Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/26/2007

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45635 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Amazon.com
Who says history has to be boring? Warner Bros.' series of "cult classics" is a cheese-popcorn fiesta just waiting to pop. This set includes three "historical" epics long on action and cleavage and proudly short on those dull pesky facts. The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), a splashy toga party starring Rory Calhoun, marks Sergio Leone's credited directorial debut. As sword-and-sandal films go, it's a rollicking tale with excellent special effects, especially the earthquake and its resulting devastation.

Howard Hawks took time in between Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Rio Bravo to direct Land of the Pharoahs (1955), with a cast of thousands, led by the heaving bosoms of Joan Collins. No expense was spared, with nearly 10,000 extras "and 1600 camels in the production!" as the marketing materials of the time proclaim. William Faulkner co-wrote the screenplay, which features delicious turns of events like a lying, scheming so-and-so getting comeuppance by, yes, being sealed alive in a pyramid: "A structure to house one man--and the greatest treasure of all time."

And The Prodigal (1955), directed by Richard Thorpe, tells the ancient biblical tale of two toiling brothers, but ups the ante for the wandering son with a decidedly ungodly pagan temptress in the form of Lana Turner (it's a wonder he ever made it back to his father's farm!). Originally an MGM release, The Prodigal hearkens to the mid-'50s era of the great biblical epic (which many fans believe is due for a renaissance), though it takes extreme liberties with Jesus's parable. Then again, if Lana Turner's figure doesn't signify "debauchery" and "riotous living," what does?

The boxed set also includes some very instructional extras, like vintage interviews with Hawks and contemporary interviews with Peter Bogdanovich and film historians. Let the catapulting begin! --A.T. Hurley

From the back cover
The Colossus of Rhodes: Rory Calhoun wears the hero's toga, and spectacle rules this tale of the strife-torn ancient isle and the gargantuan, human-shaped edifice/fortress striding its harbor. Sergio Leone's directorial debut.

Land of the Pharaohs: The building of the Great Pyramid teems with secrets--and the deadliest is a plot to kill the king! 9,753 players in one scene. 1600 camels in the production. Howard Hawks directs. With Joan Collins.

The Prodigal: A story told for millenia--but never like this! Pagan princess Lana Turner eyes the adventurous youth who arrives in the big city with his inheritance in hand.

Customer Reviews

Some films are less campy than others in this trio of historical epics including one by Hawks and another by Sergio Leone
There was a time where camp classics weren't exactly intentional but were every bit as enjoyable as the camp films we have now. "Historical Epics" is the fourth in Warner Home Video's "Cult Camp Classics" and at least two of these three films are actually quite good outside of the classification.

The first "The Colossus of Rhodes" was the first film that Sergio Leone took credit on as a director. Set during during the Hellenistic era before the rise of Rome, this film features cowboy b-movie star Rory Calhoun as a Greek(!) hero vacationing in Rhodes who gets pulled into an attempt to overthrow the Emperor. The centerpiece of this film a 180 foot high statue that stood astride the waterways of Rhodes and could be used as a weapon to defend the city by dumping hot molten lead on invaders or would be revolutionaries.

Featuring risable dialogue, great action sequences and impressive production design, this international production (featuring actors from Italy, Spain, America and France)features a number of stunning set pieces that hint at Leone's great Italian Westerns such as "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West". The film looks quite good with an excellent commentary track by Leone biographer and film historian Christopher Frayling who covers everything from the historical context of the film (the real statue of Rhodes was believed to be about 38 feet high and overlooked the city)and the original theatrical trailer. Frayling points out the good (Leone's stunning use of the camera), the bad (often the dialogue is quite ripe)and the ugly (the overwrought performances of some of the actors)but still finds merit in the film.

Leone does a hommage to Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" and "Sabteour" particularly during the end sequence on top of the Colossus of Rhodes where there is a fight sequence. Fans of cinema will see other references to other films that Leone sneaks in to this historical epic which is still quite enjoyable both as a memorable peek into what would come later from Leone's classic films as well as the silly plot devices and dialogue.

"Land of the Pharaohs" was directed by Howard Hawks and co-written by William Faulkner(!)so how could one go wrong with this historical epic about the building of the pyramids? Joan Collins plays a Nellifer in this epic production while Jack Hawkins is the Pharaoh Cheops putting thousands to work to build is massive tomb. It's interesting because the structure of this film echoes Hawks' great western "Red River". "Pharoahs" is an excellent minor Hawks classic with an epic scale and of the three here is the least camp best film of the bunch. Collins brings the camp element to the forefront with her performance as the scheming Nellifer.

The film features Peter Bogdanovich providing a commentary. Bogdanovich doesn't think much of the film (nor did Hawks as is evident in the interview excerpts included here)but it's a pretty good historical epic with the massive spectacle and production design that one expects from the genre. If it fails to live up to Hawks best films, that could be because he was working in a genre that he wasn't totally comfortable with.

The last film included here "The Prodigal" featuring Lana Turner fits into the camp camp quie well. It apes the Cecil B. DeMille Biblical and historical epics quite well. Basically this tells the story of the prodigal son (Edmund Purdom) who falls for a pagan priestess (Turner).

Dr. Drew Casper gives a frentic and interesting commentary track that makes more of this film than is there. Casper mentions in his commentary that he feels this is a remake of Raoul Walsh's "The Wanderer" from 1926 which I've never seen. He also provides interesting biographical information on many of the actors in the film.

All the films included here look extremely good with some looking much better than others depending on the source print and its condition. Warner does an excellent job of putting this together much as they did with some of the other "Cult Camp Classics" sets in the series (the other two I purchased I haven't watched yet--I wanted to go for the set that had the Hawks and Leone films first). Some of these sets have no or minimal extras (such as a trailer only)but most have commentary tracks and all the ones here even when they aren't perfect provide background on the films. Frayling is always entertaining and does an outstanding job adding humor and has a relaxed conversational style that makes his informative commentary the best of the bunch here.

Three stars for the films with an extra star for the commentary tracks.

Better than the title suggests
Though these movies can be viewed as campy sword 'n sandle flicks, two of the three are actually pretty good. All three are in color and anamorphic 'scope, and two even have multi-track sound. The images are crisp and clear, with no sign of fading.
The Colossus of Rhodes was directed by Sergio Leone, with impressive visuals and a huge cast of extras. The weakest (and most laughable) part of the film is Rory Calhoun's leading character, but the rest of the cast is fine - though the plot is overly-complex. Rory, a visiting hero from Athens, leads a slave revolt, amid treacherous plots to enslave peaceful Rhodes.
Land of the Pharaohs was produced and directed by Howard Hawks and written by no less than William Faulkner. The leads are played by Jack Hawkins and Joan Collins. Hawkins portrays a king obsessed with accumulating wealth for the afterlife, along with building a tomb to house himself and the gold. Collins plays a scheming princess who wants the gold for herself. Joan Collins is far from the stereotype she became in later years, and her acting ability leaves no doubt as to why Hawkins' Pharaoh falls for her.
The Prodigal, retelling the Biblical story of the prodigal son, is the only truly campy film among the three. There are lots of processions, ponderous dialog, pagan temples, and a beautiful pagan priestess to tempt the hero. Lana Turner may be beautiful, but she needs to take tempting-the-hero lessons from Joan Collins. Speaking of camp, at one point we see a long wall where various slaves are lined up for sale, with descriptions and prices written on the wall next to each slave - written in english of course. Now that's camp!

A hoot
What a great way to waste a few hours, they just don't make 'em like this anymore, great color photography, serious scene chewing and, actually, excellent music scores, in at least two of them by well-known composers of the Golden Age...this is great fun...I especially love the Joan Collins bad girl turn in Land of the Pharoahs!