I sette gladiatori (1962)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Pedro Lazaga

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (screenplay)
Bruno Corbucci (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Seven Heroes! The Valiant Sons of Sparta

Plot:

Framed for the escape of five gladiators from the arena, the son of one of Sparta's leading citizens...

Plot Keywords:

Gladiator | Arena | Arrow In Chest | Arrow In Back | Sword Fight

Cast

Richard Harrison	...	Darius
Loredana Nusciak	...	Aglaia
Livio Lorenzon	...	Panurgus
Gérard Tichy	...	Hiarba
Edoardo Toniolo	...	Milon
José Marco	...	Xeno (as Joseph Marco)
Barta Barri	...	Flaccus
Nazzareno Zamperla	...	Vargas (as Tony Zamperla)
Franca Badeschi	...	Licia
Enrique Ávila	...	Livius
Antonio Molino Rojo	...	Macrobius (as Antonio Molino)
Antonio Rubio	...	Mados
Emilia Wolkowicz	...	Ismere

Also Known As:

Gladiators 7 (USA)
Los siete espartanos (Spain)

Runtime:

Spain:93 min | USA:92 min | Italy:105 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Atenea Films

Quotes:

Hiarba: You let him get away again. Now I'm warning you, Macrobius, I made you but I can always send you back to rot in the quarries where I found you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 7 (2002) (V)

GLADIATORS SEVEN (Pedro Lazaga, 1962) **

Although only a few days have elapsed since I've watched this one, I've already forgotten practically everything about it – as my memories of the film seem to have melted into all the other peplums I've been watching of late! Obviously, from the title one can gather that it's basically a transposition of the SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)/THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) plot to the Roman Empire – and the rating suggests that I found it to be a middle-of-the-road peplum, not very good perhaps but not especially bad either. Richard Harrison is the lead here and, while he may not have much range as an actor, at least he's not as wooden as Dan Vadis; as a matter of fact, over the last week, I've watched two films – and both, incidentally, turned out to be more or less of the same quality – by either of these Euro-stars. I do recall, however, that the print utilized for the DVD transfer of GLADIATORS SEVEN was perhaps the best of all the English-dubbed peplums I rented and, surprisingly enough, it was presented in the correct aspect ratio (unlike the majority of the titles, which were available only in horrendous pan-and-scan editions).