Reviews & Ratings for
Goliath Against the Giants More at IMDbPro »Goliath contro i giganti (original title)

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
This one has everything, and then some, 16 April 2004

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

The question I'm asked is why do I watch movies like this with any frequency? The answer has to do with the monsters and the fact that many of these things throw everything at you except for the kitchen sink, and that's only left out because it wasn't invented yet.

After a war ends Goliath prepares to head home, except that Bokan, the regent of his country has sent assassins to kill Goliath since he is the only one who could take the place of the dead king, a fact that would put Bokan out of a job. Bokan is not standing for any opposition to his rue and he pitches anyone who doesn't like him into a valley where giants live, Giants who were put there by Goliath years before.

Trying to get home faster Goliath and his friends try to go by sea but get waylaid on the voyage.

Its at this point that the movie throws in everything except the kitchen sink, and perhaps aliens, as Goliath has to face a storm at sea, sea monsters, assassins, Amazons, a gorilla, lions, weird torture devices, gladiators, cave men and giants. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I don't know what. Best of all the whole thing is told spectacularly and with a decent budget, something that is missing from most movies of this sort.

My only complaint is that it gets a bit draggy in the middle for a couple of minutes, but other than that this is a really good mindless adventure.

If you want to see a movie with everything give this a try.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Could have been a contender as the greatest Peplum, instead it's just a clunky kids film, 16 July 2008

Author: Bryce David

I wanted to see GOLIATH AGAINST THE GIANTS for some time. The film looked, from its description, as one of the best Sword & Sandal films ever: impressive production values, great cast including Brad Harris' turn as Goliath, made in the early years of the Peplum explosion, etc. I was really psyched up to see it as it is rarely shown or seen here in North America. Alas, when I watched, minutes into it I was disappointed and realized that even if all the right ingredients are there if the story/script is weak and the direction is uninspired and clunky, nothing can save it.

The story is awful. There's no other way to describe it. It goes here and there with almost no idea of where it's going, characters are introduced for no reason and then they disappear. It's a "road trip" or quest kind of adventure, with Goliath going from point A to point B, experiencing everything, from giant sea monster, a shipwreck that have the survivors crawling on the beach to getting involved with Amazons, to a deathly walk through the desert, to some torture scenes. Practically every Peplum clichés are used here, some with better results than others. The problem with an epic story like this is that it needs someone with a vision to bind all of these elements in a fresh and spirited way. Instead, the story trudges along mechanically with very little impetuous to it. When we arrive at the climax, we hardly care, certainly when Goliath finally meets those damn giants of the title. Plot points are introduced halfway into the film (like the signet ring) which really doesn't make any sense at all. The silly patchwork script is typical of films made for kids which hardly bother trying to create a logical storyline because most of those details go over kids' heads anyway. Most Sword & Sandal films are made with kids in mind but I've rarely seen such a clunky script as this one outside of an old Bollywood film.

The characters are as one dimensional as humanly possible. To make things worse, the acting is often bad. Almost everyone turns in a bad performance, with the worst being Fernando Rey as the evil King. He screams is performance. Subtle he ain't. Gloria Milland, Goliath's love interest, looks like she wished she was in another movie (she probably knew the script sucked). Her performance is one of the funniest performances in any of the Sword & Sandal films I've seen up to now.

The dialogue is cringe inducing. I simply couldn't believe how bad the dialogue was. "Did you steal it (the ring) from a tall & muscular man?"

The film is not a complete disaster. There are some good points about it: the full-size monster head is good, some of the cinematography is gorgeous, the torture scenes are fun, even if they're totally improbable.

The climax is good but also bad: it's full of nonstop action with the people uprising against the evil King. Endless scenes of soldiers killing people, and vice versa. It's action packed and bloody. It would have been more memorable if Goliath was part of it. He does finally appear amidst the chaos but it's too little too late. The soldiers kill so many citizens, it becomes a massacre of sorts. With so many dead, what's heroic about Goliath's quest to overthrow the King? The film doesn't make any point about this. There's nothing to celebrate if half of the citizens have been butchered in the process. Just as a side note here, because Harris or no other star is featured during most the bloody uprising, many scenes were often used in other films because of their anonymity.

Brad Harris is in top shape and he's game and ready for action but, imo, his acting is rather wooden here and his screen presence is sorta lacking. Usually I can easily overlook these things, but there are more aspects about Harris' appearance that defeat him more than any evil giant: Harris looks small (the kid is almost as tall as him), the beard is obviously fake and makes him look like a grumpy Kirk Douglas. But worse of all, the boots Harris wears. Instead of wearing laced up sandals like any other Peplum hero, Goliath sports ankle-high white boots of sorts. They actually look like go-go boots. Believe me, it makes Harris look not really tough, certainly with Harris already wearing a short tunic/skirt. Brad was much better in 79 AD and the SAMSON films.

The one thing that is worthy is production values: sets, camera work, cast of thousands. It's all there on screen. This is no cheapie. It's quite impressive and makes it more disappointing that the producers didn't bother coming up with a sensible story, acting, dialogue and more importantly solid direction. At fault here is the director who is talent-free, by looking at his other films. He directed other Peplums that are some of the worst, including the equally clunky TRIUMPH OF THE SON OF HERCULES, starring Kirk Morris.

I might be a bit too harsh here. After all, it's just a 1960s action film right? But take in mind that I'm already very lenient with films of the Sword & Sandal genre and when I find myself laughing out loud while watching GOLIATH CONTRO GIGANTI, well, it's not a good sign.

I give GOLIATH & THE GIANTS 10 stars for the excellent production values but a paltry 3 stars for direction, story, acting, etc. So it averages out at around 6.

1 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
GOOD FOR A LAUGH, 14 October 1999
Author: ALAN MOUNT from CARDIFF, WALES.

There are movies that one sees as a child that should never be viewed again as an adult and this is one of them. I had fond memories of this sword and sandal epic from my formative years and should not have watched it again recently.I had obviously forgotten that the giants referred to in the title do not appear until about five minutes before the end and are barely an inch or more taller than Goliath himself.They are also ponderously slow moving and stupid and are defeated with the minimum of effort by our titular hero.Brad Harris as Goliath,however,was one of the more effective performers in this genre and if nothing else this movie is good for a laugh.

Add another review

Related Links