Duel of Champions (1961)
"Orazi e Curiazi" (original title)

A duel takes place in order to put an end to the long and bloody war between the Romans and the Albans. Three valiant brothers are chosen for each side. The Romans choose three brothers: ... See full summary »

Directors:

Ferdinando Baldi, Terence Young

Writers:

Ennio De Concini (screenplay), Carlo Lizzani (screenplay),

Stars:

Alan Ladd, Franca Bettoia, Franco Fabrizi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Ladd	...	Horatio
Franca Bettoia	...	Marcia (as Franca Bettoja)
Franco Fabrizi	...	Curazio
Robert Keith	...	Tullio Hostilio - King of Rome
Jacqueline Derval	...	Horatia
Luciano Marin	...	Eli
Andrea Aureli	...	King of Alba (as Andrea Aurel)
Mino Doro	...	Caius
Osvaldo Ruggieri	...	Warrior of Alba
Piero Palermini	...	Nevio (as Pietro Palmerini)
Violette Marceau	...	Slave
Umberto Raho	...	Grand Priest
Alfredo Varelli	...	Sabinus
Evi Marandi	...	Slave
Alana Ladd	...	Scilla

Storyline

A duel takes place in order to put an end to the long and bloody war between the Romans and the Albans. Three valiant brothers are chosen for each side. The Romans choose three brothers: the Orazi. The Albans are represented by the Curiazi. During the fierce and bloody final duel the Romans defeat their opponents.

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Plot Keywords:

roman | duel | alban | arranged marriage | suicide | 

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Taglines:

SEE Warriors in a duel to the death!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

Italy Yugoslavia

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

19 October 1961 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Duel of the Champions

Filming Locations:

Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak, Belgrade, Serbia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lovcen Film, Lux Film, Tiberia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Terence Young: Bond Vivant (1999)

User Reviews

Nice historical epic

Having read about but not seen I bought this movie on DVD and as the previous reviewer said the transfer is terrible, that is a real shame as this is one of the more enjoyable sword and sandal epics. The great movie writer Steven Shuerer said that Alan Ladd appeared rather foolish in this movie, I disagree, Ladd put's in a nice performance here as one of three Roman brothers who must fight a rival three to try and put an end to years of fighting with the Albans, I think how the film works is that most of the cast are speaking in English, not badly dubbed from Italian as most of these films are, agreed Ladd looks rather tired and the effects of his long term alcoholism are evident, but I don't think he got a good deal from reviewers who concentrated more on his size and his personal problems. I do wish the makers of these films would take more time to try and restore the movie to a better print on DVD, some of these Italian epics are highly regarded by their fans, myself included so in this day and age of digital restoration these things should be brought in by them.