Post by RedKing on Sept 14, 2006 20:04:42 GMT -8
Mario Bava's lone directorial entry into sword and sandal territory, with the gigantic Reg Park as Herc and Christopher Lee as the eville villian. The US version is heavily edited with a cut and paste music score added, if possible grab the widescreen dvd that features the uncut version with the onscreen title HERCULES IN THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. The disc has both dubbed and subbed versions of the movie plus the trailer for the US version. Reg Park is my favorite Hercules actor, even over Steve Reeves because I like Park's genial aproach to the role, portraying Herc as a kind of good natured fun loving guy , definitely foreshadowing the TV series of the 90s. Christopher Lee is always a welcome addition to any film, though for some reason he didn't dub his own voice in the english language track, which drastically takes away from his screen persona! The movie itself is a fantastic swirl of day-glo technicolor images coupled with ghoulish delights as Herc and pal theseus descend into Hell to save Herc's wife! In the finale as herc is beseiged by gauze wrapped ghouls, Park plays the scene realistically by having fear on his face, rather than the usual stoic confident look these guys usually have in fight scenes. Highly recomended