Okay, I gotta bash myself for posting that response 16-months ago… and am bumping it, as I prepare to plunge deep into the genre. (hopefully with full running-times) Lex Barker, here I come…
I have the Goliath double feature wild east disc and both films are decent.
I wanna see Romulus and Remus.
Sappho; Venus Of Lesbos, 1960… Tina Louise, Kerwin Mathews. The script doesn’t elaborate, but some local lord controls a large area of the Greek seacoast via a sizable army. His realm includes the isle of Lesbos, where virgins go to become priestesses of Aphrodite. Mathews is a rebel leader who’s ambushed and injured… escaping to the island temple. It’s predictable, but enjoyable. The set-decorations are great. The women are believable, which is important. Pietro Francisci directed it without lingering titillation, keeping the emphasis on romantic-intrigue and blade-play. He even throws-in an all-woman 4-horse chariot race, a siren (mermaid) sequence, and authentic-looking longboat action. The final battle is fabulous, with some amazing siege-engines-- including ‘armored’ catapults.
I watch Sergio Corbucci’s The Slave the other day. Well worth a watch.