Erode il grande (1959)

Director:

Viktor Tourjansky

Writers:

Fernando Cerchio (screenplay)
Damiano Damiani (story)

Release Date:

5 December 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

All the passion and power in the pagan court of history's mad and lustful king!

Plot:

Herod, King of Judea, is made a prisoner by the Romans. Convinced the King is dead, his faithful lieutenant, Aaron, is nevertheless unable to keep his promise to kill the Queen if something untoward happened to the King. He leads the young woman out into the desert. Herod's pleas to Augustus are successful and he returns to his palace. His son, Antipater, informs Herod that Aaron has betrayed him.

Plot Keywords:

King | Roman | Judea | Palace | Desert

Cast

Edmund Purdom	...	Herod
Sylvia Lopez	...	Miriam
Massimo Girotti	...	Octavius
Sandra Milo	...	Sarah
Elena Zareschi	...	Alexandra
Ettore Manni	...	Aaron
Corrado Pani	...	Herod Antipas
Alberto Lupo
Arnoldo Foà
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Renato Baldini
Carlo D'Angelo
Enzo Fiermonte
Enrico Glori
Valeria Gramignani
Sylva Koscina
Diego Pozzetto

Also Known As:

Herod the Great (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16

Company:

Comptoir Français de Productions Cinématographiques (CFPC)

Trivia:

Italian censorship visa # 28396 delivered on 30-12-1958.

Quotes:

Herod: Aaron, I can let you die quickly, or I can keep you alive so that you will curse the woman who brought you into this world.

No Action, But Fun Watching the Acting

The story is about King Herod and his love for his Queen Mariam.

It has been a while since I read Josephus and his account of Herod, but I will assume the movie follows Josephus' storyline to some degree. In the last ten minutes, a little subplot taken from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew is added. In it Herod orders the killing of a brat born in Bethlehem. Oddly, according to the movie, King Herod only ordered the killing of the new born babies because he was so distaught that Mariam did not love him anymore.

There are some nice sets and costumes, but nothing really spectacular here. There are no real battles or sword fights, so action fans should stay away. This is a small cast with only a few dozen extras. It has more of an intimate stage play rather than an epic quality feeling.

The real reason to watch is the acting. Edmund Purdom is actually quite good as Herod. You actually do feel sorry for Herod at moments. Sylvia Lopez is extraordinary as Mariam. This and "Hercules Unchained" are basically the only known widely released movies she was in during her short three year movie career. If she had not died at 28, she might have been one of the great stars of the 60's. She kind of reminds me of Diane Cilento. She's more sexy than beautiful and she really dominates the screen. One can easily see why she drives Herod crazy.

If you're interested in 1st century B.C.E. Judean history, the movie is worth a look. Also if you want to see a beautiful young actress who died at the door to stardom in 1959, you should check it out.