Hercules the Avenger (1965)

I wanted to but couldn't!

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The way in which "Hercules the Avenger" was made is fascinating and incredible from a cinematic point of view. Using scenes from two earlier "Hercules" films, and then creating a fantastic new story and an entirely new film; one which is superior to the films it borrowed from. This is a dark entry in the series, free of any suggestion of comic relief. Greek mythology comes alive as Gia, the Sun Goddess, desires revenge on Hercules for slaying the Hydra. Imprisoning Hercules in a delirious, neon -colored Hades, she sends her own evil son, Anteo, to Earth, to annihilate the family of Hercules, as well as their Kingdom. Anteo is an incredible villain, cruel and sociopathic and full of hatred for all mankind. As Hercules tries to rescue his son from the evil spell of Gia, Anteo takes the throne of Hercules, murdering men, women and children without a thought. Why people have a problem with the way this movie was conceived, is beyond me. All that matters is the end result. "Hercules the Avenger" takes the finest elements from Mario Bava's "Haunted World," and excises everything that dragged that lesser film down, such as the silly characters, the slapstick comedy, and continuity errors. The end result is a colossal film, filled with vast sets, jaw-dropping special effects, and a hypnotic struggle between Good and Evil. This film is supposedly an allegory to the rise of Fascism in Italy. Some of the set pieces are incredible, like the destruction of the city, as well as an impressive lion hunt that culminates in the on-screen slaying of at least one real lion. This practice of killing animals on screen is thankfully, a thing of the past. But to see actual "real" lions in place of the ridiculous CGI that we are all used to, is quite a surreal experience. And the volcano eruption that wipes out the city makes the similar destruction in the recent "Pompeii" look like a joke. Honestly, this film is INSANE. I would love to watch this on a huge screen with surround sound. This is one film that deserves a Bluray restoration, complete with the original Italian audio. To date it is my favorite Hercules movie. Highest recommendation.

Hercules the Avenger is by far the best single entry in the muscleman genre I can recall. The charge against it made by critics - it is a cut and paste of two previous Hercules films, with some added new material to make it appear fresh - misses the fact that this cut-and-paste approach solves one of the central problems of the sword-and-sandal movies. With most of these films, the middle third sags horribly - usually involving a sappy love story or arcane political intrigue or both (queen falls in love with Hercules and her evil brother plots against them, etc.) It's often hard to hold on through this to watch the exciting finale. Hercules the Avenger cuts all that crap from the source films, and adds a rather brisk narrative of a Hercules impersonator bullying his way into power. (It should be noted that this episode also functions as a distant but pointedly critical remark on the rise of Fascism in Italy.) This also sets up a fine final wrasslin' match between the real Hercules and his impersonator.In a narrower focus, I might also add that further editing has improved individual scenes borrowed from the other films. For my money, the mutiny scene here is much better than it first appeared in Hercules and the Captive Women, since it has been tightened with the reduction of several characters and their plot complications.There are also floppy monsters, creepy underworld atmospherics borrowed (literally) from Mario Bava, an entire city destroyed, and the usual amount of lovely babes in revealing gowns. Since no one expects any of these films to compete with The Seven Samurai - or even with The Magnificent Seven - it seems a bit picky to hold the film's borrowing from other films against it.

Hercules' son gets severely wounded during a lion hunt that goes awry. Hercules (a solid and engaging performance by the beefy Reg Park) has to venture into an eerie and dangerous alternate dimension ruled by the evil and vengeful Gia the Earth Goddess (a deliciously wicked portrayal by Gia Sandri) and battle various monsters in order to save his son's soul. Meanwhile, Gia's equally nasty son Antaius (a perfectly hateful turn by Giovanni Cianfriglia) poses as Hercules and takes over an entire city as a cruel and ruthless tyrant. Director Maurizo Lucidi relates the engrossing story at a steady pace and maintains a serious tone throughout. This film begins a little slow, but really starts cooking once Hercules enters the misty and perilous subterranean spirit world: Rousing highlights include Hercules grappling with a humanoid lizard beast, Hercules climbing a giant gnarled tree, and Hercules being attacked by a bunch of creepy rotting zombies. Better still, the bizarre spirit world just reeks of spooky atmosphere (gotta love that persistent thick swirling fog!). The strenuous rough'n'tumble mano-a-mano major physical confrontation between Hercules and Antaius likewise totally rocks. Of course, we also get a big mondo destructo climactic volcanic eruption as well. Allvaro Mancori's crisp widescreen cinematography gives the movie an impressively expansive sense of scope. Ugo Filippini's robust, rousing score has a nifty majestic sweep to it. Okay, so this flick is an obvious cheapo cute'n'paste job that uses copious footage from both "Hercules in the Haunted World" and "Hercules and the Captive Women," but it's still an extremely lively and entertaining romp all the same.

MILD SPOILERS.The other reviewer remarked that this film copies Hercules and the Huanted World. I can see where he got that impression because ten minutes of this movie was lifted from Hercules And The Haunted World. I believe that the fight with the giant rubber Iguanna came from Hercules and the Captive Women and the Volcano scene looks very familiar as well.That aside this entry in the beefcake sweepstakes is fairly is easy to take largely to do to Reg parks charisma and the smarminess of the chief villain who impersonates our hero and gives him a bad name.The Oracle is a hottie but the rest of the female cast is not as spicy or saucy as the toga babes of past efforts.Not bad if you're bored.