La battaglia di Maratona (1959)

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Alberto Barsanti (story)
Ennio De Concini (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Spectacle! Grandeur! Glory!

Plot:

A Greek soldier leads the fight against an invading Persian army.

Plot Keywords:

Persian | Peplum | Swimming | Sword Fighting | Hero

Cast

Steve Reeves	...	Phillipides
Mylène Demongeot	...	Andromeda, Creuso's daughter
Sergio Fantoni	...	Teocrito
Daniela Rocca	...	Karis
Philippe Hersent	...	Callimaco
Alberto Lupo	...	Milziade
Daniele Vargas	...	Dario, King of Persia
Miranda Campa	...	Andromeda's handmaid
Gianni Loti	...	Teucro
Anita Todesco	...	Andromeda's friend
Ivo Garrani	...	Creuso
Sergio Ciani	...	Euros
Franco Fantasia
Carlo Lombardi
Ignazio Balsamo

Also Known As:

Giant of Marathon (USA)
La bataille de Marathon (France)
The Giant Marathon (Philippines: English title)
The Giant of Marathon (Australia)

Runtime:

90 min | Italy:92 min (director's cut)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak, Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

Galatea Film

Trivia:

This became yet another film in which director of photography Mario Bava had to step in as director (uncredited). Galatea Film decided to finally reward Bava by giving him a chance to develop his own project which he would direct. This led to the production of La maschera del demonio (1960), which began Bava's career as a solo director.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon (2007) (V)

The Giant of Marathon

Giant of Marathon was made during a very busy 1959 for Steve Reeves, as he completed "Hercules Unchained", "The Great White Warrior", and "Goliath and the Barbarians" while also making Giant of Marathon. Steve Reeves was by far the king of these so called "sword and sandal" epics churning out of Italy during the late 50s and early 60s...and why not? Reeves had a muscle bulging physique second to none and was by far the best looking of the muscle guys who made these Hercules type films in Italy. The story concerns the city of Athens and all of Greece being invaded by sea and land by the traitor Darius and his Persian army. Reeves is the hero of the olimpic games and a hero to all of Greece. As such a duo of traitors tries to convince him to team up with the Persians and attempt to lure him with wicked women and seduction. Along the way a very lovely Mylene Demengeot, a 1960s Angelina Jolie look alike with the big lips becomes his love interest. Plenty of action on land and sea and a good wresting match with Reeves and a blubber gut wrestler who feels insulted by Reeves. Check out the underwater scenes with Reeve's greeks planting long speared boulders in the water to sink Persian ships. This is a typical Reeves muscleman epic. Just watching the lovely Demengeot throughout is fun for the male audience. Reeves basically single handedly wipes out the persians and the traitors and wins his love interest in the end. Good fun for the Saturday afternoon crowd and Reeves fans in general.