Leofwine_draca
A well-made (for the genre), expensive-looking (apart from the special effects) peplum vehicle for Mark Forest, here dressed up to look just like Steve Reeves. GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is one of the more impressive peplum adventures and contains some very good scenes in its running time. Sure, the expected court shenanigans, romance, and plot twists are all present and correct, but the action - when it comes - is very good indeed and a must-see for fans of cheesy monsters.The opening couldn't be better, as it has Goliath climbing down a huge pit to retrieve the stolen "blood diamond" from the statue of his beloved wind goddess. It turns out that the diamond was stolen by the troops of Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford) and thrown into the pit for Goliath to retrieve. You see, there's a dragon lurking in the pit which Eurystheus hopes will kill Goliath. What do you think will happen? You're right, Goliath will manage to kill the dragon single-handedly, but that doesn't happen until the end of the film. For now we have to make do with some cool, impressive stop-motion animation of the dragon hunting through the cave; a first for the peplum genre? I've a feeling that this may have been inserted by American producers as I've certainly never seen any sign of stop-motion in other Italian peplum movies (they didn't have the budget for one thing). Still, it's a big surprise and a big plus for the film as I love stop-motion.Goliath's first obstacle is a dangerous, fire-breathing three-headed dog which is guarding the entrance to the cave. After a few thwacks from Goliath's sword, it immediately "plays dead" thus letting him enter - still, it provided a nice spectacle. Incidentally, spectacle is what GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON is all about and it provides oodles of it, which is why I rate it so highly; it may be cheesy and unrealistic, but the spirit of the film is action-packed and a whole lot of fun! Goliath wanders into some very impressive mist-enshrouded underground caverns, full of bubbling lakes and lurking danger. Sure enough, he's soon attacked by a cheesy, flying winged monster but beats it out of the sky! After retrieving his precious diamond, Goliath retreats, and the rest of the film (until the ending) takes place above-ground with some (less impressive) more standard human intrigue.Broderick Crawford hams for all his worth as the cruel tyrant Eurystheus (whom one character so memorably calls "a mass of fat and muscle, full of violence and brutality"!). Crawford is miscast, yes, but provides a worthwhile villain for Goliath to face - the only trouble is that he looks so physically unfit that you feel he might keel over and die at any minute! The rest of the cast is made up of Goliath's trouble-seeking younger brother (who doesn't share his sibling's love of body-building, obviously), some supposed Italian beauties, and lots of marching soldier types. Amid all the usual dialogue, near-death moments, and swooning females, Goliath proves his worth by chucking rocks, pulling down trees and temples, and fighting a grizzly bear (or a man-in-a-suit, depending on how gullible/perceptive you may be)! Great fun, worth watching.Eventually, Eursytheus kidnaps Goliath's brother and has him tied to a cross, intending to make an elephant trample him in a surprisingly grisly little moment. Thankfully Goliath comes to the rescue on his chariot, fighting off the elephant single-handedly - well he makes it sit down in the end! - and escaping again. But the fun isn't over yet. You see, Crawford has a creepy snake pit in his dungeon, into which he lowers beautiful women as a torture device! This means that Goliath is up to his arms in rescuing people and righting wrongs.In a memorable plot twist, Goliath actually falls foul of the gods, causing the sky to turn purple - cool! A centaur (seen only at a distance) called Polymorphus appears to kidnap Goliath's love interest, only to receive a spear in the back for its troubles. It hands over the fainted lady to Crawford before dying, who proceeds to chain her up as dragon bait. This leads to another cool scene, in which Goliath bravely battles the (mechanical) monstrosity, which is defeated fairly easily, it has to be said! It's all about spectacle again...after Goliath slays the dragon (and has his girlfriend kidnapped AGAIN), he storms Crawford's palace with his small army, but not before single-handedly destroying the foundations of the place from underground.A well-staged battle ensues, and the film culminates with Crawford falling into his own snake-pit and dying - a hilarious sight. Somewhat bizarrely, the most beautiful actress is also bitten and dies, but I guess even Goliath can't have everything! The Les Baxter score is appropriately spooky and exciting when needs must, Mark Forest looks the part and has some choice dialogue as Goliath, and the sets and costumes are spot-on. In all, an action-packed and fast-paced adventure, and in my mind one of the best films of the genre! I highly recommend Something Weird Video's print of this movie, which is, as they say, crystal clear and impressively letterboxed - go get it!
thinker1691
In the 1960's as a child I and dozens of theater goers were watching this interesting Movie called " Goliath and the Dragon " when a small fire in the building sent everyone racing out in a panic. Although, I got the price of admission back, (15 cents) I never did get to finish the film. Due to the fact, I was very young, I was most impressed with the parts of the movie I did get to see. It is years later and I finally got to see the entire movie completely. I am surprised to sit through the entire film without yawning. The scenes which intrigued and captivated me as a child, were laughable as an adult. However, I am impressed with the story of how Goliath or Hercules was able to mesmerize young impressible audiences with such a small budget and hokey special effects. Still, as a grown-up I would quickly recommend this film to young members of the audience as they have not lost their imagination or have forgotten what it means to be inspired by flickering images. During the Sword and Sandal era, these movies are the very inspiration we received when it was needed most. How else could Gods, Goddesses, Monsters, Centars and heroic deeds have impressed us so much? Recommended! *****
wes-connors
"King Eurystheus rules the land with cruelty and terror, using his monsters to keep the people under his control. Goliath returns home to find his wife and the people in peril from the monsters and vows to defeat the creatures and overthrow the wicked king. Our hero is faced with the task of fighting a three-headed fire-breathing dog, a giant bat, a centaur, and finally a dragon before he can confront King Eurystheus for the fate of the kingdom," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Re-titled "Goliath and the Dragon" for American International Pictures release, this Italian film arrived as the Herculean "sword and sandal" genre was gaining steam. There are some good locations and sets; but, the overall production is nothing special. As mini-skirted Mark Forest (as Hercules aka Goliath) goes through the regular routine, the plot interest is on brother Sandro Moretti (as Illo aka Illus) and lover Federica Ranchi (as Thea), who is forcibly betrothed to... Broderick Crawford!*** La vendetta di Ercole (8/12/60) Vittorio Cottafavi ~ Mark Forest, Broderick Crawford, Sandro Moretti, Leonora Ruffo
horrorfilmx
I saw the poster for GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON outside a theater when I was a kid and was dying to see it. Unfortunately I had to wait over thirty years until just the other day when I found a cheap VHS copy in a video store. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely --- but not for the reasons I'd expected. In addition to the cool poster what intrigued me about the film were the Jim Danforth stop motion sequences added for the American release. Pictures of the dragon made it look pretty good. Unfortunately the model is poorly used in the film itself, and nowhere is it shown off to such good advantage as in the publicity stills. Animation-wise the film was a major disappointment.And other-wise? Well, you gotta give this movie a big A for Ambition. Hercules (excuse me, GOLIATH) doesn't just duke it out with soldiers, he battles a three headed dog, a bat monster, a centaur, a bear, and at one point even wrestles an elephant to the ground! Unfortunately none of these conflicts is handled with anything like the skill needed to really bring them off, but you've gotta love them for trying. And the movie, goofy and slipshod as it is, never bores. Peplum fans should check it out.
