Hercules vs. the Giant Warriors (1964) User Reviews (4)

They're not really giants, just taller men with tougher bodies.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 20 January 2024]

The second of two Hercules movies made starring Dan Vadis, this has the Greek hero dealing with dark magic that has created seven golden strong men that appear and disappear through the presence of a dagger. The goddess Hera, jealous of Zeus fathering Hercules with a mortal woman, has granted the power on earth for the holder of the dagger, to summon these seven golden lookalikes in an effort to destroy him, so Hercules has his semi-mortal hands full.

Adequate for this kind of film, but Vadis to me wasn't exactly as charismatic as other muscular peplum heroes. The sets are good and there's plenty of action and mystical intrigue, so it's quite watchable, and certainly the inclusion of the immortals is a welcome element. A bad special effect involving a spiked gate (with harmless rubber spikes that shook like spatulas) had me quite amused.

THE TRIUMPH OF HERCULES (Alberto De Martino, 1964) *1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 3/10 · 16 April 2008]

Lackluster entry in the prolific peplum genre – these films may have been designed as mere entertainment fodder but very few examples proved otherwise rewarding. This is an even lesser achievement than THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1963), from the same director and which I watched concurrently; however, it's basically on the same below-par level of two other such efforts I viewed in the past featuring the same muscle-bound lead, Dan Vadis, namely THE REBEL GLADIATORS (1963) and SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS (1963).

Anyway, the film sees Hercules fighting a tyrant (Pierre Cressoy from FRINE, CORTIGIANA D'ORIENTE [1953]) and saving/loving a damsel-in-distress ("Euro Cult" regular Marilu' Tolo) – nothing new plot-wise, then…except that Cressoy is in cahoots with a witch (glamorous Moira Orfei) so that he's able to unleash an army of gold-tinted musclemen to cause havoc, but they're clearly no match for Hercules. Even so, the hero's strength is sapped by an angry Zeus (via a comical jagged thunderbolt insert) at one point – eventually being restored just in time to prevent Tolo from being fatally spiked! During the climax, then, Orfei plays an optical trick on Vadis but which ends up rebounding on herself – taking up Tolo's semblance as she's hanging from a cliff, but Hercules recognizes the true heroine from the color of her eyes and Orfei perishes in the sea instead!

For what it's worth, the film includes plenty of action sequences – but, more often than not, they're rendered hilarious by way of obvious repeated footage, exaggerated death reactions and clumsy stunt-work.

The Triumph of Dan Vadis

[DarthBill · 7/10 · 12 June 2003]

While his biceps may not have been as big as Steve Reeves of Reg Park, Dan Vadis, looking like a taller, more imposing Captain Kirk, is still a very capable Hercules. His biggest advantage may be his dexterity, as he displays more grace in his fight scenes than most of the other Hercules players.

This is a fairly brisk go around with Hercules (Vadis) battling giant men of gold while trying to protect his princess love from her evil relative.

"Go Back, Hercules, Or You'll Never Get Out Of Here Alive!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 14 June 2021]

HERCULES VS. THE GIANT WARRIORS stars Dan Vadis as the titular slab of bulbous-ness.

The action begins as the king has been assassinated by the treacherous Gordio. When Hercules gets involved, the eeevil sorceress, Pasiphae is called upon to thwart him. Her powers are used to create an army of giant, gold warriors in matching gold shower caps and dog collars. These behemoths start squashing the downtrodden right away.

Before Hercules can meet with these huge horrors, he must first go through the usual "test of strength", where crowds gather to watch big men whack each other with big objects. The wicked Gordio shows off his chariot, complete with 3-ft long wheel hub knives, that make the ones in BEN HUR look like nail clippers!

Big H finally gets to battle the towering terrors, treating them like seven Curly Howards, bonking them on their heads to a chorus of 3 Stooges sound effects! Unfortunately, the devilish Prince Milo has a trick up his sleeve, causing Herc to go berserk! Tragedy follows, leaving only darkness ahead. Can H-Man return, and give Milo what he so desperately deserves?

HINT: It's soldier-smashing time!

Do not miss the boffo, supernatural, return of the golden guys, throw-down showdown! It's a finale for the ages!...