''Hercules Unchained'' ( it, Ercole e la regina di Lidia , "Hercules and the Queen of

Lydia Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provin ...

") is a 1959 Italian-French

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

starring

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonis ...

and Sylva Koscina in a story about two warring brothers and Hercules' tribulations in the court of Queen

Omphale In Greek mythology, Omphale (; Ancient Greek: Ὀμφάλη) was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Gree ...

. The film is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

to the Reeves vehicle ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted th ...

'' (1958) and marks Reeves' second – and last – appearance as Hercules. The film's screenplay, loosely based upon various

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

and plays by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

and

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

, was written by Ennio De Concini and

Pietro Francisci Pietro Francisci (9 September 1906 – 1977) was an Italian film director, best remembered for the film ''Hercules'' (1958) which inspired the sword and sandal boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Born in Rome, his career took a distinct tur ...

with Francisci directing and Bruno Vailati and Ferruccio De Martino producing the film.

Plot

While travelling, Hercules is asked to intervene in a quarrel between two brothers,

Eteocles In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was reveal ...

and

Polynices In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; grc, Πολυνείκης, Polyneíkes, lit= manifold strife' or 'much strife) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles (according to Sophocl ...

, over who should rule Thebes. Before he can complete this task, Hercules drinks from a magic spring and is hypnotized by a harem girl who dances the "Dance of Shiva", loses his memory and becomes the captive of Queen

. The Queen keeps men until she tires of them, then has them made into statues. While young Ulysses tries to help him regain his memory, Hercules' wife,

Iole In Greek mythology, Iole (; grc, Ἰόλη ) was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the '' Bibliotheca'', Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed ...

, finds herself in danger from Eteocles, current ruler of Thebes, who plans on throwing her to the wild beasts in his entertainment arena. Hercules slays three tigers in succession and rescues his wife, then assists the Theban army in repelling mercenary attackers hired by Polynices. The two brothers ultimately fight one another for the throne and end up killing each other; the good high priest Creon is elected by acclaim.

Cast

* Sylvia Lopez as Queen

* Sylva Koscina as

* Sergio Fantoni as

* Mimmo Palmara as

* Gabriele Antonini as Ulysses *

Fulvio Carrara Fulvio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Andrea Fulvio (c. 1470 – 1527), Renaissance humanist, poet and antiquarian of Rome, advisor to Raphael *Fulvio de Assis (born 1981), Brazilian professional basketball player *Fulvio B ...

as Castor *

Willi Colombini Willi is a given name, nickname (often a short form or hypocorism of Wilhelm) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Willi Apel (1893–1988), German-American musicologist * Willi Boskovsky (1909–1991), Austrian violini ...

as Pollux * Gian Paolo Rosmino as Aesculapius *

Gino Mattera Gino may refer to: * Gino (given name) * Gino (surname) * ''Gino'' (film), a 1993 Australian film * ''Gino the Chicken'', Italian TV series See also * * Geno (disambiguation) *Gino's (disambiguation) Gino's may refer to: *Gino's East, a Chicag ...

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to ...

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 * Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino c ...

Antaeus Antaeus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀνταῖος ''Antaîos'', "opponent", derived from , ''antao'' – 'I face, I oppose'), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part ...

* Cesare Fantoni as King

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

* Daniele Vargas as

Amphiaraus In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adra ...

* Carlo D'Angelo as High Priest Creon *

Gianni Loti Gianni is an Italian name (occasionally a surname), a short form of the Italian Giovanni and a cognate of John meaning God is gracious. Gianni is the most common diminutive of Giovanni in Italian. People with this given name * Gianni Agnelli (ind ...

as Sandone * Fulvia Franco as

Anticlea In Greek mythology, Anticlea or Anticlia (; Ancient Greek: ''Ἀντίκλεια'', literally "without fame") was a queen of Ithaca as the wife of King Laërtes. Family Anticlea was the daughter of Autolycus and Amphithea. The divine tricks ...

Colleen Bennett Colleen is an Irish language name and is of Irish origin and a generic term for women or girls, from the Irish ''cailín'' 'girl/woman', the diminutive of ''caile'' 'woman, countrywoman'. Although it originates in the Irish language, Colleen ...

as the

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

Nando Cicero Fernando Cicero, better known as Nando Cicero (22 January 1931 – 30 July 1995), was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Born in Asmara, Cicero debuted as an actor, working with directors such as Luchino Visconti ('' Senso'', 1953 ...

as Lastene

Production

The tale of

and Queen

is taken from the ancient Greek myth, of which there are several variations throughout history. Character names are drawn from a mixture of various Greek legends and plays, notably ''The

Seven Against Thebes The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban ...

'' by

and ''

Oedipus at Colonus ''Oedipus at Colonus'' (also ''Oedipus Coloneus''; grc, Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, ''Oidipous epi Kolōnōi'') is the last of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles's ...

'' by

. Hercules' line "I wove the threads

f my memory F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hi ...

together" is a reference to his task of spinning thread and weaving with Omphale's attendants. The film is only very loosely based on the source material, randomly mixing events and featuring characterizations varying from those depicted in the sources.

Reception

Film critic Howard Hughes argues that due to a better script, "punchier action" and more convincing acting the film was "superior to its predecessor" ''Hercules''. Concerning the cast he praises in particular the French actress Sylvia Lopez ("movingly effective") whose career ended prematurely when in 1959, soon after finishing this film, she died at the age of 26 of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. The film opened in New England on 30 June 1960 in 200 theaters grossing $500,000 in a week. The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1960. In its opening in 39 theaters in the UK over the first

August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or ...

weekend, it set 36 house records.

Legacy

''Hercules Unchained'' has been broadcast on American television, and is available in both VHS and DVD formats. The film's Italian title means "''Hercules and the Queen of Lydia''". The film was also featured in an episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

''.

Comic book adaption

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic b ...

#1121 (August 1960)

Biography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercules Unchained 1959 films 1950s fantasy adventure films 1950s historical fantasy films Peplum films Italian fantasy adventure films 1950s Italian-language films Films directed by Pietro Francisci Films about Heracles Films set in ancient Greece Films adapted into comics Lux Film films French historical fantasy films Sword and sandal films Films based on works by Sophocles Films based on works by Aeschylus Films scored by Enzo Masetti 1950s Italian films 1950s French films Italian-language French films