Search - Gods of War on DVD

The worst DVD image quality ever!!

calicodrum | New York | 01/25/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I can't imagine what DVDs the previous reviewers were looking at. Sadly this is an instance where I made a purchase based on the comments of others. I own hundreds of DVDs and there is nothing I have that comes close to the abysmal quality of this disk. It looks like a fifth or sixth generation transfer from a VHS, like looking at a movie through a fish bowl. I am a huge admirer of director Jacques Tourneur and hope I'll be able to see this film someday."

The Gods Of War

Mr. Allen Trevor Dix | Cheshire, England. | 08/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before Sylvester Stallone, There was Steve Reeves, and any film that he was involved in: strangely used to work. A lot of these films were tongue in cheek but there is still something magical about The Giant Of Marathon, and the story of the Trojan migration to found Rome. A lot of these films are completely innocent in their story line and their over dubbing, but they still bring a warmth of nostalgia whenever I view them.
If you are of a particular age, then all I can say to you is "purchase and enjoy.""

OK for Nostalgic Entertainment

Octavius | United States | 06/21/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Both of these films are some of countless cheap Italian films to come out of the 50s and 60s portraying the myths and histories of antiquity. In this set, one film is on the battle of Marathon while the other covers Virgil's and Livy's tales of Aeneas, the Prince of Troy who settled in the kingdom of Latium with his Trojan refugees.

Mario Bava's 'Hero of Marathon' presents a fictional story of Philippides, the Athenian commoner who saves Athens and Greece against Darius in the First Persian War. The film is still amusing to watch despite it being historically inaccurate and of terrible quality. The battle of Marathon was fought on a plain and not a canyon. Unlike Reeves' Phillipedes, the real Phillipedes of Marathon died upon having delivered his message. The film does have some interesting battle scenes with relatively accurate equipment and tactics but they're pretty cheap. This is certainly not one of the best Italian sword and sandal films to come out of Italy.

Jacques Tourneur's 'Avenger' covers the hardships of the Trojans soon after Aeneas has settled a peace with the Latins and received a right from the King to settle near the Tiber. This film is better than the other one in terms of plot and has some interesting scenes. The acting is horrible however and the picture quality even worse.

These are not very good quality films but are fun to watch in terms of story line and for their cheesiness. A good Italian film to watch on Roman history is the 1939 release of Scipio Africanus covering the Second Punic War with Carthage and Hannibal.

"

Great "Marathon," Mediocre "Glory"

Jery Tillotson | New York City | 03/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My five stars are for the great "Giant of Marathon" which gives us a stunning look at Steve Reeves at his peak. The movie begins with a thrilling symphonic musical score by Roberto Nicoladi and we see Reeves in brief vignettes, proving to the world that he is indeed the giant of marathon. The best sequence is when he swims towards the camera and comes up laughing, a rarity for Reeves who is usually shown as seriously God-like and stern in his demeanor. We next see him wrestling with another athlete, both clad in brief white loincloths, and the homoerotic subtext is unmistakable. The best part comes towards the end when Reeves leads his warriors underwater to plant sharpened poles to destroy the ships of the enemies. Clad again in white briefs, a nearly naked Reeves and hsi fellow handsome Italian warriors present a beefcake bonanza. Reeves would never look so phenomenal as he does in "Giant of Marathon." The second feature, "the Glory of Troy" is a real let down. Reeves is totally clothed in this saga with only a few seconds to glimpse his heroic chest. The battle scenes are confusing and I could never figure out who was fighting who. Reeves looks tired, too, as if he were making too many movies because he was really churning them out from l959 into the mid60s when he retired. Curiously, the more famous he became and the bigger the star, the more clothes he wore. One of his last films, "The White Prince" shows him almost comically attired in full Russian attire, from furry cossack hats down to Russian boots. You'd never know that beneath all that finery was a torso that brought Reeves international stardom. During his heyday he was bigger in Europe that Elizabeth Taylor or Rock Hudson or Sophia Loren and was commanding $250,000 a movie. He turned down the chance to play James Bond and the Clint Eastwood westerns like "A fistful of Dollars." He married an Italian Countess and after divorcing her, settled down on a cattle ranch with his second wife. He passed away recently from cancer. If you're interested in these Hercules movies, you should definitely check out Reeves major competition, Mark Forest, alias Lou Degni from the Bronx. He won both Mr. Universe and Mr. America and had the most spectacular bodies and faces in movies. His greatest cult movies are "Kindar the Invulnerable" and "Hercules versus the Mongols.""