Muscle Madness [3 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

All the rippling glory of the classic sword-and-sandal film genre - wrought with larger-than-life heroes, epic battles and mystical creatures both good and evil - is captured in Muscle Madness, a collection of five films from the 50s and 60s, flexing onto DVD May 19 from Infinity Entertainment Group.

This exuberant three-DVD set includes:

Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963): The ultimate buddy movie with muscles, starring sword-and-sandal marquee hero Mark Forest, and featuring a sea battle, chariot race and 24 virgins.

Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960): Rod Taylor (The Time Machine) and muscleman Ed Fuy star as Greek geeks who face off against a tribe of Amazon women.

Giant of Marathon (1959): Legendary muscleman Steve Reeves portrays Philippides, an Olympic champion who helps save Greece from an invading hoard of Persians.

War of the Trojans (1962): In this sequel to The Trojan Horse, Steve Reeves reprises his role as the Trojan hero, Aneas, who leads his people from the fall of Troy to the banks of the Tiber River to found what would later become Rome.

Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964): A race of vicious aliens from the moon land on Earth and begin sacrificing the children of Samar. Can fellow Herculean hero Maciste save the day? An action-packed adventure for the ages featuring musclemen, aliens, a giant, a sandstorm and a wicked queen.

So get pumped for a mighty marathon of macho man action in one sweaty little package!

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 3
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Alan Steel - Maciste/Hercules
       Mylene Demongeot - Andromeda
       Daniela Rocca - Karis
       Ivo Garrani - Creuso
       Philippe Hersent - Callimaco
       Sergio Fantoni - Teocrito
       Alberto Lupo - Milziade
       Miranda Campa - Un'Ancella
       Anna Maria Polani - Selena

• Director:

  Michele Lupo, Vittorio Sala, Jacques Tourneur, Giacomo Gentilomo

• Producer:

  Elio Scardamaglia, Bruno Vailati, Luigi Mondello

• Screenwriter:

  Lionello de Felice, Francesco Scardamaglia, Roberto Gianviti, Ennio de Concini, Augusto Frassinetti, Bruno Vailati, Arpad de Riso, Nino Scolaro

• Cinematographer:

  Mario Sbrenna, Mario Bava, Oberdan Trojani

• Composer (Music Score):

  Francesco de Masi, Roberto Nicolosi, Carlo Franci

• Editor:

  Alberto Gallitti, Mario Serandrei

• Art Director:

  Pier Vittorio Marchi, George Djurkovic, de Marcello Prato, Amedeo Mellone

• Set Designer:

  Massimo Tavazzi

• Costume Designer:

  Marisa Crimi, Pier Luigi Pizzi

• Makeup:

  Amato Garbini

• Special Effects:

  Ugo Amadoro

• Short Story Author:

  Angelo Sangermano

REVIEW:

• Nobody expects a movie with a title like Hercules Against the Moon Men to be good, but it's not out of the question to hope it will at least be fun. Unfortunately, Moon Men is much too dull to be fun. Oh, you can laugh for a while at the silliness of its plot or the lack of discernible acting skill among most of its cast. You can while away a bit of time wondering whether its phoniness or the flimsiness of its sets that is more amusing. You can even try to decide whether the "alien" costumes might possibly have found their way onto a half-remembered Lost in Space episode. But soon the simply dullness of Moon Men will overtake the little fun you've managed to build up. Even the bad acting doesn't create the giggles it should -- aside from Delia D'Alberti's evil queen, most of the acting is simply flat rather than amusing. As the titular hero (which, in Italy, was actually a different character by the name of Machiste rather than the retitled-for-America Hercules -- so much for depth of character), Sergio Ciani (a.k.a. Alan Steel) ambles his way through the film expressing much more dramatic depth by flexing his arm muscles than by any muscles on his face. The direction is lifeless, the script is ridiculous, and there's a sandstorm sequence that seems to last an eternity. Diehard fans of this action film subgenre are really the only audience for this entry. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi