While on holiday in Rhodes, Athenian war hero Darios becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow the tyrannical king, one from Rhodian patriots and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.
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Title: The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Rory Calhoun | ... | Dario | |
| Lea Massari | ... | Diala | |
| Georges Marchal | ... | Peliocle (as George Marchal) | |
| Conrado San Martín | ... | Tireo / Thar (as Conrado Sanmartin) | |
| Ángel Aranda | ... | Koros | |
| Mabel Karr | ... | Mirte | |
| Mimmo Palmara | ... | Ares | |
| Roberto Camardiel | ... | Serse | |
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Alfio Caltabiano | ... | Creonte (as Alf Randal) |
| George Rigaud | ... | Lisippo (as Jorge Rigaud) | |
|
|
Yann Larvor | ... | Mahor |
|
|
Carlo Tamberlani | ... | Xenon |
| Félix Fernández | ... | Carete | |
|
|
Ignazio Dolce | ||
| Antonio Casas | ... | Phoenician Ambassador | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
A Greek military hero named Darios visits his uncle in Rhodes in the year 280 BC. Rhodes has just finished constructing an enormous colossus of Apollo to guard its harbor and is planning an alliance with Phoenicia which would be hostile to Greece. Darios flirts with the beautiful Diala, daughter of the statue's mastermind, while becoming involved with a group of rebels headed by Peliocles. These rebels seek to overthrow the tyrannical King Serse as does Serse's evil second-in-command, Thar. The rebels' revolt seems to fail, with Peliocles and his men being captured and forced to provide amusement in the local arena, but an earthquake eventually upsets, not only the Colossus in the harbor, but the balance of power in Rhodes as well. Written by dinky-4 of Minneapolis
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A Monster Statue Of Bronze And Stone Twenty Stories Tall Guarded Their Secret!Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
ItalianRelease Date:
11 August 1961 (France) See more »Also Known As:
The Colossus of Rhodes See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (Spanish)Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Rory Calhoun, who was in Italy for the title role in MGM's Marco Polo (1962), stepped into the lead role of "Colossus" on only one day's notice. He initially arrived at 11:30 on the first day he was to start filming. According to 'Sergio Leone (I)' biographer Christopher Frayling, Calhoun's first day included an accidental fall into a swimming pool. See more »Goofs
The molten lead used to discourage the attack on the statue is red and looks like tomato sauce. Real molten lead is sliver in color. See more »Quotes
Thar: It's a waste of time to try to get anything out of these jackals. See that they're all kept in chains while I go and prepare for their execution.See more »
Alternate Versions
There are several different versions, running from 126 minutes to 142 minutes. The French version is shortest but has some longer shots than English and German version. The Italian original is available in a restored 142 minute long version which contains all scenes. The main title sequence also differs between versions. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Technically master director Sergio Leone's debut, The Colossus of Rhodes wasn't his first foray into swords-and-sandals epics. He was famously the second unit director for Ben-Hur and had to take over the reigns himself for The Last Days of Pompeii. Although he's known now for his Westerns, he certainly had a little niche going at the start. Unfortunately, there's fundamental flaws with that niche and it just doesn't hold up to today. Bland characters, bland story. It takes itself too seriously and ends up overly camp. It wants to have a camaraderie about war but it comes off awkward and childish ending with meaningless conflict and catastrophe. It's an interesting film and relatively watchable but it's terribly dated. While it has the pace of his subsequent films, it has none of the grit or tension. The most disappointing aspect is that the photography is incredibly flat. While the frames take a massive expanse for a debut, there's no depth and the sets are just obvious. Well, at least he got better.
5/10