Le Géant de Métropolis

This is the ultimate Italo-kitsch-sword and sandal-science fiction something. The early 60's cinematic Zeitgeist in Italy was certainly unique. This one has some knockout art direction and costumes along with some pretty moody photography. Then there's your cheesy (but fun) fight scenes. It also has a some crummy special effects, monotone dubbed acting, and somewhat slow pace; but you fans of the genre knew that already and all you others will just have to try it for yourselves. You either love these kinds of films or loath them with a passion- (said in a low, dubbed, monotone voice) WHICH WILL YOU BE? A great minimalist musical score, too. I give this one an 8 because of what it is- just plain bizarre weirdness that may appeal to those of you with a certain kind of mindset. Gordon Mitchell sure is ugly but he's perfect as the put-upon (and I mean PUT-UPON) hero.

On paper, this epic 60s sci-fi peplum sounds really cool: it's got astonishing set design, Bava-style art direction, outlandish costumes and weaponry, an insane tyrant, a doomed empire, beautiful women in distress, and strongman Gordon Mitchell battling it out with numerous armed guards, a massive hairy troglodyte, and five flesh eating pygmies.

In actuality, it is far from impressive...

Although the film looks great at times, with particularly good use of light and shadow (and a legendary amount of dry ice), it is severely hampered by a dreary, repetitive script, terrible dubbing and poor performances: star Mitchell's physique might have made him perfect for the genre, but he clearly spent much more time developing his pectorals than his acting skills.

Speaking of magnificent chests, The Giant of Metropolis does at least benefit from the presence of drop dead gorgeous Euro-babes Bella Cortez and Liana Orfei as Princess Mecede and Queen Texen, both of whom have va-va-voom to spare; neither woman seems to be a particularly good actress, but when they're built like that, who cares?

Along with THE FURY OF ACHILLES (1962), with which I should re-acquaint myself presently, this is perhaps muscle-bound and pug-ugly Gordon Mitchell's finest hour. The film is an intriguing mix of peplum and sci-fi: I purposefully watched it and the similar (and contemporaneous) L'ATLANTIDE on consecutive days but, in the long run, this is the one to blend the two more successfully (or, if you like, outrageously) by way of imaginative (if clearly cheap i.e. mostly model and matte shots!) and atmospherically-lit sets a' la the work of Mario Bava, weird (and curiously baggy) costumes, and even odd-shaped (to say nothing of unwieldy) weaponry; incidentally, in the opening text scroll, we are told that Metropolis is just another name for Atlantis! The name of the (futuristic) city involved, then, obviously evokes Fritz Lang's seminal masterwork from 1927 and this even does it outright homage by having Metropolis eventually submerged in water (supposedly the fate of the real 'Lost Continent').

Anyway, Mitchell arrives on the scene, ostensibly in search of a promised land, with a whole entourage – but, in the space of five minutes, his father has kicked the bucket of old age and exhaustion, the leader of an accompanying faction opts to go his own way, and the hero's two brothers have a literal meltdown due to the radioactive atmosphere surrounding Metropolis! His own constitution elicits fear and doubt in the mad ruler of the city: the latter is engaged in transplanting the brain of an ancient sage (whom he constantly visits for advise, so much for his supposed superiority!) into his own child-son; he has an elder daughter (who occasionally gratifies him with a sexy exotic dance!) and, following the mysterious death of his wife, married a woman several years his junior (whom he anxiously – and authoritatively – paws despite being obviously hated by her!). As for his subjects, these are a mass of anonymous zombies who invariably rally in the square opposite the palace to cheer or curse as the case may be (but with arms enthusiastically outstretched on both occasions!) – when he decides to revive a former lieutenant of his, however, he is repaid by the latter's conspiring with Mitchell et al to thwart his evil plans!

To get back to the hero, he is imprisoned (via a temperature-altering beam of light, which has him make funny faces whilst appearing to be choking!) and forced into shows-of-strength with a variety of mutant monsters: a giant, which he fells with the over-sized skeletal jaw of some unidentified animal, and a horde of cannibalistic pygmies! Eventually, he meets and conquers – in the romantic sense, naturally – the King's female offspring (she pines for the outside world when shown furtive glimpses of it)…while her step-mom succumbs to suicide by poison rather than reveal the escaped Mitchell's whereabouts. To make matters worse for the King, Metropolis is apparently under constant threat from the elements, specifically Equatorial disorder (which he has scientists continually observe through a periscope and insistently urges them to come up with a solution to the imminent catastrophe!)…and, when one had thought his spirits could not sink any lower, he is haunted by his father's ghost (clearly disapproving of his toying with the Laws of Nature)!

Umberto Scarpelli stepped infrequently in the director's chair (THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS –reasonably engaging but invincibly juvenile such as it is – was the last of only 5, for 3 of which he actually shared the credit with somebody else!); incidentally, the producer/co-writer of the film under review was Emimmo Salvi, who would himself graduate to helming a variety of low-brow "Euro-Cult" fare and worked 6 times in all with the star – a viewing of one of these, THE TREASURE OF THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1965), followed the very next day...

Got to give this ultra low budget, horrendously dubbed Italian Sword and Sandal clunker credit for trying something different.Adds a heavy dosage of Science- Fiction to the mix.The baddie resembles Bela Lugosi, the hero a less handsome Charlton Heston and the " Giant" to me at least resembled Harry H Corbett's werewolf from " Carry On Screaming" even though this was made three years before that.The climatic destruction of Atlantis takes place in near darkness, to hide the cheap cardboard sets and lack of them.Pretty bad, but i almost felt sorry for them, they did the best they could.

This amounts to Fritz Langs' "Metropolis" (1927), mixed with a good dose of "sword and sandals" film, with plenty of cheesecake and beefcake.

In Atlantis Obro is on a quest to Metropolis, to warn its king Yotar that his misuse of science will cause the downfall of Metropolis and all its residents. Suddenly, Obro and companions are hit with a "magnetic death ray" that only Obro survives, the others being turned into skeletons. Obro is then taken by soldiers to the King, who has him selected for a brain transplant for his son, because Obro is of "superior blood". The whole film plays like a Flash Gordon serial.

Gordon Mitchell is a suitable hunk of beefcake, who throws soldiers and boulders around like they were toys. Rodalno Lupi bears a resemblance to Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless in at least one Flash Gordon serial. Bella Cortez's Mesede resembles Princess Aura; here she is redeemed by her love for Obro.

The futuristic Art Direction is by Giorgio Giovannini, who worked with Mario Bava on 1965's "Planet of the Vampires", and other Bava films. The sets and set decoration borrow from the Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, and Chinese, depending on the scene.

The cinematography is by Mario Sensi. The wild color scheme resembles that of "Planet of the Vampires" (1965) and "Hercules in the Haunted World" (1961), except the dominant color is red instead of orange.

The script is wonderfully stupid. My favorite line; Obro to Mesede : "We're made alike!" Not really, although they both have big chests.

Watch for the wedding dance, and the swords that look like canoe paddles. Last half hour of the film must have used a ton of dry ice. In spite of being great fun, I can only give it a 4/10.