The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)

Directed by Sergio Leone. Starring Rory Calhoun. Lea Massari, George Marchal, Conrado San Martin, Mabel Karr, Ángel Aranda, Roberto Camardiel, Mimmo Palmara, George Rigaud.

Lavish Italian sword-and-sandal epic is commendable on the level of spectacle, but is hollow where human interest should be. Calhoun is poorly cast as the toga-sporting hero (he replaced John Derek early in the production) who gets swept up in a plot to overthrow the despotic king (Camardiel) on the island of Rhodes. Sets and costuming overshadow narrative, and the incentive to show off all that grandeur results in a sluggish, lumbering pace; periodic battle and catastrophe can only perk things up so much. Little of Sergio Leone’s distinctive style is on hand here in the first film he received sole credit for directing, but it’s still a passable effort. As typical of moviemaking exaggeration, the onscreen Colossus of Rhodes is shown as being about three times larger than it actually was, big enough to straddle the harbor entryway! Shot in TotalScope, Italy’s answer to Cinemascope. The international cut that played in the US runs about fifteen minutes shorter.

58/100