''Goliath and the Barbarians'' ( it, Il terrore dei barbari, lit=Terror of the Barbarians) is a 1959 Italian
peplum film loosely based on events of the
Lombard invasion of Italy in AD 568. As with many
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
peplums of the time, the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
dubbed version renamed some of the characters (for example, "Emiliano" became "Goliath").
Plot
Set in the 6th century, it follows the start of barbarian invasions and deals with one group that attacks a village and destroys anyone and anything that is there. One man, Emiliano, son of the village leader, is away at the time of attack. He swears revenge and wages a one-man war against the evil tribes. He also is helped by the survivors and his sister Lynda. He wears a lion head mask to instill fear into the hearts of the barbarians.
Cast
US Release
American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
released the film in the US with a new score by
Les Baxter
Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica ...
. The film had originally been a Hercules movie but AIP decided rename it a Goliath film to avoid confusion with ''Hercules'' (1959).
AIP invested $20,000 in the movie to help the producers complete it and were rewarded when it became a big hit.
The film earned $1.6 million in North America during its initial release where it was
double bill
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
ed with ''
Sign of the Gladiator''
Arkoff later estimated the film earned a gross of $1.8 million.
AIP announced plans to make a follow up called ''
Goliath and the Dragon
''Goliath and the Dragon'' ( it, La vendetta di Ercole, lit=Revenge of Hercules) is a 1960 international co-production sword-and-sandal filmKinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662 ...
'' from a script by
Lou Rusoff
Lou Rusoff (August 3, 1911 – June 29, 1963) was a Canadian-born screenwriter and producer best known for his work with American International Pictures.
He was brother-in-law to Sam Arkoff and was the screenwriter for many of Roger Corman's f ...
with
Debra Paget
Debra Paget (born Debralee Griffin; August 19, 1933) is an American actress and entertainer. She is perhaps best known for her performances in Cecil B. DeMille's epic ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956) and in Elvis Presley's film debut, '' Love Me ...
but this fell through and they ended up buying another Italian film called ''
The Revenge of Hercules
''Goliath and the Dragon'' ( it, La vendetta di Ercole, lit=Revenge of Hercules) is a 1960 international co-production sword-and-sandal filmKinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-147666 ...
'' and simply renaming it ''Goliath and the Dragon''.
DVD Releases
This film was released on a limited edition DVD by Wild East Productions in 2007 as a double feature with
Goliath and the Vampires
''Goliath and the Vampires'' ( it, Maciste contro il vampiro) is a 1961 Italian ''peplum'' film directed by Sergio Corbucci and Giacomo Gentilomo.
Plot
Set in the ancient world, this film follows a powerful muscular man out to battle a vampire a ...
.
See also
*
list of historical drama films This is an index of lists of historical films.
By country of origin
* List of Estonian war films
* List of Polish war films
* List of Romanian historical films
* List of Russian historical films
* List of Vietnamese historical films
By era
* ...
*
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
References
External links
*
1959 films
Films set in the 6th century
Peplum films
1950s historical films
1950s Italian-language films
English-language Italian films
Films directed by Carlo Campogalliani
Sword and sandal films
1950s Italian films
{{1950s-Italy-film-stub