Aufstand der Gladiatoren

This is another splendid peplum (actually the director's entry into the field he would revisit 6 more times) vastly undersold by the "Leonard Maltin Film Guide", which he rates at a mere **. That said, I managed to acquire and watch a widescreen print in Italian (albeit somewhat worn and with virtually illegible credits!), and could not picture it English-dubbed and panned-and-scanned afterwards – which may well be how many foreigners caught the film, on TV, to begin with...and, in fact, it has frequently aired on the U.K. channel "Movies 4 Men" this last year! Anyway, it re-unites Gianna Maria Canale and Georges Marchal from Riccardo Freda's equally fine THEODORA, SLAVE EMPRESS (1954), though the two do not actually meet face-to-face here – as the passage of just 4 years had relegated the former (despite receiving top-billing) to a villainess role and the latter to second lead! The hero, then, is Ettore Manni who would virtually become synonymous with the genre (in fact, he appeared two more times for Cottafavi) and, in this case, is possibly at the very top of his game.

Its deceptively-brief running-time of 82 minutes betrays a busy and rather complex plot (whose essence neither the bland English title nor the prosaic original, translating to THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS, can really hope to capture!) that sees the Romans, led by Manni, taking on two different countries that rarely featured in this type of fare – the Armenians and the Shi'ites. Canale is the aspiring Queen of the former (the official ruler is a child whom she is slowly poisoning to death!), ingratiating herself with the conquerors in order to keep her status (but subsequently conspiring with the latter people so as to regain the upper hand), while Marchal is the rugged leader of a rebel Armenian army – who has lived much of his life fighting, either in the gladiatorial arena or for his country's freedom. There are several twists-and-turns along the way which has all the protagonists going from victor to vanquished (the hero's hatred of injustice and display of clemency towards the barbarians actually brings about the titular rebellion!): more importantly, following the obvious initial enmity, Manni and Marchal eventually earn one another's respect and, through a mutual understanding, join forces against a common enemy.

Similarly, an Armenian girl whose father had been killed by the Romans and ends up as Canale's slave (her knowledge of medicine even results in the little King's recovery!), is confounded by her feelings for Manni but, by the end, the two are at each other's side (in fact, rather than the standard anonymous long-shot of the landscape, Cottafavi emphasizes the intimacy of the narrative by sticking with them, silent observers to Marchal's funeral procession, for the closing shot). Indeed, such sturdy film-making abounds in this outing (in direct contrast to the director's two subsequent juvenile adventures featuring the mythical Greek demi-god Hercules!)...but, as with his picaresque masterpiece THE HUNDRED HORSEMEN (1964), we also get a mischievous dwarf thrown into the fray for (thankfully not over-stressed) comic relief purposes! Other memorable scenes here include: Marchal's duel in the arena with a lion; Canale's demise at the hands of one of her escaped pet tigers; Manni getting virtually single-handedly freed from prison by his devoted strong-man lieutenant (hilariously, the midget is thought to have thrown a guard clear across the room when it was really him!) but who pays the price with his life – incidentally, both he and Marchal also have strong-minded female companions (which is quite atypical of the genre!); and the heroine being herself saved from the stake at the proverbial eleventh-hour by her lover.

This minor epic with standard plot in a different setting displays action , adventures , humor , climactic battles , luxurious scenarios and results to be quite amusing . It is the standard-issue one about the oppressed citizens rising up to overthrow a tyrant . Thus we have the usual scenes of the townspeople being drilled in the fighting to prepare them to eliminate the occupying force along with a court intrigue in which a nasty princess attempts to overthrow the loyal ruler , a kid whose leadership is his birthright . These scenes are wrapped around a predictable plot about rebel gladiators and a rebellious leader who leads his submitted country . Marcus Numidius (Ettore Manni) , a Roman tribune sent to Armenia to put down a gladiators' revolt , captures the rebels' popular leader , Aselepius (Georges Marchal) and frees a Roman officer (Rafael Luis Calvo) . Later on , Marcus is treated well by the Roman governor (Jesús Tordesillas) who gives him a great attention as guest of honour and splendid welcome but countrymen carry out a revolt . Meanwhile , Princess Amira (Gianna Maria Canale) , with ambitions of being Queen executes astute plans , as the little King is being poisoned to overthrow him . And jealous of Asclepius' popularity , she schemes his death in the arena by substituting a lion for his human opponent . But then , the bare-chested warrior helped by a dwarf (Salvatore Furnari who gives the comic relief) goes in an all-out rampage to save the boy .

"La Rivolta Dei Gladiatori" or "The Warrior and the Slave Girl¨(international title) directed by sometimes-lauded Cottafavi packs brief historical events about Armenia encroachment by Romans , gorgeous landscapes , glimmer scenarios, and battles well staged with hundreds of people . It is a fun film plenty of action , humor , fights , entertainment and amusement . The movie has not characterization accuracy neither expectation historic . This is a simple chronicle about an Oriental province at the Roman Empire where takes place a rebellion . Evocative costumes , bright photography , and a few good vistas help detract from the overall familiarity , and Ettore Manni makes an appealing though not especially charismatic hero . Highlights are gladiator combats , breathtaking battles , thrilling soundtrack and color cinematography . Being a Spain/Italy production there appears several secondary actors , many of them Peplum and Spaghetti's usual such as : Mara Cruz , Rafael Luis Calvo , Santiago Rivero and Jesús Tordesillas . Atmospheric as well as evocative musical score by Roberto Nicolisi . Colorful cinematography by Mario Pacheco , being filmed on location in La Pedriza , Manzanares Del Real , Madrid , Lazio , Rome , as well as studios : Pisorno Studios, Tirrenia, Tuscany, Italy and Sevilla Film Madrid, Spain . The flick will appeal to minor epic films buffs . Rating : Better than average and entertaining .

This motion picture titled ¨La Rebelión de los Gladiadores¨ is an enjoyable Sword and sandals flick , being professionally directed by Vittorio Cottafavi (1914-1998) ; he was a complete artist , painter and Peplum expert , as he directed : ¨Conquest of Atlántida¨, ¨Goliath and the Dragon¨(1961) with Mark Forest , Broderick Crawford , Bruce Cabot , ¨Hércules and the captive woman¨(1963) with Reg Park and the ordinary Ettore Manni , ¨Legions of Cleopatra¨, ¨Mesallina¨ and this ¨rebellion of gladiators¨. Vittorio began his professional career in the film industry as a clapper boy . After progressing to write motion picture screenplays and working as assistant director under Alessandro Blasetti and Vittorio De Sica, he became a director in his own right in 1943. Many of his films have been lavishly-produced, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, "sword-and sandal" or ¨Muscleman¨ epics, dealing with mythological subjects involving the Roman Empire or Ancient Egypt . From the mid-60's, Cottafavi concentrated exclusively on directing TV series and mini-series, under contract to RAI , many of them dealing with historic events or known personages such as Oliver Cromwell , Don Giovanni , Napoleone a Sant'Elena , Vita Di Dante and Cristóbal Colon .

Despite some decent set-pieces and good characterisation, I found THE WARRIOR AND THE SLAVE GIRL to be a pretty dull and routine entry in the peplum genre; even sub-par outings like THE SWORD OF EL CID are more fun. It sounds strange to call a film which features gladiator battles against lions and a full scale uprising against cruel oppressors dull, but there you go.

The problem with THE WARRIOR AND THE SLAVE GIRL is that it just plods along to a joyless climax without making much effort to intrigue or indeed excite the viewer. The various plot elements of the Roman film genre are all present and correct, and yet you get that "seen it all before" feeling about the production.

Not that there's anything particularly at fault here; certainly, seasoned cast members like Gianna Maria Canale and Ettore Manni do their best, and the production values are mid level; the scenes of spectacle are a lot of fun. Yet it's not good enough to come across as a classic, nor is it cheesy enough to be entertaining as a B-movie, nor is it bad enough to laugh at. Instead, it's just a forgettable, middle-of-the-road kind of production.