Hercules Against the Mongols (1963)

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Genghis Khan is dead but his 3 sons Sayan, Susdal, and Kin Khan live on to continue their reign of terror. Hercules/Maciste is out to stop the Mongols again.I find this film is about as good as Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964) and much better than Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961), which all films have a Genghis Khan story.This is another averaged story peplum film. Love the costuming, props and sets as I usually do. The battles are entertaining. There are better sword and sandal film of the time era to watch but this one is okay enough for a different one to pop on now and again.1.5/10

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.

Or as the Mystery Science Theater guys say, "Ma-cheese-steak". To cash in on the Hercules phenomenon, there were several offshoots that were called "The Sons Of Hercules", most notably being Maciste. Maciste even showed up during the witch trial in England during "The Witch's Curse", which also starred Mark Forest. A few years ago, TNT showed a 12 hour "Herc-A-Thon", and a lot of these "Sons of Hercules" movies were shown during it. If you like campy Muscleman/Sword and Sandal/Gladiator/Conan type movies, then these are a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon trying to create drinking games and making fun of the Styrofoam tree trunks and boulders. Check this site for more Maciste and Son of Hercules movies!

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.