Hercules Series

Rating:
Summary: Better deal in Europe!
Review: For all of you "peplum" fans who were overjoyed to hear about this box, and then hugely disappointed when you found out that all these movies were in pan-and-scan format only: Hold on! There are better things happening in France! Recently the French have released Steve Reeves' first "Hercules" on DVD in its original aspect ratio (2.35:1). And they have included 3 audio tracks! (English, French and the original Italian) It is called "Les Travaux d'Hercule". Besides this title, there are many other wonderful films being released on DVD in Europe right now: The "Winnetou"-films in Germany, all restored to their original gloss; the "Angelique"-films in France, all in "scope" and great color; also lots by Godard, Pasolini and Rosselini; classic Rank films and Powell/Pressburger-films in England; and much more. So if you live in the States with players that only take Region 1 discs, now is the time to get them "fixed" for Region 2. (Most of us in Europe have already done this for Region 1!) Hopefully more sword and sandal epics will soon follow. Let's hope for plenty of goodies with the great Mr. Reeves!

Rating:
Summary: great price.....what a bargain.
Review: For the price i brought this set for how can i complain.You get for what you pay for,they are all watchable and action packed.If you want them widescreen and cleaned up you will probably have a long wait.The packaging is nice and presentable,a worthy edition to my collection.If you like sword and sandal/fantasy films and know how corny they can be you won`t be disappointed,7 films in one box,and the mighty steve reeves in one.Believe me,if you like epic battles get this box set,you`ll thank the gods you did.

Rating:
Summary: Contents
Review: Hercules vs. Hydra, Hercules vs. The Sons of the Sun, Hercules vs. Moloch, Lion of Thebes, The Trojan Horse, Medusa vs. The Sons of Hercules, The Triumphs of Hercules

Rating:
Summary: Good Sword'n'Sandal starter set, but needs to be WIDESCREEN!
Review: This 4-disc set includes 7 movies:

1.The Trojan Horse
2.Lion of Thebes
3.Hercules vs. The Sons of the Sun
4.Hercules vs. The Moloch
5.Triumph of Hercules
6.Medusa vs. The Son of Hercules
7.Hercules vs. The Hydra

This set is not bad at all and would receive a 4-star rating from me if it were not for the fact that yet again we have our favourite WIDESCREEN Sword'n'Sandal genre movies not being taken seriously and just being given a very shoddy panned and scanned release. But even so, I liked the movies in this collection so much I had to give it at least 3 stars.

"The Trojan Horse" stars Steve Reeves and is one of the very best Sword'n'Sandal movies I have ever seen, recounting the well known story of the seige of Troy. Well worth watching -- and probably more to many people's taste than the current pretty-boy Brad Pitt version!

"Lion of Thebes" is another very strong entry here. Mark Forest plays an excellent lead and this is quite a decent movie, taking place partly in Egypt.

"Hercules vs. The Sons of the Sun" is not quite as good, but I just loved the whole very goofy premise of the film: shipwrecked at sea in some battle, Hercules clings to some wreckage and is washed clear across the Atlantic to South America, where he proceeds to have an adventure with some Inca-like people. Lots of evil priestesses and kings and all the usual goodies. This one is lots of fun!

"Hercules vs. The Moloch" and "The Triumph of Hercules" are pretty much your standard fare for Hercules movies, with Hercules battling a terrifying and undefeated masked warrior in the first, and seeking justice for a treacherous wrong in the second. Not bad.

"Medusa vs. The Son of Hercules" features Richard Harrison as the son of Hercules and has a catchy li'l theme song you'll be humming for days. The Medusa is a far cry from Harryhausen's creation in "Clash of the Titans", but it's good in a very cheesy kind of way. -- Hey, nobody watches these kind of films for the high production values, right?

And speaking of production values, well, the previous movie looks advanced in comparison to "Hercules vs. The Hydra". You really get a whole new appreciation of just how far our special effects technology has come in the past 40 years after watching this one. But as compensation for the laughably mechanical Hydra, it has B-movie greats Jayne Mansfield and her hubby Mickey Hargitay in it. -- How can you resist?

I have seen stores in Canada trying to sell this set for over $100 because "it was unreleased here". But I picked up mine used for about $15, and I feel I got my money's worth.

I really hope that DVD makers will start taking these kind of films more seriously and realize that there ARE fans of this genre out here who would love to see them released in proper widescreen format.

Meanwhile, if you can pick this set up cheap someplace and don't mind the fact that it's panned and scanned, it's okay for fun till they release proper versions.