Erik the Viking (1965)

Original title: Erik, Il Vichingo

Peplum/Vikings. Italy. Starring Giuliano Gemma, Gordon Mitchell, Eleonora Bianchi, Eduardo Fajardo & Carla Calò. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Parade (Italy). Italian language. Fullscreen.

This is what happened when the vikings first discovered America according to the folks at Cinecittà. Their guess is as good as anybody's I guess... If you can accept Gemma as a viking chieftain (I have no objections!) this is a fun, minor viking peplum. Gordon Mitchell clearly enjoys himself in another villanois role. One of few italian viking films NOT to star Cameron Mitchell. 3/5

War Gods of the Deep (1965)

a.k.a The City Under the Sea

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure. UK. Starring Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, David Tomlinson & Susan Hart. Directed by Jacques Tourneur.

DVD: MGM Midnite Movies (USA). English language. Widescreen. Very good quality.

After an interesting first half this movie turns into another lame big studio moneyburner with too many boring underwater scenes. Tourneur's director skills was better suited for thrillers. 2/5

Goliath and the Dragon (1960) + Conqueror of Atlantis (1965)

Original title: La Vendetta di Ercole

Peplum. Italy/France. Starring Mark Forest, Wandisa Guida, Gaby André & Broderick Crawford. Directed by Vittorio Cottafavi.

DVD: Something Weird (USA). English dubbed. Widescreen. Nice quality. Edited US version. This DVD also includes Alfonso Brescia's highly entertaining 1965 peplum Conqueror of Atlantis in which Kirk Morris romances a princess and fights a mad sorcerer, robot-men and a bunch of arabs! Conqueror is presented in a watchable fullscreen print. (4/5)

Good, clean Cottafavi fun with Mark Forest! 4/5

Erik the Viking (1965)

Original title: Erik, Il Vichingo

Peplum/Vikings. Italy. Starring Giuliano Gemma, Gordon Mitchell, Eleonora Bianchi, Eduardo Fajardo & Carla Calò. Directed by Mario Caiano.

Unicorn Video (USA). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

This is what happened when the vikings first discovered America according to the folks at Cinecittà. Their guess is as good as anybody's I guess... If you can accept Gemma as a viking chieftain (I have no objections!) this is a fun, minor viking peplum. Gordon Mitchell clearly enjoys himself in another villanois role. One of few italian viking films NOT to star Cameron Mitchell. 3/5

Behind the Mask of Zorro (1965)

Original title: El Zorro Cabalga Otra Vez

Zorro. Spain/Italy. Starring Tony Russel, María José Alfonso, Jesús Puente & Ángela Rhu. Directed by Ricardo Blasco.

PM Video Galaxy (Greece). English dubbed. Letterboxed (slightly).

Naive and shoddy spanish Zorro flick. One for the completist. 2/5

Angelique: The Road to Versailles (1965)

Original title: Merveilleuse Angélique

Romance/Adventure. France/West Germany/Italy. Starring Michèle Mercier, Claude Giraud, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean Rochefort, Giuliano Gemma, Ernst Schröder & Rosalba Neri. Directed by Bernard Borderie.

Wahlters/Romantic (Sweden). Selltape. Fullscreen. French with swedish subtitles.

Fire Over Rome (1965)

Original title: L'incendio di Roma

Peplum. Italy/Yugoslavia. Starring Lang Jeffries, Mario Feliciani, Moira Orfei, Luciano Marin & Vladimir Medar. Directed by Guido Malatesta.

Draaipleizer (Holland). English dubbed. Letterboxed (slightly).

These praetorians vs. christians peplum dramas simply aren't my thing... 2/5

Mystery of Thug Island (1965)

Original title: I Misteri della Giungla Nera

Exotic adventure. Italy/Monaco/West Germany. Starring Guy Madison, Ingeborg Schöner & Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. Directed by Luigi Capuano.

Original Video (Greece). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Veeery dull bengal adventure. 1/5

Temple of a Thousand Lights (1965)

Original title: La Montagna di Luce

Exotic adventure. Italy. Starring Richard Harrison, Luciana Gilli, Daniele Vargas, Andrea Scotti & Dakar. Directed by Umberto Lenzi.

Videoklubben (Sweden). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Very entertaining exotic adventure/heist film from Mr. Lenzi (one of my favorite directors of adventure- and cop films). Recommended. 4/5

Hercules the Avenger (1965)

Original title: La Sfida dei Giganti

Peplum. Italy. Starring Reg Park, Gia Sandri & Giovanni Cianfriglia. Directed by Maurizio Lucidi.

DVD: Retromedia (USA). English dubbed. Widescreen. Pretty good quality.

Veeery bad stuff here! The best scenes from Hercules in the Haunted World and Hercules Conquers Atlantis (all starring Park) are edited together with some newly and very cheaply shot scenes. As you might have figured it makes little sense. I guess Park decided to squeeze out the last bucks from his italian visit before returning to the states to pursue his professional bodybuilder career... good timing too, as the Cinecittà peplum boom was pretty much over by 1965 and the producers quickly moved on to westerns and spy films. 2/5

Aventura al Centro de la Tierra (1965)

Fantasy/Adventure. Mexico. Starring Kitty de Hoyos & Javier Solis. Directed by Alfredo B. Crevenna.

DVD: Televista (USA). Spanish language with no subtitles. Fullscreen. So-so quality.

Entertaining mexican fantasy in the Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth school - lot's of exitement and imaginative dime-store monsters, the lack of subtitles was no major problem for me. 3/5

Treasure of the Petrified Forest (1965)

Original title: Il Tesoro della Foresta Pietrificata

Peplum/Vikings. Italy. Starring Ivica Pajer, Gordon Mitchell & Eleonora Bianchi. Directed by Emimmo Salvi.

Breien Video (Norway). English dubbed. Fulscreen.

Odins son Siegfried and his merry men protects the Niebelungen treasure from nasty vikings led by Gordon Mitchell! Campy viking peplum. 3/5

Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus (1965)

Original title: Golia alla Conquista di Bagdad

Peplum/Arabian adventure. Italy. Starring Rock Stevens, Mario Petri, Helga Liné, Arturo Dominici, Piero Lulli, Andrea Aureli & Daniele Vargas. Directed by Domenico Paolella.

EVC (Holland). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

I prefer the un-PC Goliath Against the Arabs-title, but it seems to restricted to this video release, so... Anyway, a watchable but unexeptional arabian peplum best saved for a rainy day. 2/5

Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas (1965)

Peplum. Italy. Starring Kirk Morris, Barbara Loy & Andrea Aureli. Directed by Guido Malatesta.
AVO Film (Italy). Italian language. Fullscreen.

Incredible, intoxicating Grade Z peplum, which consists mostly of scenes from Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules and Colossus and the Headhunters (and probably some other peplum I can't place) and some badly shot new footage with B-list peplum star Kirk Morris. As you may have guessed it all makes no sense whatsoever. 3/5 (entertainment value)

Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus (1965)

Original title: Golia alla Conquista di Bagdad

Peplum/Arabian adventure. Italy. Starring Rock Stevens, Mario Petri, Helga Liné, Arturo Dominici, Piero Lulli, Andrea Aureli & Daniele Vargas. Directed by Domenico Paolella.

EVC (Holland). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

I prefer the un-PC Goliath Against the Arabs-title, but it seems to restricted to this video release, so... Anyway, a watchable but unexeptional arabian peplum best saved for a rainy day. 2/5

Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West (1965)

Original title: Buffalo Bill, L'eroe del Far West

Western/Adventure. Italy/France/West Gerany. Starring Gordon Scott,Mario Brega, Piero Lulli, Hans von Borsody & Ingeborg Schöner. Directed by Mario Costa.

Salut (Denmark). Selltape. English dubbed. Fullscreen. Not the best looking print.

Generally considered the first spaghetti western, this plays much more like an adventure film. Not so strange considering the director is adventure expert Mario Costa, the casting of peplum star Gordon Scott and the fact that Leone hadn't hit us with his "dollar" films yet. Some people go into this hoping for something Leone-essque and are dissapointed when they get an innocent adventure film in western settings. But for me who likes adventure it's a surprisingly well-crafted and all around fun film... one of Costa's best! 4/5

The Last of the Mohicans (1965)

Original title: Uncas, el Fin de una Raza

Adventure/Western. Spain/Italy. Staerring Jack Taylor, Barbara Loy & Paul Muller. Directed by Mateo Cano.

Cinehollywood/Macvideo (Sweden). English dubbed. Fullscreen.

Cheap Eurociné produced adventure-western. To get maximal enjoyment out of this film, save it for some dull rainy afternoon and don't expect too much. 2/5

Kublai Khan (1965)

Original title: La fabuleuse Aventure de Marco Polo

Historical/Adventure. Italy/France/Yugoslavia/Afghanistan/Egypt. Starring Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Orson Welles, Robert Hossein & Horst Buchholz

VCL (UK). English dubbed. Fullscreen.