Hercules Unchained (1959) User Reviews

Steve Reeves Unleashed

[ewarn-1 · 6/10 · 26 July 2006]

There was only one Hercules, and he wasn't from Mt. Olympus, he was from California, and his name was Steve! This movie proves it. Actually, it's a little better than his original flick, "Hercules". It's more polished, and has a little more action, but then, that's not saying much. It might have been exciting back in 1959 to see some guy pick up a tree, but the modern special effects fests have eclipsed it. Any kid interested in seeing fighting musclemen today wouldn't watch this, they'd be watching Smackdown or whatever it is. WWF. WWE. I don't know. Anyway, they'd rather see Rick Flair and John Cena insult each other.

But hey! I liked it, because I think Steve Reeves was cool! He looked the part with his beard. And he had some build, better than all the musclemen that followed, better than the bodybuilders today. This was his last good film. For all the others, he shaved off his beard and journeyed to strange places, like Russia and India. He should have stayed in ancient Greece.

If your a retro person, you would love this. I dig the retro dancing Greek island chicks. I dig the fake tigers. I dig the chariots, I dig Steve beating up the world's heavyweight champ. You might find other things to dig, so pay homage to old Steve Hercules Reeves himself. He might have been governor of California too.

entertaining fairy tale

[winner55 · 6/10 · 30 November 2008]

Only a fool would curse a fairy tale because it narrates the actions of a witch. A good man has a strong enough heart to allow differences to flourish as long as people are allowed to live their lives in a peaceable manner.

That's the great lesson that underlines this film, otherwise silly and occasionally mawkish. I suppose that's why intelligent children have loved the Hercules myth ever since it could be recorded. Hercules is pretty dumb, but he's a nice guy with good intentions, the most important of which is to keep those who have let power corrupt them from bringing ruin to farmers and villagers and other peaceful working people.

Here he is threatened by three evil generals and an over-self-indulgent witch. The plot is partly based on the Hercules myth itself, but borrows freely from the Odyssey and from the Oedipus plays, with just a dash of the Argonauts legend tossed in briefly at the beginning.

Alright, so it's a mess. And the middle third is just outright dull as the witch grows to love her buffoonish captive.

Never mind. It's well-made for its time and place, colorful, and even occasionally lyrical. And some of the fight scenes retain their excitement, after all these years.

Perhaps best viewed - and understood - by children; but can provide real entertainment for intelligent adults in the right frame of mind.

HERCULES UNCHAINED (Pietro Francisci and, uncredited, Mario Bava, 1959) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 23 March 2008]

The sequel to HERCULES (1958) is even less enthusing but remains, nonetheless, an adequate example of the peplum genre.

Sylva Koscina's role of Iole, Hercules' love interest, is diminished here since the most prominent female figure on display emerges to be the femme fatale-ish Queen of Lidia Omphale (the film's original title, incidentally, translates to HERCULES AND THE QUEEN OF LIDIA) – the latter is played by another red-headed beauty Sylvia Lopez, who died of leukemia not long after the film's release! Needless to say, the muscle-bound hero (Steve Reeves) falls under her spell after having conveniently drunk from a spring that renders him an amnesiac (though not before he's been engaged in an irrelevant wrestling bout with ex-heavyweight champion Primo Carnera as an irascible giant!); his friend Ulysses, however, is on hand to watch over him (ostensibly in the function of Hercules' deaf-mute slave). Meanwhile, back home in Thebes, two brothers fight it out over the throne – with Iole at the mercy of a cackling maniac (an over-the-top Sergio Fantoni)...

By the way, both of these Hercules films featured atmospheric cinematography by Mario Bava - who would himself direct one of the better adventures revolving around this mythical figure, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD (1961) starring Reg Park. As for Francisci, he worked most often in this genre: from ATTILA (1954; co-starring Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren) – which is overdue for a reappraisal and has, incidentally, just been announced as an upcoming DVD release from Lionsgate! – to the low-brow HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES (1963; with Kirk Morris now as Hercules) and SINBAD AND THE CALIPH OF BAGHDAD (1973; his last film and which I recall watching eons ago on Italian TV).

One Man, One Beard... Whole lot o servant girls.

[jahambo · 19 April 2004]

Laughing heartily in the face of danger, Steve Reeves leads the way in Hercules: Unchained, a film about just how much tail you can get with a good beard. Okay, so there's a story about two sassy brothers' fight over a kingdom, a random encounter with the son of the Earth god and waters of forgetfulness... great. The real story here: oiled-up men in loincloths having their way with giggling servant girls. This movie jam packed with servant girls running from Herc and Ulysses down stairs, around corners and pretty much any direction that shows off the goods. As if that wasn't enough to get you totally pumped about this movie while cleaning the house... fake tigers! If you're a fan of fake tigers in fake tiger fights... you'll need to rent this one soon. Mostly though, its about the servant girls. 8 out of 10.

Fun Sequel...

[Space_Mafune · 5/10 · 6 February 2003]

but not at the level of the original 1958 film also starring Steve Reeves in the lead role.

Still this does deliver some good thrills such as Hercules battling the giant Antaeus (Primo Carnera), trying to escape the influence of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez who I feel was truly bewitching in the role), tangling with deadly tigers and finally trying to rescue his lovely bride Iole (Sylva Koscina) from the crazed Eteocles all while trying to stop his homeland of Thebes from descending into war.

The middle portion of the film which has Hercules under the spell of Queen Omphale once his memory has been wiped away by the waters of forgetfulness is a bit slow but is still fun...fun adventure not to be taken too seriously is how I'd describe this one.

Ridicoules and fake looking but still pretty decent early Hercules vehicle.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 5/10 · 25 September 2009]

This movie definitely is not the best or most exciting one around. Strangely enough it doesn't decide on picking a more adventurous story and restrains itself mostly to the same locations.

You can say that these early Italian genre movies set the later standards for the swords & sandals genre. The first movie "Le fatiche di Ercole" began with this and this movie further expands it, without adding too much excitement or fun though. The movie has the looks and right characters involved but yet the movie only at times manages to become an interesting and good one to watch. Most of the time too little is happening, which is a shame and a waste.

The set and colors of it all might seem fake and silly looking by todays standards but this at the same time has become part of the charm of these early type of genre movies. Also for it's time this movie must have been pretty good and impressive looking at times. It's at least not as cheap looking as many other later Italian genre attempts. The earliest Hercules, or Ercole, movies are still definitely the better ones to watch.

Steve Reeves certainly was an impressive presence and for some reason he's far better than most other actors who ever portrayed the Ercole (Hercules) character in these type of movies, without having too impressive acting talents.

It's really too bad that the movie its middle part is so poor. The movie begins quite well and promising and also ends well, when the movie turns into a more spectacular one to watch.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

OK early T&A (Steve Reeves' T, Sylva Koscina's A), kind of

[frankfob · 3/10 · 16 August 2002]

"Hercules Unchained," the sequel to Steve Reeves' mega-hit "Hercules," isn't quite what I remembered it to be. Reeves definitely has the look of Hercules, much more so than most of the bodybuilders who followed or imitated him in these movies, and he's actually not a bad actor, all things considered. Sylva Koscina, playing his wife, is absolutely breathtaking. She just radiates class, is spectacularly beautiful and has a body to die for. Sylvia Lopez, as Queen Oomphale, is another case altogether. Although she's quite leggy and has a great body, and thankfully doesn't mind showing it, she's frankly not all that attractive, looks to be wearing about 50 pounds of makeup and a gallon of lip gloss, and is, to be honest, not a very good actress. However, that doesn't matter much, as she has a whole slew of young, gorgeous, scantily clad servant girls prancing and slinking around, which is a pleasant distraction. The action scenes aren't as good as I recalled them--I saw it the other day for first time in probably 30 years and was actually quite disappointed. Hercules' fight with a tiger is laughable--almost as phony as Victor Mature's fight with the lion in "Samson and Delilah"--his clash with Oomphale's guards near the end of the picture is very badly done and the climactic battle between the forces of the two brothers is handled extremely poorly. There were more than enough extras to show a good battle scene, but for some reason the filmmakers focus mainly on close-ups or two-shots of a few individuals fighting each other, which makes no sense at all, and the battle consists mostly of a lot of guys running around raising dust and some chariots racing around, and that's pretty much it. Time apparently really does play tricks with your memory; I recalled this picture as having much more action in it than it really did, but other than Reeves' fight with Primo Carnera, pretty much nothing happens in the first half of the film, and the action that does occur in the second half is mostly perfunctory and, as noted, not very well done.

Still, Reeves is impressive to look at and does have a certain presence, you can't take your eyes of Sylva Koscina, the servant girls are a treat, the photography is nice for the most part and some of the sets are impressive. The dubbing is, of course, atrocious, but it always is in these pictures, so that's not news. You could do worse than rent this once. It's just really not worth seeing twice.

"Anyway, I like the idea of being a king. By the way, what's my name?"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 2 April 2006]

I remember watching "Hercules Unchained" back in the day, but for the life of me, my viewing of the film today brought back not one memory of it. For certain though, with Steve Reeves generally acknowledged as the best of the movie strongmen to portray the Greek demi-god, all the rest are pretty lame by comparison. But even here, the movie takes a quick down hill turn from the original "Hercules", though it does offer a fun time if you're not in the mood for real Greek mythology. Really, how serious can you get about a character who's name sounds like crayon, even if he is a colorful sort.

In the story, Herc and his sidekick Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini) attempt to mitigate a feud between two brothers who both want to be the king of Thebes. Following a wrestling match with former world champ Primo Carnera, Hercules has the misfortune of drinking from the 'waters of forgetfulness'. Falling into a daze, he and Ulysses are captured by the soldiers of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez), who promptly realizes that he's the man of her dreams, and maybe even a candidate for the old trophy cave. Omphale plays it up for all the leggy cheesecake glory it's worth, giving new meaning to 'over the top'. For his part, Ulysses decides to play the dumb and dumber routine until he can snap Herc out of his stupor.

Watch closely the second time Hercules takes up Ulysses' challenge to bend the iron torch stand in an attempt to remember who he is. He successfully does so, and then unbends it just as easily, leaving a slight curve in the stem. However when he returns the stand to it's original location, the stand is perfectly straight.

Before it's all over, brothers Eteocles and Polinices do each other in following a chariot battle and hand to hand combat with swords. Hercules prevails in a battle against weirdly diamond striped tigers, reuniting with long suffering (20 days to be exact) wife Iole (Sylva Koscina). Koscina, looking gorgeous, manages to maintain her dignity throughout, which is saying a lot, as every other woman in the film was cast for their eye candy appeal.

Don't take my comments as a put down of the movie, as I'm trying to give my review the same goofy flavor as the film. That means having some fun with an early offering from a genre that generated nearly two hundred movies following the first two Steve Reeves epics. If you can't do that, at least try a glass of some Grecian spring water.

Hercules: Uninteresting

[OHHLA · 2/10 · 23 June 2005]

Even as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 send-up, this one falls flat if you watch it more than once. The riffing of Joel and the bots is still entertaining, but it can't disguise the fact this film is pretty thin on usable plot and relies mostly on Steve Reeves rugged looks to sustain itself. Think Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder" and you'll see what I mean. As painful as this movie is with their jokes, it would be completely intolerable without them. From cheesy costumes to badly dubbed dialogue to acting even high school drama teachers would turn their noses up at, this movie is like a 1970's kung-fu flick minus the saving grace of people getting their butts kicked. In fact for a so-called Hercules movie, it's long on bad dialogue and short on good action. If you're going to watch something called Hercules you'd actually be better off seeing the animated Disney film.

Spectacular Greek adventure with the muscle man hero Hercules-Steve Reeves

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 11 July 2010]

The movie opens with the musclebound mythical Hercules ( Steve Reeves ), his recent wife Iole ( Sylva Koscina), and the young Ulysses (Gabriel Antonini) setting off for the city of Thebes , continuing the end of the quest for the Golden Fleece (depicted in the former picture , Hercules , that was essentially a recounting of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts). Their trip is interrupted when Hercules must do battle with the giant Anteus (Primo Carnera), whose strength seems to exceed his own until he realizes that Anteus is the son of the earth goddess, Gea, and can't be defeated on land. On their arrival in Thebes, the trio discovers that the kingdom is in the midst of civil war , Oedipus (Cesare Fantoni), the blind old king, is dying, and his two sons, Polynices (Mimmo Palmara) and Eteocles (Sergio Fantoni), are confronting for the throne and threatening to destroy each other and the populace. Hercules must leave Iole in the hands of one side in order to try and settle the dispute between the two would-be kings. While en route between the two armed camps, however, he is put under the spell of Omphale (Sylvia Lopez), the Queen of Lydia .Hercules drinks from a magic spring and lost his records , then the Queen casts out his memory , is seduced and tangles him as a lover , in addition Ulysses in tow pretending to be his deaf-mute servant. Ulysses must figure out how to keep himself alive, restore Hercules' record, get them both out of Omphale's grasp before she tires of amnesiac Hercules and has him killed , and get them both back to Thebes before the kingdom is burned to the ground. His solution arrives in the form of his father, Laertes ( Andrea Fantasia ), and Hercules' companions as Argo (Aldo Fiorelli) the shipbuilder and the Argonauts from his voyage for the Golden Fleece. They all escape Omphale's clutches and arrive at Thebes where the political tensions raise as war has broken out between the Edipo's sons and their armies , furthermore his new spouse finds herself in mortal risk . In a breathtaking denouement, Hercules brings his chariot into the middle of the thunderous fighting , knocking down assault towers and sweeping cavalry before him to halt the battle.

This mythological movie is plenty of adventures , emotions, thrills , atmospheric settings and colorful scenarios well photographed by the maestro Mario Bava . The plot this time is drawn from the legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes, which are most familiar to audiences through the Theban plays of Sophocles as Aedipus at Colonia and Seven against Thebes by Aeschylus . It is widely considered to be one of the top 10 greatest Peplum films of all time. This great film will surely attract a whole new generation of classic movie fans. And for seasoned cinematic connoseuirs, Hercules Unchained (1959) will rekindle an era of film making at its best. This is Steve Reeves' second and last film portrayal of Hercules is, in certain ways, better than his first . For others who simply enjoy watching timeless pieces with icons such as Steve Reeves. The corpulent Steve Reeves was a hunk man who made lots of roman epic films also called ¨Musclemen movies¨. Luck's Reeves changed when Italian director Pietro Francisci persuaded him to go overseas to star ¨Hercules¨ and sequel ¨Hercules and queen of Lydia also titled Hercules unchained ¨ that served as the prototypes of all cloak-and-sandal movies to come and both of them became a surprise US hit smash . Later on, he followed with ¨Goliath and the Barbarians, The giant of Marathon, The Trojan horse, The son of Spartacus and The Avenger¨ among them . Steve was an American bouncing who emigrated Italy and created a true star-system based on pumped-up heroes. He paved the way for other actors to seek their fame and fortune in Italy playing bouncing adventurers . Other stars by the time on this type of movies are Mark Forest, Gordon Mitchell, Dan Vadis, Brad Harris and 'Gordon Scott' who made him more important competence. Nobody, nevertheless, topped Steve in popularity . Rating : Good , high recommended for Peplum fans

More of the Same: Looks a Little Better

[Hitchcoc · 4/10 · 18 April 2006]

The quality of the film was much better than many of these that I've seen. Here are some observations. For some reason, every character is named after a Greek or Roman god. Ulysses is a dork. How could he have fought those battles with Hercules. During the brain freeze that takes up about half the movie, Hercules seems to be having a good time. What exactly caused the brain freeze? Did I miss something. There are a ton of fights. Armies attacking one man and losing, of course. Hercules is tempted but has an excuse in that he doesn't know who he is. As usual, there is an evil queen. Are there any of these movies that don't have an evil queen. I never quite got the whole thing with the two brothers and their fathers and the big conflict, other than they wanted to keep what they had. I must admit, I just couldn't get into it. I've had enough Hercules for a while.

Lots of fun

[mijbril · 8/10 · 6 July 2002]

I grew up watching this stuff as a Saturday afternoon matinee 30 years ago & now, it's still as much fun to watch.

Hercules, now married to Ioli, is returning to Thebes to help sort out a dispute over who has the rights to the throne of Thebes. Along the way, Hercules loses his memory & is seduced by the evil Amphale who goes through husbands like Elizabeth Taylor, however, Amphale is something of a black widow & uses a few Egyptians to preserve her ex-husbands in the family crypt.

However, one look at the rugged carved from granite Steve Reeves & all her black widow tendencies fly out the window, but she still wants him for good.

Of course it all ends up in a good ruckus with sword fights, chariot duels, Hercules throwing tables & coffins at rushing troops, 2 insane brothers with a hatred for each other (& their father) & inevitably the faithful sidekick who chimes in with a few vital day-saving moments.

Clint Eastwood may have been the king of the Spaghetti Western, but Steve Reeves was the king of the Spaghetti Swords & Sandals. So if that's your cup of tea, I recommend this movie as an excellent addition to your collection.

An instance where the sequel is better than the original

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 6 August 2007]

Hercules Unchained picks up right where Hercules (1958) left off. Hercules and his new bride, Iole, are headed to Thebes. A fight for the throne between two brothers puts a kink in Hercules' plans, so he decides to act as peacemaker. But before he can carry out his mission, he mistakenly drinks from the "waters of forgetfulness" and is taken prisoner by Queen Omphale. Unsure of his real identity, Hercules is at the Queen's mercy and is reduced to being her plaything. Meanwhile, Iole is caught between the warring brothers and faces death. Can Hercules come to his senses in time to save his wife and his beloved Thebes?

Hercules Unchained is one of those instances where I find the sequel superior to the original. First off, the movie is just more interesting. The original Hercules had a tendency to drag. While Hercules Unchained isn't a thrill-a-minute, there is certainly more action. Second, I think everyone involved from the actors to the director seemed more comfortable in their respective roles in the sequel. That's only natural. Finally, and probably most importantly, Mario Bava's influence is more pronounced and evident in Hercules Unchained. There are instances throughout the movie that show his touch. For example, when Hercules meets the old king in the cave, the use of colored gel lighting in the scene simply screams Bava. Take a look at that scene and compare it with what Bava would do in his on Hercules movie, Hercules in the Haunted World, and see if you don't agree.

A lot of different muscle-bound actors would play the role of Hercules in these Italian productions, but none would do it any better that Steve Reeves. In this instance, the original is still the best. Others cast in the role may have been better actors and some may have been more gifted physically, but few could combine the two into a single package as effectively as Reeves.

I realize that these Italian sword and sandal movies may not be for everyone, but I really get a kick out of most of them. For anyone new to these movies, Hercules Unchained would make an excellent jumping off point.

I think I'll fall on my spear. He he.

[KOknockout920 · 1/10 · 13 May 2006]

The sequel to the Steeve Reeves version of Hercules, Hercules Unchained starts where its prequel left off. Hercules, Ulyses, and his new wife, Iole, go on some mission to settle a dispute between two brothers who wants to rule Thebes. However, on the way, Hercules drinks the so called " Waters of Forgetfullness" and forgets who he is and is seduced by this queen,and she falls in love with Hercules. However, Ulyses helps Herc regain his memory and escapes the island where the queen subsides in (by the way, the queen commits suicide, but anyway). Meanwhile, Iole, Herc's wife, gets captured by one of the brothers and threatens to kill her. Hercules and his group finally save Iole in a battle to the death by both of the brother's sides. In the end, both brothers die, Herc is reunited with his wife, and they live happily ever after.Well not exactly, but they lived ever after.

This is the second and hopefully, I think, last sequel to the Hercules series. The movie felt like an eternity. It took so long for Herc to finally get off that island! In fact, Herc was on that island for 40 minutes, long for an 1 1/2 hour movie. The song. Oh god that was awful. And one last thing. It was boring. There wasn't much action, and when there was action, it didn't last long, and it was fake.Thank god MST3K was there to make it enjoyable! I want to thank all of the people who made this B- bomb possible. Steve Reeves, the Herc. The other cast members. Pietro Franscisi, the director. Mitchell Parish, the person who wrote that dreaded song. And the two producers, Feruccio De Martiono and Bruno Vailati. Thank you all! P.S. If you're thinking of making another sequel, heres a tip. Don't!

A feast for the eyes

[brisky · 15 April 1999]

This is the second Hercules flick featuring Steve Reeves as the man of muscle. The legendary Reeves melds with the god/man Hercules and turns what could have been a cheesefest into an action/adventure spectacle as tightly woven as Hercules' toga. Competing with Reeves for biggest chest is his umptuous co-star Sylvia Lopez as the evil Queen Omphale who makes living statues out of her conquests. Hercules' pals include Gabriele Antonini as Ulysses who gives the man of muscle a mighty rubdown and competes for Herc's attentions with his sexy wife Iole, played with sweet sassiness by beautiful Sylvia Koscina. With Hercules shirtless (and occasionally oiled) for most of the flick and his mini-toga riding up his thick manly thighs there's something for everybody to enjoy. Of special note is the dance of Queen Omphale's slave girls and Herc's wrestling match with real life Italian pro-wrestler, Primo Carnera. Keep an eye out for plentiful low camera angles.

Omphale's Trophy Room

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 19 December 2010]

The sequel to the original Hercules film has Steve Reeves just trying to get back home to Sylva Koscina and settle down and raise little muscle dudes. But he gets a mission from old King Oedipus living at the edge of the underworld. His two sons are not living up to what was a really crazy power sharing scheme whereby they would alternate the monarchy of Thebes for year intervals. The first one's year is up and he doesn't want to give up his royal prerogatives. The other one has hired a mercenary army and is threatening civil war.

While Hercules is trying to mediate the conflict he gets to drinking from the waters of forgetfulness and wakes up in the palace of Queen Omphale played by a fetching Sylvia Lopez. This woman with the help of some embalmers trained in Egypt is collecting a beautiful lifelike statuary and after some servicing by Hercules, she wants to add him to her trophy room.

This second Hercules film that starred Steve Reeves is a cut above most of the peplums out there. It even has an appearance by former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera who towers over Reeves playing the giant Anteas.

Nice stuff for the Saturday matinée trade.

Skip ahead to the last 20 minutes

[Aegelis · 3/10 · 13 July 2021]

Seriously folks, you won't miss anything. There's supposed to be a story about why Hercules left his wife and gets seduced by a foreign queen, then being rescued but all of that sounds a lot more exciting than what actually transpires over an hour and ten minutes. There's some politics, an old king's lament, and a few feats of strength, but nothing not seen later on or in other Hercules movies. The script actually gets worse as the movie drones on, acting is statuesque (meaning like stone, not in a good way), and I can't tell if there's any directing actually going on.

The end tries to rescue the film with an epic battle for a city, a fight with tigers, and a duel between kings. Some cool scenes can be found in the melee, but too little, too late for this tragic mess of a movie.

Hercules is back

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 2 December 2020]

In Italy, this movie is known as Ercole e la Regina di Lidia (Hercules and the Queen of Lydia) and it's loosely based upon various Greek myths and the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles, as envisioned by co-writers Ennio De Concini and Pietro Francisci, who also directed. It's also the second - and last - Hercules movie with Steve Reeves in the lead.

Hercules has been brought in to settle the battle over who should rule Thebes between brothers Eteocles and Polynices. However, a magic spring looks so refreshing and Hercules is hypnotized by a harem girl and becomes the kept man of Queen Omphale of Lydia (Sylvia Lopez, who sadly died the same year this movie was made), who plans on sleeping with our hero until she gets bored and turns him into a statue.

Luckily, Ulysses is on hand to help him get his memory back, just in time to decimate three wild tigers in order to rescue his wife beloved Iole (Sylvia Koscina). Then, our hero realizes that he should just let the two brothers kill one another.

Wrestling fans will be happy to see Primo Carnera (he was also a boxer and known as the Ambling Alp) show up as Antaeus.

Mario Bava served as special effects supervisor on this film (he was the cinematographer for Hercules and Hercules Conquers Atlantis; he would then direct the incredible Hercules In the Haunted World), which you can definitely see in the foggy dream sequences.

While Reeves would leave the series to Reg Park, the two Hercules files he was in would be successful all over the world.

Steve Reeves Returns as Hercules

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 28 February 2010]

"Hercules exercises poor judgment when he quenches his thirst from an enchanted spring en route to a diplomatic mission in Thebes. He promptly loses his memory and gets sidetracked in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale. Ulysses, his young companion, tries to desperately to help him regain his memory, but in the meantime, the situation in Thebes is reaching boiling point. To make matters worse Hercules' young wife Iole faces imminent danger," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Re-titled "Hercules Unchained" for the English speaking world.

This was the second Hercules film directed by Pietro Francisci with Mario Bava, and starring handsome muscle-man Steve Reeves as the titular hero. Unfortunately, it was also the last time both Mr. Francisci and Mr. Reeves signed on to the series, as both sought finer productions. Importantly, Reeves' boy companion Gabriele Antonini (as Ulysses) also returns, as does beautiful wife Sylva Koscina (as Iole) and a variety of busty young women. One of the better "sword and sandal" epics.

***** Ercole e la regina di Lidia (2/14/59) Pietro Francisci ~ Steve Reeves, Gabriele Antonini, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez

Herc's Pecs-a-Popping!

[InzyWimzy · 4/10 · 7 October 2000]

Big, bronzed Steve Reeves is Hercules, Greek stupor hero who burns 50 brain cells per second. I guess these epics were big during the 50's, but watching them now is like seeing a documentary with nitrous. There's supposed to be a story, but the makers felt it better to emphasize action rather than plot. It doesn't work and you get a lot of choreographed fight scenes. Watch Herc hurl chocolate bunnies. Plenty of Greek guys in skirts. Must've been the fad back then. I thought Hercster could've made the movie a lot better by snapping Ulysses in half. Plus, he has an affair and still keeps his hotty bride Iole. The ending is a blockbuster fight scene with lots of people flying, horses dying, and audiences crying.

At least Steve Reeves is less annoying than Miles O' Keefe.

Married to Sylva but bewitched by Sylvia

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 13 March 2014]

"Hercules Unchained" (1959) is an Italian/French/Spanish sword & sandal flick in the mold of Kirk Douglas' "Ulysses" (1954). "Hercules Unchained" is more of the same, with a similar plot, i.e. the journeying hero forgets who he is while bewitched by a beautiful babe on some island. "Samson and Delilah" (1949) is the crowning predecessor of the genre.

Californian muscleman Steve Reeves plays the titular hero/god to perfection. Reeves is most known for his Hercules role but interestingly only played the part twice, in this film and the first one "Hercules" (1958). Anyway, one good side-effect of watching Reeves is that it will likely inspire guys to get in shape (the way Stallone does when watching Rambo).

In this film Herc is married to the beautiful Iole (Sylva Koscina), but he forgets his wife and homeland after drinking of the waters of forgetfulness and falls under the spell of Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) of the isle Lidia. So Herc is caught between two beauties: Sylva and Sylvia.

"Hercules Unchained" can be enjoyed by both youths and adults. It's a fun fantasy adventure with dated "effects," but it also addresses a few mature themes.

One theme is the boneheaded predilection of men to sexual gratification and their intrinsic weakness to the spell of feminine beauty. Herc is married to cutie Iole (Sylva), but it wasn't too hard for him to fall under the power of Omphale (Sylvia). And he has the perfect excuse: "Aduh, I forgot."

Another theme is that feminine power can be used for good or evil, productivity or destruction. Iole (Sylva) uses her feminine charms to catch herself a manly hunk (Reeves) for a husband and family, while Sylvia (Omphale) uses her womanly power to capture a never-ending succession of studs, literally. Sylva wants a lifelong mate and family, whereas Sylvia is a black widow who kills her "conquests" after she gets bored with 'em and puts 'em in her trophy case, so to speak.

Look around and you'll see both types of women in real life. One girl I knew in high school, for example, would catch herself a hunk boyfriend and ultimately start cheating on him when she eventually got bored; she would then let go of the boyfriend and officially hook up with the guy she was cheating with; once she got bored of him she'd start cheating with the next guy, ultimately dropping the boyfriend for him, ad nauseam. She was notorious, just like Omphale (Sylvia). She would even break up best friends with her expert feminine powers. The lunkheads could never come to the realization of what she was doing because they were too mesmerized by her bewitching charms.

Interestingly, Sylva is beautiful in a cute way, whereas Sylvia is beautiful in a sharp, leggy way. Both are worth catching the film for if you're a red-blooded male.

Another theme is that of negative rivalry. The two siblings vie for kingship (or control) of Thebes. Proud rivalry begats enmity and violence, and ultimately mutually assured self-destruction. Both actors are outstanding, displaying a palpable royal pomp.

The sets and costuming are noteworthy. Mario Bava did the cinematography and special effects, as well as some directing, so the film has that colorful Bava look.

BOTTOM LINE: If you can overlook certain dated aspects (like the editing) "Hercules Unchained" is enjoyable on numerous levels, both juvenile and mature. It's the obvious precursor to more modern films like "Troy" (2004).

The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes (with some prints 4 minutes shorter), and was shot at Titanus Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

GRADE: B

"Hercules Unchained"

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 8 January 2014]

This film begins where the previous movie "Hercules" essentially ends with "Hercules" (Steve Reeves) bringing his bride "Iole" (Sylva Koscina) along with "Ulysses" (Gabriele Antonini) back to Thebes with him. However, when he gets to Thebes he discovers that things have changed for the worse as two brothers, "Polinices" (Mimmo Palmara) and "Eteocles" (Sergio Fantoni) are locked in a bitter dispute over who will be the new king and war is about to break out between them. To make matters worse, while trying to mediate a solution Hercules is captured and beguiled by the evil queen of Lydia named "Onfale" (Sylvia Lopez) which only exasperates the situation. Now, as far as the overall merits of this film are concerned let me just say that a person may have to make some allowances in order to fully appreciate it. First, it was initially filmed in Italian and dubbed in English which sometimes doesn't capture the equivalent emotion of the event. Also, the fact that it is over 60 years old doesn't allow for any modern special effects which would have helped this film immensely. But the fact that it is in color should count for something and viewers of this time will certainly understand this. Be that as it may, although the story is somewhat entertaining it doesn't quite measure up to the previous film and because of that I rate it just a notch below it. Average.

This is a movie for men!

[ablewuzi · 9/10 · 29 October 2006]

Hercules becomes amnesiac after drinking from the waters of Lethe. For years, the beautiful queen Omphale has been abducting warrior men who become amnesiacs off to her exotic paradise island where they give themselves up to sexual pleasures until the day she tires of them. That's the day they die, only to be immortalized as statuary in her garden of conquests. Hercules soon finds himself abducted and like all the others he is her completely willing slave.

But this time her soldiers bring back Hercules' traveling companion Ulysses, who has saved his life by pretending to be the hero's deaf-mute body servant. Ulysses continues in that role during Hercules' captivity and by keeping Hercules from drinking more of the magical water, restores his memory.

'I've been tricked by the gods.' is his summation of the situation. After all, he had been on an important mission of state with his wife the virtual hostage of a madman when all this happened. Of course he gets away, the first of Ompahle's slaves to escape her net. She statue-tizes herself over the lose and the movie moves on to its conclusion.

All Sons of Hercules movies have this same plot: Hercules falls under the sway of a powerful, beautiful and evil woman but comes to his senses and saves the day. At its core it is about sex and the taboo predilection of men to seek this enslavement. This plot is not fashionable any more. Too much sexual freedom in modern society has robbed it of its power. But it had power (over men) in the sixties, and this film exploited it expertly.

Vastly Dated, But Great Fun...In Spite of Bava's Involvement

[FiendishDramaturgy · 6/10 · 28 February 2006]

I found this work to be highly enjoyable. In spite of the age of this work and the total lack of anything even remotely Eye-Candy qualifiable, I was able to enjoy this production.

Hercules looked like Hercules. The screenplay itself was based on (however loosely) two MUCH older plays written by Sophocles (circa 495 BCE) and Aeschylus (c. 525-456 BCE), and attempts to regale us with a Herculean tale of myth and magic.

I found it fun in spite of its age, and the story (while virtually unrecognizable from the original sources) was coherent and adventurous as it takes you from beginning to end. There wasn't anything plodding about this. It was quite entertaining. Not "rousing," but entertaining.

The story itself is fun and frothy bolstered with energetic performances, costumes so obviously new as to make you chuckle, and sets done in the same way. You'll even recognize a few stock sets used in about a hundred movies from the same era.

I've NEVER been a fan of Mario Bava's film style. His dizzying angles and in-and-out focus is nauseating. Thankfully, he left those (the most annoying of his pitiful repertoire) out of this film.

It rates a 6.3/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Still bad

[ericstevenson · 4/10 · 15 June 2016]

This film deserves at least some credit for having pretty good color effects. This was again in the early days of color. The acting and dialogue aren't even that bad. I will say that it's still a bad movie and you shouldn't recommend it. It's mostly because the plot is hard to follow. Then again, I'm not sure if it's that the plot itself is hard to follow, it's just that you don't really care. Most of us are probably familiar with Greek mythology. They reference the names a lot, but there isn't enough of a story to really care.

The final battle scene isn't bad, but what weighs this film down is the hokey acting. I feel bad for not knowing everyone's names. I mean, it's not a memorable movie, but you'd think I'd least know the names of the figures from classical Mythology. It just doesn't do it any justice. The weirdest part is probably when this one guy randomly goes nuts on the bed. I think this may be the longest movie ever featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I've heard the running time be 105 or 107 or just 96 minutes. I only saw 75 minutes on the version, but I'm too lazy to go and watch the whole full version. I just think that version is enough and besides, it's nothing to write home about. *1/2