The Warrior Empress (1960)

He-man Phaon impresses Sappho of Lesbos at the temple of Aphrodite, circa 600 B.C.

Director:

Pietro Francisci

Writers:

Ennio De Concini (screenplay), Pietro Francisci (screenplay)

Stars:

Tina Louise, Kerwin Mathews, Riccardo Garrone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tina Louise	...	Sappho
Kerwin Mathews	...	Phaon
Riccardo Garrone	...	Hyperbio
Antonio Battistella	...	Peone
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Melanchro
Susy Andersen	...	Actis (as Susy Golgi)
Alberto Farnese	...	Larico
Strelsa Brown	...	Priestess of Aphrodite
Annie Gorassini	...	Dyla
Aldo Pini	...	Demetrio
Andrea Fantasia	...	Pittaco
Elda Tattoli	...	Sappho's Nurse
Isa Crescenzi	...	Peasant Woman
Lilly Mantovani	...	Cleide
Fernando Hilbeck	...	Scarface

Storyline

He-man Phaon impresses Sappho of Lesbos at the temple of Aphrodite, circa 600 B.C.

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Plot Keywords:

war machine | sword duel | lion | sword | revolt | 

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Taglines:

The Wickedest of All Worlds!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 August 1960 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Warrior Empress

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Documento Film, Orsay Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sappho: Immortal Aphrodite, Goddess of Flowers, Skilled in all Arts of Love, Daughter of Zeus, I pray thee, Come now, oh Queen, on thy winged chariot. And all that my heart desires to accomplish, accomplish thou. And be, thyself, my ally.

User Reviews

The Warrior Empress or Sappho-Venus of Lesbos (Saffo, venere di Lesbo) provides another pretty good performance by Tina Louise

This is the second of the Italian epics Tina Louise made for director Pietro Francisci for the year 1960. While IMDb lists the above American title, the actual translated Italian one actually says "Sappho-Venus of Lesbos". And, no, there's no girl-on-girl action here though one of Sappho's friends, Actis (Susy Golgi Andersen), seems to have somewhat of a crush on her. But Tina's character is actually smitten with a wounded man named Phaon (Kerwin Mathews) who stumbles into their women-only island. But she's promised to another man named Hyperbius (Riccardo Garrone). I'll stop there and just say that I wasn't as involved in the story as the previous Louise-Francisci collaboration, L'assedio di Siracusa (Siege of Syracuse), but I still liked many of the action scenes, the romantic sequences, and the once again beautiful score by Angelo Francesco Lavagino. And, hey, there's plenty of other fine-looking women other than Ms. Louise who wear clothing that accentuate their cleavage and legs to the utmost effect! So on that note, The Warrior Empress/Sappho-Venus of Lesbos is worth a look.