• L'Inferno is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from Inferno, the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. L'Inferno took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film.Original release date: March 10, 1911

    PlotDante is barred from entering the hill of salvation by three beasts that bar his path (Avarice, Pride, and Lust). Beatrice descends from above and asks the poet Virgil to guide Dante through the Nine Circles of Hell. Virgil leads Dante to a cave where they find the river Acheron, over which Charon ferries the souls of the dead into Hell. They also see the three-headed Cerberus, and Geryon, a flying serpent with the face of a man. They see the Devil eating human beings whole, harpies eating the corpses of suicides, an evil man forced to carry his own severed head for eternity, people half buried in flaming lava, etc.There follows a series of encounters in which the two meet up with a number of formerly famous historical figures whose souls were denied by both Heaven and Hell, and they listen to some of their tales told in flashback. These characters include Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucanus, Cleopatra, Dido, the Queen of Carthage, the traitor Caiphus, Count Ugolino, Peter of Vigna, Francesca Da Rimini and her lover Paulo, Brutus and Cassius, Mohammed and Helen of Troy. The main attraction of the film are the fantastic set designs depicting the horrors of Hell, with excessive violence and gore, designed to frighten the audience into becoming pious or God-fearing.Cast:Salvatore Papa as Dante AlighieriArturo Pirovano as VirgilioGiuseppe de Liguoro as Il conte UgolinoAugusto Milla as LuciferAttilio MottaEmilise BerettaDirected by: Francesco BertoliniAdolfo PadovanGiuseppe De LiguoroBased on:The Divine Comedy by Dante AlighieriScore by:Mike Kiker

  • Hercules (Italian: Le fatiche di Ercole 'The Labours of Hercules') is a 1958 Italian peplum film based upon the Hercules and the Quest for the Golden Fleece myths. The film stars Steve Reeves as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess Iole. Hercules was directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a 1959 sequel, Hercules Unchained (Italian: Ercole e la Regina di Lidia), that also starred Reeves and Koscina.Original release date:20 February 1958 (Italy)

    In this melange of characters and events from separate mythological stories, Hercules, demigod and superman, arrives in the ancient Greek kingdom of Iolcus to tutor Iphitus, son of king Pelias; immediately on arrival, he falls in love with the king's delectable, briefly clad daughter Iole. Before he can win her, he must succeed in a series of quests, in the course of which he teams up with Jason, true heir of Iolcus, whom he accompanies on the famous voyage of the Argonauts. Written by Rod CrawfordDirected by: Pietro FrancisciProduced by: Federico TetiBased on: The Argonauts by Apollonius of RhodesCast:Steve Reeves as HerculesSylva Koscina as IoleFabrizio Mioni as JasonIvo Garrani as Pelias, King of IolcusGianna Maria Canale as Antea, Queen of the AmazonsArturo Dominici as EurysteusMimmo Palmara as Iphitus, son of PeliasLidia Alfonsi as The SibylGabriele Antonini as UlyssesAldo Fiorelli as ArgosAndrea Fantasia as LaertesLuciana Paluzzi as Iole's maid as Luciana PaoluzziAfro Poli as ChironGian Paolo Rosmino as AesculapiusWilli Colombini as PolluxFulvio Carrara as CastorGino Mattera as OrpheusGina Rovere as AmazonLily Granado as AmazonAldo Pini as TifiGuido Martufi as Iphitus, as a childPaola Quattrini as Iole, as a child

The Magic Sword (1962)

The Magic Sword (also known as St. George and the Dragon, St. George and the Seven Curses, the film’s original title, and The Seven Curses of Lodac) is a 1962 American adventure fantasy film, that is loosely based on the medieval legend of Saint George and the Dragon.

George is the foster son of Sybil, an elderly somewhat ineffectual sorceress. She brought him up after his “royal parents died of the plague” in his infancy. Upon watching her through the pool of magic, George has fallen in love with Princess Helene. Helene is kidnapped by the wizard Lodac, who brazenly informs her father that he intends to feed her to his pet dragon in seven days, revenge for the death of his sister at the same age as Helene is now, 18. George goes on a quest with his newly obtained magic sword, steed, invulnerable suit of armor, and six magically frozen and then revived knights, to try to liberate his lady love.

Original release date: April 1962

Directed by Bert I. Gordon. Produced by Bert I. Gordon. Written by Bernard Schoenfeld.

Cast: Basil Rathbone as Lodac, Estelle Winwood as Sybil, Gary Lockwood as Sir George, Anne Helm as Princess Helene, Liam Sullivan as Sir Branton, Danielle De Metz as Mignonette, Merritt Stone as The King, Jacques Gallo as Sir Dennis of France, David Cross as Sir Pedro of Spain, John Mauldin as Sir Patrick of Ireland, Taldo Kenyon as Sir Anthony of Italy, Angus Duncan as Sir James of Scotland, Leroy Johnson as Sir Ulrich of Germany (Voice by Paul Frees, uncredited), Marlene Callahan as Princess Grace, Nick Bon Tempi as Left Siamese Twin, Paul Bon Tempi as Right Siamese Twin, Ann Graves as Princess Laura, Lorrie Richards as Anne, Jack Kosslyn as The Ogre, Maila Nurmi as The Hag / Sorceress, Ted Finn as 1st Dwarf, Angelo Rossitto as 2nd Dwarf.

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Genres: Adventure Films, 1960's, Movies, Adventure, Fantasy, Fantasy Films, ALL Movies

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