Tag: movies

PEPLUM star publishes new book…

Bella Cortez was one of the PEPLUM genre’s most beautiful actresses. She made a handful of movies and quietly disappeared from the world of cinema. Years ago, I found her Facebook profile and befriended her, one of her first Facebook friends. Anyway, we kept communicating back and forth for some time. She told me she was woking on a book (above) in which she co-autored with someone else. She wanted access to beautiful prints of herself for the book and saw the many good quality versions I had of her films. Eventually, she ‘ghosted’ me and she never posted anything at my FB account. But I remembered that she was going to publish a book and, lo and behold, it is available at Amazon in Italy. She used a photo from VULCAN – SON OF JUPITER as Aetna. Since the book is in Italian, it’s difficult for me to get it all. If someone has additional info on this, can you leave a comment. Thanks!

Bella in GIANT OF METROPOLIS

HANNIBAL Blu-ray…

German Blu-ray edition of HANNIBAL (1959) starring Victor Mature and Rita Gam, will be available in 2023.

Here’s the brief info on it:

Theatrical version (German & US version identical), uncut , 2 discs, BD (2x), contains bonus disc, extras in HD (partly), media book

It’s being sold as a Bud Spencer – Terence Hill movie. Hill’s role is extensive but Spencer’s role is almost a cameo.

HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS German DVD…

I wasn’t aware that HERCULES AGAINST THE BARBARIANS had a German DVD. It was released in January 2020. I guess the pandemic made everyone overlook everything. Anyway, the DVD has a German and English audio which is a yeah!!! But looking at the specs (below), and the aspect ratio is standard 4:3. So it’s a definite no for me. This is one of those PEPLUM titles with needs to be seen in widescreen.

What made HERCULES (1958) so popular?

One of the aspects of the PEPLUM genre which irks me is  the dismissive attitude of the success of HERCULES (1958). Many say that it became popular because of clever marketing by Joseph E. Levine. The  marketing aspect for the U.S. release might be one of the reasons but not the only reason. This claim basically says the movie is worthless and that it didn’t have any redeeming qualities.

I’ll be writing about this for an article in the soon to be published magazine of BY THE GODS!.

What do you think made this movie such a success? The movie rivalled along much bigger Hollywood movies.

What is it just clever marketing? The movie is just darn good? The casting of Steve Reeves as Hercules?

Steve Reeves as Hercules and crew of the Argonaut.

WHAT TITLE NEEDS TO BE IN HD THE MOST…

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.

I got the SON OF SAMSON Blu-ray…

I received the Kino Lorber SON OF SAMSON (1960) Blu-ray on Friday so I had the entire weekend to check it out. I have very complaints about it. The only issues are the audio is sorta not loud, there are no extras about the movie and this is not the actual version released in the US 60+ years ago. That’s it. The Blu-ray itself is pretty amazing. Brilliant colours. No transfer issues to be seen anywhere (aside from the soft audio). It’s a must have for fans of the genre.

I’ll have a full review at the main PEPLUM TV blog this week.

Vira Silenti and Mark Forest

Are you ready for 4K?

Are you ready for PEPLUM movies in 4K?

There are already titles, all of them from Hollywood, that are available in 4K, such as SPARTACUS (1960) and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956). See Youtube video linked above. The scene they used for the comparison (below) is not impressive. I see some different, mostly clarity, or less fuzzy, but of all the scenes they could have used from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, they used that one? Mind boggling. Oh well…

 

As usual, Hollywood big titles are getting the 4K treatment first. There are few PEPLUM movies from Italy on Blu-ray so the prospect of seeing HERCULES (1958) in 4K are not in the immediate future.

Mark Forest RIP

PEPLUM actor Mark Forest died on January 7 at the age of 89. He made 12 movies, all entertaining and fun. I wrote a comprehensive overview of his career and his movies at the main PEPLUM TV blog. Make sure to check it out.

http://www.peplumtv.com/2022/01/mark-forest-rip.html

None of his films have made it on Blu-ray. Many of his movies have been broadcast in HD but never published to Blu-ray.