Ercole e la regina di Lidia (1959)

Director:

Pietro Francisci

Writers:

Aeschylus (play)
Ennio De Concini (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

13 July 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

SEE the War of the Chariots! SEE Lydia, the Temptress! SEE the Contest of Giants! SEE the Combat of Kings! SEE the Arena of Tigers! SEE the Court of Lovers!

Plot:

While negotiating peace between two brothers contesting the throne of Thebes, an amnesiac Hercules is seduced by the evil Queen Omphale.

Plot Keywords:

Thebes | Tiger | Greek Mythology | Chariot | Ship

Cast

Steve Reeves	...	Ercole (Hercules)
Sylva Koscina	...	Iole, bride of Ercole
Sylvia Lopez	...	Queen Onfale, of Lidia
Gabriele Antonini	...	Ulisse, son of Laertes
Primo Carnera	...	Anteo, the giant
Patrizia Della Rovere	...	Penelope
Sergio Fantoni	...	Eteocle
Fulvia Franco	...	Anticlea
Carlo D'Angelo	...	Creonte, High Priest of Thebes
Marisa Valenti	...	Blond Slave Girl
Mimmo Palmara	...	Polinice
Elda Tattoli
Daniele Varga	...	Anfiarao
Andrea Fantasia	...	King Laerte
Gino Mattera	...	Orfeo
Aldo Fiorelli	...	Argo the Shipbuilder
Gianni Loti	...	Sandone, Capt. of the Lidian Guard
Cesare Fantoni	...	Re Edipo of Thebes
Ugo Sasso
Angelo Zanolli	...	Admeo
Sergio Ciani
Nando Cicero
Aldo Pini	...	Tifi, the pilot
Fulvio Carrara	...	Castor, aide to Laertes
Willi Colombini	...	Polluce (as Willy Colombini)
Walter Grant	...	Aesculapio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colleen Bennet	...	Solo Ballerina
Fabrizio Mioni
Nino Marchetti	...	Fossore (uncredited)

Directed by
Pietro Francisci

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Aeschylus		play "The Seven Against Thebes"
Ennio De Concini		screenplay
Pietro Francisci		screenplay
Sophocles		play "Aedipus at Colonus"

Produced by
Ferruccio De Martino	....	executive producer
Bruno Vailati	....	producer

Original Music by
Enzo Masetti

Cinematography by
Mario Bava

Film Editing by
Mario Serandrei

Set Decoration by
Massimo Tavazzi

Costume Design by
Maria Baroni

Makeup Department
Otello Fava	....	makeup artist
Maria Miccinilli	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pietro Nuccorini	....	assistant director
Mario Bava	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Gianni D'Aloisio	....	assistant architect
Giorgio Giovannini	....	assistant architect
Flavio Mogherini	....	architect

Sound Department
Giulio Tagliacozzo	....	sound technician
Bruno Zanoli	....	microphone technician

Special Effects by
Mario Bava	....	special effects director

Camera and Electrical Department
Mario Bava	....	special lighting director
Danilo Desideri	....	assistant camera
Aldo Galfano	....	still photographer
Mario Mancini	....	assistant camera
Ubaldo Terzano	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Assunto Lazzazzera	....	dress maker (as Assunta Lazzazera)
Mimma Olivieri	....	dress maker

Editorial Department
Misa Gabrini	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Carlo Savina	....	musical director

Other crew
Johnny Blysdeal	....	choreographer
Dante Brini	....	production secretary
Spartaco Conversi	....	production secretary
Massimo De Rita	....	production assistant
Barbara Fusch	....	continuity
Enzo Musumeci Greco	....	fencing master (as Enzo Musumeci)
Salvatore Siciliano	....	location sets (as Ture Siciliano)

Production Companies

• Galatea Film
• Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France
• Lux Film
• Urania Film

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1976) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (re-release)
• Parade Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• United American Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• RsR Multimedia (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• ClassicLine (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Nelson Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Sultan Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VidAmerica (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Casa d'Arte di Firenze  costumes furnishing
• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack
• Ditta Pompei  footwear
• Ditta Rancati  weapons and equipments
• Florence and Frederick  ballet
• Tani  footwear

Also Known As:

Hércules encadenado (Spain)
Hércules y la reina de Lidia (Spain)
Heracles y la reina de Lidea (Spain) (literal title)
Hercule et la reine de Lydie (France)
Hercules Unchained (USA)
Hercules and the Queen of Lydia (International: English title) (literal title)
Hercules and the Queen of Sheba

Runtime:

Germany:94 min | UK:101 min | USA:105 min | 97 min (2005 DVD release) | Italy:98 min

Country:

Italy | France | Spain

Language:

Italian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Finland:K-12 | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Company:

Galatea Film

Trivia:

His role as Antaeus, who dwarfs even Steve Reeves, was the final film appearance for former world heavyweight boxing champion Primo Carnera.

Goofs:

Continuity: Watch closely the second time Hercules takes up Ulysses' challenge to bend the iron torch stand in an attempt to remember who he is. He successfully does so, and then unbends it just as easily, leaving a slight curve in the stem. However when he returns the stand to its original location, the stand is perfectly straight.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Saga of 'The Beastmaster' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Evening Star

Over-the-top effects...

This film is a nice sequel to Francisci's gem "Hercules," the film that launched a seven-year festival of swords, sandals, cloaks, daggers, musclemen, and gorgeous women in the Italian cinema. In this sequel, Mario Bava returns as the FX man, and dazzles us with an array of visual effects which impart to this film an almost Hollywood-like sensationalism. The problem is, there is too much of it! After the first 30 minutes or so, the stuff tired me, sheerly through the fact that my mind ceased to remain in the elevated state necessary to appreciate and "roll with" what the director wanted to achieve visually. So there were alternate periods of depression and elevation, although the film, when viewed as a whole, must be one of the most stunning sword-and-sandals of all time. In this respect, Pietro Francisci did well. However, I still prefer the first entry to this one.