5/10
Average Muscleman movie in which Ursus /Reg Park takes on a nasty usurper and a feared witch
13 October 2016
¨Sword and Sandals¨ movie in which Ursus or Hercules lives in a far land that is being tormented by the bloody raids of a monstrous specie . As a monster marauds the country commanded by the stiff-upper-lipped Prince Regent called Zeretelli (Furio Meniconi) , who seized power several years ago through the assassination of the Great Khan . The villain regent fears that local hero Ursus (or Hércules) may wrest the throne from him . To solidify his power , he schemes to marry his cousin , Amiko (Mireille Granelli) , daughter of the Great Khan and to take firmly the throne , but Amiko loves the big he-man Hércules , the leader of the upright villagers . Then , the arrival of the shrewd Ido (Ettore Manni), the brother of Ursus , provokes a battle between the two communities . Ursus is trying to encounter and subdue the ominous monster , being badly injured . Zeretelli takes advantage of this situation through attacks , rampage , ravage and pillage , but Hercules is healed by his followers, recovers himself of the wounds ; he then defeats Zeretelli in combat who now reveals that Amiko is not the daughter of the Khan . The real daughter results to be Kato (María Teresa Orsini) , a young woman saved years ago and cared by Ursus and his townsfolk . The bouncing Ursus , helped by Ido , reunites an army of rebels to take on the enemy troops . But Ursus is captured , locked and a witch -who has enchanted various other men in the past- uses her extreme powers to turn him into a monster . As Ursus imprisoned , become a spelled monster and forced to carry out heinous activities as a terrifying being .

Italian production with dark scenarios , spectacular outdoors and functional production design , including a lot of caves , forests and grottos plenty of stalactite and stalagmite . This is a regular spaghetti , myth-opera with action , a love story , battles and lush landscapes . Breathtaking scenes when Ursus faces off a monster and overwhelming final battle with surprising and moving scenes , including a flood . Reg Park , in his fourth film , is passable as the mythical hero who encounters many dangerous situations while trying to save countrymen of numerous odds . Reg Park himself became something of a cult personality in the Italian epic genre . Reg was a personal fitness trainer in South Africa . His friend and protégé Arnold Schwarzenegger considered Park to be the best of the "peplum" heroes . Reg Park who played the mythic Maciste in a few movies was randomly assigned the identity of Hercules , Goliath , Ursus , Samson or Aron for U.S. viewing . Bouncing and strong Reg was the third American actor bodybuilder , after Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott , to be recruited by Italian producers to star in Peplum films . Reg Park played reserve team football for Leeds United before turning to body-building in 1946 . He finished Mr Universe runner-up to future film rival Steve Reeves in 1950 , then won the title outright in 1951, 1958 and 1965. After marrying South African-born Mareon Isaacs in Johannesburg in 1952, the Parks moved permanently to South Africa . Reg used the amount of money he made acting as hero and gladiator films in Italy to fitness . As the muscle-man Reg Park left allegedly the sword and sandals genre for the gymnasium in South Africa where Reg ran a chain of fitness studios . He was one along with Ed Fury , Dan Vadis , Brad Harris , Alan Steel , Rock Stevens , Gordon Scott whom to seek fortune acting absurdly as muscle mythological figures , but nobody topped Steve Reeves in popularity . Reg only starred 5 Peplum , such as : 1964 ¨Ursus , terror of the Kirguisos¨ , 1961 ¨Ercole Al Centro della terra¨ , 1961 ¨The conquest of the Atlántida¨ and ¨Maciste in King Solomon's Mines" which , handily for Park , was filmed on location in South Africa . Park's last film was ¨La Sfida Dei Giganti¨ until his death (2007) at age 79 .

¨Ursus, Il Terrore Dei Kirghisi¨ displays a colorful and glimmer cinematography by Gábor Pogány , filmed on location in El Lacio and other Roman exteriors . Pogany is a fine Italian cameraman including notorious titles as "The Last Judgment" , "The Magistrate" , "A Man Gets Killed" , Pink Floyd at Pompeii¨ , and ¨Pianos Mecanicos¨ . This oddball Peplum with brief touches of horror was regularly directed by Antonio Margheriti , and it has some flaws and gaps . Being helped as direction assistant by the famous Ruggero Dedodato , author of gore and cannibal films as ¨Body count¨ , ¨House of the edge of the park¨, ¨Jungle holocaust¨and ¨Cannibal holocaust¨ . Antonio M. Dawson was born in 1930 , Rome, and died in 2002 . He was a director and writer , and especially known for his works with miniatures , explosions and flood sequences . Antonio shoots with ordinary aplomb and being famous for Yor (1983), Virus (1980) and Horror castle (1963) . Italian writer-director of horror and exploitation films, a former university engineering student who began in films in 1956 . He was also an expert in special optical effects , FX , and model-making . Often used the pseudonym 'Anthony M. Dawson'. He directed all kind of genres such as Wartime : The last hunter , Tornado , Code Name : Wild Geese , Commando Leopard , Der Commander ; Sci-Fi : War of planets , Planet on the prowl , Criminali Della Galassia ; Action : Operazione Goldman , Indio , The Squeeze , Cyberflic ; Terror : The Virgin of Nuremberg , Virus or Cannibal Apocalypse , Alien from the Deep , Flesh for Frankestein and Spaghetti : Joko and Dynamite Joe .
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