Simply A Masterpiece

Crappy film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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

In this follow-up to the blockbuster hit HERCULES, our muscular hero travels to his home land to discover treachery and a war between two brothers for domination of the city of Thebes. Acting as a diplomat between the two men, he is employed with transporting a treaty from one to the other. Along the way he drinks from the fountain of forgetfulness and is captured by a cruel queen who loves men and then turns them into statues. Eventually breaking free from his memory loss, he escapes and goes to battle to rescue his captured wife.Firstly, ignore the plot as the box has it. Obviously written by somebody who's never seen the film, it makes no sense and hardly any of it happens in HERCULES UNCHAINED. What we have here is a straightforward adventure yarn with a rather complex plot for a change involving lots of different groups of people (there are at least four armies around here). With photography by one Mario Bava, the film is lovely and colourful to look at although sometimes the low budget is apparent (especially in the fun but cheap-looking lion fights).Like most films from this period, there's a bit of everything for people to enjoy. The violence is tame by today's standards (even getting the film a 'U' certificate) yet still involves people hacking each other up with swords and bleeding all over the place and getting thrown to their deaths - with the impact on screen! I could have done without the romantic subplot between Reeves and Sylvia Lopez, who plays Queen Omphale, although you have to admire the scriptwriter's ingenuity which allows Reeves to have an affair through forgetfulness and yet return to a loving, unsuspecting wife afterwards! Steve Reeves is on top form here, playing his best remembered role and his muscular physique is something to look at. Throughout the film he does all sorts of manly things, including bending bars (underwater this time), moving huge boulders, holding open huge steel doors as they close, and throwing giant statues at the enemy! Koscina is also quite radiant as his long-suffering wife while Gabriele Antonini lends some comic relief as the young Ulysses - his impersonation of a deaf mute had me repeatedly in stitches! While the romantic aspect of the film is quite boring and there's a definite lull in the middle, you always know that there'll be another action set piece coming up and sure as hell, there is. This keeps the film entertaining throughout. They even manage to throw in a full-scale war at the end, as well as some gladiatoral combat and a macabre museum of human corpses! My favourite scene has Hercules fighting an immortal 'earth god' who repeatedly laughs at his opponent's efforts to beat him - until he is dunked unceremoniously in the ocean by our friendly titan! HERCULES UNCHAINED definitely isn't the best of the genre and there are a lot better efforts out there, but it's nice to look at and a lot of fun on an escapist level.

The sequel to the original Hercules film has Steve Reeves just trying to get back home to Sylva Koscina and settle down and raise little muscle dudes. But he gets a mission from old King Oedipus living at the edge of the underworld. His two sons are not living up to what was a really crazy power sharing scheme whereby they would alternate the monarchy of Thebes for year intervals. The first one's year is up and he doesn't want to give up his royal prerogatives. The other one has hired a mercenary army and is threatening civil war.While Hercules is trying to mediate the conflict he gets to drinking from the waters of forgetfulness and wakes up in the palace of Queen Omphale played by a fetching Sylvia Lopez. This woman with the help of some embalmers trained in Egypt is collecting a beautiful lifelike statuary and after some servicing by Hercules, she wants to add him to her trophy room.This second Hercules film that starred Steve Reeves is a cut above most of the peplums out there. It even has an appearance by former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera who towers over Reeves playing the giant Anteas.Nice stuff for the Saturday matinée trade.

"Hercules exercises poor judgment when he quenches his thirst from an enchanted spring en route to a diplomatic mission in Thebes. He promptly loses his memory and gets sidetracked in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale. Ulysses, his young companion, tries to desperately to help him regain his memory, but in the meantime, the situation in Thebes is reaching boiling point. To make matters worse Hercules' young wife Iole faces imminent danger," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Re-titled "Hercules Unchained" for the English speaking world.This was the second Hercules film directed by Pietro Francisci with Mario Bava, and starring handsome muscle-man Steve Reeves as the titular hero. Unfortunately, it was also the last time both Mr. Francisci and Mr. Reeves signed on to the series, as both sought finer productions. Importantly, Reeves' boy companion Gabriele Antonini (as Ulysses) also returns, as does beautiful wife Sylva Koscina (as Iole) and a variety of busty young women. One of the better "sword and sandal" epics.***** Ercole e la regina di Lidia (2/14/59) Pietro Francisci ~ Steve Reeves, Gabriele Antonini, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez