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Polar Blair's Den Menu PageColossus and the Amazon Queen
(1960 Film)
Quik-Descrip: "It's sword-and-sandal meets 'Animal House'!"
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About This Film
Alternate Titles For This Film
Cast
Fun Facts
Photos
The above link goes to an excellent 2-movie set with "Colossus & the Amazon Queen" and the much more serious "Goliath & the Sins of Babylon". The first-mentioned is a comedy sword-and-sandal, the latter is one of the best "real" sword-and-sandal movies ever made!
Cast:
Ed Fury as Glaucos (the muscular, blonde one)
Rod Taylor as Pirros (the skinny, brunette one)
Dorian Gray as Antiope
Gianna Maria Canale as Amazon Queen (called "La Regina" in Italian version)
Daniela Rocca as Mellita
Adriana Facchetti as High Priestess
Ignazio Leone as Sofo the Egyptian
The Other Amazons...
Luciana Angiolillo (uncredited)
Nadia Bianchi
Loredana Cappelletti
Maria Pia Cohen (uncredited)
Tilde Damiani
Francesca Dean
Carla Dody
Paola Falchi
Germana Francioli
Marietta Gennusco (uncredited)
Mariangela Giordano
Dori Hassan
Lia Lena (uncredited)
Marina Lucatelli
Lilly Mantovani
Giorgia Moll (uncredited)
Maria Luisa Rispoli (uncredited)
Marilu Tolo
CONTACT ME if you can help with the cast information above. I'd like to know if my list of "The Other Amazons" is complete. I'd also like to be able to attach a name to a face. If anyone can help me match a girl in the film to a name in the list I'd be very grateful.
Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960): There is no "Colossus" in this movie. This is a rather odd sword-and-sandal movie, because it's not a pure sword-and-sandal movie. It is actually a sword-and-sandal comedy. This movie gets mixed reviews all the time. Some people like it; a lot of people hate it. Why is it hated? For one thing, it's an intentional comedy, which was unusual for the genre. Almost all sword-and-sandal films are quite serious with few light moments at best. You typically have one hero, musclebound as hell with no sense of humor, fighting an insidiously evil oppressor. The women are also quite serious and usually despondent. This film breaks away from everything that was cliche. In that way, it's brilliant.
This movie is what would happen if Hercules met "Animal House". It's a huge ensemble cast with curious characters and lots of funny stuff going on everywhere. Certainly not for the person who tries to find "meaning" in films...whatever THAT'S about. This is just a colorful, laughable movie. The entourage of gorgeous women even outshines the girls from "The Benny Hill Show". If you like silly movies like the "Austin Powers" or "Ernest" series, you should like this film.
There are two major heroes in this movie: Ed Fury as Glaucos, Rod Taylor as Pirros. Both of them are veterans of the Trojan War. Glaucos is the blond, moderately-muscular one with super-strength. Pirros is the shrimpy, brown-haired guy who relies on his cunning for survival. Pirros, for money, sells himself to the pirates and drugs friend Glaucos and a bunch of other guys where they are then taken aboard a boat. This pirate ship takes the men to an island. The men do not know this is the island of the Amazons, and they soon become their prisoners.
The Amazons are basically hot, love-starved women that need men for "pleasure". Only the Amazon Queen, and those who wish to be elected Amazon Queen in the future, must be abstinent. Antiope, played by the lovely, strawberry-blonde Dorian Gray, is one such Amazon. She is conflicted, however, when she falls in love with super-stud Glaucos (and vice-versa). Antiope is in the Queen's favor to become the next Queen. Clumsy, ill-tempered Mellita (played by Daniela Rocca), is the first runner-up. Mellita and Antiope are always at odds, and the jealous wannabe queen does everything in her power to take the throne from her rival.
Gianna Maria Canale, as the Amazon Queen, gives the best acting performance of anyone in this film. She is a sultry, enticing redheaded beauty who, love-starved for the opposite sex, consoles herself with drink. The Queen is no dummy, however, and always knows when something doesn't ring true.
Almost everyone overacts in this movie, and the story is pretty spotty with a lot of things left unexplained. What makes up for this is the great assortment of Amazon beauties who spare no opportunity to "show us their stuff". They wear some of the skimpiest outfits ever made during the era, and ALL of them are HOT! Lots of great cleavage and just very, very pretty girls. A lot of critics call this movie "sexist" and they're wrong. This isn't sexist...just sexy. Women are unquestionably the bosses in this movie, and all quite capable. "Sexist" are the old James Bond movies and westerns where women couldn't do anything but look pretty. These women are all very positive characters. A recurring gag is that husbands of the Amazons act like nagging housewives. Although funny for awhile, it IS overplayed in parts. Still, good for laughs.
There really is no great story. Just a bunch of funny and sexy stuff thrown together, which is fine. Near the end of the movie, pirates decide to attack the Amazons. The men help their Amazon girlfriends fight the foes. And then "happy ending" time.
I find the dialogue pretty snappy for an Italian movie dubbed into English. The characters talk more like real people talk, rather than the abbreviated English of most barbarian and medieval films. This is a watchable movie. A good, dumb time with lots of sexy women parading about. What could be better? This is a great movie for parties.
Other Thoughts:
Alternate Titles For This Film:
Colossus and the Amazons
La regina delle Amazonni [Italy; actual title]
Fun Facts:
There is no "Colossus" in this movie. The main, musclebound hero is called "Glaucos".
The main hero, Glaucos, really has nothing to do with the Amazon Queen in this film. However, Antiope, in mythology, would become Queen of the Amazons. This is perhaps why they used "And the Amazon Queen" in the title.
Rod Taylor, who played Pirros, hates, hates, HATES this movie. He's been blasting it for years, and claims he only did it because he was in Italy at the time, having an affair with Anita Ekberg.
Daniela Rocca, who played clumsy Amazon Mellita, was committed to a mental institution in 1972 at the age of 35. However, she wrote and published five books since then.
Photos:
Ed Fury as Glaucos (the muscular, blonde one)
Rod Taylor as Pirros (the skinny, brunette one)
Dorian Gray as Antiope
Gianna Maria Canale as Amazon Queen (called "La Regina" in Italian version)
Daniela Rocca as Mellita
Adriana Facchetti as High Priestess
Ignazio Leone as Sofo the Egyptian
The Other Amazons...
Luciana Angiolillo (uncredited)
Nadia Bianchi
Loredana Cappelletti
Maria Pia Cohen (uncredited)
Tilde Damiani
Francesca Dean
Carla Dody
Paola Falchi
Germana Francioli
Marietta Gennusco (uncredited)
Mariangela Giordano
Dori Hassan
Lia Lena (uncredited)
Marina Lucatelli
Lilly Mantovani
Giorgia Moll (uncredited)
Maria Luisa Rispoli (uncredited)
Marilu Tolo
CONTACT ME if you can help with the cast information above. I'd like to know if my list of "The Other Amazons" is complete. I'd also like to be able to attach a name to a face. If anyone can help me match a girl in the film to a name in the list I'd be very grateful.
Colossus and the Amazon Queen (1960): There is no "Colossus" in this movie. This is a rather odd sword-and-sandal movie, because it's not a pure sword-and-sandal movie. It is actually a sword-and-sandal comedy. This movie gets mixed reviews all the time. Some people like it; a lot of people hate it. Why is it hated? For one thing, it's an intentional comedy, which was unusual for the genre. Almost all sword-and-sandal films are quite serious with few light moments at best. You typically have one hero, musclebound as hell with no sense of humor, fighting an insidiously evil oppressor. The women are also quite serious and usually despondent. This film breaks away from everything that was cliche. In that way, it's brilliant.
This movie is what would happen if Hercules met "Animal House". It's a huge ensemble cast with curious characters and lots of funny stuff going on everywhere. Certainly not for the person who tries to find "meaning" in films...whatever THAT'S about. This is just a colorful, laughable movie. The entourage of gorgeous women even outshines the girls from "The Benny Hill Show". If you like silly movies like the "Austin Powers" or "Ernest" series, you should like this film.
There are two major heroes in this movie: Ed Fury as Glaucos, Rod Taylor as Pirros. Both of them are veterans of the Trojan War. Glaucos is the blond, moderately-muscular one with super-strength. Pirros is the shrimpy, brown-haired guy who relies on his cunning for survival. Pirros, for money, sells himself to the pirates and drugs friend Glaucos and a bunch of other guys where they are then taken aboard a boat. This pirate ship takes the men to an island. The men do not know this is the island of the Amazons, and they soon become their prisoners.
The Amazons are basically hot, love-starved women that need men for "pleasure". Only the Amazon Queen, and those who wish to be elected Amazon Queen in the future, must be abstinent. Antiope, played by the lovely, strawberry-blonde Dorian Gray, is one such Amazon. She is conflicted, however, when she falls in love with super-stud Glaucos (and vice-versa). Antiope is in the Queen's favor to become the next Queen. Clumsy, ill-tempered Mellita (played by Daniela Rocca), is the first runner-up. Mellita and Antiope are always at odds, and the jealous wannabe queen does everything in her power to take the throne from her rival.
Gianna Maria Canale, as the Amazon Queen, gives the best acting performance of anyone in this film. She is a sultry, enticing redheaded beauty who, love-starved for the opposite sex, consoles herself with drink. The Queen is no dummy, however, and always knows when something doesn't ring true.
Almost everyone overacts in this movie, and the story is pretty spotty with a lot of things left unexplained. What makes up for this is the great assortment of Amazon beauties who spare no opportunity to "show us their stuff". They wear some of the skimpiest outfits ever made during the era, and ALL of them are HOT! Lots of great cleavage and just very, very pretty girls. A lot of critics call this movie "sexist" and they're wrong. This isn't sexist...just sexy. Women are unquestionably the bosses in this movie, and all quite capable. "Sexist" are the old James Bond movies and westerns where women couldn't do anything but look pretty. These women are all very positive characters. A recurring gag is that husbands of the Amazons act like nagging housewives. Although funny for awhile, it IS overplayed in parts. Still, good for laughs.
There really is no great story. Just a bunch of funny and sexy stuff thrown together, which is fine. Near the end of the movie, pirates decide to attack the Amazons. The men help their Amazon girlfriends fight the foes. And then "happy ending" time.
I find the dialogue pretty snappy for an Italian movie dubbed into English. The characters talk more like real people talk, rather than the abbreviated English of most barbarian and medieval films. This is a watchable movie. A good, dumb time with lots of sexy women parading about. What could be better? This is a great movie for parties.
Other Thoughts:
- Dorian Gray, who plays the female lead in this film (Antiope) is an absolutely gorgeous knockout. Nice legs.
- Rod Taylor, Pirros, is the most annoying person in this film. However, his character lends to it, so it passes.
- Sofo the Egyptian is a funny, unusual character
for sword-and-sandal movies. He is a goofy inventor.
Alternate Titles For This Film:
Colossus and the Amazons
La regina delle Amazonni [Italy; actual title]
Fun Facts:
There is no "Colossus" in this movie. The main, musclebound hero is called "Glaucos".
The main hero, Glaucos, really has nothing to do with the Amazon Queen in this film. However, Antiope, in mythology, would become Queen of the Amazons. This is perhaps why they used "And the Amazon Queen" in the title.
Rod Taylor, who played Pirros, hates, hates, HATES this movie. He's been blasting it for years, and claims he only did it because he was in Italy at the time, having an affair with Anita Ekberg.
Daniela Rocca, who played clumsy Amazon Mellita, was committed to a mental institution in 1972 at the age of 35. However, she wrote and published five books since then.
Photos: