Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Uriah43 This movie begins with "Hercules" (Mark Forest) coming upon a young Oriental mother with her children somewhere in Central Europe or Russia who want to get across a river. So Hercules pulls up a big tree by the roots to use as a make-shift bridge for them to cross. As a token of appreciation the young mother proceeds to read Hercules fortune and describes an oncoming Mongol army led by 3 brothers who will cause him some trouble along the way. As it turns out Genghis Khan has just died and his 3 sons named "Karikan" (Renato Terra), "Sayan" (Ken Clark) and "Susdal" (Renato Rossini) decide to violate their father's last request and lead their armies westward to ravage and plunder those kingdoms who are at peace with them. One of the first cities they attack is called "Tudela" which they capture with ease. Although they kill the king his young son "Alexander" (Loris Loddi) manages to escape. However, the king's daughter named "Bianca" (Jose Greci) is taken prisoner and thrown into the dungeon awaiting their pleasure. But Hercules has plans to the contrary. Now rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this particular movie seemed to lack cohesion and solidity. As a matter of fact other than Maria Gracia Spina (as the Mongol wife of Karikan named "Lee-Wan"), who lent her beauty to the screen, there wasn't anything that remarkable about this movie at all. The English dubbing was ludicrous, the fabricated historical plot was silly and the action was rather boring. In short, I rate this movie as below average.

unbrokenmetal Maciste (Mark Forest) comes to the rescue of Princess Bianca who is threatened by the 3 sons of Genghis Khan. Maciste uses the opportunity that the 3 sons are rivals in a fight for leadership and becomes a slave for one of them to fight the others, see Bianca and plan her escape at a tournament. Little does he know that the princess trusts a traitor instead of him...Maciste's name is changed to 'Hercules' in some countries again, which doesn't make much sense as the legends of Hercules are set approximately 3000 years before Genghis Khan lived. Nevertheless, this is one of the better productions of the series. The idea to have several villains instead of the usual usurper of the throne makes the story slightly less predictable, and the production value with many horses and extras is above average. The typical human touch - Maciste, helper of the poor - is introduced nicely in the first scene when Maciste builds a bridge.

classicsoncall I think giving this film a 'five' rating is probably equivalent to an eight or nine in most other genres, which is to say, it's probably better than most sword and sandal epics you're bound to come across. That's not saying a whole lot, you really have to be in the mood to pull one of these out of the pile that's been accumulating on your video shelf. At least this one has a semblance of continuity, but I WAS surprised that Hercules (Mark Forest) had to defeat each of the evil brothers not once, but twice before the thing was over. All the while as scenes managed to change abruptly from one to another without much concern.My favorite line was probably "Why are you moving those trees?", matter of factly requested by the young Alexander during one of Hercules' early strong man scenes. That about set the tone of the story in a goofy sort of way, as Herc used the gigantic trunk to knock riders off their horses with impunity. I thought someone, maybe Sayan (Ken Clark) might have figured out he could move faster on his horse than Hercules carrying a tree. I guess not. You know, if I didn't know better, I might have mistaken Sayan for a Romulan, what do you think? There was another eye opener too. Right after that first battle with the Mongols, the kid says he's hungry and Herc pulls what? - a half loaf of bread, or a giant mushroom from behind a rock. What was that???? Anyway, that's how this thing goes until it's over. These Hercules movies will never be candidates for a Mensa convention, but they are fun to watch in small doses. I've now had my fill for this year.

ONenslo I purchased a dollar DVD, with a double feature purportedly of Hercules and the Princess of Troy and Herculese Prisoner of Evil. The latter turns out not to resemble its description on the box, nor the description under that title in its IMDb listing, but is in fact this movie here, Maciste contro i Mongoli. The title and credit sequence are missing, the movie beginning with a female voice-over and the funeral pyre of Genghis Khan. The references to the WHITE MAN noted by another reviewer were also not apparent. The faded Eastmancolor print lacks all yellow tones, so everything is red or green, making "Hercules" a shiny red fellow. Since it is clearly stated in the first minute to be the thirteenth century, and "Hercules" himself claims to be a Christian, it would make as much sense to call the character Tarzan. There is an inordinate amount of carrying large objects, especially logs and battering rams, with which people are poked or knocked down. The freudian implications of that, along with the bulging bosoms of "Hercules," are disturbing. I was impressed by what elaborate sets, props and costumes, and how many extras, could be summoned for such an otherwise cheesy movie. I am not sure it was worth my fifty cents, but I am glad I didn't pay two bucks to rent it. The DVD claims to be from the Family Value Collection, but is otherwise unlabeled as to its place of origin. It does say it was Digitally Remastered though.