The most wanted PEPLUM title that desperately needs to be on Blu-ray or HD.
On the top of my head, I think:
HERCULES (1958) – The fact that this game changing PEPLUM movie is still not available in a proper HD transfer is a crime. The closest thing available is the Japanese Blu-ray but the print has some odd filters. Starring Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina.
HERCULES UNCHAINED (1959) – Same thing as HERCULES above. Why is this movie still not in HD? It was broadcast in HD in Italy but the print is the same murky one found on the Japanese Blu-ray. Starring Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina and Sylvia Lopez.
THE MINOTAUR (1960) – Solid production and PEPLUM movie that even though it has a nice DVD a copy in High Definition would be amazing. Another movie stuck in limbo. Starring Rosanna Schiaffino, Bob Mathias and Alberto Lupo.
SAPPHO THE VENUS OF LESBOS (1960) – This movie, eternally lost in limbo, would be fabulous in High Definition. Starring Tina Louise and Kerwin Mathews.
TRIUMPH OF MACISTE (1961) and MACISTE IN HELL (1962) – These two Kirk Morris PEPLUM classics are still not in HD. Mind boggling. TRIUMPH OF MACISTE is a perennial favourite so I’m waiting impatiently here for it to be in HD. And MACISTE IN HELL was directed by Riccardo Freda. That alone is a reason to watch it.
THE GIANTS OF THESSALY (1960) – Another epic PEPLUM movie directed by Riccardo Freda. One of the best PEPLUM movies ever made. So where’s the Blu-ray? Starring Roland Carey, Massimo Girotti, Luciano Marin (below) and more.
PERSEUS THE INVINCIBLE (1963) – This is Richard Harrison’s best PEPLUM movie. It’s a classic and yet it’s not on Blu-ray. Such a bizarre mystery why these fun movies are not available in HD. With Anna Ranalli.
These are just a handful of titles that, in a perfect world, would already be in HD but nope.
At this point HERCULES deserves a Criterion-level official release, with different cuts and dubs.
Is the problem some rights issue? I assume it’s still an Embassy picture.
Many would immediately pre-order if a release was announced.
It’s most definitely a rights issue. The movie itself it in the US is in the public domain but I’m certain Embassy is trying to regain the copyrights of the two Steve Reeves HERCULES movies. At the moment, Shout! Factory, which owns MST3K, partially claims copyright ownership of the the scenes used for the episode they used HERCULES. This is highly incorrect. But alas if you try uploading the movie on Youtube, Shout! Factory will claim and hold the movie. Also, the movies haven’t been released on Blu-ray in Europe. You think there wouldn’t be any issues there but there are and I believe one of them is that they know if they release the movie on Blu-ray, many folks in North American will jump on it. They don’t want this. Just look at how THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD German Blu-ray was difficult to get outside the selected markets.