Hannibal (1959)

During the Second Punic War in 218 BC, Carthaginian general Hannibal attacks the Roman Republic by crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps with his vast army.

Directors:

Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, Edgar G. Ulmer

Writers:

Mortimer Braus, Sandro Continenza (as Allesandro Continenza)

Stars:

Victor Mature, Gabriele Ferzetti, Rita Gam

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Victor Mature	...	Hannibal
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Fabius Maximus
Rita Gam	...	Sylvia
Milly Vitale	...	Danila
Rik Battaglia	...	Hasdrubal
Franco Silva	...	Maharbal
Terence Hill	...	Quintilius (as Mario Girotti)
Mirko Ellis	...	Mago
Andrea Aureli	...	Gajus Terentius Varro
Andrea Fantasia	...	Konsul Paulus Emilius
Renzo Cesana	...	(as Renato Cesana)
Bud Spencer	...	Rutario (as Carlo Pedersoli)
Pina Bottin
Remo De Angelis
Piero Mitri

Storyline

After making his historic crossing of the Alps with elephants transporting supplies and troops, Hannibal marches on Rome in a war of revenge. During his advance, he captures Sylvia, the niece of Roman Senator Fabius Maximus but, instead of holding her prisoner, he shows her his powerful army and herds of elephants, then sets her free. He is sure she will report what she has seen to his Roman enemies. Hannibal defeats the Romans at the battle of Trebbia and sends a message to Sylvia that he is marching on Rome. Sylvia succumbs to her love of Hannibal and they have a rendezvous, but are surprised by a Roman patrol. Hannibal escapes and Sylvia is confined to the temple of the Vesta Goddess. She escapes and meets Hannibal again. Hannibal orders his brother Hasdrubal to Carthage to take over command of the reinforcements preparing to join Hannibal. Hannibals wife Danila arrives from Carthage unexpectedly and Sylvia runs away and returns to Rome, where she is tried for high treason and ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | hannibal barca | carthage | elephant | alps | 

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Taglines:

"What my elephants can't conquer, I'll conquer alone!"

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Edgar G. Ulmer has said that Warner Bros., which released the picture in the US, had cut the film so badly that when he saw it in a theater he barely recognized it.

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Goofs

The elephants shown in the movie are Asian elephants, as is recognizable from the twin-domed head with an indent running up the center of their head. This is not the case with African elephants. Carthaginian frescoes and coins minted by whoever controlled North Africa at various times show very small elephants, perhaps 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) at the shoulder, with the large ears and concave back typical of modern African elephants. The North African elephant was smaller than the modern African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana africana), probably similar in size to the modern African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Maybe the Asian species was used, because it is typically smaller in size than the African species.

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Alternate Versions

There were two different cuts of this movie in existence at the time of release. The version released originally in Italy and subsequently in Germany and maybe other non English speaking European countries had a running time of 95 minutes. The US release version is given with 103 minutes. The BBFC lists a submitted running time of 104m 40s.

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Connections

Edited into Ibiza: The Silent Movie (2019)

User Reviews

HANNIBAL - A Subject Crying out for a Remake

The print that I viewed was the one available from "Belle and Blade Video". The print quality is not great but watchable. This one really needs to be seen in the widescreen format as this Pan and Scan version has many scenes where actors are speaking and are not even in frame. I can only guess how this would effect some of the many battle scenes. The problem with this movie is not so much in the screenplay, with all the elements we have come to expect in the Italian Sword and Sandal movies. The obligatory "love story" and the not too historical depiction of Ancient Combat. Trying to tell the complete story of the Great Carthaginian leader who kept Rome in Terror for nearly a decade is not an easy one. The direction and editing is what I think is the real problem here. Some scenes are just too long while others cry out for more attention. There is a disturbing quality to some of the battle scenes, which switch from outdoor photography to sound stage. Since it is the only movie out there on Hannibal, it wins by default. I am amazed that this story has not been redone. Overall, if you are into Ancients and the Sword and Sandal Genre you probably will like this film. Oh, by the way the obligatory "Elephants" are there, and handled as well as one might expect from this type of film.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

18 June 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hannibal

Filming Locations:

Avala Studios, Belgrade, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Liber Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1