THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)
Tagline: Fantastic New Science Fiction Spectacle!
(Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Hanging Out In The Desert) [PG]
Note: This movie was never given an MPAA rating, but if it came out these days, it likely would have landed a PG rating.
No matter how much you torture me, you will suffer worse. Someday, you will rule a city of the dead. You will reign over a wasteland. Your power is based on a criminal use of science. it will destroy you! You will die miserably.
This thing takes place in Atlantis 20,000 B.C. We find out that Yoh-tar has used sinister super-science mechanisms including “whirlwinds of death” to subdue everyone in the area. Meanwhile, Ohro who is a “giant” of a man is traveling to the wicked capital of Atlantis (Metropolis) to talk Yoh-tar into changing his ways or face his wrath. Along the way, his traveling companions are killed by one of Yoh-tar’s devices. Oh yeah, Yoh-tar is also trying to stuff his dying father's brain into his son, so you know…father of the year stuff going on here. Can Ohro find allies in Metropolis to help him overthrow the most sinister force on earth?
First off, this isn’t your typical Atlantis flick. Oddly this movie might have inspired the backstory to King Atlan and the fall of Atlantis in AQUAMAN or at least the comics that proceeded it. In this one, Atlantis is literally in the middle of the freakin desert? The civilization is devastated by Yoh-tar and you gotta hand it to the dude. He definitely came up with some interesting designs. This thing looks a lot like the DUNE flick that came out in the 80s and even the FLASH GORDON TV show back in the day, when it comes to style and concepts. This movie is also in color which is a reflection of its decent-sized budget.
That stunt work in this thing is pretty shaky and it seems like the actors were actually told to slow down in some cases during fight scenes so they wouldn’t hurt each other. In other scenes we have a dude getting thrown through the air like rag dolls, so I have no idea what the director was going for with some of this stuff. Having said that, it’s far from the worst I’ve seen from this era.
When it comes to the acting, I am sure it was fine for the era, but it’s very hard to tell because, in the English version I own, everyone’s voices are dubbed in English. The biggest draw for this film was probably Bella Cortez who plays La Principessa Mercede. She doesn’t get much screen time, but this is another one of those movies from the 50s and 60’s where the casting director must have just told them to only hire large bosomed models. La Principessa is kind of a moral-less jerk but you can kind of empathize because her father is evil and rules over her with an iron fist. She basically isn’t allowed to not be a jerk. The men all also look like they had been working out for a year or two and could probably lift half a city with a couple fingers.
I really did enjoy the creativity behind this movie. If there were a few less lulls and not as much overkill in certain scenes this thing could have been a lot better. La Principessa is fleeing a couple of guards in one scene and Ohro shows up to fight them off. For some reason, just before Ohro beats the crap out of both of them, she faints? What? Why? Why is she fainting writers? Why? I could see if there was a monster that showed up or some dude from the IRS, but stuff like this in the movie just didn’t make any sense.
I do like that this movie eludes to God as being a higher power than even Yoh-tar. You almost never hear God even mentioned in secular films these days and if He is, it’s never in a positive light, so this was a pleasant surprise given the subject of the movie.
This thing isn’t going to be for everyone, but I actually got some enjoyment out of it. One great thing about the 50s and 60s is that they were still swinging for the fences when it came to trying out different ideas.
THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS gets a 4 out of 7, but you do have to pay attention to really appreciate the effort.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF CENTROPRODUZIONE SPA AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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