Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis
A 1961 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.
Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis (Italian: Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide) is a 1961 Italian film directed by Vittorio Cottafavi. It stars Reg Park in his film debut as Hercules and was shot in Technicolor and Techniscope. The film is also known as Hercules Conquers Atlantis in the United Kingdom and Hercules and the Captive Women in the United States, where it was retitled, edited, and rescored by Embassy Pictures.
- director
- Vittorio Cottafavi
- starring
- Reg Park as Ercole (Hercules)
- release_date_italy
- 19 April 1961
- release_date_united_states
- 15 April 1963
- running_time_italy
- 101 minutes
- also_known_as
- Hercules Conquers Atlantis (UK), Hercules and the Captive Women (US)
Lore & Background
The film begins with strange atmospheric events in the disunited city states of Ancient Greece. King Androcles of Thebes seeks the help of his friend Hercules, who is now married to Deianira with a son named Hylas. Androcles drugs and kidnaps Hercules, placing him aboard a ship with former slaves and criminals. Hylas hides below deck. After a mutiny and a shipwreck, Hercules arrives on the mist-shrouded island of Atlantis, where he rescues Princess Ismene from the god Proteus.
Reader's Guide
Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis is noted for its imaginative entry in the sword-and-sandal genre, which director Cottafavi called 'Neo-Mythology.' Christopher Frayling noted the film's slapstick violence as a link to the Spaghetti Western. Frank Burke observed the film's depiction of Nazi Germany and the Atomic Age, as well as Reg Park's portrayal of the Italian quality of 'sprezzatura.' The film was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 under the title Hercules and the Captive Women, where it was described as a very confusing foreign movie.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot in Technicolor and Techniscope, not Super Technirama 70.
- Reg Park made his film debut as Hercules in this movie.
- In the United States, the film was retitled, edited, and rescored by Embassy Pictures, not given a title design by Filmation.
- The film was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in episode #412, which debuted September 19, 1992.
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