Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (1960)
"Teseo contro il minotauro" (original title)

In ancient Crete, a monster called the Minotaur (half bull, half man) can only be satisfied by virgin sacrifices. The evil ruler of Crete is determined to keep the monster happy by ... See full summary »

Director:

Silvio Amadio

Writers:

Gian Paolo Callegari, Sandro Continenza

Stars:

Bob Mathias, Rosanna Schiaffino, Alberto Lupo

Cast

Credited cast:
Bob Mathias	...	Prince Teseo
Rosanna Schiaffino	...	Princess Fedra / Arianna
Alberto Lupo	...	Chirone
Rik Battaglia	...	Demetrio (as Rick Battaglia)
Carlo Tamberlani	...	Minosse, Re di Creta
Nico Pepe	...	Gerione
Susanne Loret	...	Anfitrite
Nerio Bernardi	...	Re di Atene
Paul Muller	...	Medico di Corte
Tiziana Casetti	...	Illia, figlia di Xanto
Alberto Plebani	...	Xanto
Tina Lattanzi	...	Queen Pasiphae
Milo Malagoli	...	Il Minotauro
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alberto Barberito
Emma Baron	...	Madre addottiva di Arianna

Storyline

In ancient Crete, a monster called the Minotaur (half bull, half man) can only be satisfied by virgin sacrifices. The evil ruler of Crete is determined to keep the monster happy by sacrificing as many of the island's virgins as he can, but a pair of friends determine to kill the monster and stop the sacrifices.

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Plot Keywords:

monster | bare chested male | torture | ancient greece | bondage

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Taglines:

Monster of the Ages!

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

April 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gino Mordini, Giorgio Agliani Cinematografica, Illiria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Prince Teseo: As long as we are alive, there is hope.

User Reviews

Mythologic story based on well-known legend about Teseo , Ariadna and Minotaurio

King of Crete named Minos( Carlo Tamberlani) has two daughters , one good named Ariadna and one evil named Fedra (Rosanna Schiaffino in a double role). Fedra orders Sciron (Alberto Lupo) to kill Ariadna , but the murderer fails thanks to Teseo , prince of Athens , and Demetrio (Rick Battaglia). Fedra rules over Crete and supported by Scirion wage war Athens . Athenians are defeated and obligated to tribute of fourteen maids for feed minotaur , a horrible monster , part human and part bull . Meanwhile , Teseo taking on Fedra and Sciron , when Ariadna goes into the cave of the monster and using the famous thread.

This Sword and Sandals movie packs adventures , fights , mythology , impressive battles , spectacular scenarios and is quite amusing . The film confronts ¨Greek culture¨ as pacific , civilized , luxurious and ¨Crete or Minoic culture¨ as cruel , brutal and worshipping Gods with human sacrifices included . However , from discovery Crete by archaeologist ¨Evans¨ is considered Crete a very developed civilization , above average the countries of that time . In fact , the palace of Knososs in Crete -partially reflected on the movie- was the greatest and luxurious for that time . Furthermore , the picture mingles wrongly the Crete setting from 1600 B.C. with Greeks dressed like V century . The film is starred by Bob Mathias, an US athlete , twice world champion decathlon and justifying his fans , he plays some scenes about his abilities , along with another starring , Rick Battaglia . The pic contains evocative cinematography by Giordani and atmospheric musical score by Carlo Rustichelli accompanying the usual dancing choreography . The motion picture is well directed by Silvio Amadio who filmed another Peplum set in Babylone titled ¨Seven thunderbolts¨ . Rating : Acceptable and passable. The film will appeal to muscle-man sub-genre buffs.