Hércules no Centro da Terra

Sword-and-sandal afficionados will be happy to hear that this lush Mario Bava-helmed Hercules movie is getting a widescreen treatment on DVD. It's one of the more atmospheric Italian schlock epics, full of the imaginative and colorful set pieces distinctive to the renowned Italian filmmaker, Mario Bava. Reg Park was among the most impressive bodybuilders to ever play the mythical hero and he is given generous opportunity to strut his stuff. Hercules literally goes to Hell to defeat satanic villain Christopher Lee in this engaging muscleman movie, a definite kitsch classic of it's kind, now being made available in it's once-glorious Super Technirama format on videodisc.

To save his beloved Deianira (Leonora Ruffo, the sexy starship captain in 'Star Pilot' (1966)), the mighty Hercules (a convincingly massive Reg Park) descends into a Hades to obtain a sacred stone. Directed by Mario Bava, the film has a colourful, surreal look that belies its low budget (similar to the director's sci-fi cult-fav 'Planet of the Vampires (1965)) and motors along at a brisk pace to a delirious finale involving flying daemons and a wicked vampire king (a dubbed and somewhat wasted Christopher Lee). As 60s Italian 'sword and sandal' epics go, this one is pretty good: Park makes a good bulky hero, Franco Giacobini doesn't overdo his goofy comic-relief shtick as Telemachus, and the vivid cinematography is striking, especially the colour-drenched Hell scenes. The special effects are surprisingly good at times (especially the 'distance' shots of characters crossing the sea of lava) although the wires holding up the 'flying' daemons at the end are painfully apparent. A fun, entertaining time-passer with memorable imagery.

In terms of story and plot, this HERCULES film is arguably every bit as good as(and quite often better than)many others. The main flaw being the common solution Hercules uses for every problem he faces.

Still this movie is great fun to watch in either language(as the dub isn't too bad--only its too bad Christopher Lee didn't do his own) and features lots of terrific haunting color visuals from a master-Mario Bava. Any Gothic Horror fan will find much to enjoy here.

This is a cute little Italian movie about Hercules, the strongest man on the earth. Actually Hercules is not so much a man but rather half a god. I won't go into Greek mythology to discuss the origins of Hercules though, but rather look at this film.

Hercules' beloved it dying and the only way to save her is to travel into Hades and get a rock. So he gets his friend Theseus, who is young, rash, and a lover of women, to come with him. Along with Theseus comes Telemachus, a man whose fiancé Theseus stole. They then travel into Hades, kill a rock man, avoid a half-naked woman, and cross a river of lava. As Des Mangan says: all in a day's work for the son of a God.

The movie has a bad guy – Leco, though it is difficult to understand what he actually wants to do. It seems that Leco wants to kill Hercules' beloved to make himself a God and to destroy Hercules, but Hercules manages to succeed in the end. But would you expect any other ending? Hercules in the Center of the Earth is nothing more than pulp fiction. There is little in the way of thought provoking ideas here. But still, this movie is not meant to be such a type. The thing I did notice is Hercules, the strong man, is actually the wise one. In myth Hercules is far from wise, but here he is. It is Theseus who is the foolish one, the one who thinks with his groin rather than his brain.

It is not a bad movie, though it is one that you watch just to watch. The effects are not the best, but what does one expect from a movie made in 1961. Des Mangan called it a cult movie: I personally don't know because I am that knowledgeable in such areas.

Directed by Mario Bava, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD stars Reg Park as the human steam engine of the title. It also has the one and only Christopher Lee as the eeevil King Lico!

Big H is given the opportunity, almost immediately, to toss a hay wagon at some of Lico's warriors. His glistening, gleaming physique barely straining in the process!

Soon enough, Herc must embark on a quest to end a curse and rescue a princess. Along with his comrade, Theseus (George Ardisson), he must locate a magical object, and enter Hades itself!

Due to Bava's involvement, this is an exceptional example of its sub-genre, with the Director's flair evident throughout. Park is quite good in his bulging role, adding a certain amount of pathos to the character. For his part, Lee does what he does best, by being as wicked as possible!

The story is effective, complete with a big twist. There are some nice touches along the way, including the talking, robotic rock man, the bleeding vines- containing the souls of the damned, and the molten lava beds. The finale is also great, with a battle against the undead and Lico himself!

Fans of these films need to watch this one right now!...