The Fury of Achilles (1962)

One of my all time favorites.

Expected more

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Fury Of Achilles takes the story of Achilles and highlights it from Homer's Iliad as opposed to telling the whole story of the Trojan War. It's a cut above the usual peplum pictures mainly because of the source.Gordon Mitchell who unlike Brad Pitt did not have to bulk up to play Achilles he was pretty buff stuff already as that was his trade. Playing Hector is another expatriate actor Jacques Bergerac who was fresh from his divorce from Dorothy Malone and no doubt needed the money for alimony and child support. Fury Of Achilles is hardly in the class of the recent Troy or the Fifties film Helen Of Troy. It was made with a fraction of the budget of either. Yet it told the story in a simple and straightforward manner and Mitchell was actually a creditable Achilles.The Iliad and its characters are almost as well known as the Bible so the movie-going public knows what it expects from players who portray these characters. Achilles and Hector are larger than life and Mitchell and Bergerac show them as such.Lovers of the classics might nitpick, but the public shouldn't complain.

I remember watching this as a child on TV and so when I finally had the opportunity to watch this recently on DVD, I wondered if it would still impress me and I wasn't disappointed. I've always been obsessed with Homer's Iliad and am still waiting for someone to put a more "definitive" version of this literary classic on screen. This movie is typical of the "sword and sandal" films of the period but better than most. The story pretty much follows the story of the Iliad fairly accurately. The Iliad is the story of Achilles and thats the theme of the movie. It also ends where Homer's Iliad ends with the ransom of Hectors body. The Gods, while not extremely obvious are also part of the story and tangible as in the original Iliad, in contrast to the absence of the Gods in the larger budget versions such as "Helen of Troy" (1956) and "Troy" (2004). I definitely recommend this movie for anyone who enjoys the sword and sandal films of this period. Its not a great movie but I was happy the film was faithful to the original story.

"Fury of Achilles" is one of the few worthwhile films on the subject of "The Iliad." Achilles ( a fierce Mitchell) and Hector (a rugged Bergerac) both carry the film..and are well portrayed and the plentiful action is believable and well-staged. Like other fans of this film, I marvel at the superior product of a modest budget which far outshines the overblown "Troy." The only faults were the misrepresentation of the relationship with Patroclus and the fact that Queen Helen is neither seen nor barely even alluded to. And oddly, the audience doesn't get the fulfillment of the prophecy, the death of Achilles (by being shot in his heel) For these reasons, I would rank Robert Wise's "Helen of Troy" as number one and "Fury of Achilles" as a very close second. All other versions are not even contenders. Mitchell's portrayal of the conflicted Greek hero is a much more interesting and faceted one than has ever been rendered before...and the doomed Hector as played by Bergerac has a worthy rival indeed. It is to be hoped that this film will be restored to its original glory; the prints available on video and DVD currently are too poor a quality to do it justice.

One has to admit that this movie is found in a class of its own when compared to other Italian productions of the same genre. The plot is very true to Homer's epic and the film editing is very good. The only drawback is that the hero, portrayed by Mitchell is quite stiff - unfortunately acting is not his forte. However, fortunately, he is overshadowed by the acting of the other stars and so the result is entertaining in every respect.