Hercules Unchained (1960)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The handsome Steve Reeves is back as Hercules and this time he's apparently Unchained. LOL. In this one, Hercules accidentally drinks a magic potion, looses his memory, falls in love and marries Iole. The two spend much of the film in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale of Lydia. Ulysses is there trying to help Herc regain his memory. Herc and Ulysses were on their way to Thebes for an important diplomatic mission when Herc drank the potion and will complete it when Herc gets some of his memory back but he also must help his new wife Iole from danger.It's another one of those mindless fun films that I can watch to simply relax and not have think all that much about what is going on in the film and look at Steve Reeves.4/10

The first Steve Reeves "Hercules" was a big hit in North America and was a pretty good example of the sword and sandal genre. This first sequel (also starring Steve Reeves) did about half of the business of the first movie in North America... which is kind of surprising considering the quality of the movie. True, Steve Reeves still makes a fine Hercules despite not being quite as muscular as you'd expect. And the production values are fairly solid for the most part. However, the movie is kind of lacking in one key area: action. The middle section of the movie, when Hercules loses his memory and is being controlled by the villains, is essentially action-free and is pretty dull and tough to sit through. There is a bit more action in the first third of the movie, and the climax (when it eventually comes) is okay, but despite those moments the entire package feels kind of slow and sluggish. In the end, the movie doesn't manage to distinct itself much from the dozens of other sword and sandal movies of the time.

Steve Reeves has his hands full in director Pietro Francisci's sequel "Hercules Unchained" with Sylva Koscina reprising her role as the wife of Hercules. This spear and sandal saga occurs after the first "Hercules' movie and finds Hercules, wife Iole, and the young Ulysses (Gabriel Antonini) heading off in a wagon for the city of Thebes. Our muscular champion gets to battle the Son of the Earth, tangle with a deceptive dame, fight tigers, and lead a charge into battle. Early in the action, our strong protagonist pauses to quench his thirst. Unbeknownst to him, he drinks from a fountain that refreshes but also erases his mind. Ulysses poses as the amnesiac Hercules' deaf servant. Queen Omphale of Lydia takes him into her pleasure garden, while Ulysses spends his nights in prison. Ulysses dispatches a homing pigeon to his father Laertes, and Andrea Fantasia assembles a small but valiant band to rescue them. Omphale (Sylvia Lopez), has an appetite for handsome studs. When she tires of them, she has priests from Egypt embalm them for posterity. Meantime, two brothers compete the throne of Thebes. They battle each other to the death. "Hercules Unchained" takes advantage of Reeves' acting chops as he has to feign ignorance while he is in Omphale's presence. Lots of fun, especially the fight with with the giant Anteus (Primo Carnera) who regains his strength each time Hercules whips him and puts him down.

Fair sequel to the original peplum hero with crowd favourite Steve Reeves failing to deliver a concession script to Polinice (Palmara) from his slightly loopy brother (Fantoni) after a disagreement over their turns at reigning Thebes, resulting in the threat of war and retribution against Hercules' wife (Koscina).Fantoni does a credible job as the eccentric emperor who, without the typical sycophants and genuflection to massage his ego, develops a persecution complex and hysteria that takes Thebes to the brink. His role and that of the beguiling Sylvia Lopez as a lonely Queen enamoured by the unattainable Hercules (except when he's had his memory temporarily erased) are perhaps the film's casting highlights. Tragically, Lopez died shortly after this film was released from Leukemia never realising her obvious potential.There's a few humorous moments (particularly when Herc and co encounter the giant Primo Carnera, who's star-billed but only has a brief cameo), and indeed a few macabre (the executions from atop the walls of Thebes), with plenty of sword-fighting, fisticuffs and love-making befitting such an epic in between. A worthy, official sequel to prelude the dozens of imitations that would soon follow.