Steve Reeves, as Aeneas, in WAR OF THE TROJANS (aka The Avenger ; 1962)
This sequel to THE TROJAN HORSE (1961) might not be as good as the first movie but it's still good enough and you can never go wrong with Steve. Finding a complete, uncut copy of this is pretty hard. I accidentally came upon the French version which had some of the cut scenes. In the English version, the first 10 minutes or so are cut. In the Italian version, it starts as it should but a scene of Aeneas confronting people of the land (below) is cut. Only the French version has that scene. With PEPLUM movies, there seems to be as many different versions as there are different countries. As a fan of the genre, one has to be aware of this and watching different versions from other countries might reveal new things. A database of PEPLUM movies would be great (I'm sorta working on one...I'm still at the planning stage).
I have a 96 minute Italian DVD and a 100 minuted U.S. DVD of this movie. Il Grande Libro di Ercole lists a 105 minute running time. How long is the French version?
ReplyDeleteThe French version I came across on Youtube is missing the opening credits and part of the beginning so I can't tell what's the actual runtime of it. Fortunately, that incomplete version has that extra scene. The video is still there. Just search Les Conquerants Heroiques on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this film it was on TV in black and white in a 90 minute (including commercials) time slot.
ReplyDeleteSeeing a longer version, letterboxed and in color, on DVD was a revelation.