La rivolta dei pretoriani

Sandals film with Richard Harrison and Giuliano Gemma

This 1964 Italian film is about Emperor Domitian (Piero Lulli), who rules Rome with cruelty in 96 AD. When he, together with his lover Artamne (who always has different colored wigs that match the respective outfit: Moira Orfei), summons several beautiful virgins (including Paola Pitti as Lucilla) to the palace in order to abuse and steal from them, he wakes up the resistance of Valerius Rufus (Richard Harrison), the leader of his Praetorian Guard, who is also engaged to Lucilla. Since he doesn't yet dare to openly resist, Valerius hides behind a wolf mask and is henceforth feared as the "red wolf". The resister receives support from the senator Nerva (Giuliano Gemma) and the short court jester Elpidion (Salvatore Furnari), who help the hero to get the rest of the Praetorians on their side.

The great thing about this otherwise rather average sandal film are the many fight scenes, which are particularly notable for the fact that there are two actors, Richard Harrison and Giuliano Gemma, who also have experience as stuntmen. Salvatore Furnari provides the comic moments as a short court jester, but also contributes significantly to the success of the uprising. Moira Orfei, who comes from a circus family, and the usual diabolical Piero Lulli are convincing in the evil roles. The fight scene at the end of the film in particular shows how much the Italian genre film has benefited from its actors, who often come from circus backgrounds. Knives are thrown and fire is breathed, and it is a joy.

This film is not a masterpiece of the genre, but its actors provide fun and entertaining entertainment. The mix is right, so this film is not only recommended for fans of the genre.

Rome chafes under the rule of the Emperor Domitian and his Egyptian mistress, Artamne. A mysterious champion arises to fight against the Emperor -- a masked man known as the Red Wolf. In fact, the Red Wolf is Valerius Rufus, one of the Emperor's trusted centurions who's aided by none other than the Emperor's court jester, the diminutive Elpidion. Rebels in league with Valerius kidnap Artamne, planning to exchange her for two of their imprisoned colleagues, but Artamne escapes and soon both Valerius, (now exposed as the Red Wolf), and his fiancee, Lucilla, are sentenced to be immersed in a cauldron of molten lead. Valerius's friends, however, rise up to rescue him and to liberate Rome.

Richard Harrison stars in an above average sword and sandal that typically features a cruel and hedonistic emperor and, of course, Harrison plays the hero but with a twist. He's the emperor's centurion but secretly loathes his employer and expresses that by donning a wolf's mask and righting some wrongs. It's a bit like Zorro, but set in the Roman times. The fast pace, a strong plot, lively action - which features good stunts and acrobatics - and nice set-pieces gives this peplum a right boost.

Considering the sheer amount of cast and crew members that were ported over here from THE TWO GLADIATORS (1964), it appears the two films were made back-to-back; for this one, however, co-scriptwriter Alfonso Brescia was elevated to the director's chair (it proved to be his debut) and, likewise, a silver-haired(!) Piero Lulli rose the ranks to take on chief villain duties as Emperor Domitian!! Unsurprisingly, the plot was very similar as well – as centurion Richard Harrison and close friend Giuliano Gemma (a senator this time around, so that he eventually ends up in charge of righting the wrongs done to the people) lead the revolt against the tyrannical ruler and his ambitious Egyptian god-worshipping High Priestess consort Moira Orfei.

Amusingly, added camp value comes by way of Harrison having to hide his identity literally under wolf's clothing and, since he still sports his red undergarments, gets dubbed "Red Wolf" by the enemy – thankfully, he did not take the example of Batman and become Wolfman…seeing how he was already Roman (get it?)! Incidentally, the title has little bearing on the narrative as well, because when the Praetorians join the insurrection, it is in the very last stages of the climax and, soon after this, the oppressor's forces lay down their weapons in submission! Typically, too, Harrison's girl is coveted by the Emperor and hated by the latter's neglected (if over-dressed!) wife; Orfei does get kidnapped at one point in order to root out the rebels and locate their hide-out (ingeniously, a slave camp – but, then, when the legionnaires arrive to ambush the group, the prisoners keep tilling the land as if nothing at all was happening around them!). By the way, Lulli has a dwarfish (and, reportedly, virile!) jester who first learns of Harrison's ruse but, surprisingly, is sympathetic to his cause; that said, when he turns up for a couple of secret meetings – thus endangering his personal safety and that of his comrades – he never contributes much to the table!

Though the copy I acquired off "You Tube" was in the original Italian language, the credits were all in French and, for what it is worth, cuts off rather too abruptly at the end (barely giving the obligatory cheering crowd a chance to register!). All things considered, the movie – colourful and action-packed (with a few athletic stunts for the two male leads a' la Gemma's star-making MY SON, THE HERO {1962}) as it is – emerges as no more than routinely enjoyable…but, for ardent fans of the genre, that is all one asks for from such undemanding fare (except that the format was well able to rise above the norm when its makers put their mind to it)! Finally, it is worth noting just how many peplums were made with the word revolt in their titles: in short order, we had gladiators, slaves, mercenaries, barbarians, etc.

The brave soldier Valerius (Richard Harrison) is unhappy with his emperor Domitian (Piero Lulli) who behaves like a tyrant and has 5 people executed before breakfast on a normal day. His Egyptian wife Artamne (Moira Orfei) supports not only all the evil ideas he has, but even adds a few of her own. Valerius secretly meets Nerva (Giuliano Gemma), and they start to make plans to overthrow the tyrant.

A really good, action-packed, typical genre movie - the only thing you could accuse it of is being a little bit "too typical", i.e. everything goes by the book of unwritten rules. Which is on the other hand guaranteed to please if you like this kind of stuff. Use of colors was a bit overdone here: Artamne wears different wigs - blue, green, any imaginable hair color as long as it looks false - whereas the costume of the Red Wolf makes him look like a pink wolf. Nice to see young Gemma in one of his early roles before he became a western star.

Like in many sword and sandals films ,it's the villains who walk away with the honors;Moira Orfei is a sadistic vicious concubine,fond of jewels with a wide selection of wigs.Piero Lulli is a paranoiac Domitian ,who trusts nobody and who "would kill all the Romans if he had to".A tyrant who wants to be considered a living god (check the first sequence),and ,except for a few sycophants ,is hated by the patricians AND the plebeians.

One of his courtiers -or two if we include the dwarf ,the court jester- is none other than the red wolf ,some kind of Zorro in Roman times ,adored by the nobles and the people ,just like Don Diego De la Vega.His faithful pal is played by Giuliano Gemma ,future spaghetti cowboy and earnest actor ("Delitto D'Amore" "Il Deserto Dei Tartari")

Forget history and you have an entertaining comic book;Amnesty International should condemn such sentences as the immersion in a cauldron of molten lead.