Hercule et la reine de Lydie

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.

Only a fool would curse a fairy tale because it narrates the actions of a witch. A good man has a strong enough heart to allow differences to flourish as long as people are allowed to live their lives in a peaceable manner.

That's the great lesson that underlines this film, otherwise silly and occasionally mawkish. I suppose that's why intelligent children have loved the Hercules myth ever since it could be recorded. Hercules is pretty dumb, but he's a nice guy with good intentions, the most important of which is to keep those who have let power corrupt them from bringing ruin to farmers and villagers and other peaceful working people.

Here he is threatened by three evil generals and an over-self-indulgent witch. The plot is partly based on the Hercules myth itself, but borrows freely from the Odyssey and from the Oedipus plays, with just a dash of the Argonauts legend tossed in briefly at the beginning.

Alright, so it's a mess. And the middle third is just outright dull as the witch grows to love her buffoonish captive.

Never mind. It's well-made for its time and place, colorful, and even occasionally lyrical. And some of the fight scenes retain their excitement, after all these years.

Perhaps best viewed - and understood - by children; but can provide real entertainment for intelligent adults in the right frame of mind.

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.

These movies starring Steve Reeves wouldn't have worked if it weren't for his presence.

This is one of less spectacular out of all the movies Steve Reeves have starred in. But Steve Reeves still looks good as Hercules, and he's the best actor to play this role in my opinion. Production is lavish with beautiful casts, and studio settings. It's probably best not to think too hard about the whys and why nots of the story, as the movie is more about physical beauty of the casts that are involved. In this regard, this is one of the best movie ever created. People back then seems to be more gorgeous than people in the movies today.

Watch this movie for its stunningly beautiful casts. You will not be disappointed.

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.