El Gran Julio Cesar

There's nothing to report here other than for once, before France's commercial film market got all artsy in the 60s and 70s, we had a decent epic film with some action made by the French. It could have been a production right out of Hollywood had it not been for the fact that everyone was speaking French.

As you can guess this film deals with Caesar's forays into Gaul, modern France, and how he overcame the Gaullic leader Vercingetorix. Both sides of the conflict are given flourishes, but there is a dash of fatalism in regards to the acting and story presentation (no surprise as it is a French production).

A little history, Julius Caesar simply went into Gaul/France to bolster his own reputation. There was no real threat at the time, and all he did was exacerbate what tension there already was, and, on to of that, tortured and slaughtered thousands all for the sake of his name. Vercingetroix was one of the toughest foes Rome had ever faced, but he was publicly strangled in the end in Rome before the people.

That part is not in this film, nor are Julius Caesar's bloodier exploits of killing women and children, and not just fighting men. But, being a film of the 1960s, there was only so much violence that could be shown at the time.

The acting is okay, the art direction is quite good. It's decently shot for the time; lots of master shots, few cutaways unless focusing on a different character. And, finally, a little hampered in the action department.

I don't if it's the French version of staging a battle, or whether they just didn't have competent technical people, but the battle scenes seemed a little half baked, and that's putting it kindly. Still, they deliver on the action for a film that had been heavy with dialogue, but are somewhat scattered in terms of staging.

Over all it's an okay film. A product of it's time, it's nothing to write home about, but a decent watch all the same.

See it once.

This film renders the exploits of the famed Roman conqueror (generally depicted on-screen either via the Shakespeare play or the Cleopatra affair) routine through countless tortuous intrigues and, when they finally arrive, lifeless battle sequences (despite some gratuitous carnage in close-up, they're full of choppy stock footage and the moves of the various stuntmen/extras look all-too-obviously choreographed and, worse still, fake)! At the very least, however, the American star of this peplum – Cameron Mitchell, who made several of them during this era – delivers a thoughtful portrayal in the title role. The fact that this is cut-rate even for the modest standards usually set by the genre is borne out by its anonymous production values and supporting cast (other than Rik Battaglia, as a hammy villain bearing the unwieldy name of Vercingetorix, and future Italian TV personality Raffaella Carra', playing Caesar's young protégé); unfortunately, blonde Belgian beauty Dominique Wilms (as Battaglia's warrior lover) does not have near enough screen time to make up for these flaws

If Julius Caesar were to have had a publicist back in the day, he could have done worse than have had this created as an example of his military prowess. Cameron Mitchell plays the eponymous Roman autocrat who must rally his troops in the face of an open rebellion at the hands of Gaulish tribal leader Vercingetorix (Rik Battaglia). The story is a bit wobbly - there are some rather unnecessary romantic elements centring around his ward "Publia" (Raffaella Carrà) and the Queen of the Gauls "Astrid" (Dominique Wilms) which offers up a bit of feminine rivalry that doesn't work at all well, but the battle scenes are authentic enough and unlike so many films set around this time, the sets and look of the film come across as more genuine too. Buildings made of brick rather than marble, and the fight scenes more randomly staged (less choreographed) which all helps keep this flowing quite well. Sadly, the dubbing is largely out of synch, the editing seems more as if it had been hacked rather than cut and the budget doesn't quite facilitate the ambitions of director Nino Scolaro. Still, I didn't hate it and fans of the genre ought to get enough from the slightly overlong 1¾ hours to keep it interesting.

Here's a low-budget but epic-looking peplum movie which begins with lots of suspenseful court intrigue as the Roman senate conspire against Caesar, and ends with a predictable but rousing battle sequence which leaves bodies strewn asunder. Now to many people this will just seem like another typical peplum movie with not much to distinguish it from dozens of others. There's one difference - for a change we have a strong acting performance from Cameron Mitchell, resplendent in a grey wig as Julius Caesar. Mitchell's character is actually explored in the movie and given motivation, while the scriptwriters go behind the scenes to show the powerful, occasionally cruel, but just, man that he was (being an Italian movie this is obviously on Rome's "side" and depicting the Gaul as bloodthirsty barbarians).

The costumes and sets are immaculate, giving the film a really authentic look which is one of the strong points, and there's plenty of action to keep the drama moving along nicely. Bloody battles are done in style on wide grassy plains and with good choreography and lots of bloodshed and death. This is a surprisingly grisly film for the time in which it was made, with some strong moments of torture via red-hot pincers and scenes like when a soldier is axed in the head with blood pouring down his face which act as a forerunner to the atrocity movies they were making in the early '80s. Arrows drive into heads and through necks and bodies are impaled and stabbed on swords, so this definitely isn't a movie for children. Whoever said that BRAVEHEART paved the way for historical war violence was obviously mistaken!

The supporting cast is a strong one and the film gives Mitchell a worthy opponent in the form of Rik Battaglia, an Italian actor who would enjoy relative success later on in his career. Battaglia shows us the human side of Vercingetorix which makes him a likable screen villain. Assorted Italian beauties flesh out the rest of the cast along with good supporting turns from Ivo Payer as the torture victim and various double-crossers and traitorous allies.

I found this to be a pretty involving movie in that we learned to care for the characters instead of simply not giving a damn as in so many films. I would even go so far as to say that some moments - like a pan over a field littered with the mutilated bodies of the dead - are pretty humbling as the film-makers intended while the action is both stirring and exciting. Sure, the low budget is evident in the occasional use of stock footage but nonetheless, CAESAR THE CONQUEROR is an enjoyable, old-fashioned yarn which could stand up with the best of them.

One of the better films in Mill Creek's Warriors 50-Pack. It isn't a "clean" copy but you can see and hear the film just fine - but the color of the film is a quite a bit faded. If you are a fan of the film I would recommend finding a stand alone copy that has been cleaned up and color adjusted.

This is the story of how Julius Caesar conquered The Gauls. It's a decent film and account of what happened and how it happened. I am not going to say this is an accurate of what happened because I wasn't there when it happened and really don't know, nor do I claim to know Roman and German history - I'm still learning more about it.

I can say from the stand point of Italian "Hollywood" entertainment - the film is entertaining and is well acted out. Lavish costuming, props and sets the way most all the peplum films are.

5/10