Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta

***I'm commenting on the Italian version.***

Director Mario Caiano can be relied on when it comes to pacing and effective action scenes, and he does not disappoint here: "Maciste, gladiatore di Sparta" is a reasonably entertaining and well-crafted piece of peplum kitsch. The plot takes place in 69 B.C. (one year after the assassination of Nero) during the short-termed (half a year!) reign of emperor Vitellius. No attempt is made to portray the turmoil and uncertainty of this terrible year. Instead, the script portrays Vitellius as a glutton who delights in the amenities of empire, without having a bit of interest in politics - with the exception of the extermination of the Christians, obviously a legacy from emperor Nero, which he follows blindly as if it was a whim. It is worth noting that the actor playing Vitellius actually is well chosen in that looks very much alike to the surviving busts of the emperor! The obesity of the portrays might have suggested the running gag on the emperor's everlasting appetite for food. Mark Forest, one of the most enjoyable peplum actors, plays Maciste, a star gladiator from Sparta. As far as I can see, there's no reason to make him Greek, and there's no true Spartan flavor about him. The name might have simply been chosen to evoke (a) Spartacus (who, however, was NOT from Sparta) and/or (b) the traditional toughness of the Spartans. He gets to do all kinds of fighting and gets to flex and exercise his muscles on a number of occasions. Sometimes, he uses his wit as well. The emperor's courtesan (played by brunette beauty Marilu Tolo) is in love with that gladiator, and Vitellius delights in having such a delightful source of bloody arena entertainment. However, Maciste meets a blonde Christian girl, and though he does not convert to their faith, he helps the peaceful people against their oppressors. The focus here rests on the characterization of early Christendom - their secret meetings in catacombs and their pacifist attitudes - and all too easily forgets to place that in contrast to heathen cults and religion. It is remarkable how the film avoids any references to heathen cult: The Romans come across as a race with no true beliefs at all. (Though at one time, Maciste is briefly compared to the god Mars himself.) Marcello, the name of the Christian bishop, is perhaps inspired by Pope Marcellus I. (308 A.D.) who was interred in the Priscilla catacombs. "Syphace", the weaver of intrigue at the imperial court, was perhaps named after the Numidian king Syphax (220-203 B.C.) who betrayed Rome to the Carthaginians.

I found this film on TCM and was drawn to it. It really is a terrible film, but it is so bad it is laughable. This is a movie designed for MST3000, or maybe Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's attentions.

Years before Schwarzenegger decided to capitalize on his Mr. Olympia celebrity in Hollywood, other muscle-heads took a shot at the big screen. The results were mostly uneven and only suitable for drive-in movie B-film marathons.

This film is among the worst, which makes it among the best for comedy. (I saw the English-dubbed version.) The acting was amateurish. The dialogue (subtitled) was inept. Best of all was the plot. It really drove the humor.

Imagine the director and wardrobe head meeting in a costume store. The director says, "The gladiator must battle an animal in the ring. What animal costume looks the most real?" Apparently, the answer was "gorilla" and the gladiator scene wrote itself. Hilarious.

The bodybuilder Mark FOREST (1933-2022), who was active as an opera singer in his later years, is this time as a gladiator from Sparta. Maciste seeks to be close to those in power, even if they are very unsympathetic. At the festivals of ruler Vitellius (Franco COBIANCHI), the beautiful Olimpia (Marilu TOLO) also dances around the muscle god. This doesn't suit Sifacius (Claudio UNDARI), Vitellius' scheming and power-hungry advisor, at all. When Maciste falls in love with the blonde Christian Silvia (Elisabetta FANTI), Sifacius has the opportunity to strike back...

As Maciste, Mark FOREST has a lot of battles to overcome here. His duel with a guy in a gorilla costume is particularly funny. It's all very entertaining, but not earth-shattering either. The films with Mark FOREST are not among the best in the genre, but they generally offer acceptable average fare.

The film deals about Maciste (Mark Forest) , gladiator of Sparta , the mythical hero who encounters pretty risked situations while trying to win over his true love , a beautiful Christian . Maciste who is nicknamed Hercules in US must use all his strength to save the girl he loves from malicious emperor (Peter White) and the Pretorians captain (Robert Hundar) making a desperate bid to rescue the Christians . The picture is a undercover version of ¨Quo Vadis¨ but with lack luster and budget , thus our hero (Mark Forest) like Marco Vinicio (Robert Taylor) must save his sweetheart Christian of the Emperor Vitelio likeness to Nero (Peter Ustinov) and his villain guards chief (Robert Hundar, an usual of Spaghetti Western) similar to wicked Tijelinus .

The film gets dramatic scenes of gladiators combats in the arena and martyrdom Christians and stunningly cheap special effects as the shots and closeups of a giant rubber gorilla which is a man suited struggling against Maciste . The robust and strong Maciste or Hercules is Mark Forest in a wooden acting , he was a muscleman who left allegedly the sword and sandals genre for the Opera , he used the amount of money he made acting as gladiator films in Italy to study Opera , he currently teaches it in the Los Angeles zone . He was one along with Ed Fury , Dan Vadis , Alan Steel , Reg Park , Gordon Scott whom to seek fortune and fame interpreting absurdly muscle mythological figures but nobody topped Steve Reeves in popularity . The film will appeal to Spaghetti myth-opera although is a better than most muscle opera , thanks to expert director Mario Caiano .

I've seen quite a number of the Italian, mythological muscle man movies, and I find this one to be pretty slow going. Mark Forest does his job as the powerful stalwart, and all the other elements are here (horses, chariots, pretty women and daring do), but the movie keeps coming to a screeching halt about every ten minutes for lengthy verbal plot points. I saw the English dubbed version, which may have contributed to this, but lengthy talking scenes are just as long in any language. These are supposed to be action films, aren't they?

I thought the Steve Reeves/Hercules movies moved along best. (BTW, why did the Italians import Americans for these roles; Forest, and Steve Reeves? Didn't they have any Italian body builders to utilize?) Even one of the action sequences here, with our hero up against a great ape, was a rather drab, ho-hum affair. A number of these movies could have been well served by some Dynamation from Ray Harryhausen.

For fans of the genre, this movie is watchable, as long as you aren't looking for anything new or particularly exciting. If you're not a fan, don't start with this one. It will put you off from watching the better efforts.