swords & Sandals. So if that's your cup of tea, I recommend this movie as an excellent addition to your collection.

This film is a nice sequel to Francisci's gem "Hercules," the film that launched a seven-year festival of swords, sandals, cloaks, daggers, musclemen, and gorgeous women in the Italian cinema. In this sequel, Mario Bava returns as the FX man, and dazzles us with an array of visual effects which impart to this film an almost Hollywood-like sensationalism. The problem is, there is too much of it! After the first 30 minutes or so, the stuff tired me, sheerly through the fact that my mind ceased to remain in the elevated state necessary to appreciate and "roll with" what the director wanted to achieve visually. So there were alternate periods of depression and elevation, although the film, when viewed as a whole, must be one of the most stunning sword-and-sandals of all time. In this respect, Pietro Francisci did well. However, I still prefer the first entry to this one.

Laughing heartily in the face of danger, Steve Reeves leads the way in Hercules: Unchained, a film about just how much tail you can get with a good beard. Okay, so there's a story about two sassy brothers' fight over a kingdom, a random encounter with the son of the Earth god and waters of forgetfulness... great. The real story here: oiled-up men in loincloths having their way with giggling servant girls. This movie jam packed with servant girls running from Herc and Ulysses down stairs, around corners and pretty much any direction that shows off the goods. As if that wasn't enough to get you totally pumped about this movie while cleaning the house... fake tigers! If you're a fan of fake tigers in fake tiger fights... you'll need to rent this one soon. Mostly though, its about the servant girls. 8 out of 10.

This is the second Hercules flick featuring Steve Reeves as the man of muscle. The legendary Reeves melds with the god/man Hercules and turns what could have been a cheesefest into an action/adventure spectacle as tightly woven as Hercules' toga. Competing with Reeves for biggest chest is his umptuous co-star Sylvia Lopez as the evil Queen Omphale who makes living statues out of her conquests. Hercules' pals include Gabriele Antonini as Ulysses who gives the man of muscle a mighty rubdown and competes for Herc's attentions with his sexy wife Iole, played with sweet sassiness by beautiful Sylvia Koscina. With Hercules shirtless (and occasionally oiled) for most of the flick and his mini-toga riding up his thick manly thighs there's something for everybody to enjoy. Of special note is the dance of Queen Omphale's slave girls and Herc's wrestling match with real life Italian pro-wrestler, Primo Carnera. Keep an eye out for plentiful low camera angles.

but not at the level of the original 1958 film also starring Steve Reeves in the lead role.

Still this does deliver some good thrills such as Hercules battling the giant Antaeus (Primo Carnera), trying to escape the influence of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez who I feel was truly bewitching in the role), tangling with deadly tigers and finally trying to rescue his lovely bride Iole (Sylva Koscina) from the crazed Eteocles all while trying to stop his homeland of Thebes from descending into war.

The middle portion of the film which has Hercules under the spell of Queen Omphale once his memory has been wiped away by the waters of forgetfulness is a bit slow but is still fun...fun adventure not to be taken too seriously is how I'd describe this one.