Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)

Sex, torture and betrayal in Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, leader of the Hebrews, believes his people can co-exist with the Sodomites, a disastrous decision.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Hugo Butler (original screenplay), Giorgio Prosperi (original screenplay assisted by)

Stars:

Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli, Stanley Baker

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stewart Granger	...	Lot
Pier Angeli	...	Ildith
Stanley Baker	...	Astaroth
Rossana Podestà	...	Shuah (as Rossana Podesta)
Rik Battaglia	...	Melchior
Giacomo Rossi Stuart	...	Ishmael
Scilla Gabel	...	Tamar
Anthony Steffen	...	The Captain (as Antonio De Teffe)
Enzo Fiermonte	...	Eber
Gabriele Tinti	...	Lieutenant
Daniele Vargas	...	Segur
Claudia Mori	...	Maleb
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Alabias (as Feodor Chaliapin)
Mitsuko Takara	...	Orphea (as Mitzuko Takara)
Massimo Pietrobon	...	Isaac

Storyline

Sex, torture and betrayal in Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, leader of the Hebrews, believes his people can co-exist with the Sodomites, a disastrous decision.

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Plot Keywords:

torture | sodom | sodom and gomorrah | hebrew | epic | 

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Taglines:

The Twin Citadels of Sin!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Aldrich regarded this as his worst film, although he said it was not improved by the imposition of heavy censorship in several territories.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 20 mins) During the overhead scene which shows the men riding horses toward battle, you can see vehicle tire tracks.

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Quotes

Queen Bera: Hebrews and Sodomites: Greetings!

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Connections

Featured in For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

User Reviews

This biblical story dealing with Lot and the treacherous inhabitants of the twin cities of evil

This tale regards Lot (Stewart Granger who wields a mighty staff) , leader the virtuous Hebrews and the destruction of two Twin Cities of Sin, the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot is warned to ¨Beware of the Sodomites¨ who come up capture slaves and Hebrews . As Lot, leader of the Hebrews, believes his people can co-exist with the Sodomites and their cities of evil led by an uncanny Queen (Anouk Aimee) and her nasty brother Astaroth (Stanley Baker) , but it results to be a fateful decision with disastrous consecuences . The Twin Citadels of Sin! . The cities that mocked the very name of God...The vengeance that tore the Earth asunder! Inside their hearts no good existed , inside their cities no God ¡ Pagan pleasures of the Sodom court ¡ Once, only once , have the hosts of heaven descended on the cities of earth in chariots of fire, only once has the hand of God reached down in vengeance ¡ Sins so shocking they scandalized even Sodomah ¡ Sins so infamous the centuries have never forgotten them ¡ The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly : Genesis .

This Italian-made , lavishly produced by the powerful producer Goffredo Lombardo and his Titanus , being an internationally financed epic concerning the two sinful biblical cities , but it never lives up from first line of dialog. Sin is suggested by languid groups of people little adequately dressed in 60s evening costumes and strolling down the floor , while the rebel Hebrews look more like a bunch of self-sufficient drifters droning on about making the land fertile . The sin is regarded by the Sex, torture and betrayal , no for sodomism . Moderately amusing but ponderous , to say at least , and overlong, though briefly entertaining . Bwing badly written by Hugo Butler, Giorgio Prosperi, and the prolific Ernesto Gastaldi . Originally budgeted at $2 million, the cost of the film quickly rose to $5 million , it failed at box office and to this day has not regained profits . Watchable for Ken Adam's settings and production design , though God's ending destruction of the sinner cities turns out to be very ridiculous , embarrassing and lousily made . Weak acting by Stewart Granger in his usual style , Pier Angeli is as charmingly gorgeous as ever playing Lot's wife who will have a fateful and known finale . While Anouk Aimeé is splendid as the evil queen and Stanley Baker as her brother steals the show , getting by on leering at every girl who comes near . Pretty good suport cast with a great number of Italian actors as Rossana Podestà , Rik Battaglia , Giacomo Rossi Stuart , Scilla Gabel , Gabriele Tinti , Daniele Vargas , Claudia Mori , Feodor Chaliapin Jr , Enzo Fiermonte , Mimmo Palmara , Sal Borgese , and Antonio De Teffe , the notorious Spaghetti Western actor as Anthony Steffen .

Rousing and moving soundtrack by maestro Miklós Rózsa , but this great composer was not happy with the finished movie . However , Dimitri Tiomkin was originally hired to score the film but was finally replaced by Miklós Rózsa. Colorful cinematography by various cameramen as Silvano Ippoliti , Cyril J. Knowles , Montuori and Alfio Contini . Filmed on several North African locations , such as : Aït Benhaddou, Morocco (twin cities) , Marrakech, Morocco (flood -and battle scenes) , Ouarzazate, Morocco and Lazio , Rome .This one was regularly directed by the prestigious Robert Aldrich and shot over a period of 11 months ; however , being considered to be his lowest point , and Sergio Leone was hired to direct the second unit on the film but left shortly after production began , it is unclear whether he quit or was fired . Here Aldrich assembled a nice cast and directed this slight story at tortoise pace and received awful reviews , being an absurd contribution that proved to be one of the dullest and very long films to Biblical genre . Aldrich made a lot of films , many of them for Sinatra clan or Rat Pack as ¨Ocean's eleven¨ , ¨Robin and the 7 Hoods¨ , 4 for Texas¨and ¨Sergeant 3¨ . .Aldrich's first feature film was in 1953 : Big Leaguer . Soon thereafter he established his own production company and produced most of his own films , collaborating in the writing of many of them . After a surprising payday for ¨What ever happened to Baby Jane ?¨ Aldrich directed a considerable plethora of genres but almost all of his films contained a subversive undertone . He was an expert on warlike genre (Dirty Dozen , The Angry Hills , Ten seconds to hell) and Western (The Frisko kid , Ulzana's raid , Apache , Veracruz , 4 for Texas, The last sunset) . Rating : 5/10 , average , deemed to a be a low point in Aldrich's erratic carrer . Critics thinking it tacky and inferior.

Details

Country:

Italy France USA

Language:

English Spanish Indonesian

Release Date:

23 January 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Morocco

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,450,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Titanus, Pathé Consortium Cinéma, Société Générale de Cinématographie (S.G.C.)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min 141 min (1963) 117 min (1979) 115 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1