Revolt of the gladiators
Uprising of the gladiators (original title: La rivolta dei gladiatori ) is an Italian-Spanish-French monumental film in color by Vittorio Cottafavi . The screenplay was written by the team of authors Gian Paolo Callegari , Ennio De Concini , Francesco De Feo , Gianfranco Parolini , Giovanni Simonelli , Francesco Thellung and Natividad Zaro . The leading roles are cast with Ettore Manni , Gianna Maria Canale , Mara Cruz and Georges Marchal . The work had its world premiere on October 12, 1958 in Italy. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the film first came to the cinema on January 30, 1959.
action
Under the rule of Emperor Trajan , the Roman army occupied all of Mesopotamia and is now in the process of advancing far beyond the Tigris into the Orient . The most important quarter is in Ctesiphon . There the Roman patricians wait for the return of the emperor and pass the time watching the dances of oriental beauties and the gladiators' fights . However, they are startled by their comfort when one of the cohorts on the Euphrates is severely harassed by Armenians . The Romans learn from two prisoners that the Armenian king Osroes I , who was believed to be dead, is still alive and planning an attack on Ctesiphon. To fend off this, Consul Veturius sends the young military tribune Marc Numidius to the court of the Persian governor Chrisippe, who is allied with the Romans. Marc is happy about this assignment, especially since he gives him the opportunity to see Zahar, the governor's beautiful daughter, again.
In Chrisippe's house, Marc finds out that Zahar's father is now a second marriage and that his wife, Amira, is looking forward to an early departure; for behind her husband's back she is engaging in wild intrigues . With their approval, King Osroes forges a plan for a great campaign against the Romans. This is to be financed with the governor's legendary treasure. In order to get hold of this, the gladiators are incited against the governor. At a festival they storm his palace, kill him and look for the treasure. Marc can barely escape into hiding, seriously injured. Because of the unsuccessful treasure hunt, Amira's anger erupts over her stepdaughter. Zahar is accused of murdering her father and is thrown into dungeon.
The Armenians and their allied Parthians succeed in closing the ring of siege around Ctesiphon. Suddenly the Romans see King Osroes riding into their city in a rigid posture, accompanied by a herald . The Armenians believe that their head wants to negotiate with the Roman consul and are keeping a low profile. When the gate closed behind the king, it turns out that he is dead. Marc Numidius honestly defeated him in a duel and brought him here to bluff the enemy.
From a distance you can see Emperor Trajan's large army advancing. While the Parthians are fleeing, the gladiators prefer death to re-imprisonment. Marc is appointed proconsul of Ctesiphon. Together with his beloved Zahar, he looks forward to a happy future.
Production notes
The buildings were created by the film architects Antonio Simoni and Franco Fortuna . Enzo Bulga and Maria López were responsible for the costumes.
criticism
The lexicon of international film draws the following conclusion: “Revolt of Armenian gladiators against ancient Roman colonial rule: Effective photographed from below, pithy men slaughter each other against a blue sky; The dead fill the theater in droves. "
source
- Program for the film: Das Neue Film-Programm , published by the publisher of the same name, Mannheim, number 4259
Web links
- Revolt of the gladiators in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Five pictures from the film at Cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lexicon of international films, rororo-Taschenbuch No. 6322 from 1988, p. 220