In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Unlike most other European sword and sandal movies of this period, "The Giant of Marathon" was picked up for North American distribution by a major Hollywood studio (Metro Goldwyn Mayer). My guess is that MGM was trying to cash in on the box office success that independent studio Embassy Pictures has with "Hercules", another sword and sandal movie with the same actor (Steve Reeves). That's the only reason why I can think of, because honestly I can't see any other selling points that the movie has. Even by standards of the era, the movie is really dull for the most part; for one thing, there is almost no action in the first half of the movie. While the second half does have some battlefield action, it's not particularly well choreographed or directed; it's not that much more exciting than what happened in the first half of the movie. Most of the movie is instead talk talk talk, none it it really engaging or interesting. I'm sure audiences back then were really bored by this movie. So it's no wonder that nobody was apparently interested in renewing the copyright for the movie, since it's now in the public domain and freely available to bore a new generation of moviegoers.

This film combines some events from history, mythology and tradition in an interesting story. It's rather loosely connected and far from anything great. But it covers something of the forerunner of the Olympics, the historical Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, and some traditional characters. Steve Reeves plays the lead. The former Mr. America and Mr. Universe got to show a little of his physique and prowess in this film, winning the Greek games early in the film. This is one of more than a dozen spaghetti myth and ancient history films Reeves made. Some reviewers refer to these as sword and sandal flicks. The Europeans loved Reeves. He didn't rise to the stardom that Clint Eastwood did from his spaghetti westerns. American audiences through most of the 20th century liked Westerns. But interest in ancient history, mythology and far eastern cultures has been hit and miss over the years. In the mid 1950s to early 1960s, Reeves made a number of such films. They were generally well-received at the box office, but none were great cinematic achievements. His most famous role was as Hercules. Also, unlike Eastwood, Reeves wasn't interested in pursing a movie career. He turned down a couple of lead roles in what became blockbuster films in the U.S. And he gave up a movie career less than 20 years after he started. He wrote a health book, promoted nutrition and raised horses. I enjoyed a couple of other reviews for "The Giant of Marathon" that gave some good history and background. Reeves is OK in his role here, and most of the cast are capable. But, as I said, the film seems disjointed and suffers from lower production qualities. But there are two things that stand out to me in this movie, and which earn it the six stars that I give it. The first was the embedding of the long spiked poles in the bay bottom to sink incoming ships. I don't think I've ever seen such interesting underwater scenes. I wonder if that really happened, or if it was done just for this film. The second plus for the film was the very realistic special effects of men being injured or killed in the sea battle. Several excellent scenes showed this. That was some very fine make-up, camera work, costuming and special effects. I don't think we saw such realistic killing and injury shots on film again until "Saving Private Ryan" five decades later. History buffs especially should enjoy this film.

The giant of marathon is Phillipides (Steve Reeves) - an Olympic champion and warrior called upon to defend ancient Greece against an invasion by Persia from without and the treason of Theocrates from within. In the course of doing that, he manages to get a couple of beauties to fall in love with him, of course.In all honesty, 80% of this movie is for the most part uninteresting, dealing with romances that I really didn't care about and political machinations that were rather confusing to say the least. It had a cheap feel right off the top, performances that were plodding and, as an Italian-French production, was rather poorly dubbed into English. I give credit for the last 20% or so of the movie, though. The closing sea battle between Athens and Persia was a pretty good ride, as Phillipides and Theocrates finally confront one another in battle. Still, though, it's not a good movie. For the sake of that closing battle, it gets 3/10

This is the ultimate tribute to Steve Reeve's phenomenal male beauty, captured in all its glory at the peak of his powers in l959. "Giant of Marathon" is given an exhilarating beginning with the powerful music score of Roberto Nicolosi, whose symphonic theme, underscores a nearly naked Reeves in brief scenes that showcase his power in the beginning of this vastly entertaining swords and sandals saga. When he swims towards the camera and comes up for air, the music swells and we see a rare glimpse of Reeves laughing. In another snippet, he's shown wrestling with another athlete and both are clad in very brief white loin clothes. It's sexual connotations is definitely there but Reeves looks so god-like you can't imagine him doing anything so earthy as coupling with another handsome jock. Throughout the running time, Reeves magnificent torso and charisma are given the star treatment, especially in the final portion where he and his warriors swim underwater to sabotage the enemy. In their flimsy briefs, this proves to be a beefcake bonanza, featuring not only Reeves but numerous handsome Italian extras. Mario Bava and Jacques Tourneur directed this classic adventure tale with Bava also responsible for the outstanding photography. From this film, he was launched into his legendary series of horror classics, creating such classics as "Kill, Baby, Kill," "Black Sabbath" and others. Reeves is beardless in this adventure and it adds to his boyish charm. At the beginning, he is crowned with a wreath of olive leaves and wearing only his loin cloth, his incredible torso is displayed in all its glory. If you're a Steve Reeves fan--which I definitely am--you might also explore the series of muscle man moveis made by Reeves American cohort, Lou Degni, re-named Mark Forest from the Bronx and a Mr. America winner. His physique is also stunning with a handsome face and acting ability to go with it. "Giant of Marathon" should be restored to its full technicolor glory. Even more than "Hercules Unchained," this is the Steve Reeves movie that fully exploits his extraordinary beauty.