La vendetta dei barbari

For it's time - 1960 - REVENGE OF THE BARBARIANS is surprisingly erotic. Not only does it star voluptuous Daniella Rocca who oozes sex, it also contains two rather kinky scenes of females being whipped, the second even leading to a bit of s/m love-making, preceding Mario Bava's controversial film on that very subject, THE WHIP AND THE BODY, by two years.

I bought this movie 30 years ago and decided to finally watch it. What a mess. The 2 male leads could hardly hold a sword least alone battle like Hercules as was playing in many other movies produced at the same time. The battle scenes were lifted from Hannibal, many of the scenes were film in an obvious Sound Stage, the burning of the city looked like a child's model, The actors stood around and looked like they were in a Stage Play. The whole thing was terrible. I have seen all the "other" movies of this type and know what is good and what is bad. The only saving grace for this disaster was the performances by the ladies. Daniella Rocca looks fantastic in her tiny red bikini (stunning for 1960), and she is in almost every scene. Evi Mirandi is fantastic as the "rejected" girl who gets beaten and then forgive here abuser. (strange message there). Jose Greci sits around but looks fantastic. The story was non-existent. There are odd CUTS and JUMPS in the film as they try to complete a logical flow. I recommend this only if you are a Daniella Rocca fan. Watch it if you dare.

Take a look at the photos in the gallery for this movie. There is one with Daniella Rocca dancing. The censors made the distributors DRAW IN lines on her bare stomach to simulate netting. In 1960 a bare mid section was a NO-NO in Italy. Strange in todays world.