The Centurion

A Roman ambassador goes to Corinth , but the protests raise against Roman domination, wounding an imperial Centurion named Caius Vinicius ( Jacques Sernas known as Paris in Elaine of Troy by Robert Wise). He is saved and recuperated thanks the gorgeous Hebe ( Genevieve Grad of Louis De Funes' Gendarme of Saint Tropez series ) daughter of the anti-Roman ruler , the astute Critolaus (Gianni Santuccio) . Hebe is being unsuccessfully wooed by the ruler's second-in-command , the nasty Diaeus ( John Drew Barrymore, Drew Barrymore's father). Hebe sends the Centurion to heal at the house of Callicrates (Nando Tamberlani) who supports the pacific existence with Romans . Artemide ( Gianna Maria Canale , starring in another historic film : Teodora), spouse of Callicrates, also falls in love for the Centurion but Caius Vinicius is double-crossed , tortured and jailed . Hebe then agrees to marry Diaeus if he will save the Roman's life but then a Roman army comes to fight Corinthian forces. The Roman consul Mummius (Andrea Fantasia ) and general Metellus (Gordon Mitchell , star in various Hercules), with infantry and cavalry advanced into the Peloponnese against the revolutionary government of the Achaean League commanded by Diaeus (John Drew Barrymore of The Trojan Horse) and takes place an epic final battle and Corinth is finally destroyed and fired in some cheesy scenes.

This acceptable Peplum contains emotions , drama , a love story and overwhelming images of battles . Spectacular production design and breathtaking final fighting with thousands of extras . The picture is regularly directed by Mario Costa an expert on adventure and cloak and sandal genre . The film is partially based on historic events that happened of the following manner : The Battle of Corinth was a battle fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek state of Corinth and its allies in the Achaean League in 146 BC, that resulted in the complete and total destruction of the state of Corinth which was previously so famous for its fabulous wealth. The 140's BC was a decade when Rome proved its military superiority to its neighbors. In 146 BC the Romans stormed the city of Carthage and set it ablaze. The Romans spent the spring of 146 taunting the Greeks. That winter a group of Greek cities retaliated against Rome, leading to a war that doomed the city of Corinth. The Roman consul Mummius, with 23,000 infantry and 3,500 cavalry (probably two legions plus Italian allies) with Cretans and Pergamese, advanced into the Peloponnese against the revolutionary government of the Achaean League. The Achaean general Diaeus camped at Corinth with 14,000 infantry and 600 cavalry (plus probably some survivors of another army beaten earlier). The Achaeans made a successful night attack on the camp of the Roman advance guard, inflicting heavy casualties. Encouraged by this success they offered battle the next day but their cavalry, heavily outnumbered, did not wait to receive the Roman cavalry charge but fled at once. The Achaean infantry however held the legions until a picked force of 1000 Roman infantry charged their flank and broke them. Some Achaians took refuge in Corinth, but no defense was organized because Diaios fled to Arcadia. Corinth was utterly destroyed in this year by the victorious Roman army and all of her treasures and art plundered. The annihilation of Corinth marked a severe departure from previous Roman policy in Greece and it is perhaps telling that Carthage shared a similar fate in this same year. Rome could no longer pretend that they were conquering the world in self defense. With Greece under Rome's control, a new chapter was added to Rome's history called the Greco-Roman Era .

THE CONQUEROR OF CORINTH is a poorly-made peplum epic that tells the story of the war between Rome and the city-state of Corinth, by focusing on various characters on either side of the divide. Unfortunately a lot of it boils down to repetitive scenes of characters being captured and romancing each other a lot, while the pace is truly plodding and the characters completely uninteresting.

Perhaps something is lost in the dubbing, I don't know, but truly there's nothing worthwhile here. There's no real spectacle, and the battle scenes are dull; they look like stock footage from another movie, even though they're probably not. The action choreography is non-existent and this is one of those talky productions where it's impossible to like any of those involved.

Cast-wise, the great Gordon Mitchell - star of many a strongman epic - is hidden away in support as a general, while John Drew Barrymore is given free reign to chew the scenery as only he can. Gianna Maria Canale lends glamour, as always, but it's not enough to make this anywhere near worth watching.

for long time, for me was a strange film. one of reasons - the political message, against independence and freedom and homage to the invader. the second - Jacques Sernas in the clothes of same role - the stranger with good intentions , prisoner on hostile country and the love story who must explain all. not the last, the snakes, John Drew Barrymore being reduced at a sketch of character, puzzle of clichés. the virtues - the fight scenes, not real different by the other sword and sandals films of the period , and the rediscover of a not well known episode from the history of Roman Republic. but, more important, without be impressive, it is a decent history film. and this is a good thing.

Jacques Sernas plays a Roman centurion sent to Corinth which, along with other Greek cities, is threatening to sever its ties with Rome. Diplomacy fails, revolt breaks out, and a Roman army must finally be brought in to restore order.

Despite being on different sides, Sernas and Genevieve Grad -- the daughter of Corinth's ruler -- manage to fall in love, and the ups-and-downs of their "forbidden" relationship provides much of the material for the movie's plot.

Although just one of the "Sword and Sandal" movies which came out of Italy following the worldwide success in 1958 of Steve Reeves' "Hercules," this entry in the cycle is done in a competent, efficient manner which neatly balances the "big" story of the revolt with the "personal" story of the Roman-boy-meets-Greek-girl romance. Scenes of armies on the march or in battle become a bit wearing, however, especially when accompanied by repetitious music.

One disappointment comes when Sernas is captured and thrown into prison by the Corinthians. One of these Corinthians then tells some cronies that the Roman prisoner has been whipped but still refuses to divulge necessary information. Rather than simply being told about this whipping, the movie should have provided a scene of Sernas, stripped to the waist and suspended by his wrists, writhing in pain as a whip slashes bloody cuts into his sweaty skin.

We do see him in prison after his whipping, with a few red marks on his arms and upper torso, but these marks don't really resemble whiplashes.

(Note: the opening titles spell "Centurion" as "Centurian.")

Despite a seasoned cast (Jacques Sernas, John Drew Barrymore, Gianna Maria Canale and Gordon Mitchell), this is still a strictly average peplum – the direct result of a dreary narrative and indifferent handling. Sernas is a centurion sent to negotiate the surrender of Corinth to Rome but the king, instigated by his adviser Barrymore (who, as if his generally sinister countenance were not reptilian enough, is made to keep a variety of snakes…and, predictably, himself dies at their hands!) wants to keep up the fight. Leading the opposition is an elderly statesman who, unbelievably, has Canale for a wife (which leads her to subsequently pine for Sernas but he only has eyes for the king's own daughter!). Mitchell, then, is the Roman warrior dispatched to deliver the coup-de-grace to the country and who, naturally, finds Sernas' attempts to make the takeover bid a pacifist one weak-kneed and downright treacherous! Incidentally, this is the first of 7 films I will be watching in the same vein in the coming week, all of which happen to feature Mitchell in various guises and nationalities.

For the record, the TV-sourced copy I watched was marred by intermittent audio glitches – which occurs with an alarming frequency on this one channel, "Movies 4 Men"! – that sometimes made the dialogue (not that it was particularly inspired or even compelling) hard to make out! By the way, given that the original Italian-language version of this one is apparently 105 minutes long, it is no surprise that the 74-minute English-dubbed edition I watched felt somewhat rushed, particularly at the end; regrettably, although the cast list includes Luis Bunuel and "Fantozzi" regular Milena Vukotic I did not recognize her and, for all I know, it could well be that all her footage ended up getting trimmed! The film, then, is nothing special but the committed contribution of both Canale (engaged at one point in a one-on-one with the heroine, she not only unaccountably ends up on the receiving end of the latter's whip but is even impaled on her own dagger!) and a typically intense Barrymore (needless to say, his own advances towards the leading lady are also vehemently rejected) makes one regret that it was not any better