''My Son, the Hero'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

title: ''Arrivano i titani'' - ''The Coming of the Titans''; alternative UK title: ''Sons of Thunder'') is a 1962 mythological

sword-and-sandal Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum (: pepla), is a subgenre of largely Italy, Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget ...

comedy film directed by

Duccio Tessari Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter ...

and starring

Giuliano Gemma Giuliano Gemma (; 2 September 1938 – 1 October 2013) was an Italian actor. He is best known internationally for his work in Spaghetti Westerns, particularly for his performances as the title character in Duccio Tessari's '' A Pistol for Ringo'' ...

, Jacqueline Sassard, Pedro Armendáriz,

Antonella Lualdi Antonella Lualdi (born Antonietta de Pascale, 6 July 1931 – 10 August 2023) was an Italian actress and singer. She appeared in many Italian and French films in the 1950s and 1960s, notably in Claude Autant-Lara's film ''The Red and the Black'' ...

and

Serge Nubret Serge Nubret (6 October 193819 April 2011) was a French professional bodybuilder, actor and self-published author. He won numerous bodybuilding competitions, including 1976 NABBA Universe Championships, Mr. Universe (1976). Nubret was nicknamed "t ...

Plot

The king of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, Cadmos, has just murdered his wife in order to live with his scheming lover Ermione. For this deed, a

prophetess In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

curses him in the name of the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, foretelling him that the day on which his infant daughter Antiope falls in love with a man will be the day he dies. Furious at the gods' judgement, and unable to kill Antiope on the spot (lest the curse would fulfill itself immediately),

megalomania Megalomania is an obsession with power, wealth, fame, and a passion for grand schemes. Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to: Psychology * Grandiose delusions * Narcissistic personality disorder * Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage ...

cal Cadmos renounces the gods and proclaims himself one. To this end, he and Ermione undergo a treatment with mystical vapors which render their bodies invulnerable (save for one critical spot on Ermione's chest incautiously left covered). Once Antiope has reached the proper age, Cadmos plans to have her ordained as a priestess in his service, to have her shut away from the world of men in a life of enforced chastity. Enraged by this intention,

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

finally decides to send an agent to do his bidding. He turns to the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

, still incarcerated in the pits of

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after ...

, and offers them release if their youngest and weakest, but smartest of their number, Crios, agrees to cast Cadmos into the underworld. Crios is happy to accept the assignment and is taken to the capitol of Crete, where he meets and befriends Aquiles, Cadmos' mute personal servant. Soon afterwards, he witnesses a slave named Rator being condemned for execution in a gladiatorial fight for the king's amusement. Instantly recognizing his opportunity, Crios begins to criticize the king loudly, starting a merry chase through the city streets before he allows himself to be captured. In the palace dungeon, which is located right beneath Cadmos' throne, he comes face-to-face with Antiope as she is being ordained as a priestess, and instantly becomes smitten with her. When he and his fellow prisoners, including Rator, are made to fight to the death before Cadmos and Ermione, Crios bribes a guard into procuring some oil to rub onto his skin, making him ungrappable for Rator, who has defeated all the others before taking on Crios. As a result, Crios wins and becomes Cadmos' servant, but his uncautious demonstration of his wits and clandestine visits to Antiope eventually alert Ermione to his true intentions. Finally, one day Cadmos decides to host a literal manhunt, with Rator as the prey. Crios, who accompanies him, manages to separate Cadmos from the rest of the hunting party and take him to the cliffs at the edge of the sea, where they catch up with Rator. However, as Crios prepares to take Cadmos with him, Ermione and the rest of the hunters interfere, and unable to kill Cadmos, Crios and Rator team up and jump off the cliffs into the sea. While hiding in a nearby ruined temple of

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

, Crios uses the temple's secret connection to make a trip back to Tartarus and steal the helmet of Pluto, an artifact which renders its wearer completely invisible at night. But as he uses the helmet's power to try and rescue Antiope, he finds her spirited away by Cadmos and Ermione. Taking Aquiles with him, Crios learns that Antiope has been imprisoned on the Isle of the

Gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

. He proceeds there with the help of his friends, kills the gorgon in a surprise attack and reunites with Antiope, but upon the gorgon's demise a violent thunderstorm breaks out, alerting Cadmos. Immediately after the storm has settled, the tyrant sends out his troops to the isle to investigate. Using the helmet, Crios tries to spook the arriving soldiers, but a panicked trooper inadvertently hits him with a spear, wounding him. In order to save his life, Antiope willingly surrenders to the soldiers, and Rator is caught as well. When things look at their bleakest for Crios, however, Zeus decides to release the rest of the Titans to Earth in order to have the task completed. With the most welcome assistance of his brothers, and some of Zeus'

thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

s purchased from his cyclopedian weaponsmiths, Crios infiltrates the city, attacks its garrison of soldiers, and eventually stirs its oppressed people into rebellion against their tyrant ruler. Joined by the liberated Rator, they begin to penetrate the palace's inner sanctum. When Ermione mocks Cadmos for his failure as a "god", Cadmos kills her and sets out to take revenge on Crios. In the lower caves of the palace, Crios and his brothers confront Cadmos' priests, who are rendered unkillable by the mystic vapors filling their temple. Crios uses one of the thunderbolts to breach an underwater reservoir, sweeping the vapors away and stripping the priests of their advantage, but the waters also begin to flood Antiope's cell, threatening to drown her. As Crios races to her rescue, Cadmos intercepts him. Knowing he couldn't harm his enemy directly, Crios instead casts the last of his thunderbolts at Cadmos' feet, sending him bodily to Hades. After Antiope is freed, the redeemed Titans make Crete their new home.

Cast

* Pedro Armendáriz: Cadmos *

: Crios *

: Ermione * Jacqueline Sassard: Antiope *

: Rator * Gérard Séty: Achilles * Tanya Lopert: Licina * Ingrid Schoeller: Emerate * Franco Lantieri: Tarete * Isarco Ravaioli: Centinela *

Fernando Rey Fernando Casado Arambillet (20 September 1917 – 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, international actor best known for hi ...

: High Priest

Release

''My Son, the Hero'' was released in Italy on 4 May 1962. It was released in France as ''Les Titans'' on 31 August 1962. It was released the United States on 18 September 1963 with a 111 minute running time.

Reception

Guliano Gemma's love scenes with Jacqueline Sassard have been considered among the most convincing of this genre and the film as a whole has been called "a masterpiece of Italian cinema".

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Duccio Tessari 1962 films 1960s fantasy films Films based on classical mythology Films set in ancient Greece Films set in Crete Films directed by Duccio Tessari Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Sword-and-sandal films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s Italian films