Hero of Rome

Hero of Rome (Italian: Il Colosso di Roma) is a 1964 sword and sandal film set in Rome in 508 BC, and depicts the expulsion of the last kings of Rome and the legend of Gaius Mucius Scaevola.

Hero of Rome
Directed byGiorgio Ferroni
Screenplay by
  • Remigio Del Grosso
  • Antonio Visone[1]
Story byAlberta Montanti[1]
Starring
CinematographyAugusto Tiezzi[1]
Edited byAntonietta Zita[1]
Music byAngelo Francesco Lavagnino[1]
Production
companies
  • Dorica Film
  • Produzi Associati
  • Unicite
  • Les Films Jacques Lettienne[1]
Release date
  • 25 June 1964 (1964-06-25)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Italy
  • France[1]
LanguageItalian

Plot

The city-state of Rome has just expelled its Etruscan overlords and become a republic. The Etruscans declare war in an attempt to regain their territory. The warrior Scaevola is captured trying to assassinate king Porsenna, and threatened with torture unless he gives them strategic information. Scaevola instead thrusts his right hand into a brazier and lets it burn, demonstrating that he loves Rome too much to care about physical pain, and warns the king that many other Romans would do the same.

The awed Porsenna releases him and sues for peace after learning the truth about how the Romans banished their last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. However, Tarquin still wants to continue the war to regain his throne, and orders his men to kill Mucius later. Surviving the ambush, Mucius returns to Rome to lead his countrymen, but the damage to his hand prevents him from wielding a sword in his right hand again.

The Roman Senate manages the war badly, and it becomes clear that only Scaevola can lead his countrymen to victory. He trains himself to fight with his left hand, and is soon able to return to battle and defeat the Etruscan kings.

Cast

Release

Hero of Rome was released in Italy with a 90-minute running time on June 25, 1964.[1] Some of the early video prints confused the correct order of the reels.[2]

Reception

A anonymous reviewer in the Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed a dubbed version titled Arm of Fire. [3] The review declared that the films narrative was "unconvincing and improbable" and that the dialogue was hampered by English dialogue that was "on the level of the cartoon strip" while the "climactic spectacle is competently handled, but other ocular highlights are few."[3]

References
  1. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 98.
  2. Hughes 2011, p. 55.
  3. "Colosso Di Roma, Il (Arm of Fire), Italy, 1964". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 32, no. 379. British Film Institute. August 1965. pp. 122–123.

Bibliography
  • Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide From Classics To Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-608-0.
  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
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