Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)

An Italian sword and sandal flick with a tenuous Biblical connection and an American director in Robert Aldrich. SODOM & GOMORRAH should ideally deserve epic status, given the effort and expenditure so clearly having gone into its production, but somehow it works out as less entertaining than even a cheesy Maciste movie.The problem with this film is its screenplay, which is all over the place. The Biblical tale of the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah provides the overarching storyline, but along with that we get battles, duels, rivalry, romance, and plenty more besides. Despite all this intrigue and adventure, the production is still far too long, bloated and sluggish rather a film which pulls you in and carries you along with it.The openly wooden Stewart Granger stars as the square-jawed Lot who leads his people to Sodom to do battle with the villainous prince, Astaroth (a slumming Stanley Baker, who deserves a lot better than this). Along the way he hooks up with his wife, a pillar (pun intended) of the local community and played by the exceptionally gorgeous Pier Angeli. Familiar Italian players lurk around in the background (Rik Battaglia, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Gabriele Tinti) while the foreground scenes are preoccupied with scenery-spitting actors.When SODOM & GOMORRAH moves, it gets entertaining, and the inevitable climax is at once rousing and packed with drama, filled with the kind of excellent effects that they just don't produce anymore. Earlier battle scenes and a bit involving a flood are also decent, so it's just a shame that what goes on between the incident is so dull. No amount of women in skimpy attire or beautiful backdrops can change that, unfortunately.

I like this movie "THE LAST DAYS OF SODOM AND GHOMORRA", (all the actors are good enough), but not the way is told, because there are many mistakes in the sequences related in the movie, far apart from the book "Genesis" if you read chapters 13 till 19, you will see what I mean. the techniques and effects they employed are magnificent, considering the year the movie was done, but we must remark that God send fire from heaven to destroy the two cities like is related in Genesis. the two cities were discovered in 1973, near the Salt sea (Dead sea). Stewart Granger one of my favorite actors is well done his performance as Lot and credible, also Stanley Baker is very good in his role of Astaroth. Pier Angeli is here very charm and sweet as Ildith and Rossana Podesta as Shuah. I think that this kind of movie would do best for Cecil B.deMille expert in epic movies like "The ten commandments" Sansom and Delilah, Cleopatra, The sign of the cross, The greatest show on earth, etc.

This really was terrible. I have seen a lot of Biblical epics and of course they get a lot of it wrong. But this didn't get anything right!First of all we have Lot moving his family and goods away from his Uncle Abraham, because the land couldn't support them all. In the Bible we are told that Lot picked the lush, fertile land; leaving the arid land to his uncle. In this film Lot gets an arid place as well but builds a dam. Then there is the battle. Lot does valiantly, although he has to destroy his dam in order to attain victory. Could have sworn he was taken captive in Genesis and Abraham had to come and sort it.Sodom had a king - not a queen.Only 4 people left the city after the angel of Lord informed Lot that it would be destroyed. In the film the 'exodus' would have done Moses proud. With the number of people willing to leave, it's a wonder God destroyed it at all.I could go on but you get the idea.But I'm really amazed that several of the other comments I've read about this film state that the Bible doesn't specifically mention homosexuality as the sin that displeased God. It does, loud and clear. Perhaps these contributers are not aware that the King James Version "Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them." does not refer to going out for a game of darts and a pint of lager at the pub. The word "know" in the Biblical sense, means to have sexual intercourse.I had to give this a 1 because zero wasn't an option.

This movie was awful. It is one of the worst movies by far that I have seen. The actors are great, no doubt. But the storyline is way off basis.Lot never had to lead any people (especially the Hebrews). Lot settled with his wife and 2 daughters because the land was enriched, well watered region that was "like the garden of Jehovah". It must have been the perfect place to settle his family, since lot chose the whole district of Jordan. But the people was deceptive. Once Lot settled in, he then realized that the 2 cities was not god fearing. They openly practiced homosexuality and any possible sin under the sun. The bible states that the men were bad and gross sinners against GOD. (gen 13:7-13; gen 19:17, 23-26, 30) Lot and his family feared and loved their God Jehovah. Because of their love for GOD and GOD's love for them, he sent 2 angels to save Lot and his family. But before the destruction of these 2 cities, Lot tried to reason with GOD to save the cities if he could find just 1 just man in either of the 2 cities. Lot could not find 1. Lot no doubt was well off and enjoyed living in modern homes of that time with running water (instead of tents he once inhabited).Once GODs angels led Lot and HIS FAMILY (Lot, his wife and 2 daughters) to the safety of the mountainous region thats when the destruction took place. Lot eventually with his daughters were reduced to living in a cave after the destruction.This movie does not stick to the historical biblical facts. At the end of the movie there shows a multitude of people leaving Sodom and Gomorrah heading to as the narrator says "promised land". There was only 3 people who survived that destruction. Lot's wife looked back (longing for the life left behind in those cities) causing her to become a pillar of salt. Both cities were destroyed and not 1 soul survived! Moses is the only servant of the True GOD Jehovah to lead the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage to the promised land.I was really disappointed in this movie because it did not stick to biblical facts. The movie is OK and good to have in a collection but keep in mind that it does not portray actual events. The bible does not speak of a Queen and odds with her brother and it certainly does not tell of any pact that Lot made with any queen to protect the cities from invading nations.If it was not for the off based facts then this movie would rank with movies like "Ben Hur, Spartacus and 10 Commandments" I would not recommend this movie simply because it is not bible based and the facts are off based.