Going over the images of Greek heroes, monsters, and gods in this campaign has fueled a fire to seek out movies I'd passed on. It's been fun just to see new takes on these myths, good and bad. So far my review has included:
The sequel to Clash that nobody asked for - Wrath of the Titans The Bollywood fueled insanity that was - Immortals The obvious influence on Unkilles - Troy
I intend to march back to my favorite Harryhausen films I loved as a teen. I'm wondering if there are unheard of gems I may have missed. If you've got a favorite VHD that matches the subject (no matter how thin) please share!
Here is my hit list off the top of my head.
Jason and the Argonauts Clash of the Titans (Original and Remake) Hercules (Disney Animated and The Rock) 300 300 Rise of an Empire Percy Jackson: Lightning Thief Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Nobody said it needed to be traditional sword and sandal stuff) The Muse (Seriously! I love Albert Brooks. This counts!)
If you've got some tasty flicks for my eyeballs, "Put it on the List!" (A new catch phrase for Leo Lives)
Kalack99 Villager
Posts : 49 Join date : 2016-12-29 Location : Bloomington, IL
These are the classics with the one and only epic actor himself: STEVE REEVES!!
No one does voice overs better than those movies! Seriously though, if it weren't for the overdubs, it would probably be a great film!...Well, an OK film..
Now I feel like an idiot. I mention watching the Steve Reeves movies to my girlfriend. She gets up, walks over to the shelf, and pulls out a VHS boxed set. She hands me the double pack of Hercules and Hercules Unchained signed by Steve Reeves! We got this a decade ago at a collectables show.
Man o Man! The back of the box sounds awesome. (Spoilers!)
"Special Collector's Set. Two Complete Un-Cut Movies. Duplicated in the Quality EP(TMD) Format."
Quality EP? For those who are too young to remember, EP stood for Extended Play. It was the cheap recording format that got you time over visual quality on a VHS tape. I'm already into the marketing being done for this product!
Hercules "The one and only original Hercules, starring the mightiest of Hercules, Steve Reeves (Mr. Universe), is a must for every fan of a movie spectacle! This colossal international box office hit pits the legendary muscle-man against a rampaging Nemean lion, the dreaded Cretan bull, man-killing Amazon women, and a ferocious dragon. 107 minutes, Color, 1959."
Hercules Unchained "In this mammoth sequel to Hercules, Steve Reeves is back as the intrepid warrior. Robbed of his memory, Herc is a prisoner of the lovely Queen of Lidia and must compete in the Contest of Giants for his freedom. In this adventure, Herc winds up fighting three tigers and a giant (played by the late wrestler Primo Carnera), and, in the climatic battle scene, pulling down three huge Towers. 101 minutes, Color 1960."
I cannot wait to see how FX over a half century ago handle these epic scenes! I may need to dig our VCR out of the garage to watch it in glorious EP!
Raynz Villager
Posts : 62 Join date : 2016-12-31 Location : TYPHON is coming!!
Lol Glad I could point you towards the man! Also, to your collector's editions SIGNED by the dude, all I can do is quote Darth Vader "impressive, most impressive"
WTFGamer Villager
Posts : 59 Join date : 2016-12-30
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 2nd January 2017, 12:55 am
Fair enough. Here's what I've got so far:
Wrath of the Titans - I remember seeing the remake of Clash at the cinema. My thoughts afterward were, "Hmm... that was OK". No socks were blown off, but I got value for my dough. When trailers for the new 3D sequel rolled around, I was already sick of the 3D gimmick and didn't consider going.
I watched for the (game) characters. We get Zeus, Hades, Ares, Kronos, Poseidon, Perseus, Andromeda, Hephaestus, Apollo, Athena, Minotaur, Cyclops, Chimera, Makhai (Hell Warriors). A pretty good haul in the Mythic Battles line up.
The story is curiously close to the MBP set up. The gods are losing power due to a lack of human prayers and seek Perseus' help to keep the Titans at bay. He declines. Due to treacherous godly in-fighting and back-stabbing, Zeus is being bled-out to revive Kronos. It's up to Perseus to form a band and save mankind.
Set pieces include: Betrayal at Tartarus Chimera Rampage in Village Cyclops Attack in Woods Ares at the Labyrinth Gate Minotaur in the Labyrinth Rescue in Tartarus Duel at the Ruins of Olympus Battle at Worlds End
That's a lot of action for a movie. Too bad I didn't care about anyone during most of them. At one point I thought the Cyclops squad was going to join the team. This got me excited until they just disappeared after a scene change. (Insert DISAPPOINTED meme here). Typing this up, it seems like a very nice campaign setup. I may need to give this more thought...
Watching it now, years later, I'm struck by how cheap some of it seems in comparison (to my memory) of the original. A quick cash-in on the success of Clash. I was shocked to find it cost $150 million. $25 million more that Clash. It made less in the box office. This sealed the deal for any more in this franchise.
Final rating: MBP Content: 5 out of 5 Omphalos Thing you pay money to see: 2 out of 5 Omphalos
Last edited by WTFGamer on 2nd January 2017, 4:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
WTFGamer Villager
Posts : 59 Join date : 2016-12-30
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 2nd January 2017, 3:23 am
Immortals - Another speed ramp to slow-mo take on Greek myths like 300. This interested me, but I never got around to seeing it and didn't rent it when that option came around. This looked fun...
Visually stunning. Everything Tarsem directs has that going for it. Unfortunately, it lacks clear characters. This almost seems intentional. I often couldn't tell one god from another. I didn't even know Heracles was in the film till I looked up the cast list. I'm cool with his "Youthful Gods" take on the material. Just make them more distinctive. I shouldn't be looking at weapons to pick out who's who in a fight scene.
The movie kept me interested, but not engaged. I would have come out of this with a "Meh" rating if it weren't for my renewed interest due to MBP.
Set pieces include: Poseidon's Tsunami Minotaur Battle Ares Wrath The Wall of Tartarus Titans Bane
MBP Content: 4 out of 5 Omphalos Thing you pay money to see: 3 out of 5 Omphalos
Last edited by WTFGamer on 2nd January 2017, 5:00 pm; edited 2 times in total
Hellikin Villager
Posts : 40 Join date : 2016-12-29 Location : United States
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 2nd January 2017, 5:29 am
If you're going to include "The Muse", you also need to include "Xanadu" (1980).
That had all the muses (main character was Terpsichore), Zeus, and Hera. And even a neon Olympus, haha.
Not quite in the same vein as "300" or "Troy" though.
Also "Hercules in New York" (1970), which was Arnold Schwarzeneggar's first film. Very campy.
Speaking of Hercules, there was "The Legend of Hercules" (2014), which wasn't loved by the critics, but it's decent.
For stop-motion animated movies, there's "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" (1974), which has a Siren, a Centaur/Cyclops, and a Griffin.
@Helikin Love it! My girlfriend loves Xanadu. I always thought it was about Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton John roller skating. Now I have a reason to suggest to her we watch it. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Your suggestions are "On the List!"
Can we include links and insert videos now?
WTFGamer Villager
Posts : 59 Join date : 2016-12-30
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 14th January 2017, 6:02 am
What a blast from the past. Finally watched Hercules (1958)
Right at the top of the trailer you can witness Herc make and toss some ruins around. Steve Reeves was a zero body fat V-shaped monster. The film had better production values than I expected. The transfer I watched was more sepia tone than actual color. I bet a restored print would pop in primary colors.
You get to see:
Herc take out the Nemean Lion Herc take out the Cretan Bull Herc beat a sneaky retreat from lovely Amazons Herc battle a bunch of Monkey Men. Herc face off against a Dragon/Hydra? Herc take on the Cavalry
Packed with action and some stilted dubbing, this was an enjoyable romp.
MBP Content: 4 out of 5 Omphalos Thing you pay money to see: 4 out of 5 Omphalos
WTFGamer Villager
Posts : 59 Join date : 2016-12-30
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 14th January 2017, 6:42 am
In the way better than expected category we have...
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Being a lad in his 50's, I was done with YA movies by the time Mr. Jackson hit the screen. I think my new interest in mythology made this inoffensive flick play so well for me.
Treats on display include:
Poseidon and Zeus have words Substitute Fury attack Lessons from hooved friends (Satyrs and Centaurs) Rammed by a Minotaur Hades' Balls of Fire Reflecting on Medusa Heads over Heels for the Hydra Perils of the Lotus Dinner with Persephone Water Wings A chat on Olympus
This delivered exactly what I was looking for. Takes on characters and monsters from the game. The cast was charming. The Hydra was amazing. Good times had by me.
MBP Content: 5 out of 5 Omphalos Thing you pay money to see: 3 out of 5 Omphalos (I'm being realistic here)
WTFGamer Villager
Posts : 59 Join date : 2016-12-30
Subject: Re: Greek Myth Visual Historical Documents (Movies) 14th January 2017, 7:08 am
So I was looking for Troy and found The Fury of Achilles instead.
Good gravy. This is what I expected out of Hercules. The scene where the rubber helmets get slapped on the 3 leader's heads before battle let me know what I was in for. I'll give it this... Once I started, I couldn't stop watching. For better or worse. There are some good laughs to be had watching the staged battles and our heroes select the spoils of war. (This film never heard of PC)
Hector v Achilles and all that jazz. There's most of the Iliad crew to be found in this flick
MBP Content: 2 out of 5 Omphalos Thing you pay money to see: 1 out of 5 Omphalos
