CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Wordiezett So much average

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

clanciai This is not a film you should miss if you are an admirer of Alan Ladd, although this was one of his last films and he is rather tired; but he makes a startling performance as the outcast, one of three brothers who are the main champions of Rome, banished for assumed cowardice - he is never allowed to state his case or defend himself against the alleged charges. His voice is already marked by the cancer he died of a few years later at only 50, and the impression he creates by his character is of deep melancholy - he is rather an anti-hero than a hero, although he ultimately manages all his challenges.It's not a great or important film, but it's one of the best Peplums - there is a great variety of Peplums of very second rate quality, all dealing with ancient times in Greece or Rome, often with mythological subjects and always with great fights and stylish monumentality. In this film the quality is further enhanced and lifted forth by the excellent music, one of Lavagnino's best. So if you can endure the hardships of various laborious Peplums, this should come in as a healthy change with a different and more earnest string moving the heart.

Rainey Dawn Romans and the Albans both have been loosing way to many men in battles. 3 brothers from each are chosen in the end to fight to the death in one final battle to settle the dispute but it doesn't quite go as planned.This is rather drab film. Routine peplum with nothing special to add to the genre, it only gives us one more history peplum to throw into the mix - and a very bland account of it.Cheers for the costuming and prop eye-candy, boo for the tedious way of telling us the story.2/10

Leofwine_draca A middling, typical Italian peplum film from director Ferdinando Baldi. DUEL OF CHAMPIONS benefits greatly from a spectacular opening and a rousing finale, but kind of loses it in the middle part which verges occasionally on becoming dull. Thankfully, it never does become boring, a fact which is mainly due to the efforts of Alan Ladd, the film's American import. Ladd - although the victim of a spectacular piece of miscasting, it has to be said - brings warmth and charisma to his role of Horatius, the cowardly but ultimately victorious warrior who saves Rome. Although Ladd, at approximately 50 years of age, is really ten to fifteen years too old to play the heroic lead, he puts in a fine performance on which the film hinges. Things become enjoyable in his presence.Things start off brilliantly with a well-choreographed battle scene, employing a large cast and enlivened by a thunderous, sweeping score. They continue in a good vein with a tense sequence in which Roman reinforcements are ambushed in a ravine and forced to fight to the death in a violent battle, where they are shot with arrows and burning grasses threaten to kill them! It's at this point we are introduced to Ladd, who, after a spectacular bit of sword fighting, is injured and captured by the Albans.He's immediately marched off to their city, where incredibly the sight of wrestling women passes for entertainment (not just Mexico then...). At this point comes one of the film's best scenes, where Ladd is thrown into a pit and is forced to fight off three hunger-starved wolves. Although it's clear that Ladd is never in the same shot as the wolves, the fight scene is expertly staged and highly exciting, culminating in a surprisingly brutal shot of Ladd bludgeoning one of the beasts to death with a rock! After escaping into the care of some hermit-like folk who live in the nearby mountains, Ladd regains his strength and rejoins his people. Here the film slows down a gear, introducing an interesting but ultimately unnecessary subplot about two Romeo and Juliet-like characters who fall in love but are separated by being on either side of the two armies. Meanwhile, the two kings of the city try to keep the peace and devise a plan to reveal the true ruling army, while Ladd must come to terms with his wife marrying his brother (!) and also trying to regain the favour of his people.Thankfully, all of this doesn't drag on too far, and once again events are thrust into high-gear with a fantastic bout of sword fighting at the film's close. Three brothers from either army must fight it out to the death and in the initial duel, the atmosphere is electric and as good as any gladiator film I've seen. Sadly, the fights seem simply to consist of two men clashing swords together and have very little imagination, a few props here and there certainly wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a short nighttime interlude in some atmospheric woods where Ladd destroys two of his pursuers in a cat and mouse game (his other two brothers having already been murdered). Finally, he goes one on one with the last soldier in a fun battle, the climax of which is pretty obvious but it's pretty exciting anyway.The film looks impressive, with good sets and scenery and costumes, which make the budget look big even if it probably wasn't (with, I'm sure, much of the money going towards Ladd's own personal pay cheque). The supporting cast of Italians is fine, with some heroic young men for the female viewers and some beautiful young women for the men. Despite being a pretty forgettable movie, this does throw up some interesting ideas and has strength in characterisation, unlike a number of similar peplums which are all-action and no depth. Ladd's presence is also a definite plus for this reviewer. Enjoyable.

heliopause While those of us interested in ancient stories and sword and sandals productions will find this story to be interesting, it falls short, well short, in production quality and script to be the epic it could have been.The plot follows the story of one of the Orazi brothers of Rome, at war with Alba. This brother is accused of cowardice in battle and is captured by the Albans. He escapes, but is not warmly welcomed upon his return to Rome. After years of war, the Romans and Albans agree to decide the battle in a duel of 3 Roman brothers (the Orazi's) vs. 3 Alban brothers. In the end, this Orazi wins the day but the victory is bittersweet as displayed with his disgust for the need for killing.What stands out is the epic musical score composed by Francesco Lavagnino at his peak. Clearly, the music is at a far different level than the movie, it elevates the story but cannot raise the production near to the realm of an epic. Still, it is a collectible for ancient movie fans. Available on budget DVD, the DVD transfer is terrible.