I wonder what Helen would have thought of it.
Helen of Troy. I stumbled upon a taped copy of the Robert Wise 50's sword and sandal blockbuster at Goodwill the other day. I am almost positive that I've never seen it before. I was certainly not aware that that title had been such a big hit, that it had been one of Warner's bigger money makers back in those early Cinemascope days. From what I could tell from the box it was just another reissued pan and scan big screen epic with a cast of thousands that I had somehow overlooked as an adult, that I might have watched as a boy in some truncated fashion or another during one of those late afternoon local television station matinees that always seemed to be running in LA in the sixties.
From what I can tell it wasn't one of those pieces of high cinema that my mother would occasionally command me to sit and watch for my classic film viewing edification. Rather, it was probably just another bit of faded film fodder I sat down and kept myself busy with, the way I did with all those Steve Reeves Hercules kind of films. If it wasn't a war film or a Western I generally wasn't too interested. Didn't have those kinds of soldiers to act out the movie afterwards. Didn't have the plastic swords to bang around with outside. So, outside of Victor Mature's pecs flashing as he tore the temple down in Samson and Delilah I never really saw the point of all those greased up muscle boys cavorting about in togas. I certainly was too young to appreciate the scantily dressed babes. Pity, as I really missed out on a vibrant and thrilling genre.
Never say never, for in the film world it rarely a case of "too late" these days. After watching Helen I realized that I was sorely lacking in my classical education. Not the book kind, mind you. I had struggled with Homer as a student back in high school and have never had the inclination or the desire to go back to those musty words again. No, rather, it was the Italian sword and sandal cult films that I missed out on. I didn't realize, outside of a stray Hercules and the Moon Men piece that would show up now and again in a cheesey 10 film compilation, that there was such a huge body of work out there to pile through. Again, it wasn't my skin of wine as a boy, but now it can be in all it's lightbulb faded glory. I, too, can be the proud owner of a 50 film Italian sword and sandal box set filled with films from the 50's and sixties that I never knew exisited before.
I, too, can now revel in a form of cinema that stands alone, that can be consumed and enjoyed for the cheese that it is without it being watered down with other likeminded B and C quality genre films. Unlike horror or western or war box sets that contain poorly preserved films made on the cheap, the Warriors box set found on Amazon is a true goldmine of boyhood fun filled with movies that were made with possibly a bit of tongue in cheek, but certainly with a lot of brio, wit and brimming with that old school classical education that can only come about by living with old monuments and antiquities all around you day after day. Somehow I know the memory of those films are buried deep in the catacombs of my film watching subconscious, waiting for the right moment to break free and be enjoyed again.
Helen of Troy was no Wolfgang Petersen CGI action fest, that's for sure. I was old school film making at it's finest. There was some great matte work to be sure, but there was evidence of quality craftmen at work all the way around. There were no pumped up matinee idols, either, just seasoned European actors, many with serious stage production pedigrees. It was the kind of film that I would have prefered to watch on a rainy day, on the couch, with a big bowl of popcorn and cold sodas by my side. But instead I was curious and jumped in. My curiosity was rewarded. Because of Wolfgang's film Helen of Troy has been rereleased on DVD. Someday I would like to run across it, to witness and enjoy the spectacle of that old school piece in all it's widescreen glory. But for the moment it was good enough to catch a clean copy of a boyhood memory, to give my classic literature chops a good shaking out. I know, too, that more Italian cult cinema will soon be part of my film viewing education. It's never too late to catch muscle bound dudes in g-strings rescue winsome babes in flowing togas, poor film quality or not.
Action!
Review: Helen of Troy:
History of widescreen movies site: review of Helen of Troy:
Review: Troy:
Warriors DVD movie set: absolutely great customer reviews!
Wikipedia article: Sword and Sandal films:
Atlas Visuals: online dealer of European cult films, including Sword and Sandal epics:
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