Seeing as how the 1962 remake of this film is one of my absolute favourites, I felt it was only fair to go back and give the original a try. Boy, was I in for a surprise! While Riccardo Freda's later movie was an entry in the sword-and-sandal genre with loincloth-clad strongman Kirk Morris raising merry hell in, well, Hell, this is more of a fantasy adventure type story. Here, Bartolomeo Pagano plays Maciste, a normal, everyday, (then) modern guy – dressed in clothes and everything – living in the country, who happens to be extremely strong and powerful. Pagano played the character for decades and in dozens of movies, so he fits his role like a glove here.
One thing I couldn't believe was this old, creaky, silent film's budget. It must have been massive, because this feels like an epic! The scenes in Hell are tremendously well-staged, as we witness dozens of demons flying around in the air; a huge dragon, just as good as the ones you saw in the '60s; numerous kings and assorted characters of the underworld, all from mythology or legend; massive pitched battles as Maciste smacks his way through crowds of lesser demons, flinging them through the air; plus plenty more besides. There are explosions, smoke, and wonderful scenes in which demons return their missing heads and re-grow their smashed faces. The story is easy to follow because there are lots of storyboard bits which tell you what's going on, and there's even some touching morality thrown in. Fans of silent cinema will no doubt have a ball with this effort, one of the most imaginative and entertaining that I've seen from the era.
One thing I couldn't believe was this old, creaky, silent film's budget. It must have been massive, because this feels like an epic! The scenes in Hell are tremendously well-staged, as we witness dozens of demons flying around in the air; a huge dragon, just as good as the ones you saw in the '60s; numerous kings and assorted characters of the underworld, all from mythology or legend; massive pitched battles as Maciste smacks his way through crowds of lesser demons, flinging them through the air; plus plenty more besides. There are explosions, smoke, and wonderful scenes in which demons return their missing heads and re-grow their smashed faces. The story is easy to follow because there are lots of storyboard bits which tell you what's going on, and there's even some touching morality thrown in. Fans of silent cinema will no doubt have a ball with this effort, one of the most imaginative and entertaining that I've seen from the era.