Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960)

Two musclemen come up against a tribe of Amazon women.

Director:

Vittorio Sala

Writers:

Ennio De Concini, Fulvio Fo

Stars:

Dorian Gray, Rod Taylor, Gianna Maria Canale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dorian Gray	...	Antiope
Rod Taylor	...	Pirro
Gianna Maria Canale	...	La Regina
Ed Fury	...	Glauco
Alberto Farnese	...	Losco, il pirata
Ignazio Leone	...	Sofo
Adriana Facchetti	...	La sacerdotessa
Giorgia Moll	...	Amazone
Folco Lulli
Alfredo Varelli	...	Mercante #1
Gino Buzzanca	...	Mercante #2
Marco Tulli	...	Eumeo
Renato Tagliani	...	Nando (as Renato Taliani)
Enzo Cerusico	...	Menandro
Daniela Rocca	...	Melitta (as Daniella Rocca)

Storyline

After the Trojan War, Glauco is the strongest man amongst the Greeks. His friend Pirro meets two men who offer him a large sum of money to persuade Glauco to sail towards unexplored shores. Pirro accepts the proposal and convinces Glauco with a trick: he hits him on his head. The ship lands at a strange place where Pirro and the other men aboard are drugged and find themselves in the hands of the Amazons. Only Glauco escapes, saved from the Egyptian inventor Sofo and he falls in love with Antiope. Between loves and duels, conspiracies and ruses, the pirates will bring together Amazons and Greeks.

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Plot Keywords:

amazon | trojan war | gold | greco roman wrestling | sword fight | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Colossus and the Amazon Queen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film,Glomer Film,Alta Vista

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the English-language version, the male leads are known as Glaucos and Pirros.

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Quotes

La Regina: [Sampling wine] Even wine will become bitter if you let it get too old. Likewise men!
High Prestess: [Drinking] How right you are! It's perfection! like a work of art! What year is this wine?
La Regina: Do you recall the year that Helen went astray?
High Prestess: Mmmmm1
La Regina: Its looks are a little bit tangy, but I wouldn't call that bad, would you?
High Prestess: Heavens, no! I prefer it that way.

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Connections

Featured in Kolossal - i magnifici Macisti (1977)

User Reviews

Colossus And The Amazon Queen (Vittorio Sala, 1960) BOMB

This film is strikingly similar to (and, incredibly, even worse than) Terence Young's THE AMAZONS (1974), which I watched only last month. Rod Taylor, who had just become a star thanks to George Pal's screen version of H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE (1960), unwisely chose to follow it up with this turkey; his performance is embarrassing – especially the lamentable attempts at comedy – and, in fact, comes off like a cut-rate Tony Curtis! Likewise, Ed Fury makes very little impression as the proverbial muscleman (and, presumably, the Colossus of the title – though his character is actually named Glauco, even in the English-dubbed version!).

As for the women, here we have: a rather unattractively made-up Dorian Gray (a regular fixture of Toto' comedies, though she also appeared in one film apiece by Fellini and Antonioni!); Daniela Rocca (best known as the mousy wife Marcello Mastroianni wants to get rid of in Pietro Germi's DIVORCE – Italian STYLE [1961]), whose character is constantly falling flat on her face for no apparent reason!; and Gianna Maria Canale (who appeared in countless sword-and-sandal titles but also starred in the first Italian horror film, I VAMPIRI [1956], co-directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava), who's been saddled with the rather thankless role of the Amazon Queen who must fulfill her destiny by remaining a spinster!

Truly, this has to be one of the worst films ever - which prompted director Bertrand Tavernier, then a film critic, to call it "one of the funniest of Italian comedies"! - which, from the very first shot (in which a trumpeter loses his grip on his instrument!), gives you an idea of the clumsiness you are about to witness – with the inappropriate 'modern' score (including the dance routines that are a cross between Busby Berkeley and WEST SIDE STORY [1961]!) and the hilarious dubbing (particularly during the one scene where Tiberio Murgia, so memorable as Claudia Cardinale's jealous elder brother in BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET [1958], appears) featuring prominently among its highlights…er…lowpoints!