User Reviews

The version of this movie I saw was called "Hercules Against the Mongols"

Hercules, dubbed within an inch of his life and his loins covered within an inch of his modesty, is told he is to fight the Mongols by an oracle.

A female voice then tells us it's 1227. She continues to tell us of the leaders of Mongolian tribes that Hercules will fight. They are the three sons of Ghengis Khan and they lust for conquest. To incite their people to go to war they kill one of their own and blame "THE WHITE MAN!" THE WHITE MAN must be punished!

The Mongols burn houses (in this movie symbolically represented by a miniature hut) and kill many WHITE MEN or take them as slaves. Amid all the confusion you can always tell the Mongols from THE WHITE MAN. The Mongols are hairy, manly and wearing leather. THE WHITE MEN are shaved, feminine and wearing felt.

The Mongols discover that an heir to THE WHITE MAN's throne has escaped. "We must find him!" exclaims one son of Ghengis Khan. "We must kill all the legitimate heirs to the throne!" The boy, Alexander, wanders through the woods and comes across Hercules who is playing pick-up-sticks with tree trunks. "Why are you moving those trees?" asks Alexander, his dubbed voice sounding like he is speaking in a wind tunnel. "What are you doing out here, little boy?" asks the grinning, mostly unclad Hercules in what is the movie's creepiest moment.

It isn't long before Hercules is fighting the Mongols. Hercules picks up a tree trunk and stands there as the Mongols ride their horses into him. Defeated, the Mongols sneer "We will meet again!" and run off.

Beefcake films are more of a curiosity nowadays but I must admit I enjoy watching them. They are, by no means, Great cinema but they are fun to watch: half-clad men fighting, posing, and delivering absurd lines.

The only disappointment was the lack of the midget actor usually found in these films. How can it be an Italian production without a midget?

Afterthought: There is one fight with a lion that is pretty harrowing and could be considered cruelty to animals. If you are squeamish about such things be forewarned: you may want to skip this one.

Loincloth!

Maciste (Mark Forest) comes to the rescue of Princess Bianca who is threatened by the 3 sons of Genghis Khan. Maciste uses the opportunity that the 3 sons are rivals in a fight for leadership and becomes a slave for one of them to fight the others, see Bianca and plan her escape at a tournament. Little does he know that the princess trusts a traitor instead of him...

Maciste's name is changed to 'Hercules' in some countries again, which doesn't make much sense as the legends of Hercules are set approximately 3000 years before Genghis Khan lived. Nevertheless, this is one of the better productions of the series. The idea to have several villains instead of the usual usurper of the throne makes the story slightly less predictable, and the production value with many horses and extras is above average. The typical human touch - Maciste, helper of the poor - is introduced nicely in the first scene when Maciste builds a bridge.

Sandals film with Mark Forest as Maciste

After the death of Genghis Khan (Giuseppe Addobbati), there are fierce battles over the inheritance between his violent sons (strong cast including: Ken Clark, Howard Ross and the Italian male model Nadir Moretti). The Poles attacked by the Mongols in particular had to suffer from this. When the beautiful Bianca (Jose Greci) is kidnapped, the Italian film legend Maciste (the bodybuilder Mark Forest, born in 1933, who later performed very successfully as an opera singer) intervenes. And if the muscleman has to tear up trees to do it!

You can tell that the plot of the film shouldn't be taken too seriously. National hero Maciste was often used by film producers all over the world and in all cultural circles. The main thing was to prevent injustice and save a beautiful girl. So in this film it's the Mongols' turn. The mask doesn't look very convincing, but that's not the point. The action scenes are quite entertaining. It's also interesting to see the soon-to-be James Bond imitator Ken Clark (From the Orient with Fury) in a villainous role. It was directed by Domenico Paolella, who hasn't made a big name for himself in this genre.

Nevertheless: definitely recommended for peplum fans!

I purchased a dollar DVD, with a double feature purportedly of Hercules and the Princess of Troy and Herculese Prisoner of Evil. The latter turns out not to resemble its description on the box, nor the description under that title in its IMDb listing, but is in fact this movie here, Maciste contro i Mongoli. The title and credit sequence are missing, the movie beginning with a female voice-over and the funeral pyre of Genghis Khan. The references to the WHITE MAN noted by another reviewer were also not apparent. The faded Eastmancolor print lacks all yellow tones, so everything is red or green, making "Hercules" a shiny red fellow. Since it is clearly stated in the first minute to be the thirteenth century, and "Hercules" himself claims to be a Christian, it would make as much sense to call the character Tarzan. There is an inordinate amount of carrying large objects, especially logs and battering rams, with which people are poked or knocked down. The freudian implications of that, along with the bulging bosoms of "Hercules," are disturbing. I was impressed by what elaborate sets, props and costumes, and how many extras, could be summoned for such an otherwise cheesy movie. I am not sure it was worth my fifty cents, but I am glad I didn't pay two bucks to rent it. The DVD claims to be from the Family Value Collection, but is otherwise unlabeled as to its place of origin. It does say it was Digitally Remastered though.

HERCULES AGAINST THE MONGOLS is another film about the exploits of Maciste, whose name was changed to Hercules for American audiences.

One day, while building a nifty footbridge, Hercules / Maciste is given a prophesy that he must face the hordes of Genghis Khan. It seems that the sons of Khan are thundering across the land, making a big mess of things.

It's not long before Herc grabs a tree in order to teach the Mongols a lesson in civility.

Batter up!

Meanwhile, the Mongols capture the beautiful Bianca de Tuleda (Jose Garci) and her people. Allowing himself to be caught, Big H infiltrates the Mongol empire. Obviously, this leads to the obligatory "test of strength", this time, proving who is worthy of Bianca.

Many are killed, and H-Man must hold up a huge slab of granite (aka: styrofoam) or more will perish! When he's locked up in a cell with a lion, he must prove he's the true "king of beasts". In his bathrobe, no less!

Can our favorite human forklift defeat the sons of Khan?

This is a rather fast-paced movie with a boffo finale featuring battle and disaster! Lovers of the genre will be utterly entertained...

This movie begins with "Hercules" (Mark Forest) coming upon a young Oriental mother with her children somewhere in Central Europe or Russia who want to get across a river. So Hercules pulls up a big tree by the roots to use as a make-shift bridge for them to cross. As a token of appreciation the young mother proceeds to read Hercules fortune and describes an oncoming Mongol army led by 3 brothers who will cause him some trouble along the way. As it turns out Genghis Khan has just died and his 3 sons named "Karikan" (Renato Terra), "Sayan" (Ken Clark) and "Susdal" (Renato Rossini) decide to violate their father's last request and lead their armies westward to ravage and plunder those kingdoms who are at peace with them. One of the first cities they attack is called "Tudela" which they capture with ease. Although they kill the king his young son "Alexander" (Loris Loddi) manages to escape. However, the king's daughter named "Bianca" (Jose Greci) is taken prisoner and thrown into the dungeon awaiting their pleasure. But Hercules has plans to the contrary. Now rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this particular movie seemed to lack cohesion and solidity. As a matter of fact other than Maria Gracia Spina (as the Mongol wife of Karikan named "Lee-Wan"), who lent her beauty to the screen, there wasn't anything that remarkable about this movie at all. The English dubbing was ludicrous, the fabricated historical plot was silly and the action was rather boring. In short, I rate this movie as below average.

I don't think I know how many of these exist. I do know I've wached many as a kid and thought or maybe believed I could be this guy. The all powerful male, fighting for the good or at least against evil. Not sure if I watched this specific one as a kid. Probably not, but I did watch it recently, as it is part of a 16 movie collection I purchased many years ago.

So another Sword and Sandal movie. It's quite decent, with the obvious fights but also some humor in spaces. It is what it is

I get it, Hercules has many different interpretations from his conception, but this... what even is this supposed to be? There is nothing in this movie that makes sense in the slightest. Somehow Hercules is set in 1200 AD China (I think) where Genghis Khan has died and decreed with his last breath that they live in peace with "the white man". Yeah, a bit of racism in this movie along with the animal cruelty. Apparently, as I TRIED to research this a bit, Hercules has converted to Christianity? How does that even work? You're telling me that Zeus and the other gods are just sitting around a table with the Christian god and this is ok? When asked of his origins, Hercules tells people "I was born of a human mother with my father being Zeus, the king of Olympus and all other gods. I have the powers of the gods, but walk among the human world... but don't worry, I'm a Christian just like you. God is my savior and I repent for my sins (like being in this movie)." Even if he wasn't Christian, how does one explain his origins if in this setting God exists and has created everything? Does Zeus bow down to God as his creator? I don't know what the writers were on when they came up with this idea, but they should have laid off a bit.

The entire idea of a Christian Hercules is just ridiculous and does not work at all in this setting. Let's also not forget that this is quiet possibly one of the WEAKEST Hercules' you will ever see. Ok, he lifted a tree and a stone column, big deal. He can apparently be whipped to death and nearly killed by a single arrow. I understand that he's a mortal with god-like powers, but the writers failed so badly to set up what he is that you're left scratching your head when he acts like he could crumble from the bite of a mosquito.

If it weren't for being made in the 60's, I would have sworn this was some middle schooler's terrible fanfic because all I could see was "Arnold Schwarzenegger (re)starring as Hercules who must save a town of nuns and priests from the Klingons". Admit it, you thought the mongol brothers looked like TOS Klingons too. This brings me to another point, maybe they should have tried hiring actual Asians to play the mongols? I could get behind using makeup and all, but you can clearly tell these were just three random guys they pulled off the street somewhere and gave them all painted on facial hair. At least their outfits looked something like I would imagine from a mongol era, even if it is just cliche' looking.

The entire movie is really devoid of an actual Hercules action, he spends a lot of time grunting and lifting things and sometimes being beat down. Hardly the Hercules you expect to see. And what is the deal with the kid's dubbing in these old movies? Were kids not allowed to dub voices for movies? This is not the first (nor will it be the last) movie that a clearly adult voice is used for a child (one of the absolute worst is Manos, The Hands of Fate, but that's on a whole different level of bad for a movie anyway). Oh, did I mention animal cruelty? Yeah... while I'm certainly not fighting for animal's rights and calling for all meat to be banned, the fight with the lion was really too much. You have to see it to believe it. That's right, Herc, just keep poking that big cat with the stick.

It wasn't a terrible movie, but it really lacked anything that makes it worth watching. When he first met the mongols and used the tree to show off his strength, I thought "yeah, he's gonna show them how things are done!", but I ended up with "I could have been outside digging out the ditch right now".

Or as the Mystery Science Theater guys say, "Ma-cheese-steak". To cash in on the Hercules phenomenon, there were several offshoots that were called "The Sons Of Hercules", most notably being Maciste. Maciste even showed up during the witch trial in England during "The Witch's Curse", which also starred Mark Forest. A few years ago, TNT showed a 12 hour "Herc-A-Thon", and a lot of these "Sons of Hercules" movies were shown during it. If you like campy Muscleman/Sword and Sandal/Gladiator/Conan type movies, then these are a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon trying to create drinking games and making fun of the Styrofoam tree trunks and boulders. Check this site for more Maciste and Son of Hercules movies!

Genghis Khan is dead but his 3 sons Sayan, Susdal, and Kin Khan live on to continue their reign of terror. Hercules/Maciste is out to stop the Mongols again.

I find this film is about as good as Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964) and much better than Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World (1961), which all films have a Genghis Khan story.

This is another averaged story peplum film. Love the costuming, props and sets as I usually do. The battles are entertaining. There are better sword and sandal film of the time era to watch but this one is okay enough for a different one to pop on now and again.

1.5/10

This particular peplum finds Hercules/Maciste going up against the sons of Genghis Khan and I have to say that these three are about as lousy a set of progeny I've seen on the screen since My Darling Clementine and those inbred Clantons.

Genghis Khan has died, but decreed that the Mongol empire would now live in peace with its Christian neighbors. But the three sons have different ideas, they want to go back to the old Mongol plundering ways. They kill the shaman giving Genghis Khan his last rites and then proclaim Christian treachery. Then they ride in and sack the Kingdom of Judela, kill the king and start looking for the boy prince, they take prisoner after awhile his sister.

Enter Mark Forest and Hercules/Maciste who performs the usual who performs his usual feats of strength like killing a lion and lifting a cement pillar. Of course the three brothers all want to be top dog and that's an apt description of them. And the Christians have one traitor in their midst.

It's all in a day's work for our hero.

Though Genghis Khan eventually sought peace with the West, his death in 1227 AD puts into power his three war-like sons: Sayan, Susdal, and Kin Khan. These sons quickly overrun the city of Tuleda and take prisoner Princess Bianca, though young Prince Alessio escapes. Hercules comes to the rescue of Bianca, winning her freedom in a tournament in exchange for becoming a slave himself.

This is actually a Machiste peplum not a Hercules one - despite the title - and it's an ok one with Mark Forest doing what he does best, giving the bad guys a hard time such as using a tree as a weapon as he takes on Sayan's Mongol cavalry and when he takes on a Lion with a iron bar. There's some good fight sequences as well as some by the numbers action with extras just running around amidst the battle. It keeps one watching, though it can get tedious and the plot doesn't flow neatly. Still it's enjoyable and plus there Maria Grazia Spina to ogle at - she plays a manipulative girlfriend of Genghis Khan's son, but sees the error of the ways when he turns on her.

(1963) Hercules Vs the Mongols/ Maciste contro i Mongoli (Maciste/ Strongman Against the Mongols) DUBBED HISTORICAL MYTHICAL FICTION

Co written and directed by Domenico Paolella starring Mark Forest as Hercules having to confront Genghis Kahn and his his three hostile grown up sons of Sayan (Ken Clark), Susdal Howard Ross), and Kin Khan (Nadir Baltimore) who does not want peace nor civility.

Pretentious, fake and forgettable that lacks some common sense. And the movie lacks common sense because it wants to drag it's viewers as it is supposed to be a feature movie- a hour and 30 minutes to be exact.

As I've said in other reviews, the sword and sandal genre isn't exactly one that I enjoy. But I think even those who do enjoy its offerings will find this particular one tough to sit through. One big reason for that is that the hero (Maciste or Hercules, depending on what version you watch) is particularly weak. Not when it comes to physical strength (though his strength does fluctuate through the movie), but when it comes to his character. We learn nothing about him, like how he got to this part of the world or what he feels or thinks about anything. In fact, he's off screen for big chunks of the running time. This might have been looked over had the movie done well in other areas, but it doesn't. While the awful dubbing does provoke a few chuckles here and there, it doesn't make up for the fact the movie is extremely dull. There's far more talk than action, and when there is action, it's staged and directed in a very feeble fashion. It didn't take long into watching the movie for me to wish that it would end much quicker than it actually did, and I suspect that you'll feel the same way as well.

Annoying music, decors and costumes used in hundreds of other movies, idiot script, zero quality actors, a terrible boredom. I can not even call it a movie.