zardoz-13 The worst Italian sword & sandal saga surpasses low-budget producer & director Roger Corman's period knock-off "Atlas" with a towering Michael Forest as the eponymous muscle-man in a colorful red short skirt. So many things are so horribly wrong about this lackluster epic that it makes you wonder what possessed Corman to shoot it in the first place. Okay, the scenic Grecian splendor is a big plus, but little else is as comparable. The high and tight 1960s' haircuts along with those pencil-thin mustaches do little to evoke authenticity. Forrest just doesn't cut it as the titular strongman. Mind you, he is tall, but he doesn't look like a weightlifter. The only bright spot in this dreadful mess is Frank Wolff, who went on to make a name for himself in Spaghetti westerns. Wolff chews the scenery with relish, and he is fun to watch. Nobody else matches his gusto. Nothing else about this abysmal outing is remotely memorable. Although I cannot tolerate this cardboard peplum, I love those English-dubbed spectacles with Steve Reeves, Mark Forrest, Gordon Scott, Gordon Mitchell, and Alan Steel. Altogether, "Atlas" qualifies as dreary from fade-in to fadeout. Everything about it has potboiler written all over it. For the record, ruthless city-state tyrant Praximedes (Frank Wolff of "Once Upon a Time in the West") has laid siege to King Telektos' city for months without success. The two leaders decide to select champions to represent them in the arena, and the victor will win the day. Predictably, Atlas tops his opponent in a fight that has little grit. When the villainous insists that Atlas kill King Telektos' champion, our noble hero relents and allows him to live. Eventually, Atlas figures out that he fought for the wrong guy. Clocking in at 79 minutes, "Atlas" must be one of Corman's worst that he'd love to forget. Perhaps a widescreen version instead of this severely cropped full-frame rendition would at least yielded more panoramic views of Greece.

pjb2354 As much as I am a fan of Michael Forest from Star Trek, The Outer Limits,to name a few - this movie is an absolute farce. Frank Wolf who up to this point is really a 3rd rate actor, is the lead bad guy in this movie that plays out like a high school play with just a handful of extras. 1st blunder is when they announce that the wrestling match will begin when the trumpets blow. The trouble is that the horns are never heard. The Wardrobe Designer must have been on break with Barbara Morris wearing shorts that look like she should be on the set of Beach Blanket Bingo and not a Greek sword and sandal movie. The story line is very poor and really makes no sense. Soupy Sales could have played the lead baddie with the same results.

heckles Sometimes you see a movie and wonder if it was made just so the crew could enjoy a six-week vacation in a nice place. Unspoiled Greece in 1961 was probably a very pleasant locale indeed for Roger Corman and friends to take such a vacation.The story is a familiar one: Buff, good-hearted but naive hero is tricked by a more worldly man into using his great strength for his benefit until the hero wises up. This is a plot used in the great sagas of Hercules, Sigfred, and Tom Cruise. Here the trusting hero, Atlas, is invited by a city-state tyrant, Praximedes, to be his champion in a fight to the death so that Praximedes can annex some defiant holdout city.The problem with all of this is: the movie is boring. Very boring. The fight scenes lack drama; the battle scenes look like extras throwing sticks that are supposed to be spears at each other. Michael Forest as Atlas can't act - period. Barboura Morris is the sex interest of changeable loyalties; she isn't bad looking, but she doesn't take off near enough clothes. --Oh, don't tell me it was 1961. "Spartacus" was made a year before, and that had a bathing scene. Plus a reference to homosexuality. "Atlas" was never meant to be a big-budget epic. So no excuses, Roger. This kind of movie, you have to sex up if you don't do anything else.Frank Wolff's Praximedes seems to be having a good time; but rather than coming across as a figurative tyrant (he makes no secret that he is a -literal- tyrant), he seems more like a glad-handing jerk, and a distinctly American one at that.I hope the crew enjoyed their vacation. The rest of us, if we want a Greek vacation, should catch "Summer Lovers" or "Venus on Fire".

John Seal Trust Roger Corman to go all the way to Greece, shoot in widescreen against a backdrop of real ancient monuments, and STILL end up producing the cheapest looking sword and sandal 'epic' of them all. If you squint hard enough the battle scenes might start to look vaguely impressive. Only Frank Wolff's ripe performance as the evil Praximedes provides much entertainment.