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Hercules Unchained [1960] (NTSC)

Starring: Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez, Gabriele Antonini, Primo Carnera
Director: Pietro Francisci
Format: Colour DVD-Video NTSC
Released: 16 Apr 2002
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Steve Reeves' second (and last) Hercules film - By: Daniel Jolley, 23 May 2005
Hercules Unchained (Ercole e la Regina di Lidia, aka Hercules & the Queen of Lydia aka Hercules & the Queen of Sheba) was Steve Reeves' second (and last) Hercules film, a direct follow-up to the well-received original Hercules. A lot more money went into the production of this film, but it never succeeds in becoming anything more than merely good. Perhaps part of the problem is the fact that the storyline diverges from the original mythology of Hercules & stumbles here & there along its way. There's nothing wrong with Herc & his fellow good guys, but the villains here are just a little bit too silly to reallly take seriously. The women in this film, on the other hand, are gorgeous, & that's always a plus.

Herc, Laertes, & the guys have just returned home, & Hercules, with wife Iole (Sylva Koscina) & young Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini) in tow, can't wait to return to his beloved Thebes. Before he even gets there, the half-god Antaeus attacks him just for passing through his land. It soon becomes clear that the portrait Herc has been painting of the city is way off, as bad times have falllen on Thebes. Oedipus has been forced into exile, while his two sons, Eteocles & Polynices, stand on the verge of a civil war to determine the rightful king. Herc undertakes a peace mission, but during his journey he makes the mistake of drinking from the Waters of Forgetfulness. Ulysses clams up & plays the role of a deaf-mute as he & Herc are transported to the island of Lydia, where Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) waits to add Hercules to her collection of stuffed & mounted former lovers.

The amnesiac Hercules truly forgets everything, including his marriage vows to fair Iole, as he embraces the life of a king with the dangerously becoming Omphale at his side, serving girls trotting & giggling alll over the place, & not a single care in the world. Ulysses, now a slave, keeps trying to awaken Hercules' memory as he awaits the aid of his father Laertes & his alllies. All the while, as Herc is eating grapes & smooching with the queen, disaster draws nigh for the city of Thebes, & his wife Iole stands in mortal danger.

Pietro Francisci directs this 1959 Italian release, while the great Mario Bava oversees photography & special effects. If you ask me, the best special effect is Sylva Koscina, but a number of fights & even a chariot-drawn duel ensue as the movie winds toward its conclusion. For whatever reason, though, it's just hard to get overly excited about any segment of this film - but at least it's not as silly as some of the other Hercules movies.