What's a PEPLUM film without the prerequisite bathing beauties scene?
This film came out the same year as STAR WARS and many made fun of it for being so 'backwards' compared to the more 'advanced' sic-fi film but all in all I think this film holds pretty well or plays better on the small screen. It has major liabilities : too many scenes filmed on location with stand-ins and the story needed to be more compelling, but as a 'quest' film I like it. It fits all the requirements. Fun film.
Ray Harryhausen (the effect master, of course) once told a story about filming this scene. Jane Seymour, appearing in her first feature film I think, was a bit embarrased about being in the nude, so all of the crew hunkered down behind the rock on which the girls are sunbathing, which meant the camera man had to set up the shot as best he could and then awkwardly operate the camera from a distance.
ReplyDeleteI like this film too, but it's not Harryhausen's best. Coming out the same year as Star Wars certainly didn't help.