In fact, a few Hercules movies actually starred one of those interchangeable others - and were retitled and dubbed here to star Herc. Like Godzilla in that era's giant-monster movies, Hercules sometimes teamed with others of his ilk, such as Samson, Goliath, Ursus and Italy's homegrown Hercules, Maciste. At least 19 starred Hercules, played variously by bodybuilders including Mickey Hargitay, Reg Park, "Mission: Impossible's" Peter Lupus (credited as Rock Stevens) and Kirk Morris (nee Adriano Bellini). Called "sword-and-sandal" or "peplum" films - after the short tunics/overskirts men wore in them - dozens such films battled it out at the U.S. īy clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.Īfter the Hercules movies became hits, Italian studios and American distributors released more follow-up films than Hercules had Labors.
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But it was his Herculean labors that launched a fantasy-epic subgenre colloquially called. Reeves would go on to do a slew of such mythological mishmashes, playing Goliath in "Goliath and the Barbarians" (1959), Phillipides in "The Giant of Marathon" (1959), Aeneas in "The Trojan Horse" (1961) and Romulus in "Duel of the Titans" (1961), among others. In the latter, he is mystically mesmerized by Omphale, Queen of Lydia (Sylvia Lopez), but eventually regains his memory and saves his captive wife. In the former, Hercules joins the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and wins the love of Princess Iole (Sylva Koscina). Universe became a gay icon playing the bare-chested hero in these two Italian-made epics, each released in the U.S. Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," alluding to the campy appeal of "Hercules" (1958) and "Hercules Unchained" (1959), starring bodybuilder Reeves. "If you want something visual / that's not too abysmal / We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie." So sang the pansexual Dr. Or at least for the past several decades. Yet, whether accomplishing the 12 Labors or leading villagers into rebellion, whether fighting anachronistically in the gladiatorial arena or voyaging with the Argonauts, Hercules on-screen is a hero for the ages. He's ridden chariots into battle, horses through treacherous passes and ships to high adventure - often on budgets that wouldn't pay for a minute of "Clash of the Titans."
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In one guise or another, he's fought ancient-world despots and sorcerers, mythological beasts and the attractions of femmes fatales. Of course, Hercules - the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles - has been immortalized on film for more than 50 years, with similar characters hitting the screen since silent-movie days.
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Hercules battles Hercules this year, with Kellan Lutz playing the demigod next Friday in Renny Harlin's "The Legend of Hercules" and Dwayne Johnson taking on the Greek hero in Brett Ratner's "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," based on the Radical Comics miniseries, on July 25.