Giants of Rome (1964)

Julius Caesar handpicks an army of men, lead by Claudius Marcellus, to fight against the Druids. The Druids are harboring a secret weapon - the Catapult.Not as good as I was hoping it was going to be. I was hoping for at least a 4 or 5 star out of 10 film but 3/10 is as good as it get for me. It's not a horrible film but it is luster-lacking and a bit drab the way the story is told. With that being said, it is one of the better films from Mill Creek's Warriors 50-pack. It's not the best of the Mill Creek peplum batch but it's not the worst from the pack either. I'll admit I was hoping for a bit more out of this one. I actually preferred the way the story was told and the way Caesar the Conqueror (1962) was filmed. I was hoping this movie would be as good as "the Conqueror".3/10

Directed by Italian jack-of-all-genres Antonio Margheriti, this action-adventure flick is set in classical antiquity. Rome is threatened by a mysterious doomsday weapon devised by their enemies, the Druids. The Emperor Julius Caesar assembles an elite team and dispatches them to Gaul on a search and destroy mission.Unlike a lot of other peplum flicks, Giants of Rome does not have a mythological fantasy story. Instead it sets its action in the real Roman-Gaul wars. But like all in the sword and sandal genre its ram packed with the usual staples of the sub-genre, i.e. lots of fights, heroes being captured and heroes escaping again. Consequently, like other similar films, it does get a little repetitive after a while. But the biggest disappointment for me was when we discover the true nature of the terrible weapon. It's simply a big catapult and I'm pretty sure no one in the audience could have been too impressed with that big reveal! I thought the mysterious Druids would have come up with something a little more impressive than that.

An elite group of soldiers hand-picked by none other than Julius Caesar (nicely played by Anthony Sperli) and led by the courageous Claudius Marcellus (a solid and credible performance by the handsome and dashing Richard Harrison) embark on a desperate and dangerous suicide mission to destroy the Druids' secret weapon. Capably directed by Antonio Marghareti, with a constant snappy pace, plenty of exciting action (the rough'n'ready swordfights are especially tasty), a rousing score by Carlo Rustichelli, an engrossing plot, likable mighty macho man main characters, expansive widescreen cinematography by Fausto Zuccoli, a serious tone (there's no dumb campy humor to detract from the central story), and genuinely touching heroic sacrifices by our rugged protagonists, this lively and absorbing affair certainly hits the stirring spot. The sound acting by the able cast constitutes as another substantial plus: Harrison makes for a strong and properly stalwart lead, Wandisa Guida likewise does well as the feisty Livilla, plus there are nifty turns by Philippe Hersent as the craven, reluctant Drusus, Rulph Hudson as the hearty Germanicus, and Goffredo Unger as the bald'n'beefy Varo. A hugely enjoyable flick.

Julius Caesar (Alessandro Sperli)is poised to attack the evil Druids in this above-average 1964 Italian-produced and dubbed military adventure set in Roman days, but he has learned that his opponents have a doomsday weapon that may thwart his efforts. Claudius Marcellus (Richard Harrison) takes a team of experts (one throws a knives, the other uses muscular strength)and promises Caesar that they will destroy the weapon before Caesar launches his attack about three days later. Like all good behind-the-enemy-lines epics, the heroic bunch in "Giants of Rome" don't have an easy time getting the job done. At times, Anthony M. Dawson lets the pace sag, but he keeps the objective in mind. Our heroes get caught and captured repeatedly but manage to escape. Along the way, they escape from a Druid prison and pick up a tortured Roman soldier and a babe Livilla (Wandisa Guida)when they aren't battling the Druids. Indeed, there is no shortage of Druids here and they keep whittling away at our heroes. The scene in the prison is reminiscent of a World War II movie, because the suspicious Livilla doesn't believe that Claudius and his band of brigands are Romans, so she asks them a series of questions only a Roman could correctly answer. Later, Claudius reminds his men that they have orders to carry, like in a World War II adventure. Near the end of the movie after several guys in the gang have bitten the dust, Claudius and one remaining soldier discover the whereabouts of the doomsday machine, a gigantic catapult concealed in a cave with an elaborate mechanism consisting of ropes and chains. Think "The Guns of Navarone" Sword and Sandal Style. Although this isn't the best Roman soldier movie ever made, it is far, far from being the worst. The scene when our heroes attack a couple of rafts by swimming underwater is pretty cool. Diamond Video has released this brawny actioneer in a full-screen version in their 4-movie Gladiator Collectors Box Set that includes two other Richard Harrrison movies: "Invincible Gladiator" and "Gladiator 7." Again, this movie reminded me of those secret mission, World War II movies.