Product Description

Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, three of the brilliantly insane minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000, finally reunite to unleash their warped sense of humor on the cinema of yesteryear as The Film Crew. Charged with the task of giving all movies their own commentary, the Film Crew valiantly steps forward to tackle the best of the worst, continuing with Giant Of Marathon. Refusing to die without a fight, Athens greatest athlete and hero, Phillipides, Steve Reeves, leads the Greeks in a magnificent battle against the invading Persian army. Includes An Apology From Mike Nelson and Selected Scene Commentary by Walter S. Ferguson.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22067 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
• Released on: 2007-10-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 95 minutes

Customer Reviews

He ain't a Giant, he's my oily-skinned, diaper wearing brother...
A Film Crew movie with an actual budget, "The Giant of Marathon" stars the well-oiled Steve "I'm not Hercules in this one" Reeves. Unlike most Italian sand `n sandal epics, you can actually follow the plot of this one...most of the time...as Steve wins the Olympics, tries to bag a blond hottie, wrestles a bit, gets hit on by a Vulcan hottie, throws things, runs a lot, and finally wins the day, I think. It helps that the film is well produced even if some of the dubbing is poor.

The riffs by The Film Crew are top notch from the get-go and perhaps the best of all four DVD releases. Some of the references are a bit racy for the kiddies, but that's to be expected I suppose.The skits are fairly good, although I must admit that the picture of Bob Honcho (which is different from the other DVDs) is just too funny for words.

The Bonus Features include a sincere apology from Mike who still manages to insult a lot of people. And "commentary" from a Walter S. Ferguson who sounds suspiciously like Mike Nelsen as he describes different roles he played in the film. It's better than the feature in "Hollywood After Dark" and that's about it.

This is the final DVD of "The Film Crew" experiment, we'll see if they sell well enough for more of the DVDs to be produced.

Tidbits:
- This film is presented in the "widescreen" format.

- The actual title appears to be "The Battle of Marathon" which makes more sense since Steve Reeves is pretty big but hardly a giant.

- Although no one wears a bra, perhaps some of the men in this flick should...

The Best Film Crew DVD Yet!
Like many other MiSTies out there, I was sad to see Mike and the 'Bots fall to earth in the last ever episode of MST3K and while I kept up with Mike's work with Legend Films (he provided hilarious commentary tracks) I held out hope that one day the show would be revived in some fashion, perhaps hitting the live college circuit. I was thrilled to discover that Mike, Bill and Kevin would once again be back in front of the cameras (or at least in the bottom right corner of your screen) doing what they do best, shredding the worst B-movie drek to crawl from Hollywood. Of the four DVD's the Film Crew have released The Giant Of Marathon is by far the best. Oh...by the best I of course mean the WORST, The film itself could be described as a bunch of lunkheads stumbling around ancient Greece for 90 minutes. You could easily compare it to the very best episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (not an unfair comparison given the pedigree here). While it's true you no longer have those sillouhettes to keep you company throughout these cinamatic travesties, the warped sense of humor is still there. I've even grown fond of the wraparound host segments now that the "characters" of Mike, Bill and Kevin have been established over the four Film Crew DVD's. I hope they can continue to make these as each DVD is certainly worthy of several viewings. I've bought 'em all and I'll line up for the next one.

Now the question remains: What's Joel doing these days?

The MST3K crew still got it
I never feel quite right unless I don't get at least a few of the references made in MST3K and this reprise of the franchise, and that's why I was glad to see Mike, Bill and Kevin return to top form in Giant of Marathon. Although I enjoyed "Hollywood After Dark," it felt a little thin on the good one-liners and too relaxed compared to MST3K...I laughed, but not much out loud. This one, on the other hand, shows that the old gang still has a lot of comedic gems up their sleeves. It starts out a little slow, but the pace quickens throughout, and near the end I was frequently huddled over in extended episodes of guffawing (there's a several minute sequence that begins with Bill's line "Excuse me Anasazi Indians, coming through..." where the entire team is on fire). The references are often more topical, but there are still quite a few obscure ones that sent me to wikipedia for a good half hour. If you're an MSTie like me and are looking to see the gang return to their former splendor, check out Giant of Marathon!