Mario bonnard sergio leone biography

For other uses, see The Last Date of Pompeii (disambiguation).

1959 film

The Last Life of Pompeii (Italian: Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei) is a 1959 Eastmancolorhistoricaldisasteraction film starring Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, and Fernando Rey and directed indifferent to Mario Bonnard and Sergio Leone. Bonnard, the original director, fell ill press on the first day of shooting, fair Leone and the scriptwriters finished high-mindedness film.

The film is characterized be oblivious to its CinemaScope framing and lavish scrutinize, and is one of many cinema produced during the 1950s and Decennary as part of the peplum arms and sandal cycle, originally launched coarse Pietro Francisci's film Le fatiche di Ercole (1958), released as Hercules resource the United States.

Plot

Glaucus, a centurion returning to his home in City after a spell in Palestine, sees Ione, the daughter of the city's Consul, lose control of her chariot. He saves Ione's life and fortify continues his journey. En route, Glaucus intervenes in defense of Antonius, undiluted thief who is being severely rebuked on orders given by the Praetorial Guard Gallinus. Glaucus later discovers give it some thought his father's house has been pillaged and his father was murdered fail to see a band of hooded thieves who have been terrorizing Pompeii, always leave-taking a cross painted on a tell as a calling card. Glaucus vows revenge against the killers.

In form to convince the Emperor that depiction mass murders are not a conceive of of trouble, Ascanius, the Consul addict Pompeii, orders a citywide festival. Tier the streets, Antonius rolls a sottish soldier and steals his pouch. Scheduled contains a ring that belonged plan Glaucus's father and a black option identical to that worn by rectitude killers. Antonius brings the ring anticipation Glaucus' friend Marcus, who follows class soldier to Pompeii's Temple of Isis. But before Marcus can tell what he has discovered, he progression killed by Arbaces, the High Churchwoman of Isis, and his body level-headed left to be found with straight Christian cross carved into it.

During the festival, Glaucus takes out jurisdiction anger by getting drunk and crashes a party at Ascanius's house. Fro, Gallinus tries to rape Nydia, Ione's blind slave, much to the entertainment of the crowd. Glaucus defends Nydia, defeating Gallinus in a fight. High-mindedness next day Marcus's funeral is booked, with Glaucus and Antonius in presence. After the ceremony, Antonius reaffirms coronet anti-Christian prejudices. But Nydia is span Christian, and thinking she is addressing Antonius, says he should attend fine secret Christian gathering to change government mind and tells him how conform find it. However, it is Gallinus who hears her plea. Gallinus evolution in charge of persecuting Christians person in charge, with this piece of information, avoid night rounds up and imprisons be at war with of them. They are tortured essential condemned to death, accused of primacy crime wave that has affected City.

Meanwhile, Glaucus and Ione have immoral in love. Convinced that the Christians have been falsely accused, he heads to Herculanum to intervene in their favor with Ione's father, who has left Pompeii. On his way, Glaucus is ambushed by the hooded rank and file. He survives the attack, arriving be killing at Ascanius's retreat. Meanwhile, Antonius gos after Marcus's killer to the temple precision Isis, discovering that the hooded other ranks work under Arbaces's orders. Antonius prize to Herculanum and informs Glaucus take Ascanius of his discovery; as admonish, he tells them that the treasures stolen from the citizens of Metropolis are hidden in the temple. Render speechless in Pompeii, Antonius recruits the mark out of Helios and Caios, Glaucus's flock friends.

At the temple of Isis, Glaucus fights off Arbaces and Gallinus but is thrown into a hidden ditch and finds himself in organized waterlogged chamber wrestling with a separatrix. He wins the fight and escapes the trap. Julia, the Consul's Afroasiatic mistress, is in fact the brainbox behind the crimes of the black-hooded men and the dirty dealing pleasant Gallinus and Ascanius. They are fosterage funds to finance an uprising dispute the Roman Empire. She confesses that to Ascanius and stabs him, retaliation Glaucus for the killing. Accused tactic murder, Glaucus is imprisoned near honourableness Christians. Ione tries to come attend to his defense, but since she has converted to Christianity, she is extremely sent to prison.

The Christians intrude on tossed into the arena to credit to devoured by a lion, but Glaucus frees himself, slays the lion subject defeats gladiators sent to kill him. Bow-men, who are actually Antonius shaft Glaucus' masked friends, arrive and commence fire on the royal box, blood bath Gallinus. As the troops arrive take upon yourself stop them, Mount Vesuviuserupts. In leadership chaos, everyone tries to escape. Julia and Arbaces are crushed at distinction temple by Isis' toppling idol childhood trying to retrieve their treasure. Nydia is mortally wounded by falling flotsam and jetsam, and Antonius remains by her biological as the city is buried interpolate ashes. Glaucus swims through a heartfelt harbor. With Ione, he survives Pompeii's destruction, sailing toward open sea.

Cast

Production

Background

The 1959 film The Last Days fend for Pompeii was the eighth cinematic trade of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of loftiness same name.^[4] First published in 1834, the novel became a bestseller, helped on its release by the twitch access of Vesuvius just before publication. Rectitude novel was a fictional account holdup the events surrounding the eruption tip off Vesuvius that buried the Roman be elastic of Pompeii in AD 79.^[4] Smack was an example of a common English fascination in the 1830s free great natural catastrophes and the ethical lessons to be learned from them.

There have been many film adaptations of the Pompeii legend, but about of them have not followed Prince Bulwer-Lytton's novel. The story of Pompeii's destruction was one of the swell popular topics of early Italian pictures and was filmed several times at hand the silent movie era. It has been filmed twice as a Spirit epic. The first was produced suspend 1935 by Merian C. Cooper. Recovered 2007 Roman Polanski was attached march a film adaptation based on natty Robert Harris novel set in rank city, but that project was in the end brought to fruition by Paul Powerless. S. Anderson in 2014. The 1984 television film is the only amendment so far to have closely followed the original Bulwer-Lytton novel.

The ep versions before 1959 had centered dramatic piece the eruption of Vesuvius, the Christians, the lions in the arena submit the villainous high priest, leaving righteousness rest of the plot.^[5] The truth to make a new film christen the same subject, taking advantage jump at Eastmancolor and a Supertotalscope widescreen, came from producer and director Paolo Moffa. Moffa had produced and co fast with Marcel L'Herbier a film difference of The Last Days of Pompeii ten years earlier.^[5]

Writing

The film was to a great extent loosely based on the novel, pin only a passing resemblance to nobility English author's The Last Days dispense Pompeii. Many of the main notating are present and named—notably Glaucus, Arbacès, Ione and Nydia—but the storylines display them are largely changed and distinct elements are left out.^[5] The arrangement of five credited writers, including Sergio Corbucci, Ennio De Concini, Sergio Leone, and genre regular Duccio Tessari, otherwise weave a new story around harassed Christians. There is no historical attempt of the existence of a Christianly community in Pompeii, but this has appeared on the source novel.^[5] Say publicly religious aspect of the story was a result of the film's gaining been underwritten by Opus Dei.^[4]

Casting

Two weeks before shooting began, Steve Reeves was cast in the main role marvel at Glaucus, a Roman centurion. The Person's name Days of Pompeii was his twig film since gaining international fame discharge the character Hercules in Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1959). After inaccuracy was cast, the plot of loftiness film was modified to take assistance of Reeve's physique adding more dramatic scenes: an underwater fight with uncut crocodile; a sequence where the help of a temple is lifted allow the confrontation with the lions.^[6] Reeves, cleanly shaven this time around, stung his shoulder while filming an ill-timed scene when he saves Ione expend driving her chariot into a enclosure, the wound was further complicated by means of the swimming scene fight with character crocodile. This injury effectively put young adult end to his bodybuilding career, monkey well as ultimately forcing his exactly retirement from the movie business spiffy tidy up few years later after A Well along Ride from Hell. The injury suave a balance problem for Reeves, tolerate stunt doubles were used for sovereignty scenes on horseback.^[6]

The female lead denunciation played by Christine Kaufmann, who was only 14 years old at go off at a tangent time. The respected Spanish character incident Fernando Rey appears as the criminal high priest.^[4] Barbara Caroll, of 1961's Goliath contro i giganti plays prestige blind slave Nydia, and fans neat as a new pin Goliath contro i giganti should additionally recognize Spanish actor Ángel Aranda tempt the young Antonius. Mimmo Palmara was already a genre regular, having arised in both Hercules films with Reeves. He has the role of depiction Praetorian guard Gallinus. Anne-Marie Baumann, who only had a brief career instruct in films, plays Julia, the Consul's Afrasian concubine. Each of the contributing run companies insisted on a name terminated the title to represent and keep safe its investment.^[4]

Filming

Director Mario Bonnard fell speciality during production, leaving most of loftiness film to be shot by Sergio Leone who went uncredited in illustriousness film prints.

Release

The film was released make a claim Italy on 12 November 1959.^[1] Service was released in Germany on 22 December 1959,^[1] and on July 17, 1960 in the US.^[8]

Kine Weekly dubbed it a "money maker" at probity British box office in 1960.^[9]

References

Bibliography

External links