Rômulo & Remo

Pretty good historical Peplum effort here by Sergio Corbucci, the Italian exploitation director best known for his trend setting spaghetti western classic DJANGO. It's easy to dismiss Italian sword & sandal spectacles from the early 1960s: they are universally low budgeted, take shortcuts that their Americanized counterparts wouldn't dream of (BEN HUR, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, SPARTACUS) and borrow liberally from them as well, sometimes to the point of plagiarism. Not that there is anything automatically wrong with that, artists steal good ideas from each other all the time, and there's only so much you can do with a bunch of guys running around in tunics with swords.

This one tells of the founding of Rome by the twin brothers of legend, Romulus and Remus, wonderfully personified by Steve Reeves (HERCULES, HERCULES UNCHAINED) and particularly Gordon Scott (TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES) in his first Peplum outing after ditching the Tarzan loincloth. Reeves plays the noble, stoic Romulus, destined to be the first king of Rome whether he likes it or not, and Gordon Scott plays Remus as you have never seen Gordon Scott before -- Wild, erratic, envious, prone to violence, distrustful of anyone who does not blindly follow his leadership, and ultimately flawed enough to come across as very human rather than the son of a Roman god.

Legend has it that Reeves refused an offer to play a dual role as both brothers and insisted the producers bring in his friend Gordon Scott instead, and it is a testament to Reeves' humbleness as a performer that he ceded the meatier role to his friend; Reeves is great as Romulus, but Scott is excellent as Remus, and the performance opened the door for Scott to appear in several more Pepla before the fad wore itself out. This one proves that he was capable of acting in addition to throwing large boulders at people, and the brothers' final showdown is indeed the stuff of tragedy and legend.

There's actually some high powered talent behind this effort. In addition to the A list manbeef and director Corbucci, spaghetti western specialists Duccio Tessari and Sergio Leone both played a role in scripting the non-hammy, non-campy screenplay, with cinematography by Enzo Barboni of TRINITY era fame, sets by the always brilliant Carlo Simi, and a sweeping, robust musical score by Piero Piccioni that is quite fittingly epic in nature. Supporting cast stalwarts Piero Lulli, Franco Volpi, José Greci, Laura Solari, and Jacques Sernas as the scurrilous Curzio bring a breadth to the production that makes many other examples of the genre seem silly by comparison.

Here is a thinking man's Peplum, eschewing the traditional gladiator bouts and he-man physical strength displays for a tightly woven story with a convincingly realistic tone. I would rank this movie up there with Gordon Mitchell's FURY OF ACHILLIES as amongst the best that the Italians were able to muster to cash in on the fad. Both films deal with historical legends and both maintain a somewhat serious tone throughout, and you can tell with this one that the Italian filmmakers were endowed with a sense of pride in telling their own pre-history for a change instead of just another potboiler script. Even with all the chest oil there's a tone of dignity to the film that is atypical of what the Peplum genre usually has to offer.

If I were to have a genuine criticism about the film it would be in regards to the barbaric horse race through a gauntlet of fire that the producers saw fit to include during the opening movements. It doesn't look like it was very safe for man or beast, and I can only hope that they asked the horses' permission first before running them through the very real pre-CGI obstacle course of burning rubbish and trip wires just for the benefit of the cameras. You have to wonder about the Italians sometimes -- couldn't they have just had a nice harmless javelin throwing contest?

7/10

The first detail to catch my eye about ROMOLO E REMO (DUEL OF THE TITANS) was the screenplay collaboration between the two Sergios of spaghetti Western fame: Corbuccci and Leone. By 1961, Corbucci had already directed quite a few biblical epics, disaster flicks, comedies starring Toto, and even sci-fi, mostly low budget; Leone would achieve global fame by directing FOR A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS three years later.

Alas, the screenplay is not ROMOLO E REMO's strongest card due to evidently implausible moments, but it wisely focuses on the relationship between the two brothers raised by a wolf who would - according to the legend - create Rome. That relation reminds one of the biblical Abel and Cain, Romolo the good guy, played by the splendidly fit, former Mr Universe Steve Reeves, Remo (Gordon Scott) the self-confessed envious sibling.

Both Reeves and Scott post muscular, larger than life physiques in this sword and sandal epic, with the great Massimo Girotti playing the king, Tazio, who does not want yet another settlement - the future eternal city, Rome, no less! - to steal thunder from his realm, and resents having his daughter abducted by Romolo.

Tazio's daughter is Iulia, played by the absolutely gorgeous Virni Lisi. Needless to say, Romolo is smitten at the sight of her, as any man worth his salt would be. Problem is, Remo - who already has loyal Laura Solari carrying a torch for him - also wants lovely Lisi, and has designs on becoming king of the new city that his sibling is so enthusiastic about... meaning that he wants no living brother to share power with. Now, that is real drama for you!

Cinematography by Enzo Barboni looks cheap, the battle sequences and the volcanic eruption reflect shoestring production values, but somehow Corbucci manages to keep the action interesting to the end. 7/10.

A good cinematic adaptation from legendary history of Rome founders which joined two Peplum's two greatest heroes . Two twin brothers , sons of God Marte and Rea Silvia are dropped to the river Arno . They are breast-feed by a she-wolf . One time grown-up , Rómulo (Steve Reeves) and Remo (Gordon Scott) for the foundation of city of Roma fight against the dictator king Amulio (Volpi) ruler from Alba-Longa . Romulo kidnaps a gorgeous princess (Virna Lisi) falling in love , then her father , the King (Massimo Girotti) of Sabinos pursues them . Romulo and Remo arrive in the valley of sevens hills (Palatino , Capitolino..) , battleground for warring rival brothers and they confront each other . Romulo will make a furrow , as signal of Roma foundation . Romulo became a King (753-15 B.C) uniting the various slopes ; his successor was Numa Pompilio (Enzo Cerusico) .

This is an enjoyable myth-opera with struggles , love and hatred , tortures and including meticulously battle scenes that convey us a spectacular scenario . Reeves and Scott are perfect as the mythical heroes who encounter pretty risked situations while trying to find a location for foundation a city . The producers originally wanted Steve Reeves to play both Romulus and Remus , but he declined to do double roles and recommended former Tarzan Gordon Scott and the protagonists were both born in the same year -1926- . Steve Reeves achieved an enormous success as Peplum starring (Hercules , Hercules and Queen of Lidia , Battle of Marathon) and nobody topped him in popularity . Gordon Scott was the second greatest hero , he played as Goliath in various movies and other bouncing characters (Coroliano , Muzio Scevola , Lion of Tebas) . Agreeable screenplay with historical remarks by two Spaghetti Western masters : Sergio Leone and Duccio Tessari . Colorful cinematography by Enzo Barboni (Trinity/Hill and Bambino/Spencer films director). The motion picture was well directed by Sergio Corbucci (Django) . Rating : Above average muscle-men and better than most epic opera-spaghetti , thanks to Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott .

Steve Reeves was the "god" of these sandal-and-spear movies and Gordon Scott the "demi-god," and here you have them together playing brothers in one of the best examples of the genre. Plus Virna Lisi! In telling the tale of Romulus and Remus, this manages to include one of filmdom's odder whipping sequences. Steve Reeves is spreadeagled to a vertical frame which is rapidly rotated by one man while another man goes at Steve's chest with a whip. Curiously, though the whipper goes at his work with a vengeance, at the end of the sequence, Steve only has about 4 welts on his skin!

One of these days, I hope, we'll see a serious re-evaluation of the so-called sword & sandal genre of historical/mythic epics produced in Italy in the 1950s and '60s. When seen in ideal circumstances—excellent prints in the original widescreen formats—the best examples of the genre are quite impressive. DUEL OF THE TITANS (ROMOLO E REMO) is one of the best, and it's magnificent.

This is not a muscleman fantasy with superhuman feats of strength, like HERCULES, but a serious retelling of the foundation myth of Rome. Various elements of the Romulus and Remus story are freely but intelligently reinterpreted, the sets and costumes have a convincing Iron Age look, and the larger-than-life characters of the legendary Twins are strongly portrayed by Gordon Scott and Steve Reeves. Both actors are at the peak of their considerable cinematic charisma. (Virna Lisi as Julia and Ornella Vanoni as the pants-wearing Tarpeia are also impressive!)

As I write (2006), the movie is virtually impossible to find except as a bootleg. It deserves a DVD release of a quality widescreen print.