In ancient Greece, a race of evil aliens from the Moon land on Earth. For years they have terrorized the nearby city of Samar. Hercules (Maciste in the original version) attempts to free the people of the kingdom of Samar from the rule of their evil queen. She is under the spell of invading Moon Men who demand children for sacrifice in hopes their spilled blood can revive their own dead queen.
The Queen of Samar has made a pact with the Moon Men to conquer the world and become the most powerful woman alive. The downtrodden residents of Samar cheer the arrival of the mighty Hercules, who on their behalf faces deadly obstacles, battles the Moon monsters and eventually confronts the leader of the Moon Men, Redolphis, a metal-headed giant.
Antonio Corevi as Rubio, the imperial guard officer
ProductionEdit
In the original Italian-language version, the hero was not Hercules but Maciste, originally a hero in silent Italian cinema. Hercules Against the Moon Men "blends" elements from a number of mythologies. Roman, Greek, Ancient Egyptian and Cretan elements are all thrown in.[6] Filming took place in Italy, primarily at the Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome and in Lazio, Italy.[7]
The term The Moon Men and the plot element of such beings seeking to conquer the Earth appeared earlier in the novel of that name by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, though the details of the conquest in Burroughs' book are very different from the film.
ReleaseEdit
Hecules Against the Moon Men was released in Italy on 27 June 1964.[3] It was released in the United States in May 1965.[3]
ReceptionEdit
The original Italian title of Hercules Against the Moon Men was Maciste e la regina di Samar (Maciste and the Queen of Samar). The French title of the film was Maciste contre les hommes de pierre (Maciste Against the Men of Stone), but the English distributors dubbed him to be Hercules, because Maciste was not well known to American audiences. For audiences who wanted to see an accurate interpretation of the Hercules story, the film "... made little or no effort to remain faithful to antiquity."[6]
Film historian Gary Allen Smith noted: "In this combination of peplum and science fiction, this silly, but diverting, entry has the indomitable Alan Steel (real name: Sergio Ciani) fight a collection of Moon monsters before the inevitable cataclysm destroys the invaders. In the film's one inventive touch, the sequences which take place in the mountain kingdom of the Moon Men are filmed in sepia tone, rather than full color ... or Cosmicolor, as stated in the American publicity material."[4]
MST3KEdit
Hercules Against the Moon Men (given as Hercules Against the Moonmen) was also shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000, making it infamous for its "Deep Hurting" Sequence (the very long sandstorm sequence). This sequence involved many of the cast floundering around pointlessly in a sandstorm for upwards of five minutes of screen time, in which no plot movement or character development is made at all. The "Deep Hurting" concept is introduced by Dr. Forrester as a follow-up to "Rock Climbing", a pain point of the movie Lost Continent that had previously been shown.[8]
DVD releasesEdit
Hercules Against the Moon Men has received numerous 'bargain box' releases from various studios. The MST3K version of the film was released by Rhino Home Video as part of the 'Collection, Volume 7' box set.
Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN978-1476662916.
Beaulieu, Trace. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide. New York: Bantam Books, 1996. ISBN978-0-5533-7783-5.
Morford, Mark P. O. and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN978-0-1951-4338-6.
Smith, Gary Allen. Epic Films: Casts, Credits and Commentary on More Than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. ISBN978-0-7864-4081-8.
Hercules Against the Moon Men is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
October 18, 2023
hercules, against, moon, italian, maciste, regina, samar, maciste, queen, samar, 1964, franco, italian, international, production, sword, sandal, film, directed, giacomo, gentilomo, final, film, stars, alan, steel, jany, clair, note, english, version, film, ru. Hercules Against the Moon Men Italian Maciste e la regina di Samar Maciste and the Queen of Samar 2 is a 1964 Franco Italian international co production sword and sandal film It was directed by Giacomo Gentilomo in his final film and stars Alan Steel and Jany Clair Note 1 5 The English version of the film runs for 90 minutes and is dubbed Hercules Against the Moon MenDirected byGiacomo GentilomoProduced byLuigi Mondello Robert de Nesle 2 StarringAlan Steel Jany Clair Anna Maria Polani Nando TamberlaniCinematographyOberdan Troiani 3 Edited byBeatrice Felici 3 Music byCarlo Franci 3 ProductioncompaniesNike Cinematografica Comptoir Francais de Productions Cinematographiques 1 Release date27 June 1964 1964 06 27 Italy Running time90 minutes 3 CountriesItaly France 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Reception 5 1 MST3K 5 2 DVD releases 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Footnotes 7 2 Sources 8 External linksPlot EditIn ancient Greece a race of evil aliens from the Moon land on Earth For years they have terrorized the nearby city of Samar Hercules Maciste in the original version attempts to free the people of the kingdom of Samar from the rule of their evil queen She is under the spell of invading Moon Men who demand children for sacrifice in hopes their spilled blood can revive their own dead queen The Queen of Samar has made a pact with the Moon Men to conquer the world and become the most powerful woman alive The downtrodden residents of Samar cheer the arrival of the mighty Hercules who on their behalf faces deadly obstacles battles the Moon monsters and eventually confronts the leader of the Moon Men Redolphis a metal headed giant Cast EditAlan Steel as Hercules Maciste Jany Clair as Queen Samara Anna Maria Polani as Agar Nando Tamberlani as Gladius Jean Pierre Honore as Darix Delia D Alberti as Billis Selene as Delia d Alberti Goffredo Unger as Mogol Franco Morici as Timor Attilio Dottesio as Remar Roberto Ceccacci as Redolphis Stefano Carletti as Mogol Paola Pitti as Taris as Paola Piretti Giuliano Raffaelli as Tirteo tavernkeeper Anna Maria Dionisi as Tavernkeeper s wife Salvatore Borghese as Aggressor of Maciste upon his arrival Antonio Corevi as Rubio the imperial guard officerProduction EditIn the original Italian language version the hero was not Hercules but Maciste originally a hero in silent Italian cinema Hercules Against the Moon Men blends elements from a number of mythologies Roman Greek Ancient Egyptian and Cretan elements are all thrown in 6 Filming took place in Italy primarily at the Cinecitta Studios Cinecitta Rome and in Lazio Italy 7 The term The Moon Men and the plot element of such beings seeking to conquer the Earth appeared earlier in the novel of that name by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs though the details of the conquest in Burroughs book are very different from the film Release EditHecules Against the Moon Men was released in Italy on 27 June 1964 3 It was released in the United States in May 1965 3 Reception EditThe original Italian title of Hercules Against the Moon Men was Maciste e la regina di Samar Maciste and the Queen of Samar The French title of the film was Maciste contre les hommes de pierre Maciste Against the Men of Stone but the English distributors dubbed him to be Hercules because Maciste was not well known to American audiences For audiences who wanted to see an accurate interpretation of the Hercules story the film made little or no effort to remain faithful to antiquity 6 Film historian Gary Allen Smith noted In this combination of peplum and science fiction this silly but diverting entry has the indomitable Alan Steel real name Sergio Ciani fight a collection of Moon monsters before the inevitable cataclysm destroys the invaders In the film s one inventive touch the sequences which take place in the mountain kingdom of the Moon Men are filmed in sepia tone rather than full color or Cosmicolor as stated in the American publicity material 4 MST3K Edit Hercules Against the Moon Men given as Hercules Against the Moonmen was also shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 making it infamous for its Deep Hurting Sequence the very long sandstorm sequence This sequence involved many of the cast floundering around pointlessly in a sandstorm for upwards of five minutes of screen time in which no plot movement or character development is made at all The Deep Hurting concept is introduced by Dr Forrester as a follow up to Rock Climbing a pain point of the movie Lost Continent that had previously been shown 8 DVD releases Edit Hercules Against the Moon Men has received numerous bargain box releases from various studios The MST3K version of the film was released by Rhino Home Video as part of the Collection Volume 7 box set See also EditList of films featuring HerculesReferences Edit Alan Steel s real name was Sergio Ciani and he also used the stage name of John Wyler 4 Footnotes Edit a b Kinnard amp Crnkovich 2017 p 84 a b Kinnard amp Crnkovich 2017 p 82 a b c d e f Kinnard amp Crnkovich 2017 p 83 a b Smith 2009 p 117 Cast Hercules Against the Moon Men 1965 Archived 2016 08 25 at the Wayback Machine Movieweb Retrieved 14 May 2016 a b Morford and Lenardon 1999 p 589 Original print information Hercules Against the Moon Men 1965 Turner Classic Movies Retrieved 14 May 2016 Beaulieu 1996 p 72 Sources Edit Kinnard Roy Crnkovich Tony 2017 Italian Sword and Sandal Films 1908 1990 McFarland ISBN 978 1476662916 Beaulieu Trace The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide New York Bantam Books 1996 ISBN 978 0 5533 7783 5 Morford Mark P O and Robert J Lenardon Classical Mythology Oxford UK Oxford University Press 1999 ISBN 978 0 1951 4338 6 Smith Gary Allen Epic Films Casts Credits and Commentary on More Than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies Jefferson North Carolina McFarland amp Company 2009 ISBN 978 0 7864 4081 8 External links EditHercules Against the Moon Men at IMDb Hercules Against the Moon Men is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hercules Against the Moon Men amp oldid 1148648722, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
