Maciste nell'inferno di Gengis Khan

OK, so here's another Italian muscle-man Sword & Sandal Pelplum cheapie. It's a bit different in that it has an oriental setting and intrigue involving Gengis Kahn, the Mongols, a midget (err, little person) in a Harlequin costume -- very creepy -- and this weird story arc about a hero (called Maciste, Son of Hercules) who happens upon a wretched kingdom under the domination of Gengis Kahn, that is actually a group of warlords at each other's throat, under the domination of a very sinister & worldly Kahn who develops a sort of grudging respect for Maciste and allows him to fight fairly for his life against his finest warrior in some kind of gauntlet of knives, then locks Maciste up in a jail cell but allows the smoking red-hot Mongol babe to visit him with her secret ally the doctor, who plot to free Maciste so he can overthrow Kahn. Maciste runs around in a golden collared costume with a cape, there are sword fights galore, a Mongol princess with the hots for Maciste in addition to the Saracen queen whom Maciste falls in love with and is chosen by Kahn to be his wife, a renegade swordsman upstart challenging Kahn for the throne who is in cahoots with the foxy Mongol princess, lost of heroic jumps, back-flips and missions of derring-do, armies of thousands facing off on the battle plain to decide their fate, then turning heel on Kahn to try and wipe him out with Maciste as their star warrior, hoping to save the day and keep Kahn from marrying the sexy queen or killing her, whichever comes first.

If this sounds somewhat familiar, bingo: Mike Hodges and Dino DeLaurentis *PLUNDERED* this film for the script to their 1980 updating of FLASH GORDON, featuring music by Queen and Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon, Quarterback, New York Jets, and the gosh-darned nicest guy to ever save the universe. All we need is a Brian May guitar solo during the heroic cavalry charge and we are talking deja vu all over again. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you, it's just that at about the scene where Flash -- I mean Maciste -- spares the Mongol warrior sentenced to kill him in the knife gauntlet or die himself and Kahn reacts with bemusement to his adviser ("Klytus I'm bored ...") I started saying to myself: "I've seen this somewhere before." Curious that the more familiar version of the form is the one that came after it.

But then again it makes sense, since FLASH GORDON is essentially a Peplum anyway, based on dime novella cartoons, made & produced by mostly Italians and essentially a fast paced, disposable little cartoon. FLASH GORDON even has a variation on the Veil Dance (here shown by oriental dancers spinning plates on sticks -- weird), the obligatory trial of strength whereby the hero shows his prowess by knocking down all the evil emperor's forces with little or no effort, the offbeat amusing friend/warrior whom Flash forms a sort of convenient alliance with, and of course the Standing Ovation ending where everyone gets to applaud Flash and thank him for saving the day. That scene is missing from the English version of HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS that I found, but all things being equal I think we can cut them some slack -- This is a fabulous, exciting, colorful, atypical and very rewarding little costumer, with a sort of unique agenda amongst the Peplum sub-genre in that it tells of a conflict which the hero gets caught up in rather than just providing set pieces for Gordon Mitchell to tear buildings apart using his bare hands. Again, nothing wrong with that mind you, but the sense of variety is refreshing, and the film has an interesting feel for using color, interior spaces and characterization beyond the muscle-man & his groupies that you don't see in a lot of these things.

8/10: Highly recommended.

Maciste / Hercules has a new battle to face against the Mongol Empire lead by Genghis Khan in the 12th century. Hercules must help to free Poland from the clutches of Genghis Khan and his band of Mongols.

I find this one better than Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961). "7 Miracles" has Gordon Scott running around in a loin cloth in the entire film. "Barbarians" has Mark Forest wearing a bit more. "Barbarians" is a better made and acted out film - it also has a little bit better story. Both films have Maciste (Hercules/Samson) in a strange place and time era.

Not a lot here for me to enjoy though. I was uninterested in the film even though "Barbarians" is better than "7 Miracles" - I still did not enjoy either film.

1.5/10

When the Mongols invade Europe, they are defeated at Krakow for the first time after many victories. Kubilai (Ken Clark), the responsible commander, asks his emperor Genghis Khan for a second chance. Kubilai has two ideas how to avoid another defeat. First, he wants to eliminate Maciste (Hercules in the American dubbed version), the hero of the Polish people, played by Mark Forest. And then, Kubilai holds a prisoner who reveals an important secret: the princess and future queen of Poland lives in a village under false identity. The Mongols want to capture her, but of course, Maciste is a guardian to any maiden in distress...

Mark Forest, I reckon, is one of the best peplum stars- he's charismatic and acts well, and I enjoyed the films I have seen, but unfortunately this one that sees him pit against the Genghis Khan is quite muddled, tedious, and incoherent - it's has some ok fights. There's is an inventive and gruesome way the villain gets killed - a spear gate comes down on him, piercing through. Ouch! The women adds some much needed glamour.

The print I looked at was of variable quality. Some of it seems to have been 16mm. pan-and-scan with failing color, while the last half-hour was widescreen and beautifully presented both in color and clarity. It's all dubbed into English. That will affect this review!

So. Mark Forest, who is Maciste or Hercules, depending on what language you're watching it in is in Poland. He's in love with José Greci , a poor woodcarver's daughter, whose father is the most respected man in the village. Forest, whoever he is in this movie, has just turned back the Mongol Hordes singlehandedly, but they're coming on again. It turns out that Miss Greci is actually Queen of Poland and....

Oh, why bother? It's all nonsense, and the point of this movie is the costume design, the strong men with their oiled torsos and the big fight scene at the end. Because that was the part that was in pristine condition, it looked good.

The setting and time is odd, It feels like Hercules is walking around nearly naked amid much later European armor wearing troops. Another thing that may or may not be true is that there are some beautiful shots of lots of extras storming the castle, but when we are usually with the principal actors we rarely see anything of this scope and or are on interior sets with poor fake skies. So I'm saying there may be stock footage being used here.

Regardless of this the sets are quite well made and the photography in 2:35 is also frequently impressive and the film has a good music score as well. The story is decent but it's not heavy on fighting or action for the most part. The 2 fight scenes with animals are pretty bad, with the pretty big snake, or really bad, with the floppy pillow they call an alligator. And yeah why is there an Alligator in Poland or did the Huns bring it from Mongolia with them? Wait there aren't any alligators there either.

But the basic story, more of a kind of romance amid the barbarians is good and the women sexy. Mark Forest gets to do some acting and doesn't do it too badly. Despite what may, or may not, be stock footage the outdoor photography is good as is the interior costuming and photography. The weak and distracting thing is those bad set built "exteriors."

Still this is a real movie, not a super cheap or shoddy entry in this genre, nor is it a kind of hidden treat for beefcake fans--be they men or women. Music score and production design is above average and there are a lot of well done sets.

Not typical in good ways but low on action overall. Most of the action is in the final third of the film. Above average acting and casting in this one--the Mongols actually look like Mongols not Italians.

Can't say this is great. Can't say it's terrible either.