Ursus nella terra di fuoco

Actually they are five muscle men tossing make believe rocks but in a run of the mill film of good guy freeing oppressed people you take what you can get.The action is good but the story is average and the same one we've seen in just about every film like this. Worse its paced much too slowly. The dubbing is interesting as voices change depending on whats being said. Its a bland exercise that is best summed up by its semi volcanic eruption- its not quite the spectacle anyone hoped for.

Made in 1963, URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE was Ed Fury's third and final film as Ursus (although there was not much continuity from film to film with the specifics of Ursus' personal details!) and also Fury's final peplum film in the 1960's. Filmed in rich pastel colors (blue seems to be a favorite color in many scenes) and featuring fascinating and imaginative set designs throughout, the film is an above average peplum in every way. As another critic noted, the series of tests and physical challenges for Ursus are ingenious and require Fury to display his strength and physique to their best advantage. The sequence where he shows up at a tournament run by the evil ruler and then stands up to the evil one AND whips everyone who takes him on is very well-staged and exciting. Co-writer Luciano Martino has many strong credits as producer and/or writer in sword-and-sandal, westerns, giallo, and 70s crime films including a number of cult classics. Director Giorgio Simonelli went on to direct a number of Franco and Ciccio comedies--his previous peplum work as a writer includes two Brad Harris classics (Samson and The Fury of Hercules) as well as the fascinating 1963 horror film TOMB OF TORTURE aka METEMPSYCHO. This film may well be Ed Fury's best starring vehicle and is probably the film I would show someone I wanted to convince of Fury's status as a major peplum star. The US television print I taped off UHF in the early 1990s isn't really pan-and-scan--it's as though the outer two-thirds of the picture are just lopped off and you are watching the middle-third. The credits are hard to read as you only get the end of the first name and the beginning of the second name! As I've said about many other peplums, this cries out for a sharp, letterboxed DVD transfer. With this film's rich visuals, beautiful photography, and interesting set design, it's well worth tracking down for any sword-and-sandal film devotee.

The evil Hamilkar (Adriano Micantoni) wants to dethrone old king Lotar (Nando Tamberlani) and become king himself. But besides King Lotar, there are three other people blocking his way to the throne: the high priest who accuses him of sacrilege and murder, the popular hero Ursus (Ed Fury) and the king's daughter, princess Diana (Luciana Gilli). Hamilkar needs another mind's help (namely his wife's) to come up with a plan how to kill them all! Especially in the case of our hero Ursus, he'll find that very hard, though.

It's an OK genre movie, all the usual trademarks, but nothing outstanding. Good studio sets, but the outdoor scenes look cheap. The volcano is shoddy, and the lake is supposed to be the border between two countries, so they should not have picked such a small pond... The most memorable action scene is the tournament, when 5 opponents try and push Ursus into a spiked pit.

URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE stars Ed Fury as the living anvil of the title. Basically, he's the protector of a village of shepherds. Ursus must continually save these shepherds from the non-shepherds and their shepherd-hating king.

BIG SCENES: #1- Ursus buried in a landslide caused by an erupting volcano! He resurrects, emerging from the rubble as if it were Styrofoam! #2- The obligatory "test of strength", where Ursus is tied between two chariots! He also faces opponents next to a pit full of spikes! #3- The huge melee toward the end, when it's Ursus vs. Everybody, culminating in a fiery finale!

Fans of this genre will want to add this one to their watch list!...

They really did a lot of those movie back in the day. So many it might be hard to distinguish some of them. I still would like to believe this is a better effort and stands out a bit. Low budget and over the top as it may be, this still can be a lot of fun to watch.

Don't mind the acting or the dubbing (depending on what version you do watch) ... and try to blend out the low budget of this. Just roll with it and the oil and muscles and women that need to be rescued theme ... I might not do a good job making this appealing I think ... ah well, it is what it is and there are worse movies than this. Dig it or not, you'll know early on