I due gladiatori

If you are pretty mediocre as a director and they want you to make a film with only very little money, what's the outcome? - "I due gladiatori" is an excellent example of the cheap-produced Italian historical pictures of the early sixties. Relying partly on models such as "Ben-Hur", one could call them monumental, only there was nothing monumental left in 1964.

For instance: when a man is holding a rat that has been hunted by the hungry crowd, the next take shows a juicy meal, and, as the camera zooms, we see it being brought to the emperor at a small party. Nice idea so far, but we can be sure that Mario Caiano would have loved to show a vast orgy in consequence, but there's nothing more to eat than the bit that has just been carried in, and there's just a small number of guests standing around. As more examples, the arena fighting scenes are reduced to taking place at the 20-foot front of the stadium's wall, and what is supposed to be a battle between Romans and - Gauls (did I get that right?) is merely a skirmish of some 30 against 30.

The story, however, is somewhat interesting though not new at all. It is based on the true fact that emperor Commodus (180-192 AD) used to fight as a gladiator himself from time to time. Writers Amendola and Brescia also made use of the fact that Commodus had a twin brother (who died early); here, he survived and grew up unknowingly. - Now that emperor Mark Aurel has died (awkwardly dated into 191), his son Commodus succeeds to the throne and turns out to be a despot (that idea is poorly established). Loyal senator Tarrunio gets on his way to seek the twin brother he once was ordered to kill but saved. This man, Centurio Crassus, follows Tarrunio to Rome (hey, what about the Gallic invasion?) in order to overthrow the tyrant.

A couple of the ideas, especially the setting, are taken from Anthony Mann's "The Fall of the Roman Empire" (1963, with Christopher Plummer as Commodus), while the linking of brothers Commodus and Crassus reminds of Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston's doomed relationship in "Ben-Hur" (1959) - "closer than brothers", as Boyd says.

Handsome Richard Harrison is a poor replacement for Boyd (in "The Fall..."); but especially the task of writing effective women's rôles into the story remained unaccomplished. (Moira Orfei is a beautiful temptress as ever, though.) Giuliano Gemma and Alvaro de Luna as Harrison's faithful friends add to the hero's nonchalant bravado. Mimmo Palmara is an excellent fighter (as he has often proved in the genre), but as Commodus he is colourless. Peplum's classic heavies Piero Lulli and Alberto Farnese do well as the emperor's sinister advisors Cleander and Leto. Yet, it is not enough to make this cheap flick average at least, in a genre that had lost most of its momentum and magic anyway. Composer Carlo Franchi, too, has contributed better scores before.

It is just unfair to be too severe about this film. It reflects the spirit and the taste of a public, a form of easy heroic passion, a genre so explored than it gives nothing new, very easy entertainment. To expect more is just bizarre. Sand and sandals, historical episodes as pretextes and good memories for today about actors. So, this story about brothers, revenge and justice, friendship and identical gladiators, with the spice of the love story is just decent. Not high expectations, not great revelations only a nice time front to romantic to naive film.

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius has died. Marcus' son Commodus, who is a thug and amateur fighter, is now on the throne and is ruining Rome with his ways. There is a secret that only the Roman Senator knows the truth and tells the respected Roman Solider, Lucius Crassus, the story. Marcus Aurelius has twin sons. Marcus kept Commodus but ordered the other child's death. Tarruntius was given the task to kill the child but he could not do it and gave the child to a foster family. The foster family named the child Lucius Crassus. Lucius has just as much right to the throne as his twin brother Commodus. Commodus finds out that Lucius is his brother and is angry, he wants Lucius dead. The populace will not challenge and rid Rome of the evil, childish Commodus even though he is bring Rome down. There is now a Gladiatorial battle between the two twin brothers, the better fighter will win and take the throne of Rome.

Richard Harrison plays the heroic Roman solider Lucius Crassus. And there are a bunch of others with names I do not recognize but are fine Italian actors.

This is not a big budget film but looks like quite a bit of money was put into it (just not BIG money). It's an okay film, not great but watchable.

The copy I have is rather faded and poor, it is from one of those cheap Mill Creek 50-packs, Warriors. I cannot expect them to take the time to clean up each of the 50 films for a bargain price. Besides, most of the films are not worth the time to restore anyway.

4.5/10

Not wishing merely to watch yet another gladiator movie in such quick succession, I was relieved to find that this here revolved around the antics of the third mad man to lead the Roman Empire on a course of self-destruction, Commodus. According to the IMDb, this is also the second of three Peplums to deal with that tyrant out of a total of five movies made; the remaining two, quite obviously, are the acclaimed Samuel Bronston/Anthony Mann epic THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1964; released two months prior to the film under review) and Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning and Malta-shot GLADIATOR (2000). While the Commodus of the latter two (portrayed by Christopher Plummer and Joaquin Phoenix respectively) had a lean built and were insane or ill-tempered egomaniacs, the one here – essayed as a virile, bloodthirsty athlete by a miscast Mimmo Palmara – falls far short of hitting their marks. Even so, this version of events is clearly the superior one to emanate from Italy; although this type of fare has not been broadcast on Italian TV as regularly as it used to be, some good souls have uploaded several rarities like this one on "You Tube" and, in this case, in a refreshingly good condition to boot!

At first, I thought that the title was referring to nominal leads Richard Harrison and Giuliano Gemma – two Roman legionnaires – being arrested and pitted against one another in the arena at some point; however, since these two actually formed part of a devil-may-care trio, I realized that this was not going to be and, indeed, it is Harrison and Palmara (dressed in exactly the same gladiatorial garb from head to foot) who take on each other for the gratification of the Roman masses, with Commodus eventually landing on the wrong side of the blade. Apart from the three above-mentioned actors, there are a couple more genre regulars in the cast, namely Moira Orfei (as Commodus' neglected wife), Piero Lulli (as his ruthless adviser) and Alberto Farnese (as Lulli's henchman, who also nurses an unrequited love for his empress), not to mention director Caiano – of whose 7 such genre works this was his penultimate effort – and co-writer/2nd unit director Alfonso Brescia. Every self-respecting hero needs to have a virginal damsel-in-distress to save and, eventually, hook up with: that part is here played quite blandly by blonde actress Ivy Holzer (lusted after by Commodus and whose rejection he takes out on Orfei) – a name and a face that did not register with me at first but now I realize I have already caught her in a couple of other Peplums and, in fact, have two more lined up for viewing presently.

As already intimated earlier, the story does end exactly as the one told in the above-mentioned concurrent Hollywood epic with the soldier hero (here Commodus' unsuspecting twin brother!) declining the Senate's offer to become emperor…albeit with a more optimistic outcome as he leaves the reins of Rome in the hands of a trusted senator, while he runs into the arms of his beloved and the comfort zone of his cohorts of legionnaires. Before that, however, we have seen Commodus learning of Harrison's threatening existence, having him arrested and put in the dungeons in the same cell as Holzer (incarcerated by a jealous Orfei), escaping and leading a revolt with the help of the rather irritatingly gambling-mad Gemma, his equally-occupied pal and a sympathetic innkeeper. Orfei also eventually befriends Holzer, is subsequently rejected by Farnese and gets mowed down by pursuing Praetorians during a night-time excursion to the politically-charged tavern. All in all, while not a particularly notable entry in the prolific genre, it passes the time agreeably enough and does not outstay its welcome.

Whatever you think of his films, Samuel Bronston did spend a lot of money on them, gave them lavish sets, a topflight cast, good direction and script. So when his The Fall Of The Roman Empire came out in March of 1964 I'm sure Bronston was waiting for the inevitable imitations to come out.

He didn't wait long. In June of 1964 probably using a lot of his abandoned sets and also those of Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur, came Two Gladiators which told the same story. Only the plot was reworked to have incorporated Alexander Dumas's The Man In The Iron Mask into the Roman Empire.

Once upon a time there were born two twin boys to Emperor Marcus Aurelius and for reasons of dynasty the birth of twins was kept secret. One of the twins was supposed to be drowned at birth, but fate intervenes and the kid is brought up in a good household and enters Rome's legions and becomes a centurion. He's played by American expatriate Richard Harrison who stars here.

The other grows up to be Commodus the emperor who for pleasure would compete in the gladiatorial games. He's too busy to be running the Empire so corrupt favorites do it for him. Some folks in the know feel it's time to bring out the lost twin.

Just think of Two Gladiators as The Fall Of The Roman Empire done by Ed Wood with an Ed Wood budget.