mark.waltz It's not "King Cobra" that's being sacrificed for, but a giant mythological creature, unseen for all but the last few minutes of this entertaining action/adventure that features Rosanna Schiaffino in a delicious dual role. She's twin sisters, just as Maria Montez was in "Cobra Woman", separated at birth because of her father's concern of the Greek prophecy that any younger twin must be sacrificed to the notorious Minotaur, a horned and fanged giant gorilla like creature that could destroy all of Crete if unleashed out of the will of the Gods. Like Montez's campy 1944 cult classic, the one remaining in her homeland is evil and sinister, while the other, raised by foster parents, is sweet and kind. Upon discovering the existence of her twin, the evil Schiaffino sets into motion a plan to kill her so she won't end up a Minotaur sacrifice and become queen when her father (Carlo Tamberlani) dies. The evil queen's men kill the foster parents, but before they can do away with the good sister, she is rescued by Athenian prince Bob Mathias and his pal Rick Battaglia, determined to protect her. But with the evil Alberto Lupo by the evil queen's side, any attempt for good by her decent father and the attempts of the two heroes to protect the good sister are threatened, with the aide of some torturous intentions that are truly heart burning!Some fantastic art direction and good photographic effects makes this Italian made sword and sandal film as close as you can get to a Ray Harryhausen masterpiece, minus that master's artistic touch that make those films classics. The "Cobra Woman" connection for me was instantaneous from the very beginning, and fans of "I, Claudius" will also delight in the similarities in the court intrigue of the Greek rulers here. The two heroes are both brave and handsome, willing to sacrifice their own lives to protect the good princess, and this leads to some shocking twists in the last 20 minutes, and some good endings for a few of the villains. The appearance of the actual Minotaur is a bit disappointing, although I had to turn my head as Mathias got the better of this huge ugly creature. I've had mixed reactions to the dozen or so Italian period fantasies of this nature, some ridiculously stupid and some surprisingly above average. None of them, outside perhaps the original "Hercules", are truly great, but this one is as close as you can come to one where all the pieces fit nicely together to make a very entertaining package. Schiaffino is added to my list of great screen villainesses for her portrayal of the very determined Fedra, although her performance as Ariadna, the good princess, seems lethargic in comparison. Not since Joan Collins creeped up on an unsuspecting victim in "Land of the Pharaohs" and schemed to become all powerful has there been such a fascinating ancient queen of mean, and thus with that characterization, Schiaffino steals the film.

gavin6942 In ancient Crete, a monster called the Minotaur can only be satisfied by virgin sacrifices. The evil ruler of Crete is determined to keep the monster happy by sacrificing as many of the island's virgins as he can, but a pair of friends determine to kill the monster and stop the sacrifices.Director Silvio Amadio is unfortunately not well known, perhaps best remembered for "Wolves of the Deep" (1959), and even that is rather obscure. Star Bob Mathias has a much more fascinating biography -- he was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a Marine Corps officer, actor and Republican Congressman representing the state of California.For movie buffs, the most recognizable might be Paul Mueller, who would go on to appear in a few 60s and 70s horror films by Jess Franco, including his version of "Count Dracula".Anyway, that was all just to full space. You should watch this.

dbdumonteil Fanciful rendition of one of the most famous Greek myths.To write that the movie takes liberties with the tale is to state the obvious:first of all,Phaedra and Ariadne are twin sisters both played by Italian beauty(and an usual sword and sandal heroine of the era)Rosanna Schiaffino : the former is the villain ,a wicked princess ,whereas the latter is an innocent clueless good girl .Theseus is still the king of Athenes ' son but his father won't throw himself into the sea which bears his name (Aegean sea);and if my memory serves me well,he marries Phaedra after abandoning her sister on an island.People who are eagerly waiting for the Minotaur will be disappointed for the monster looks like King Kong and would not scare a four -year- old .They did include Ariadne's thread and she is devoted enough to go and meet him in the labyrinth.Closer to Robert Siomak's "Cobra woman" than to Greek tales.

ma-cortes King of Crete named Minos (Carlo Tamberlani) has two daughters , one good named Ariadna and one evil named Fedra (Rosanna Schiaffino in a double role). Fedra orders Sciron (Alberto Lupo) to kill Ariadna , but the murderer fails thanks to Teseo , prince of Athens , and Demetrio (Rick Battaglia). Fedra rules over Crete and supported by Scirion wage war Athens . Athenians are defeated and obligated to tribute of fourteen maids for feed minotaur , a horrible monster , part human and part bull . Meanwhile , Teseo taking on Fedra and Sciron , when Ariadna goes into the cave of the monster and using the famous thread.This ¨Sword and Sandals¨ movie packs adventures , fights , mythology , impressive battles , spectacular scenarios and results to be quite amusing . The film confronts ¨Greek culture¨ as pacific , civilized , luxurious and ¨Crete or Minoic culture¨ as cruel , brutal and worshipping Gods with human sacrifices included . However , from discovery Crete by archaeologist ¨Evans¨ is considered Crete a very developed civilization , above average the countries by that time . In fact , the palace of Knososs in Crete -partially reflected on the movie- was the greatest and luxurious for that time . Furthermore , the picture mingles wrongly the Crete setting from 1600 B.C. with Greeks dressed like V century . The film is starred by Bob Mathias , an US athlete , twice world champion decathlon and justifying his fans , he plays some scenes demonstrating his abilities , along with another starring , Rick Battaglia . The pic contains evocative cinematography by Giordani and atmospheric musical score by Carlo Rustichelli accompanying the usual dancing choreography . The motion picture was well directed by Silvio Amadio who filmed another Peplum set in Babylone titled ¨Seven thunderbolts¨ . Rating : Acceptable and passable . The film will appeal to muscle-man sub-genre buffs.