Ursus gladiatore ribelle

Was this film an influence on Ridley Scott's Gladiator? Who can tell.

Set at the same time as the awarding winning film this is the story of Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, who takes power when his father dies. Unable to find anyone to match him in the arena he runs rampant over the empire killing and pillaging as he goes. The only man who can stop him is Ursus, who is tricked in to becoming a gladiator so that he might be able to kill the mad Commodus.

This is a well made spectacle with lots of action and a pacing that never really flags.

If you get the chance to see it, there are worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon.

One of countless Italian gladiator movies, this one covers some of the ground that made up the more recent success "Gladiator" starring Russell Crowe, though most of the elements of the story differ to some degree. Ciani plays a strong, tough, spoiled soldier who stands to inherit the crown of Rome as his father the emperor has died. His endless terrorizing and pillaging is threatened only by Vadis, a former Roman soldier who is now a Christian who expounds the virtues of non-violence. When Vadis offends Ciani by refusing to kill him upon capture, he in turn kidnaps Vadis's girlfriend, holding her hostage in order to force Vadis to fight in the arena. The two square off in a first encounter and later in an extended and well done bout. A later battle sequence contains a massive assembly of extras and the destruction of a bridge (this being handled primarily in close-up.) Though Ciani (who looks like a pumped up James Brolin) only holds a limited amount of acting skill, he is Olivier compared to Vadis who resembles a happy monkey half the time, smiling inappropriately or staring blankly and failing to bring any significant dramatic weight to his role. The female cast here is utilized a little better than in some gladiator movies. As is usually the case, the film has large amounts of sword-clanking, battle, exotic women and badly dubbed voices. However, this one appears to have had a sizable budget with some impressive sets. It also contains some reasonably good directorial touches and camera-work, not always strong points for this genre. It might even be a little more impressive if a better print were in circulation, but that isn't the case at present. Even so, despite his impressive physique, Vadis is not one of the better leading men of this realm.

Alan Steel and Dan Vadis duke it out...not just once, but twice in this above average peplum opus. That alone is worth your time, but the film is actually a good one, with lots of action, telling the story of Marcus Aurelius' heir, Commodus, who succeeds to the purple but is more interested in being a gladiator than a Ceasar. Steel has a great time and does a good job portraying this whack-job of an emperor, more convincingly than Joaquin Phoenix and just as good as Christopher Plummer. The scriptwriters got it right,as far as they went, but it's tame compared to the facts. Vadis (who is better playing villains and whack-jobs himself) is miscast and the weakest part of the film. It would have been a much better film if the Ursus character were eliminated and the chief opponent of Commodus were Septimius Leto (Carlo Delmi), the handsome young senator's son who resembles a wavy-haired Lex Barker. His role starts off promising to be an important character and then just gets lost and forgotten during the proceedings which sorely need him. This film needs to be restored and seen by those who enjoy this fare, it's one of the better entries in the genre.

I remember when this movie was first shown on a Buffalo N'Y. TV station.

They advertised it all week on their channel with clips of Dan Vadis throwing the logs at the Roman Soldiers. There was also a small ad in the TV Guide of Dan throwing the log. There was also TV Clips if the watch tower being toppled over. I always liked the part where Alan Steel tries to pick up his sword and Dan Vadis says "Better leave it with us as you don't know how to use it anyway". I have used that line myself in arguments and also added, "besides, you might hurt yourself". The Emperor Commodus, wanting to fight in the arena as a Gladiator. Was the basis of the 2000, Russel Crowe movie, GLADIATOR. Almost the exact same story and they didn't even give credit to this movie, even though the storyline is so obviously the same. I never liked the Bridge scene were Dan Vadis holds off the Roman Calvary. Look at the background and you can see that is was shot in a studio with a blank wall behind the bridge. They also used "footage" from the movie Constantine and the Cross instead of re-filming new scenes. Watch the entire movie and see a really good example of a great Sword & Sandal movie from 1961. Alan Steel started out as Steve Reeves' stunt double and Dan Vadis had just arrived in Italy when this movie was made. Karate Dan Vadis, as he was known, was living in Gordon Mitchell's apartment when he first arrived in Italy.

Larry Anderson.

Stoic Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius has died leaving his sole heir, Marcus Commodus (Alan Steel) as the new ruler. With Aurelius' dying wish that his son maintain peace, Commodus decides instead to use force and brutality to suppress the frightened people in his kingdom.

With Christianity spreading throughout Rome, the maniacal Commodus attempts to wipe out any one associated with the religion. When his village is attacked by Commodus, Ursus, a newfound follower of the Christian faith, easily overpowers the mad Emperor and his soldiers.

Greatly insulting Commodus, Ursus' lover, Arminia is kidnapped forcing him to become a gladiator in order for her to be set free. However, it is learned that Commodus was not responsible for her abduction and that a plot within the Senate to assassinate the brutal Emperor is discovered.

Despite abhorring violence and transgression, Ursus is pressured to use his strength in an effort to topple the ferocious regime of Marcus Commodus and restore the peace promised by the deceased Marcus Aurelius.

The Rebel Gladiator is a thoroughly gripping Italian peplum with a strong plot, some intelligence and edgy action - the characterisation is quite good for its kind, and Gloria Miland as Commodus' girlfriend comes out on top in the acting stakes, and is throughly conflicted over her feelings. She loves him but he's a war-loving brute. He just loves a fight and the powers-to-be use that " love" to bring him down in the form of Dan Vadis as Ursus. He's quite good, but Alan Steel impresses, sharply conveying the character's unhinged ways. Enjoyed this far better than the overrated Gladiator which bored me to tears most of the time.