Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

boblipton After the international success of HERCULES, the Steve Reeves Swords-and-Sandals vehicle THE SLAVE clearly had some money spent on its production values -- good costumes and some nice sets to accent good camera lighting abound. The plot, typical of peplum movies, is a mishmosh of themes intended to take advantage of recent hits.Reeves is a Roman centurion working for the noble Julius Caesar in Rome. He is captured by leopard-skin wearing desert barbarians working for the evil Crassus, escapes, gets captured again, is enslaved, identified as Spartacus' son (hence the movie's Italian title) and leads a slave rebellion.Director Sergio Corbucci does his usual highly competent job, abetted by the handsome production values that Cinecitta was capable of; kudos especially to director of Photography Enzo Baroni, whose lighting suggests illustrations on parchment. Although the writing never rises above the level of silliness that such cheap epics aspired to, fans of the genre will find plenty to enjoy.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 31 December 1962 by Titanus-Arta Cinematografica. Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at neighborhood cinemas on a double bill with "It Happened at the World's Fair": 29 May 1963. U.S. release: 29 May 1963. U.K. release: 29 December 1963. Australian release: 22 August 1963. 9,180 feet. 102 minutes. Original Italian title: Il FIGLIO DI SPARTACUS. U.S. release title: The SLAVE.SYNOPSIS: In 48 B.C., Julius Caesar sends a young centurion named Randus to investigate the rule of the corrupt Grassus in the province of Lydia. En route by sea, Randus' ship runs aground and he is captured by a band of slave drivers. But he leads a revolt and the slaves defeat and destroy their captors. By means of an amulet he wears, Randus is then identified as the son of Spartacus, the gladiator-slave who was crucified twenty years earlier for warring against Rome. Arriving in Lydia, Randus is met by Grassus, his wily mistress Clodia, and her warrior brother Vezio. Outwardly pretending friendship, Randus secretly carries on his father's work by leading the enslaved Lydians in a revolt.NOTES: Released in Italy in 1962 in a 110-minute version. The version released by M-G-M in America, England and Australia was of course English-dubbed.COMMENT: Most of the sword-and-sandal epics released in such profusion in the 1960s were instantly forgettable exploitation, drive-in fare. "The Son of Spartacus", though obviously designed to cash in on the success of the Kirk Douglas hit, was a surprising exception which unexpectedly offered audiences really outstanding entertainment. A large part of "Spartacus" it will be remembered was taken up with gladiatorial combat. Unlike "Barabbas", "Son of Spartacus" does not make the mistake of showing audiences these scenes all over again. Instead, Andriano Bolzoni's astonishingly literate script concentrates on Caesar's campaign against Grassus. These two are superbly brought to life by Ivo Garrani and Claudio Gora, respectively. As Grassus's lieutenant, Jacques Sernas acquits himself well, as does Gianna Maria Canale (as his sister), Ombretta Colli (the slave girl) and even Steve Reeves in the title role (a very pleasingly accented English voice is used for Mr. Reeves instead of the strident American tones employed for him in previous epics).Corbucci's direction is quite interesting (I like his profile studies of Caesar and Clodia), while Franco Giraldi's 2nd unit work in the shadow of the Pyramids themselves is vigorously staged and most effective.

jimm-8 By 1970 Son of Spartacus (now out on DVD) found itself relegated to Saturday morning matinées, which is hardly surprising since Steve Reeves here seems to be getting twice as much combat duty as in most of the other Italian epics. So much so, one could hardly miss the kiddies re-enacting his many sword fights on the way home. Grown-ups too had something to admire, especially the eye-catching Ombretta Colli who conveniently gets shipwrecked with Reeves on a beach with her costume cut to shreds. This might prove an embarrassment to Miss Colli in later years when she went into Italian politics, no doubt hoping her voters would not remember her cheesecake days.However, it is film music fans who have most to cheer, with a score derived from no less than three of the top Italian film composers. While Son of Spartacus was being filmed in Egypt during March and April of 1962, veteran maestro Carlo Innocenzi sadly died (on March 24). His stirring main title can still be heard in the M-G-M release, and it's an impressive full orchestral version of the slow execution march for Princess Elea in Goliath Against the Giants (1961). For the opening scenes M-G-M simply recycle Innocenzi's battle music from Goliath Against the Giants, but the opening narration is accompanied by the lovely "Glauco e Antonino" track from Lavagnino's Last Days of Pompeii (1959). For the rest of the score we get a mixture of new music by Piero Piccioni (a haunting desert tune and a rousing finale march when Reeves ultimately triumphs), plus some prior Piccioni material from Duel of the Titans (1961). The Italian language version (also available on DVD) is scored by Piccioni throughout, with a different main title adapted from "Amulio" in Duel of the Titans. Piccioni's entire score, including some unused cues, can be enjoyed on a CD thanks to those dedicated vault raiders at Digitmovies

Highlanderblack I will never forget this film it was brilliant, ok, just another Cowboy and Indian style film, but it worked, and maybe it was terrible after Kubrick's version of Spartacus, but hey, this was a completely different film, and it was aimed at kids of my age, you can't say that of Spartacus. No, the masked man was great, 40 years on, I still think about it, all I wish is I could see it again, never been able to get a copy.