Atlas Against the Czar

As the "sword-and-sandal" genre inspired by Steve Reeves' "Hercules" began to run out of fresh material, outlandish variations began to appear. One of the most accomplished and amusing is this bizarre melange which has our bare-chested strongman, (referred to in the dubbed dialog as "Maciste"), revived in late-medieval Russia where he fights the tyranny of an evil czar. Just imagine -- Cossacks in fur hats and baggy pants fighting off a muscleman wearing nothing more than a leathery loincloth! Of course it's silly and easily scorned but it's done with a straight face and darn if it doesn't hold one's interest. The sets, by the way, look more Arabian Nights than Moscow and there's not much in the way of spectacle, but leading man Kirk Morris -- despite his unconvincingly "blond" hair -- has an impressive set of pecs. As is usual in these cases, he sweats and strains in glorious fashion as he passes a test of strength and courage involving two teams of horses which try to snap him like a wishbone.

A most cruel czar is ruling over in Russia around the time of Ivan the Terrible. He's like all rulers greedy for riches and he sends an expedition into the Urals where it's reputed there's an ancient civilization that ruled there once and a lot of loot. The expedition finds some treasure all right of the usual kind. But they also find a sleeping muscle dude in a sarcophagus. A little sprinkle on the pecs and Kirk Morris as Maciste comes alive.

And being the peplum hero he is Maciste takes up the people's cause and you know what's going to happen. I'm sure this was the wish dream of many a poor peasant serf under any number of czars.

Nothing terribly special here except for a classical hero of the ancient world now working in medieval Russia. The juxtaposition of historical eras is what makes this peplum epic stand out. After that the usual muscle flexing and bad dubbing.

This movie had many titles during its release to TV in the 1960s. Giant of the Lost Tomb is the best title for this movie as it best tells the story. Russian Archeologists, during the time of Czar Nicolas, find an ancient tomb with a strong GIANT in a sarcophagus. They rub some magic oil on his chest and he comes to life and is able to speak the same dialogue of the current time. Very strange. They take him to the Czar where he frees the downtrodden and rights all the wrongs. This movie is just a "Formula" type that was shown on TV during the strongman era. Kirk Morris is perfect in the role as a formula hero. OK time waster. Larry Anderson.