''Ercole contro i tiranni di Babilonia'' (English Translation: ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

and the Tyrants of Babylon'') is a 1964

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 ...

sword-and-sandal film directed by

Domenico Paolella Domenico Paolella (18 October 1915 - 7 October 2002) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Born in Foggia, between 1933 and 1935 Paolella won several contests for amateur directors; in the same years he started working as a journa ...

and starring Peter Lupus.

Plot

Asparia, Queen of the

Hellenes The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, other ...

, has been captured by the

Babylonians Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1 ...

, but she manage to hide her identity and lives as a common slave in Babylon.

, played by Peter Lupus (credited as Rock Stevens), is sent to free her. The Babylonian slavers begin to hear rumors and stories of a single man who can overcome any army he faces. Asparia conspires with another slave to send a message of her whereabouts to Hercules, who soon is heading towards Babylon. The three siblings who rule Babylon—beautiful Taneal, warlike Salman Osar and more conservative Azzur—are visited by King Phaleg of

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

. Phaleg showers the three with gifts, offering up untold riches in exchange for all of the slaves in Babylon. The siblings are suspicious of Phaleg's motives, thinking he means to raise an army from the slaves. Taneal seduces and drugs the Assyrian king, discovering that he intends to find Queen Asparia and marry her, creating a powerful empire of Assyria and Hellas. The siblings agree to stop this, and send troops to ambush the king. Hercules discovers the plan and aids the Assyrians, as the Babylonians are his enemy, and saves the life of the king. Phaleg makes Hercules take a loyalty

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...

, and then sends him to Babylon, along with several of his men, to retrieve Asparia. In Babylon, each of the siblings is conspiring against the other; Salman Osar and Azzur both wish to marry Asparia and form an empire, while Taneal intends to steal the wealth of the city and then destroy it by the means of a giant subterranean wheel which supports the foundation of all Babylon. Hercules is able to locate Asparia, and then begins to turn the giant wheel and destroy the city. Salman Osar kills his brother, then is crushed by falling debris while attempting to kill his sister. As Hercules' Assyrian escorts attempt to steal Asparia away to Phaleg, Taneal takes the Queen hostage herself. Phaleg and his large contingent of cavalry ride in to claim his new bride, but they are met by Hercules as well as the freed Babylonian slaves. Phaleg is killed by Hercules, and his soldiers routed; Taneal seemingly poisons herself rather than face the judgement of Hercules and Asparia. In the end, Hercules leads Asparia and the Hellenes back to their homeland.

Reception

''The Lexicon of International Films'' describes the work as a "trivial sandal film based on common patterns that carefree mixes poetry and (historical) truth". The cinema magazine Cinema rated the film as a respectable spectacle and as upscale trash with entertainment value.Kritik der Cinema
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Crew

*Director:

*Assistant director :

Giancarlo Romitelli Giancarlo is an Italian language, Italian given name meaning "John Charles". It is one of the most common masculine given names in Italy and is often short for "Giovanni Carlo". Notable people with the name include: List A *Giancarlo Agazzi (193 ...

*Writer: Luciano Martino and

*Cinematography :

Augusto Tiezzi Augusto Tiezzi (1910–1990) was an Italian cinematographer who worked on more than 70 films during his career including ''Hercules and the Masked Rider'' (1963).Klossner p.160 Selected filmography * '' Villafranca'' (1934) * '' The Two Sergeant ...

, Totalscope Eastmancolor *Length: 94 min *Producer: Fortunato Misiano *Music:

Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (22 February 1909 – 21 August 1987) was an Italian composer, born in Genoa. He is best known for scoring many films, including '' Legend of the Lost'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'', '' Gorgo'', '' The Legion's Last Patro ...

*Distributor : Cosmopolis Films et les Films Marbeuf *Country of origin: Italy, Romana Film Rome *Editing: Jolanda Benvenuti *Released 24 *Adapted by Michel Lucklin * Models and costumes by : Walter Patriarca *Makeup: Massimo Giustini *Genre : Sword-and-sandal

Starring

* Peter Lupus (as Rock Stevens) :

* Anna-Maria Polani : Asparia, queen of Hellenes *

Helga Liné Helga Liné (; born Helga Lina Stern on 14 July 1932) is a German-born Portuguese-Spanish-American film actress and circus acrobat best known for her work in the horror genre of film. She made 132 appearances mostly in film between 1941 and ...

: Taneal *

Mario Petri Mario Petri (21 January 1922 – 26 January 1985) was an Italian operatic bass-baritone particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles. Life and career Petri was born in Perugia and began his career after World War II, making his stage d ...

: Phaleg, king of Assyrians *

Livio Lorenzon Livio Lorenzon (6 May 1923 – 23 December 1971) was an Italian actor who was mainly active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and ...

: Salmanassar *

Tullio Altamura Tullio Altamura (born 18 July 1924) is an Italian actor, best known for his roles in spaghetti westerns and action films in the 1960s. Life and career Born in Bologna, the son of a career officer in the Italian army, Altamura grew up in Rome, ...

: Azzur *

Franco Balducci Franco Balducci (23 November 1922 – 7 June 2001) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 75 films between 1947 and 1978. He was born in Umbria, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Bullet for Stefano'' (1947) - Giacomo * ''Tempesta su Pari ...

: Moksor * Rosy De Leo : slave Gilda * Andrea Scotti : a young shepherd *

Diego Pozzetto Diego Pozzetto was an Italian stage and film actor.Chiti & Poppi p.237 Selected filmography * ''Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno'' (1937) * ''Nina non far la stupida'' (1937) * ''Il conte di Brechard'' (1938) * ''The Black Corsair'' (1938) * ''L ...

: Behar * Mirko Valentin : Glicon * Diego Michelotti : Crissipos * Eugenio Bottai : Minister of Assur * Emilio Messina : warrior * Pietro Torrisi : warrior *

Gilberto Galimberti Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name '' Gilbert'', used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. In Galician, it's spelled Xilberto or Xilberte. ''Gilbert'' is ultimately derived from the Ger ...

: warrior *

Amerigo Santarelli Amerigo may refer to: People * Amerigo Dumini (1894–1967), Italian fascist activist * Amerigo Gazaway (born 1986), American musician * Amerigo Paradiso (born 1962), Italian footballer * Amerigo Petrucci (1922–1983), Italian politician * Amerig ...

: warrior *

Puccio Ceccarelli Puccio is both an Italian surname and a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: People with the surname *Alejandro Puccio (1958–2008), Argentine rugby union footballer and criminal *Alessio Puccio (born 1986), Italian ...

: warrior

Sources

External links