It may well be because I'm watching too many movies of a similar nature in too short a time-frame but, lately, I've found myself almost totally forgetting about the events occurring in a particular movie after a mere couple of days have elapsed from its first viewing. This obscure Italian peplum is another such example alas because, frankly, the only two things that have stayed with me after these three days were: that it was a slight step up from the dismal (and similarly-titled) 'sword-and-sandal' flick I had watched previously on that same day i.e. ALI BABA AND THE SEVEN SARACENS (1964), and also the fact that I couldn't stop myself from laughing for a couple of minutes on end afterwards when, during a court dance sequence, a man comes tumbling down to the floor and drags his dancing partner with him; that it was a goof and not an intended gesture is borne out by the way the woman giggles in embarrassment after regaining her composure!! All I can add at this juncture is that the film stars Richard Harrison, a staple of this type of unassuming fare, but his character - and, by extension, characterization - is too bland to merit more than a footnote in this already skeletal review...
3 Reviews
The Thanksgiving turkey recycled itself with this vulture.
mark.waltz27 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Low budget historical epics truly suffer with the cheapest movie cameras possible, shrill sound and recycled costumes and sets that attempted to appear new by being seen in movies filmed in the cheapest of paint by numbers color sets. This is another fable weakly told about the battles between Christians and Muslims in the wartorn Turkey of the middle ages. Richard Harrison is our hero: handsome, strong and brave, but a dull actor.
The battles Harrison gets into with the villainous Muslims are oh so predictable because he'll always prevail no matter what. In fact, the film's main villain (Walter Brandi) is far more interesting than him or heroine Annamaria Ubaldi, and there's also an overly sweet youngster (Maretta Procaccini) to attempt to get ooh's and ah's from the overly sentimental.
The pastel filters on the camera try unsuccessfully to hide the cheap look and make it prettier, but they can't hide the fact that the cardboard sets are just as flimsy as the main characters. While there's enough action sequences to tantalize the most patient of viewers, but this story has been done hundreds of times on screen and with a more convincing narrative.
The battles Harrison gets into with the villainous Muslims are oh so predictable because he'll always prevail no matter what. In fact, the film's main villain (Walter Brandi) is far more interesting than him or heroine Annamaria Ubaldi, and there's also an overly sweet youngster (Maretta Procaccini) to attempt to get ooh's and ah's from the overly sentimental.
The pastel filters on the camera try unsuccessfully to hide the cheap look and make it prettier, but they can't hide the fact that the cardboard sets are just as flimsy as the main characters. While there's enough action sequences to tantalize the most patient of viewers, but this story has been done hundreds of times on screen and with a more convincing narrative.
Bland action movie
JohnSeal24 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Richard Harrison, everyone's third or fourth choice when it comes to a Eurotrash leading man, stars in this fantastical history lesson from director Roberto Mauri. Set during some imprecise period during the middle ages (I think), The Saracens tells the tale of the brave Christian folk of the Dalmatian coast, and their battles against the wicked and impious Turks, who wish to import Islam to Croatia. Shot on location to next to no effect, the film has all the usual ingredients of the genre: lots of action, lots of beautiful women in skimpy costumes, and an intensely wicked villain, Rabaneck (Demeter Bitenc). There's also a noble Muslim who sees the error of Rabaneck's ways and switches sides. There is absolutely nothing here that you haven't seen in a hundred other similar flicks, so your tolerance for The Saracens will depend on how you feel about early 60s sword and sandal movies in general.
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