''Giants of Rome'' ( it, I giganti di Roma) is a 1964 international co-production sword and sandal set in the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homela ...

. It was directed by

Anthony Dawson Anthony Douglas Gillon Dawson (18 October 1916 – 8 January 1992) was a Scottish actor, best known for his supporting roles as villains in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954) and '' Midnight Lace'' (1960), and playi ...

and starred Richard Harrison and Wandisa Guida. The film involves a handpicked group of expert soldiers infiltrate the enemy's stronghold to locate and destroy a secret weapon prior to the

Battle of Alesia The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia (September 52 BC) was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars around the Gallic ''oppidum'' (fortified settlement) of Alesia in modern France, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by ...

. The film is a co-production between Italy's Devon Film and N.C. and France's Radius Productions. Ralph Hudson's only other credited film role was the lead in ''Tarzak contro gli uomini leopardo''/''Ape Man of the Jungle'' also released in 1964.

Plot

In 52 B.C.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

is planning to conquer Vercingetorix and

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. Prior to the invasion Caesar orders the four "bravest and strongest soldiers in the army" to be sent on an undercover

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

and raiding mission to locate and destroy an unknown but feared secret weapon of the

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

s in three days time as Caesar will attack on the dawn of the fourth day.

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

Claudius Marcellus leads three other men, Germanicus the strong man, Varus an expert knife thrower and Castor an experienced and highly competent soldier. The party infiltrates the enemy's lines through the sacrifice of their escort party who launch a suicidal attack on the Druids to attract their attention away from Marcellus' party. Joining the four commandoes is young Valerius; a boy who ran away from a wealthy Roman home to become a

Legionary The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

but only became a

Gunga Din "Gunga Din" () is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling set in British India. The poem is much remembered for its final line: "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din". Background The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a Briti ...

type labourer. The party is captured where they are placed next to Livilla, a captured Roman patrician noblewoman and her last surviving member of her Roman Army escort Drusus who has lost his courage and military discipline through constant torture. Called before Vercingetorix, Claudius Marcellus the leader of the group is threatened with torture by heated iron bars but he astounds Vercingetorix by grabbing a hot piece of iron and laying it on his own chest telling the Grand Druid not to waste his time. Taken back to his cell as Vercingetorix schemes better torture, strongman Germanicus is able to bend the bars of the cell so the party can enter the adjoining cell of Livilla and Drusus that makes an escape possible. Though the Romans now number seven, nearly half their party are not competent soldiers. Livilla and Valerius have no experience whatsoever, and Drusus is an unknown asset; he has lost all desire to be a Roman soldier and only wishes to return home rather than participate in a suicide mission but during their escape he proves himself highly proficient with a captured bow and quiver of arrows against the enemy. The group faces further tribulations when Valerius is captured and tortured by the enemy to reveal the mission, location and composition of the party as well as the plans of the main body of Caesar's troops. The Roman party attacks a group of Druids and are burdened with two prisoners; one is a woman who Castor falls in love with. On the early morning of the day of Caesar's attack, the Romans discovers the secret weapon guarding the mountain pass where Caesar's forces will come through. The weapon is a

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

that fires flaming pitch into the attack force igniting the terrain and the attacking soldiers.

Cast

* Richard Harrison as Claudius Marcellus * Wandisa Guida as Livilla * Ralph Hudson as Germanicus * Ettore Manni as Castor *

Goffredo Unger Goffredo is an Italian given name, cognate with Godfrey, Gottfried, Galfrid, etc. Notable people with the name include: * Goffredo Alessandrini (1904–1978), Italian script writer and film director * Goffredo Baur, Italian cross country skier who ...

as Varus * Philippe Hersent as Drusus *

Alberto Dell'Acqua Alberto Dell'Acqua (born 14 March 1938) is an Italian actor and stuntman. He appeared in more than forty films since 1955 mostly Italian Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerge ...

as Valerius *

Nicole Tessier Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eurovi ...

as Edua * Renato Baldini as Vercingetorix * Piero Lulli as Pompeus *

Alessandro Sperli Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

Release

''Giants of Rome'' was released in Italy on 10 September 1964. It was released in France on 22 December 1965.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* {{Antonio Margheriti 1964 films 1960s historical films 1964 war films Peplum films French historical adventure films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Antonio Margheriti Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Gallic Wars films Depictions of Julius Caesar on film Sword and sandal films Cultural depictions of Pompey Cultural depictions of Vercingetorix 1960s Italian films