Great PEPLUM Directors: Riccardo Freda

This blog always showcases actors and other aspects of PEPLUM films but it's high time that I started featuring the great directors of the PEPLUM genre. My first special mention goes to Riccardo Freda, who directed some of the best, including SPARTACO  (aka SINS OF ROME), THEODORA and MACISTE IN HELL, just to name a few. He also directed many non-Sword & Sandal films, often horror film starring his wife, the gorgeous Gianna maria Canale.

His films ooze so much style and to think all of his films were made with no cgi or modern camera technique. Whenever I watch his films I'm impressed by the simple yet effective way he creates his stories and characters with angles, composition and pacing. Most of his films were mangled beyond recognition for US distribution and many of his films have been ridiculed a la MTS3K but seeing them in their original cut and they're truly great.

This photo was taken in 1958.