Ercole al centro della terra (1961)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Directors:

Mario Bava
Franco Prosperi

Writers:

Mario Bava (screenplay)
Mario Bava (story)
(more)

Release Date:

April 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Action | Horror

Tagline:

An All New Height in Fright and Might!

Plot:

Hercules must journey in Hades itself to retrieve the magic stone that will free his love from the powers of darkness.

Plot Keywords:

Hercules | Magic Stone | Oracle | Apple | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Reg Park	...	Hercules (Ercole)
Christopher Lee	...	King Lico (Licos)
Leonora Ruffo	...	Princess Deianira
George Ardisson	...	Thesus (Teseo)
Marisa Belli	...	Aretusa
Ida Galli	...	Persephone
Franco Giacobini	...	Telemachus (Telemaco)
Mino Doro	...	Keros
Rosalba Neri	...	Helena (as Rosalba Neri c.s.c.)
Ely Drago	...	Jocasta (as Ely Dracò)
Gaia Germani	...	Medea
Raf Baldassarre	...	Leader of the cutthroats
Elisabetta Pavan	...	Tamar
Aldo Pedinotti	...	Sunis (as Aldo Padinotti)
Claudio Marzulli
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Monica Neri
Grazia Collodi	...	Electra (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Bava
Franco Prosperi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mario Bava		screenplay
Mario Bava		story
Sandro Continenza		screenplay
Franco Prosperi		screenplay
Duccio Tessari		screenplay

Produced by
Achille Piazzi	....	producer

Original Music by
Armando Trovajoli

Cinematography by
Mario Bava

Film Editing by
Mario Serandrei

Production Design by
Franco Lolli

Art Direction by
Franco Lolli

Costume Design by
Mario Giorsi

Makeup Department
Renzo Francioni	....	makeup artist
Franco Palombi	....	makeup artist
Nicla Palombi	....	hair stylist (as Nicla Pertosa)

Production Management
Danilo Marciani	....	production manager

Art Department
Antonio Sarzi-Braga	....	assistant set designer
Italo Tomassi	....	manager of art department (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tonino Cacciottolo	....	special sound effects
Luigi Puri	....	sound

Special Effects by
Tonino Cacciottolo	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Joe D'Amato	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Maria Luisa Onorati	....	wardrober
Valeria Sponsali	....	wardrober

Other crew
Emilio Cigoli	....	voice dubbing: Reg Park (Italian version)
Lauro Gazzolo	....	voice dubbing: Christopher Lee (Italian version)

Production Companies

• SpA Cinematografica

Distributors

• Omnia Deutsche Film Export (1962) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Golden Era Film Distributors (GEF) (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Woolner Brothers Pictures Inc. (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• International Film Distributors (1964) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astro Distribution (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Astro Records & Filmworks (Germany) (VHS)
• European Video Corporation (EVC) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Fantoma (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (video)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Network Enterprises (video)
• Oktoberfest Video (video)
• Rhino Video (video)
• Ryko Distribution (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Saturn Productions (video)
• Sinister Cinema (2007) (USA) (DVD) (dubbed)
• Skyline Video (UK) (VHS) (Betamax)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (video)
• Zodiac Video (Greece) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Hercules at the Center of the Earth (International: English title) (literal title)
Hercules in the Center of the Earth (International: English title)
Hercules in the Haunted World (USA)
Hercules vs. the Vampires
Sword and Sandal (Australia) (TV title)
The Vampires vs. Hercules
With Hercules to the Center of the Earth

Runtime:

81 min | France:76 min | Italy:91 min | UK:77 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | West Germany:12

Company:

SpA Cinematografica

Trivia:

Christopher Lee's voice was dubbed by another actor for the English-language version.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Reg Park: The Legend (2009) (V)

Terror-Muscleman epic with a magnificent villainous,Christopher Lee and directed by the master Mario Bava

In this second film by Mario Bava is also known like Hercules in the haunted world and Hercules vs. the vampires.Here Hercules(a wooden Reg Park,the same of the Conquest of Atlantida by Vittorio Cottafavi) along with Teseo(Giorgo Ardisson) and Telemaco(Giacobini) travel to dead land located into center of earth.Hercules taking on king Lycos(Christopher Lee,with similar acting his recent Dracula by Terence Fisher)who has kidnapped his sweet-girl Deianera(Leonora Ruffo).Hercules is accompanied by characters with mythological names as Teseo(from legend minotaur),Telemaco(from Ulisses),Persefone(abducted by Hades).The trip is plenty of several dangers, a foggy sea,the garden of Hesperides with apples,the encounter with Persefone or Proserpina,meeting with goddess Aretusa,the fighting against monster of stone,the bloody liana and trespassing a marshy lagoon with objective to achieve the magic rock.And the creepy final confrontation with Lycos and the eerie ghouls in a terrifying scenes.

The picture is a horror-sword and sandals epic with adventures,struggles,absurd humour,bizarre scenarios and is quite entertaining.The comic relief in charge of Telemaco character is written by scriptwriter Duccio Tessari,usual of humorous touches,for example: the Titans and various Spaghetti Western.Besides appear famous Eurotrash babes as Rosalba Neri,Evelyn Stewart or Ida Galli,Leonora Ruffo and the habitual nasty,Raf Baldasarre. As usual colorful cinematography by Bava with gaudy colours and groundbreaking atmospheres.Appropriate music score by Armando Trovajoli.The motion picture is co-directed by Franco Prosperi,known director of shocking-documentary like as Mondo Cane and Conan rip-offs The film belong to sub-genre blending fantastic,horror and Peplum like are: Maciste in the inferno(Riccardo Freda,1962),The conquest of Atlantida(Vittorio Cottafavi,1961)and Maciste against the vampire(Giacomo Gentilomo,1961).The picture will like to Mario Bava fans.