Product Description

See Arnold Schwarzenegger as the mythological Hercules! Toga clad and ripped to Mr. Universe proportions, Hercules is bored with life on Mount Olympus. When he declares his desire to live among earthly mortals, his father Zeus hurls an angry thunderbolt at Hercules and sends him plummeting to Earth. A freighter bound for New York picks up the water-logged demi-god and thus begins a raucous, muscle-bound adventure that pits New Yorkers against the godly denizens of Mount Olympus. You have your choice of either the real Arnold or the dubbed version!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10273 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2000-10-24
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: Spanish, French, German, English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 75 minutes

Customer Reviews

hilarious arnie in his funniest movie
Who would have thought that before all those great action movies and "I'll be back"'s, Arnold S. had already appeared in a cult classic?? I recently watched this movie and have enjoyed it very much, never knowing how cheesy and campy a movie can be?

First, THE reason this movie is brought back on DVD is not for its qualities. It's just to see Arnie in his first movie where he pulls off a really great BAD performance. Both versions of the movie are great (on TV, i saw the dubbed version which was funny to see a great Austrian guy with the voice of an English professor with no knowledge of putting intonation in his voice), but i prefer the one with Arnie's almost ridiculous accent. The story itself is also bad-to-the-bone : Hercules is bored on Olympus and wants to go on a vacation in New York, but Zeus doesn't like this as it would confuse the humans. Hercules, however, pursues and gets dropped in the sea where a boat picks him up and brings him to New York. When he arrives, his vacation begins...

The whole movie is worthwhile just because of the cheesy acting of our Arnie. With the role of Hercules played by an unknown actor, the movie would have gone into obscurity from the moment it hit the theaters, but Arnie stays the main reason to watch this. Highlight is the fight against a grizzly bear who fights as a human and also lays for death on the ground as a human (his arms spread!!!)

Searchig a serious film about Greek mythology?? Keep away. Looking for a "so bad it becomes good" movie, you are in heaven with this little cult gem.

70's Fun with Arnold...
Low budget is the key phrase in describing this film debut of the pre-'Pumping Iron" Mighty Ripped One, Arnold. But don't let that keep you from enjoying the film, flaws and all, for it really is a lark and a half. The movie is also known as "Hercules Goes Bananas", and that ought to tell you something.

The music is heavily zithered, a la "The Third Man", but seems oddly appropriate to the film. It actually grows on you, believe it or not. We get an interesting view of the gods hanging out on Mount Olympus, and we meet a dashing Pluto (AKA Death). Tony 'Mr.World' Carroll cameos in a weightlifting contest with Herc, and "Dark Shadows" alum Tracy Loomis plays Herc's love interest, Helen. Soap opera regular Ernest Graves steals all of his scenes as Zeus.

On the DVD, you can choose between the Real Arnold voice track, and the dubbed voice track. I sampled the dubbed version, and then quickly opted for the Real Arnold, with his classic Arnold accent that renders him almost unintelligible ("Eye yam Her-cue-leesse!"). The dubbing is classic in it's own way, however, with the ridiculously deep, white, all-American, manly voice so common to dubbed pictures of Herc, et al. But, with an Arnold movie, we need the sound of Arnold's own vocal undulations as he navigates the rocky waters of the English language.

Arnold Stang actually gets top billing over Arnold Strong (Schwarzenegger). Stang was a memorable, but largely forgotten comedian from the golden age of television. Perhaps most memorable for the voices of "Top Cat" (Hanna-Barbera)and "Herman" (Famous Studios), Stang also appeared in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World". Here, Stang plays the goofy schlub "Pretzie" (so named because he sells pretzels), a perpetually bewildered person who befriends the bewildered Herc.

Herc has been cast out of Olympus for talking smack to his dad, Zeus. Herc wants to meet new people, and see the mortal world, and when Zeus gets tired of hearing about it, he hurls a lightning bolt (which looks suspiciously like a bent piece of re-bar that was spray painted silver), and POOF! Herc is falling to Earth. Before you know it, he's teaching athletes how to throw the discus and javelins, becoming outraged when he sees a movie poster for a Herc movie, beating up escaped grizzly bears, etc. He also starts making time with the daughter of a college professor (with an interest in mythology, of course), and takes up wrestling.

Half the fun is Arnold's acting. The other half is the valiant attempt of the filmmakers in making lemons out of lemonade on their skimpy budget. Stang is a bit over the top at times, but really helps to keep things moving in a typical kid's movie kind of way.

Probably the biggest flaw with the movie is that the relationship between Herc and Helen is never resolved. In fact, Helen inexplicably vanishes before the movie is all wrapped up. The movie does end delightfully, with the mighty Zeus casting an eye towards his old stomping grounds, but the loose ends are kind of annoying.

Besides the dual voice track, the DVD also offers some TV spots from the movie's 1980 re-release (post-"Conan"), in which Arnold is given heavy play.

The DVD is a must-have for Arnold fans, or fans of low-budget dreck for the 70's. Suitable as a guilty pleasure, or as a treat for the kid in all of us.

The greatest bad movie of all time!
Folks, this is a real gem! They don't make these kinds of movies any more, and it's a damn shame too.

I STRONGLY urge you to watch both versions of this movie. In the first, Arnold's voice is not dubbed, and his accent is extremely thick. His English was not exactly up to snuff so he delivers most of his lines with absolute hilarity. My favourites are "You have striked Hercules!" and "Why he always got to be necking me?" If you're not laughing within 5 minutes of this movie something is definitely wrong.

The second version is where Arnold's voice is dubbed. Many say this version is even funnier since Arnold's voice is dubbed by what sounds like a 70 year old English professor. The lines are delivered in such a tepid and uninspired fashion that one can't help but to laugh uncontrollably!

The storyline is ridiculous, so don't even bother with it. This movie is BAD and it knows it, but it's so hilarious that you won't even care by the end. Watch it with your friends and spread the word!