GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON is a sensational title. Unfortunately, the film doesn't live up to the title. It's a wildly uneven Sword & Sandal which runs hot to cold and vice versa. It starts off promisingly (30 "virgins" for the evil King of Babylon in exchange for peace) but then the movie totally forgets about that plot point and concentrates on typical brawny action, with the stand-out scene being the one where Hercules, eh, Maciste, eh, Goliath (Mark Forest sans beard) is bound to an altar and directly above are holes in the ceiling with spears attached to ropes within those holes, and whenever the ropes are cut, one spear is released and is supposed to fall on Goliath. Oh, and the bad guy forces Goliath's partners to cut the ropes to see if they're trust-worthy. The scene is effective and it's very reminiscent of the laser scene in GOLDFINGER, which was made a year after this Goliath film, so kudos to the filmmakers here.
The rest of the film is standard S&S action hampered by an uneven script and an unfortunate use of stock footage from other films. The film has many highlights, including the battle on the ships and the chariot race, which look like they were cleverly edited with scenes taken from other movies. Or the editing is just bad and the shots just don't match. The chariot race is actually very good, certainly with the added detail of the Princess (the beautiful José Greci) participating in the race. I've never seen a chariot race with a woman. It's cool. But other scenes don't fare better. For example, the battle between the ships looks like it's from another film. You see, the boat with our heroes, in the close-ups, the men are mostly bare-chested and yet in the long shots (presumably the shots from the other film) there are no bare-chested men! During the chariot race, when one man, wearing a green tunic falls off of his chariot, the tunic is totally different in the close-up shots from the long shots. These big continuity errors make the lavish film look cheap.
Then there's that annoying little people actor, who was also in THE TEN GLADIATORS and basically ruined that film. I purchased the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack and he's in three films up to now. I hope he's not in more films! The image quality on the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack is awful, so much so that I purchased the Retro Media DVD, which is in widescreen. The image on this DVD is excellent and the movie was certainly better because of it. It's a must for fans.
The cast is very good and the star power adds much to the uneven production. Mark Forest is beefy perfection. He's supposed to play Maciste but he's Goliath in the US version. This story is not a one man show though as Goliath joins others to prevent the 30 virgins to be shipped to Babylonia. Mimmo Palmara and Giuliano Gemma, as Xandros, are part of the beefy team rebelling against the rulers of Babylonia. As I mentioned before, José Greci plays the Princess who's character, by law, can only marry a man who can defeat her in the Chariot race. Yes, you read that right.
GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON is certainly spirited and it doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a plus. The music score is good. In general, it's an above average Peplum. But the suspected use of stock footage, the muddled script & the annoying midget keep it from being a great Peplum.
The rest of the film is standard S&S action hampered by an uneven script and an unfortunate use of stock footage from other films. The film has many highlights, including the battle on the ships and the chariot race, which look like they were cleverly edited with scenes taken from other movies. Or the editing is just bad and the shots just don't match. The chariot race is actually very good, certainly with the added detail of the Princess (the beautiful José Greci) participating in the race. I've never seen a chariot race with a woman. It's cool. But other scenes don't fare better. For example, the battle between the ships looks like it's from another film. You see, the boat with our heroes, in the close-ups, the men are mostly bare-chested and yet in the long shots (presumably the shots from the other film) there are no bare-chested men! During the chariot race, when one man, wearing a green tunic falls off of his chariot, the tunic is totally different in the close-up shots from the long shots. These big continuity errors make the lavish film look cheap.
Then there's that annoying little people actor, who was also in THE TEN GLADIATORS and basically ruined that film. I purchased the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack and he's in three films up to now. I hope he's not in more films! The image quality on the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack is awful, so much so that I purchased the Retro Media DVD, which is in widescreen. The image on this DVD is excellent and the movie was certainly better because of it. It's a must for fans.
The cast is very good and the star power adds much to the uneven production. Mark Forest is beefy perfection. He's supposed to play Maciste but he's Goliath in the US version. This story is not a one man show though as Goliath joins others to prevent the 30 virgins to be shipped to Babylonia. Mimmo Palmara and Giuliano Gemma, as Xandros, are part of the beefy team rebelling against the rulers of Babylonia. As I mentioned before, José Greci plays the Princess who's character, by law, can only marry a man who can defeat her in the Chariot race. Yes, you read that right.
GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON is certainly spirited and it doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a plus. The music score is good. In general, it's an above average Peplum. But the suspected use of stock footage, the muddled script & the annoying midget keep it from being a great Peplum.