The Invincible Gladiator (1961) User Reviews

entertaining

[winner55 · 7/10 · 24 November 2009]

Probably the best of the 'gladiator' sword-n-sandal films of the 1960s, or at least that I have seen. The plot has plenty of twists, but never gets so convoluted that it can't be followed with interest. The fight scenes are pretty well done, especially the final revolt at the end. The acting is above par, even from sword-n-sandal regular players - Harrison is surprisingly effective.

There was a pretty amusing moment towards the end, when one of our heroes is attacked by an angry gang of midgets. Well, I guess you can't get through one of these films without some toss off goof.

On the whole, one of the more entertaining 'muscle' films of its era.

This Spanish/Italian coproduction is a nice Peplum with action, fights and combats in arena

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 24 October 2020]

Early in the third century AD, the city of Acastus and its surrounding territory formed an independent kingdom on the Eastern border of the Roman Empire. The king of Acastus has recently died, leaving a daughter, Sira : Isabelle Corey, and a 12-year-old son, Darius. Until the young King is of age, the Prime Minister Rabirius :Leo Anchoriz, is to rule as Regent of Acastus. While celebrating a Gladiator Combat our hero : Richard Harrison saves life of the regent Rabirius, and the latter assigns him the commanding some troopers. As he takes command of two hundred men to defeat a brigand of rebels. As the brave gladiator along with his colleague : Jose Marco set out in pursuit the rebels who find themselves hidden in the mountains.

An acceptable peplum with usual ingredients to be loved by genre's hardcore enthusiasts . Stars Richard Harrison as the heroic gladiator who leads a revolt against the nasty regent. The American Richard Harrison was one of the several US actors who emigrated towards Italy to star mythological figures such as Rock Stevens, Mark Forest, Kirk Morris, Ed Fury, Brad Harris, Reg Park, but none of them topped in popularity to Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott. This "The Invincible Gladiator" results to be a passable Sword and Sandal with thrills, emotion, romance, charot chases an battles. The picture contains some violent and breathtaking combats in arena on a small circus. Being a Spanish and Italian Co-production here appears various Spanish actors as Leo Anchoriz, Jose Marco, Jorge Martin, Antonio Molino Rojo, Barta Barri, Tomas Blanco and Italian ones as the beautiful Isabelle Carey and the bald Livio Lorenzon as a Lanista

It contains an evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Eloy Mella. Filmed on Spanish locations in La Pedriza, Manzanares Real and Colmenar Viejo, a bit later on, these places to be used to shot Spaghetti and Paella Westerns. It displays a moving and rousing musical score by Carlo Franci. The motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Momplet and Alberto de Martino .The Spanish director Antonio Momplet was a craftsman who wrote and made some popular films as Julia y el Celacanto, Cafe Cantante, Vertigo, Bel Ami, La hija del mar, Las de Cain, Amok, A media luz, Jandro, El Corsario Negro and Terrible Sheriff . While the most known Alberto Martino was a professional writer and director who made pictures of all kinds of genres and exploitation movies such as Terror : Antichrist, Holocaust 2000, 7 Hyden Park, The Killer is on the phone, Wartime : Dalle Ardenne all Inferno, Thrillers : Roma vs Chicago, The man of the ice eyes, The Consellour, The Puma Man, Upperseven , Operation Lady Chaplin, The insatiables, Spaghetti Westerns : Django Shoots first, Seventh Cavalry, One hundred thousand dollars for Ringo and Peplum : Seven Spartans, Invincibles, La Rivolta dei Sette, Medusa against the son of Hercules and The Invincible Gladiator. Rating : 6/10. A decent Sword and Sandal movie for ordinary aficionados.

Gladiator movies can get it right when they've got a good story.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 22 February 2022]

The Roman Empire had many stories, considering that it was around 4 300 something years before it split off into two factions. During that time, there were many countries with their own Kings oh, and this story focuses on one of those smaller kingdoms where the young boy king, only twelve years old, is the victim of plots by the regent for his throne to be usurped, and his older sister refuses to marry him, resulting in him sentencing her to death. It's up to gladiator Richard Harrison who has rescued the boy to save the day, already having saved the Regent from his own assassination attempt.

Now if that isn't a great story for historical epic, let alone a Peplum film, I don't know what it is. The rugged Harrison isn't as big as other Peplum stars like Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott and Mark Forest, but he's definitely a great hero. I like the fact that the character of Reberius, the regent, is given many levels other than outright villainy, having been grateful to Harrison at first, but ultimately destroyed by ambition, much like Sejanus during the reign of Tiberius. This is a fast-moving sword and sandal film with plenty of action, colorful sets and costumes, and rarely slowing down to dullness.

Well made and entertaining peplum

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 6 August 2016]

After his successful outing in historical adventure flick AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS, Richard Harrison appeared in this, his first bona fide peplum epic. He must have enjoyed the success of this film, because he returned for two more pepla with director Alberto De Martino, MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES and GIANTS OF ROME. I'm quickly growing to learn that these two guys were among the best in their field when it came to film-making. Harrison is a youthful, courageous hero, athletic and powerful in the many action scenes, and always convincing as the rebel gladiator. De Martino really seems to know his work as director and he handles the proceedings with aplomb, bringing many moments of style. Watch out for the bit near the end where he hides one character's identity by pointing the camera at their legs as they escape from prison, kill a guard, let the other prisoners out... more of a 'who is it?' than a 'whodunit?' and a cut above the third-rate hacks who would later churn out these muscleman outings.

The plot starts off on an unusual footing, offering up a FULL twenty-minute fight scene as various gladiators duke it out in the arena! Packed with brutal death, great weapons and armour, and enough extras to resemble a crowd, this is as much as you could want from a gladiator flick. Clearly, De Martino had a bigger budget than most and it really shows. Harrison soon rises from the ranks and becomes a soldier, which leads to a gratuitous pitched battle between mounted bandits and the Romans, which looks like it was shot in the mountains in Spain. More good work here, although those arrows the Romans fire do look a little dodgy... anyhow, our hero soon realises he's on the wrong side and joins forces with the rebels, which is where the film becomes more predictable for the latter half.

You know, seen-it-all-before type stuff, with red-hot irons, a pretty blonde princess locked in a prison cell, an utterly evil ruler, and more lurking gladiators and soldiers than you can shake a stick at. Still, there's stuff here worth looking out for, including a great supporting character who trains the gladiators (the bald guy who gets the best line at the end), the aforementioned unusual camera-work, a fighter who looks like Tong Po from KICKBOXER, a nice pole fight to top things off and a good, tragic subplot involving Harrison's gladiator buddy, played by Livio Lorenzon. I didn't really care for Luisella Boni as the icy love interest, but the rest of the cast are fine, especially Leo Anchoriz's dastardly villain who reminded me of the traitor guy in 300. THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR is a decent enough genre effort, not too dissimilar from all the rest, but well made and entertaining throughout.

Tons of action, a genre highlight

[asinyne · 8/10 · 23 March 2010]

As a kid growing up in the sixties, sword and scandal epics ranked right up there with Tarzan, Frankenstein, King Kong, Shirley Temple and Batman. Occasionally I still watch. For the most part they haven't held up very well over the years but this one can certainly still hold its own. The story itself is fairly standard but the movie is so well paced and full of action that you're not likely to get bored. The cast is pretty darn good too with Richard Harrison standing in for Steve Reeves very nicely. The head villain is nasty, the gladiators are well played and the leading lady is very nice to look at...whoa! I agree with the other reviewers that this one is a keeper. The gladiator fights, of which there are many, are nicely done. There are also a couple of big battles that look good and even a chariot race. The bald actor that played the owner of the gladiators was a real treat, a very gnarly and quite believable actor. This one is recommended and it deserves and 8 for being one of the best of its particular genre. I also give a tip of the ole baseball cap to whomever designed the costumes, especially the gladiator helmets. Nice.

Better then average

[Mbarnum · 8/10 · 29 June 2002]

Above average peplum with Richard Harrison showing some real acting talent, as well as muscle, in this, his first Italian adventure feature. The fight scenes are very well done and Harrison is given a real chance to show his athletic abilities and coordination, and the budget is obviously a cut above what was normally shelled out for this type of picture.

A really enjoyable Italian muscleman movie

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 26 March 2009]

Noble gladiator Rezio (a fine and engaging performance by the handsome Richard Harrison) gets freed by evil emperor Rabirio (a nicely smug and hateful Leo Anchoriz) and put in charge of an army. When Rezio learns of Rabirio's cruelty towards slaves, he joins a rebel army to overthrow the wicked tyrant. Directors Alberto Martino and Antonio Mompley, working from a tight and eventful script, relate the compelling story at a snappy pace, keep the lulls to an admirable minimum, and stage the plentiful action scenes with real lively and exciting brio (for example, the movie opens with some absolutely brutal to-the-death arena combat). Both the rough'n'ready swordfights and vigorous battle set pieces deliver the stirring goods, with the rousing last reel revolt rating as an especially tasty highlight. The serious tone, suitably harsh violence, Carlo Franci's robust, roaring score, and welcome dearth of any distracting campy humor are further assets to the picture's overall sound quality. Better still, the acting from a capable cast is uniformly solid: Harrison makes for a strong and impressive hero, Anchoriz likewise does well as a wholly detestable villain, plus there are sturdy supporting turns by Isabelle Corey as the fiery Sira, Livio Lorenzon as honorable gladiator trainer and master Ito, Jose Marco as Rezio's loyal friend Vibio, Antonio Molino Rojo as Rabirio's wicked partner Euclante, and Edoardo Nevola as sweet, impressionable little boy prince Dario. A fun and entertaining picture.

"Rome"

[larryasingleton · 10/10 · 28 March 2013]

This movie was great. I got clued into this movie from Harrison's "Vengeance". Another GREAT movie.(For the first twenty minutes I was waiting for Richard "Harris" to appear. Duh.) Also I didn't know Harrison was the guy who suggested Clint Eastwood to Leone... ...until I learned it here. How bout that.

If you're both a movie buff and into "Roman" stuff Michael Curtis Ford's "Gods and Legions is the book to read. If you're into history I suggest you get Ammianus Marcellinus' History to read along with this novel. The ass kicker here is that Marcellinus actually went to battle with Emperor Julian. The 3-Volume Loeb Classic is almost an adventure novel all by itself.

As far as Gladiators go a couple of "definitive" books are The Way of the Gladiator by Daniel P. Mannix and Spartacus by Howard Fast. Here are books from my library. Ass kickers every one.

Ammianus Marcellinus History The Battle for Gaul by Julius Caesar The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon The Way of the Gladiator by Daniel P. Mannix Spartacus by Howard Fast Julian by Gore Vidal Gods and Legions by Michael Curtis Ford The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford The Last King by Michael Curtis Ford The Sword of Attila by Michael Curtis Ford The Fall of Rome by Michael Curtis Ford Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield Tides of War by Steven Pressfield The Virtures of War Steven Pressfield Alexaneder the Great by Paul Cartledge The Spartans by Paul Cartledge Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge

The invincible gladiator

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 27 January 2024]

When the Roman Empire falls under the rule of a tyrannical nobleman with a god complex, 10-year-old Prince Darius plans to remove him from power with the help of the great warrior Rezio (who was a king's son before he was enslaved).

Richard Harrison plays a Horace-quoting gladiator who at first serves the Regent, but changes sides and joins the rebels when he realizes that the Regent is in fact The Bad Guy. Along the way, the gladiator and the princess fall in love. Predictably, they ultimately prevail. The plot can be rather confusing, but the action is exciting( the gladiator fights were well done and gritty - you can feel the sweat and grime in such a small theatre and there's a lively chariot race) and there's some interesting glimpses into the backstage life of these warrior entertainers and their philosophizing on death and honour as well as looking battle-weary and at times reluctant to fight each other as they had befriended each other. I was expecting a routine peplum but was surprised to find this is a lively and engaging romp with some nice plot twists and good acting.

THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR (Alberto De Martino & Antonio Momplet, 1961) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 30 March 2014]

This is a very typical peplum, one of countless efforts dealing with the Roman Empire and which involve slaves fighting it out in the arena; I have at least three other such films lined up for the current Easter marathon (apart from one I had watched prior to it). Being English- dubbed, panned-and-scanned (the copy I watched was culled from "You Tube"), the debut of director De Martino (albeit in collaboration and who would eventually specialize in horror movies) and star Richard Harrison's first European venture, I was not counting on it being very good; however, it turned out an above-average outing with standard plot and excitements, to be sure, but certainly not a total waste of 91 minutes.

Unusually, we start off with Harrison already awaiting to see one-on-one combat duty for the entertainment of the jaded masses; the gladiatorial instructor (Livio Lorenzon) gives his men a long-winded talk about the honour of their 'profession' (while suggesting they will not be allowed to die as the sovereign would then have to pay him for the lost members of his team!), while Harrison's military background allows him to speak out for the necessity of self-preservation over comradeship to a fellow slave (since, following each individual duel, the eventual winner has to match himself against his peers all over again)! Presiding over the carnage is villainous Regent Leo Anchoriz (in a surprisingly dignified and two-dimensional characterization), flanked by the boy heir to the throne and his elder sister Isabelle Corey; the latter, who secretly leads a group of brigands that look more like cave-men(!), displays an unwarranted coldness towards the hero when he accepts to serve Anchoriz by hunting down the rebels. Amusingly, the Regent takes the protagonist into his employ after a javelin he had defiantly thrown in his direction happened to hit instead an assassin approaching from behind him! Apart from Corey, the opposition here is very weak and this makes Harrison join her cause and, at one point, saves the child from certain death after his chariot has been maliciously tampered with!

The climax sees the star take on a Mongol warrior (whose face seemed familiar from others of its ilk) in the arena, after the latter had defeated his sidekick – with the bizarre aid of rampaging bloodthirsty dwarfs! In the meantime, Lorenzon leads a gladiatorial revolt underground but takes his sweet time to reach the surface and join our hero…even if he still manages to be the one to execute Anchoriz (after the latter has engaged in a staff duel a' la Robin Hood – at which he had professed to be unbeatable – with Harrison)! An odd touch here concerns the score which, at certain moments, builds to a crescendo and sustains it far longer than necessary…which might explain the fact that the film's official length is given as 105 minutes on IMDb!