Well what can you say? It was silly. Unintentional of course. However this kitsch-like presentation works because of how cheap and ludicrous it is. Some things have got to be seen to be believed and this 80s take on "Hercules" has plenty in store. One sequence just sticks in mind, other than that meaninglessly grand opening. Hercules taking on a vicious bear. Cool! However how it's executed had me snickering. Actual bear footage spliced together with someone donning a very convincing bear suit. How to end it. The bear suit being flung into outer-space. It's just part of the tragedy that occurs… you know for dramatic effect.

"Hercules" is a low-grade, straight-laced good vs. evil sword and sorcery epic mainly consisting of echoing voices, tacky optical FX, colourful decors (sometimes miniatures) with moody lighting and some atmospheric illustrations / confrontations. The production did drum up some striking images amongst it's cheap sets / effects, but despite that it wasn't principally all that creative in presenting the material. How it plays out, is like a cosmic chest game between the gods. Hercules (the champion of men) must rescue a princess from being sacrificed and encounters obstacles along the way. Some odd moments (like the tin-bot monsters) and lame dialogues. Lou Ferrigno as Hercules has the physic, constantly flexing and twitching his muscles. Wooden, but fitting. William Berger milks it up in the villain role and Sybil Danning looks fetching, but has bite with her villainous turn. Brad Harris and Mirella D'Angelo also appear. Pino Donaggio scores the bombastic soundtrack. Director Lugi Cozzi does a clunky job, but keeps it moving along at a smooth pace. Ham-fisted, but charming entertainment.

Cheesy greatness from Cannon and those geniuses Golan-Globus combines post-Star Wars science fantasy with 1960s Italian sword & sandal movies. The pre-credits history of the universe is highly informative. I never realized that's how it all came to be. My teachers were liars. Lou Ferrigno is an impressive sight to behold, for sure. Each of his pecs is bigger than my head. Zeus looks like Jon Stewart with a crown and fake beard. Sexy Sybil Danning isn't in this nearly enough but is enjoyable when she is. Ingrid Anderson is gorgeous and her revealing outfit in the latter half of the movie made me drool.

The dubbing, special effects, sets, and costumes are all cheap but fun. The stop-motion mechanical monsters are beyond cute. The highlights of the movie are Hercules' many impressive feats of strength, such as hurling a bear into space and creating the constellation Ursa Major or pushing apart two bodies of land and creating the continents of Europe and Africa. Again, my teachers were liars. Watch baby Hercules kill the snakes -- that poor baby didn't understand what the heck they had him doing!

This is an entertaining movie. I really don't see how you cannot find it fun to watch. Granted, most of that fun comes from the unintentional comedy it produces but that's still something, right? If I have to watch a movie that is technically and artistically lacking in any kind of quality, I would rather it be a movie like this that has some comedic value than some boring A-list movie that has me sitting on my hands the whole time.

This movie is bad...but not so bad that you don't enjoy it. In fact, your eyes are glued to the screen in anticipation of what bizarre twist they are going to perform next on Greek/Roman mythology. Robot hydra and robot centaurs that shoot lasers are simply too amazing to be missed. The writer of this film must've been autistic and simply wrote the first thing that came into his head. It is DELIGHTFUL! Certainly, if you cannot sit through a bad movie, you should avoid this one; however, as bad movies go, this is an epic...a mighty effort of special effects, bad writing, poor dialog and what looks like a single costume shared by every female member of the cast. No woman in this movie wears anything substantial below the belt...even Dedalus, who for reasons unknown, is a woman in this film.

If your children see this movie, please remember to tell them that the movie has absolutely NOTHING to do with the actual myth of Hercules, Minos, Circe or even Ursa Major (the great bear).

Use as directed...

Hercules is a masterpiece of b-grade (well, maybe c-grade) cinematography, standing proudly next to Ed Wood's "Plan Nine From Outer Space" and his other brilliantly stupid stuff. Of course, it is not a movie for mainstream, as well as it is not a movie for people without well-developed sense for humor. To enjoy it, you must drop your seriousness, be open-minded and remember that this is a comedy. It doesn't matter that the author didn't meant it as a comedy, far from it, it makes it even more funny. Every single second of the movie is pure dadaism, complete negation, comparable to Monthy Python's works. It makes you ask all the time: "Why??? Why is are the ancients monsters fighting with Hercules robots (and using laser)? Why does Zeus look like submissive Santa Clause? Why does Hercules, after every fight, take his dead enemy and throw him into space? Why is the main evil-guy speaking about "the come of the mighty phoenix" when there never appears anything like that? And was the scene with bear meant seriously???" The stunning idiocy of the author and incredibly bad performance of all the actors are making this movie simply fascinating. It is one of the worse films I have ever seen, but at the same time, I laughed this much only when watching Monthy Pythons, Ed Wood's stuff and the speech of Czech Mr. Premier two weeks ago. I strongly recommend to check it out.

Sword and Sorcery, D and D, whatever you want to call it, it was a genre unto itself back in the day. And this, this is one of the defining movies of that genre, like it or not. I, myself, am a huge sword and sorcery movie, comic, and TV show fan. I own many things relating to Conan and started a 'barbarian brothers' website when there was no info on them to be found on the internet. So, naturally, the fact that this movie is cheesy, campy, and just plain over the top appeals to me. And, as an amateur bodybuilder and longtime fan of 'classic' bodybuilding- of which Lou is an integral part, I enjoy this movie as one of Lou's best. Every other comment has given the basic plot, told about the special effects and so forth. But, I just want to say, If you are into this particular genre, this movie is a must have. The coloring, scenery, effect, sounds and especially the magnificent muscles of Mr. Ferrigno make it very enjoyable. It's not so much like sipping champagne and dining on caviar as it is like having beef jerky and pop. But, hey, sometimes you just crave some calorie rich fun food! It is now available on a double-sided DVD with Hercules 2- which, yes, is even more over the top.

Hercules directed and written by Luigi Cozzi stars the great Lou Ferrigno as the title character and takes great liberties with his story. It's aimed squarely at kids, with its colorful characters and even more colorful special effects. What i liked about it was the steady pacing, the absolutely weird musical cues and Lou's solid, if perhaps too straight performance.

Forget all you know about Herc, this film stands on its own. Some of the old tale is here, baby Herc does crush snakes sent by his stepmother Hera and he does grow up peacefully not knowing why he's so strong. An early battle with a giant bear is well-shot. Lou certainly looks the part, unlike some other actors who tried and he isn't that bad with the dialog, which is very ripe.

In this version Herc's great love is Casseopeia, played by the very easy to look at Ingrid Andersson. I so wanted to get that veil off her face! Herc must win her hand by competing in a series of bizarre rites of Strong. Including the classic cleaning of the stables. Which is a great sequence using miniatures and super-imposition. Even the rocks look heavy and real for a change! Still Zeus, and at least one actor, Claudio Casselinni, was understated, wants the sides of good and evil to be balanced, so Herc and Cass are separated.

Not to fear, Herc soon hooks up with sorceress Circe, played by another beauty in a barely there outfit. She aid him in his celestial quest to conquer the evil of Thera and save Cass from being a virgin(!) sacrifice!

The set for Thera, the green isle of Atlantis actually, is one of the best I've seen outside of Star Wars: Episode IV, its truly a great work of lighting and miniature sets, complete with a flame-wielding colossus. Herc's great strength is no match for the witch Adriana (called Ariana in my version,) played by the buxom Sybil Danning, but his great heart is, he's loyal to Cass. This all leads to a duel with the evil King Minos, who wants science to rule the world at the expense of all emotion. Their duel with Herc wielding the sword of Zeus and Minos the fire sword of Atlantis is great. The finale is spectacular and I love Herc's ending line to the rescued Cass. and check her final outfit, wow! "How do I know you're really Casseopeia? Or are you Adriana is another form or Circe reborn?" She responds "I am all and none of them. I am the one who loves you!"

Cool movie, what I didn't like was the cheesy robots, they simply looked bad! Also why was Daedelus, the God who helps Minos, played by a woman? Some elements of the plot were confusing. Still this a great family adventure, the hero is great the girls are lovely and there is nothing objectionable save some light violence. If you're looking for a fun movie that doesn't require too much brain power, this is it!

Italian cinema had featured musclemen heroes as early as 1912's QUO VADIS (Ursus) and 1914's CABIRIA (Maciste) before making them truly their own and, by turns, seemingly invincible or buffoonish caricatures during the heyday of the peplum cycle around 1954-65. This, then, is yet a later variation clearly sparked by the recent spate of Hollywoodian mythological epics like CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981) and CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1981) but giving the old formula a new twist by sprinkling it with a dash of special effects wizardry a' la the STAR WARS saga! This shouldn't come as all that surprising when one realizes that its director is best-known for the infamous STAR WARS (1977) rip-off, STARCRASH (1979) – although, to be fair to him, he is also responsible for one of the unsung gems in the giallo canon, THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN (1975) and, at least, one other highly intriguing (and very rare) movie, TUNNEL UNDER THE WORLD (1969) which was also his directorial debut. Ironically, however, Cozzi only took over the assignment (from original director Bruno Mattei) when the producers were dissatisfied with the box office performance of the latter's previous film for them, THE SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS (1983)!

Anyway, although I clearly recall watching this version of HERCULES (and its sequel; see below) on Italian TV at Christmas time in the late 1980s, the details of it all were so hazy in my mind that I virtually remembered nothing of the narrative other than that Hercules gets to do battle with several mechanical monsters and that there was a lot of footage of stars and planets and the like. Indeed, the film starts with a lengthy, potentially heretical prologue about the start of creation which, apparently, had everything to do with Zeus and the rest of the Greek gods colonizing the moon eons before the Russians did (by way of ultracheesy visual and sound effects) and nothing at all to do with…but this is not the right place to start debating the existence of God or otherwise – lest this review gets confused with another anti-THE GOLDEN COMPASS (2007) argument!

TV's THE INCREDIBLE HULK and former "Mr. Universe" Lou Ferrigno certainly looks the part of the mightiest man alive but, unfortunately, can't act a lick and rarely changes his facial expression throughout the generous 100 minutes of screen time! He is abetted by a lovely Cassiopea (Ingrid Anderson – whose first and only film this was before going briefly into TV and then quitting for good!) and sultry villainess Sybil Danning and the supporting cast features a decent roster of both veteran and nascent Euro-Cult figures like ex-peplum beefcake Brad Harris, William Berger (as Hercules' No. 1 nemesis, King Minos), Claudio Cassinelli (as Zeus, Hercules' creator here – out of pure light, no less! – rather than his natural father), former Helen Of Troy Rossana Podesta' (her penultimate film, playing the rebellious deity Hera), Gianni Garko and Eva Robbins (as Berger's enigmatic scientific acolyte, with an unbelievably campy costume to match).

Once one accepts the film's bizarre notion of setting the old Greek legends in outer space, this gets to be a veritable "so bad it's fun" show which possibly has few peers: an elaborately staged (relatively speaking), bloodthirsty coup d'etat early on comes to naught when the tyrant is never seen again in the rest of the movie!; Zeus's giant hand emerges from within a waterfall to catch Baby Hercules in his tiny boat inside which, however, are two snake-like creatures whom the infant soon squeezes the life right out of!; Hercules is adopted (in full-on Clark Kent fashion) by a family of simple folk and he is soon farming the fields single-handed via unwieldy contraptions but, when his putative father gets mauled by a grizzly bear, our Herculean hero gets so upset that he hurls the beast straight out into orbit and instant immortality as one of the stars in the constellation (I kid thee not)!; next up are a trio of mechanical assailants which, however, expire even before one gets to have a real good look at them (which is just as well, I guess as, otherwise, one starts to wonder why the weapon Hercules uses to dispatch one of the monsters looks suspiciously like a modern-day giant anchor)!; then Hercules tries his hand at a jousting tournament wherein he holds a dozen contestants simultaneously with their backs to the wall by means of a giant log which, once it serves its purpose in gaining him the championship title, also gets hurled into outer space!; later, Hercules sets his eyes on the veiled Cassiopeia and, to prove his worthiness, he cleans up the dilapidated stables (housing a thousand stallions we're told) with the aid of a nearby flowing river! I don't have time to go into all the other labyrinthine trials Hercules goes through before meeting up with King Minos for a hilarious confrontation with lightsabre-like swords but, in case you were wondering who was responsible for dividing Earth into the various continents, enquire no further! Oh, and he does get to ride a horseless chariot, too – by roping a rock and throwing it as far as...well, 'tis Hercules we're talking about after all!

This Italian-made would-be epic – which also features a suitably rousing Pino Donaggio score – was a Cannon Group production (namely Israeli film-makers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus) and followed hot on the heels of the similar THE SEVEN MAGNIFICENT GLADIATORS (my memories of which are even more lost within my subconscious) which reunites Ferrigno, Danning and Harris from HERCULES; the latter must not have done too badly at the box office because other films of its ilk came in its wake: not just the sequel but also SWORD OF THE VALIANT (1984), THE BARBARIANS (1987), MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (1987) and the troubled SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1989; also with Ferrigno).

In 1983 an event happened which changed the course of history. An impossible event that nobody ever thought could happen. Luigi Cozzi actually managed to make a film EVEN CHEESIER than his previous epic, 1979's STARCRASH! Proving that he had learnt nothing about film-making in the four years since, Cozzi now attempted to cash in on 1983's sword-and-sorcery boom which came in the wake of CONAN THE BARBARIAN. Carefully he gathered together all the right ingredients - a wide distributor in the form of the dreaded Cannon films, headed by the unforgettable Golan-Globus team; possibly the only muscleman ever to rival Schwarzenegger in terms of sheer bulk; a really appalling script; pretty much the same crew and effects men he used in his 1979 film; plus loads of impressive sets. The best thing that can be said about HERCULES is that visually, it stands out from the crowd. The sets are huge and the special effects - utilising the familiar back projection and matte shots - whilst not always convincing, are at least spectacular.

Watching this movie, you might be forgiven for thinking you've tuned into a science fiction film instead because this is Hercules unlike ever before. The slow prologue charts the formation of the universe and goes on for an age. Then the mythic heroic character - played by dozens in the peplum films of the 1960s and best-remembered in the persona of Steve Reeves - is transported into a quasi-futuristic universe, where the gods all live on the moon and people can fly through space just like that. Instead of the traditional monsters for Hercules to fight, he finds himself up against some giant robots, stop-motion relics which look like they're left over from STARCRASH. I guess the best reason I can think of is that jerky robotic motion is a lot easier - and quicker - to create than the more traditional monsters of Harryhausen, so Cozzi saved a few bucks by swapping monsters for robots. No matter that the film doesn't make sense, as its just for uncomplaining kids anyway.

Often, the film is trying to watch because it just overdoes it with the cheese. Zeus and Hera keep popping up at every minute like in CLASH OF THE TITANS to offer advice, whilst the constantly-moving, globetrotting antics quickly become tiresome. Bad scripting is complemented by bad acting, most apparent in the case of Lou Ferrigno, whose attempts at acting make him even more wooden than an early Schwarzenegger. Still, physically Ferrigno is at his peak, covered in baby oil, with every inch of muscle on his body bulging and glistening for the world to see. Although his acting is a million times worse than that of Reeves, at least his bulk is bigger.

The film offers plenty of opportunity for Ferrigno to flex his bodybuilding muscles. Even as a baby he finds opportunity to strangle two slimy serpents sent to dispatch him. From a mangy bear to a flying robot, a centaur robot, and a three-headed hydra robot, Hercules spends most of the film fighting something or other. He also takes part in some cheap gladiator games headed by stern-faced Augias, played by former muscleman Brad Harris in what is only a cameo performance for name value alone - a little sad, as I was hoping Harris would get up to some of his old rock-lifting tricks. The STAR WARS influence is even apparent on this movie, with glowing swords replacing light sabers in a battle scene at the finale.

Most of the female cast members spend the film half naked and displaying their ample curves, but when the actresses include the sultry Mirella D'Angelo, the sweet Ingrid Anderson, and the slightly scary Sybil Danning, there's no cause for complaint. Many familiar faces pad out the cast, most former stars now on their way out. As evil bad guy King Minos, William Berger (FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON) chews the scenery with relish but doesn't beat Joe Spinell in terms of hammy overacting. Fan favourite Bobby Rhodes (DEMONS) appears as an African king (!) but he doesn't even get out of his seat to take part in any action. Watch out for Claudio Cassinelli (ISLAND OF MUTATIONS) in the lamest white wig and beard ever, playing Zeus at far too young an age.

Although the film is cheap and cheerful, it still sets out to try and portray some legendary deeds. Thus we have Hercules diverting a river to clean out the stables of Augias, crossing the River Styx with the aid of that spooky boatman, bending swords, tossing rocks, and fighting off dozens of opponents at one time. The most hilarious scene is when he kills a bear and throws the body into space, thus forming a new star constellation. Yet even this ridiculous moment is beaten by a later point in the film where he throws a log into space which smashes into another planet! Frankly hilarious stuff, and the kind of effects-laden cheese they just can't many anymore. Films nowadays have to be deadly serious or stupidly funny, and are unable to take themselves tongue-in-cheek like HERCULES. The most astonishing thing about this movie is that it was successful enough to spawn a sequel, two years later!

George Littman's comment (12 Aug 1999) really sums it up best: This is a kid's movie.

I actually remember going with my dad to see this movie it's opening week. I was a whopping 6 years old. Wow, did I think Hercules was one coolest movies. Even the silly metallic robots (what's the Greeek word for Evil Robot?) were cool.

Would I watch it on late night cable for old-time's sake? Perhaps. Would I ever pay money for this? Maybe when I have a 6-year old of my own...

I loved this movie, as well as Lou's Sinbad. One of my favorite features of the movie was the "dialog of the nod." If you watch most of the expository scenes you'll see the camera close-up is on the listener, not the speaker. So what you get visually is the reaction of the non-speaking actor. This seemed very consistent through the movie.

I figured this trick was use to make dubbing in any language possible without bothering to lip-sync. But once you notice, it get pretty hilarious.

The sound effects when Hercules throws the bear into space (it bounces around to the sound of a pinball machine) is another great cinematic moment; we watched this one scene half a dozen times, laughing our heads off.

What is there to hate about this movie?I have seen it and I really can't figure out what's so bad about it.The acting is good the costumes are good the script is good and to tell you the truth the scene where Hercules fights the bear is breathtaking in my vision.Yes,it's aimed at children but that's really not a reason to call it the worst movie ever made.I really don't understand what's wrong with it.The fact that it isn't too violent?That there aren't any guts pulled out or heads ripped off?What?Tell me because I really want to know.However I am not surprised,people here give 10 stars to stupid movies like LOTR and mock great great movies with 3-4 stars,these people ought to be permanently banned from here.

This movie is HILARIOUS!! The acting is terrible,the plot is non-existent , and the special effects are laughable.Any hint of ACTUAL mythology was chucked out the window...and THANK THE GODS!! Whats left is a movie so completely off the wall and mindless that I laughed the whole way through. I mean, did you SERIOUSLY think that a movie with THIS cast would be stellar..NO!! You know going into it that the movie is gonna suck, you expect it , and this film delivers. THIS MOVIE TAKES YOU TO LEVELS OF SUCK THAT FEW DARE EXPLORE!!! Hercules ,god bless him,actually THROWS a bear into outer space. Thats right!! It's that wrong...but it feels so right.This is definately MST3K quality viewing.TWO thumbs way up...

Right from the ludicrous account of the "creation" at the start, to Zeus, Athena, and Hera bitch fighting on the moon, to the image of Hercules in skin coloured panties posing in outer space, to the mechanical mythological monsters.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, god, I could go on and on and on. This movie is CLASSIC! Of course it's bad, it's meant to be! Fantastic performances by Lou Ferrigno and Cybil Danning.... NOT! But again, that's what is so good about this movie. Some people just can't appreciate bad art when it punches them in the face.

I think I have seen this over 50 times since I was a kid - we taped it off ABC when they showed Hercules movies late at night for a time. This is my favourite Hercules movie of all time!!!! I will never get tired of it. RELEASE THIS ON DVD DAMMIT!!!!

Lou was awesome in this 80's flick of awesomeness!! The entire cast was great too! I just really enjoyed this movie and will watch it over and over again. Movies today have lost their substance so I'm an older movie fanatic!! Two thumbs way up!!❤️❤️❤️ FYI Lou still looks great!! The effects were good for the 80's and the story came together very well! I love the costumes, dialogue and effects. I love any movie with Lou in it frankly but this one's my top favorite and all his other movies come right after that! This a good Sunday family time movie. I watched it with my teen boys and even they agree that for the time, the story and overall movie was awesome! I highly recommend this film to cinema buffs. I don't like to call these movies b- movies or whatever because they all tried to be great movies, it's just sad some folks can't see through the era and truly enjoy the movie. So get the family on the couch, get some popcorn and press play on the Hercules movie!!

This is definitely such a "hey, WTF?!" bad movie, you wonder why it was ever made at all.

For all the special effects, there's very little real money getting spent here - the poverty shows in the costumes and make up and virtually unadorned sound-stages, but primarily in the casting; not only are the actors and extras incapable of convincing performances, but there aren't enough of them! This is the most underpopulated version of the ancient world I've every seen.

Although there are references to the actual Hercules myths, there is also a lot of loony rewriting of Greek mythology; apparently there's a point to it all - an attempt to comment on the conflicting universes of classical magic and the coming age of 'science,' which point reaches conclusion in the film's sequel. Unfortunately, the science is pretty bad; and the magic doesn't work so well either.

For all that, there are moments of amusement throughout the film, the babes are hot, and the film did salvage the fond memories of the old Italian Hercules film cycles from getting completely lost. And one last point - when the Aussies decided to put together "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys" TV show, they actually used the visual style of the Ferrigno films as their reference, just playing it up for laughs.

Outstanding movie!!!! It combines the effects of star wars with a great story combining mythology and technology. William Berger delivers a rousing performance as King Minos. Lou Ferrigno should have been nominated for an award. He is a nice guy and an underrated actor. In my opinion Ray Harryhausen could learn a few lessons from this movie. This is the standard for which all movies of this genre should be measured up to. Along with Robin of Sherwood, Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and Dragon Slayer, this movie is one of the giants in the 80's D&D era. Highly recommend this movie!!!!

The movie begins with nothing less than the creation of the world. In case you believed something else, now you know: the Earth was created from a broken jar, and the Greek gods lived on the Moon. Minos (William Berger) once stole the throne of Thebes, but the rightful heir, young prince Hercules, escaped after killing two electric snakes by short circuit (don't ask). Years later, Hercules (Lou "Hulk" Ferrigno) is back, so Minos sends clumsy metallic toys to kill Hercules. That doesn't work, either. The sorceress Circe takes Hercules all the way to Hell and back, so he can challenge Minos. Sybil Danning plays Minos' bad girl in this trash classic, while genre veteran Brad Harris appears as King Augeias. The actors became aware of what they'd gotten themselves into, obviously. Especially Claudio Cassinelli (as Zeus) and William Berger look like they'd burst into laughter as soon as director Cozzi shouted "cut". Cozzi's rendition of "Hercules" with Lou Ferrigno is so hilariously funny that no-one should miss it from his personal list of "10 worst movies of all time". A must-see for its neon lights disco effects, and a must-listen as well with its beeping electronic noises, and OTT symphonic music like poor man's John Williams meets Carlo Franci. A less entertaining sequel was produced entitled "The Adventures of Hercules".

What was that? Hercules (Lou Ferrigno) is a big man, like a King-Kong. In this stupid movie struggles against mechanical creature like a centaur or a fly. He is immortal and absolutely invincible and Minos cannot stop him.

Zeus (Claudio Cassinelli) looks like Saint Nicolas in this funny show. His beard is so long and white :-).

Immortals from Mount Olympus lives on the moon and Daedalus is a woman in this movie.

Best scene: Hercules vs. Bear

Very funny movie.

Lou Ferrigno stars as Hercules the muscle-man who battles a sorceress and others to save the princess who he loves, and who he plans to marry (After cleaning out horse stalls.) in this disastrous epic of Greek mythology, bad special effects and horrendous dubbing. Where do I even start with this one? Aside from the hilariously bad special effects (The throwing of a bear in outer-space is truly laughable in its stupidity.) and the lame fight sequences you have what is the one of the worst movies ever made. Seriously. The film's sole redeeming quality is that it is just so hilarious. I mean this movie is guaranteed to make you bust a gut, otherwise you don't have much of a sense of humor. Let's face it bad movies such as this, sadly don't get made and while this movie is completely awful, fans of really bad cinema will be laughing all the way to the bank. For five dollars this is well worth the price. So bad it makes Gymkata seem like Die Hard.

* out of 4-(Bad)

Luigi Cossi who brought us the rather splendid, gut exploding opus, Contamination, here delivers the tale of the mightiest man who ever lived - Hercules! Interestingly however, despite the rather splendid Greek mythology at hand, Cossi instead opts for a bizarre sci-fi themed version of events involving robot monsters and Gods in space(!) Um....anyway, moving swiftly on, our eponymous hero is played here by none other than the awesomely ripped Lou (The Hulk) Ferrigno who proceeds to show us exactly just how mighty he is by throwing a bear into space(!) and breaking sword blades mounted on chariot wheels on his manly thighs(!) Woah!!! What a man!!!!

Quite rightly highly regarded in bad movie circles, this is to put it mildly, something of a bloody mess. Still, on a positive note the ladies here are all truly mouth watering to behold, including the ever sexy Sybil Danning......mmmmmmm!!!!!!!!! Hell, more than reason enough to at least have a watch me thinks.

The brave and mighty Hercules (an earnest, but extremely inept performance by brawny behemoth Lou Ferrigno of "The Incredible Hulk" fame) must rescue fair maiden Cassiopea (ravishing Ingrid Anderson) from the foul clutches of the wicked King Minos (William Berger, who somehow manages to keep a straight face while saying all this laughable philosophical hogwash) and his equally evil, yet bodacious daughter Ariadne (buxom blonde B-flick bombshell Sybil Danning vamping it up with deliciously lip-smacking brio). Helpful good sorceress Circe (the insanely gorgeous Mirella D'Angelo) assists Hercules on his valiant quest. Writer/director Luigi Cozzi crams this delightfully dreadful dimestore dreck with all the right wrong stuff: a ridiculously pointless opening montage about the creation of man and the universe, uproariously rinky-dink (much less than) special effects, a blithely silly script, lousy dubbing, larger-than-life hammy villains, an absurdly serious tone, clumsy occasional use of strenuous slow motion, and a ludicrously solemn narrator are all so outrageously funny and preposterous in their jaw-dropping badness that the whole ghastly mess plays like some kind of sly deadpan spoof of chintzy low-rent fantasy schlock. Among the unintentionally hilarious highlights are baby Hercules crushing the heads of two deadly serpents, Hercules beating up a bear and tossing the beast into space, Hercules battling a giant robot bee, Hercules unleashing a river to clean a filthy horse stable, a huge three-headed Tonka toy mechanical dragon, and Hercules using a massive stone to make a magical chariot fly. Pino Donaggio provides a suitably robust'n'rousing full-bore orchestral score while Alberto Spagnoli's glossy cinematography gives the picture an appropriately gaudy'n'glittery look. An absolute gut-busting kitschy riot.

Hooves down one of the funniest cow flops in moovie history, from the silly Tonka-Toy robots to the gleeful shredding of classical Greek Mythology. This fascile flop features the Triple Alliance of Bad Actors, Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, and Brad Harris, the same wanna-bes who would go on to destroy "The Seven Magnificent Gladiators". Bulfinch's was not cowsulted during this film. There are only 3 Greek gods, Zeus, Hera, and Aphrodite, and they live on the moon. Zeus, sporting an obviously fake, cheesy Santa Claus beard he bought for $.99, has nothing better to do, so he creates Herc out of some FX lights and blips & sends him to earth. Hera is evil, in her white fright-wig, and opposes Herc by sending two sock puppets to kill him. Baby Herc may have given the best performance. Aphrodite doesn't have much to do, and is basically along for the ride. While on earth, Herc throws styrofoam boulders, beats up stuffed bears, and fights the evil hordes of King Minos (William Berger) with plastic swords. Lou "Hulk" Ferrigno is the Herc-ster, and while he does look the part, he acts and talks moore like Lenny from "Of Mice and Men": if big Lou stuffed his mouth with marbles, he might sound less coherent, maybe. Ms Danning plays the Evil Busty Wonderbra Babe with her usual lack of talent. Among the many adventures on display in this film are the Secret Passage, which everyone knows about & immediately rushes to, the Endless Staircase, which has a bottom, and the Augean Stables, which haven't been cleaned in years, and have no horses. One of my favorite scenes shows Herc doing "battle" with a stock-footage bear, then battling a guy in an OBVIOUS bear-suit, then throwing the "bear" into outer space: as we watch the stuffed teddy bear twirl into the stars and become Ursa Major, truly we have hit the pinnacle of absurdity. So much stupid, absurd stuff happens in the space of 90 minutes that you may, dear reader, end up like the poor ol' MooCow, rolling on the isle of the moovie theater, in cowvulsions, weeping with laughter into his popcorn. Yes, MooCowMoo says definitely check it out, rent it, buy it, sit back and let the stupidity roll! :

I love Hercules movies. From Steve Reeves to the Bava helmed Hercules in the Haunted World, some of the most entertaining films I've watched have been about the adventures of the son of Zeus and Alcmene. I've probably already related how much I love the movies of Luigi Cozzi, too. From Starcrash to Contamination, his movies never let you down. They're ridiculous spectacles, packed with stop animation, bombastic scores and increasingly insane plots. I feel bad for anyone who dislikes either Hercules or Cozzi movies. And woe be to anyone who dislikes this one!

Following the success of Conan the Barbarian, this was an opportunity for the Italian film industry to return to the peblum sword and sorcery films that they once did so well decades before.

Originally announced to be directed by Bruno Mattei from a Claudio Fragrasso script (it was shot at the same time as The Seven Magnificent Gladiators, which does boast the talents of both), Hercules stars Lou Ferrigno from TV's The Incredible Hulk.

You have to respect any movie that doesn't start with people and instead is all about Pandora's Jar. That's right - it wasn't a box. It was made up of all the elements - night, day, matter and air - which aren't really elements. It blew up and made the planets. Look - if you're going to start questioning logic, there's no way you're going to enjoy this movie.

Pandora's Jar led to the creation of Earth, but it also led to evil being set loose to have its way on the world. So Zeus decides to create a symbol of goodness in his son Hercules. By the way, instead of living on Mt. Olympus, the Pantheon lives on the moon and are played by some of the heavy hitters of Italian cinema: Rossana Podestà as Hera, Delia Boccardo as Athena, Eva Robin's as Dedalos and Claudio Cassinelli as Zeus himself!

Much like Moses, baby Hercules' parents are murdered and he's sent on a raft to safety. Unlike Moses, lil' Herc kills two snakes with his bare hands. And then he's raised in a simple village, where things are pretty simple until a bear kills his father. Hercules responds by throwing the bear into space and turning it into stars. I can't do this scene any justice. You just have to see it for yourself.

Hercules ends up in conflict with King Minos (William Berger, who was in seven Jess Franco movies) and Ariadne (Sybil Danning!), who force him to do things like clean up horse stables. Our hero also falls in love with Cassiopea while battling the mechanical monsters that Minos has under his command.

Hercules ends up getting help from Circe, a witch who is played by Mirella D'Angelo from Tenebrae. She's way more interesting and attractive than Cassiopea, but she's also a witch and therefore, doomed to fall in love with the big lug and die as a result. Oh yeah - Bobby Rhodes shows up as Xenodama, the King of Africa!

At the end of it all, Hercules must rescue his love from the fires of the Phoenix, as well as a clockwork centaur. He then doesn't believe that she is Cassiopea. He asks if she is Ariadne or Circe playing a trick. She responds that she is all of and none of those women and they embrace, with their silhouettes being framed against the heavens.

There are so many moments in this movie that are going to make you feel like you're on drugs, like every time Hercules punches things lighting comes out of his hands. But man, there is so much awesome in here, like the whole ride across the river Styx, every single monster, the sets and the outfits that the ladies wear. This is a movie made for entertainment and shutting off your brain. It does its job very well.

I saw this in High School within the month before it was pulled because of poor box office !!! I was a Muscle and Fitness Magazine Reader from the library actually and they really hyped this film so I thought I would check it out !!! It was unintentionally a funny LOL Sword and Sandals Flick !!!

I usually would watch all the Mighty Sons of Hercules Films when they would show them on KHJ-TV, Channel 9 back in the 1970s and early 80's !!! also Ulysses , Jason , Maciste' , Ursus , Samson and Hercules and all the rest !!! I would find out about Dubbed Spaghetti Sword and Sandals Films years later !!! But to a Tween Boy , they were larger than life !!!

Lou Ferrigno's take on Hercules was so funny whether he throws a bear into outer space to become the Constellation Ursus or growing into a Giant to separate Europe from Africa with one push !!! or screaming with all his might to perform a miracle !!! This was one Campy and Low Budget but Funny take on Hercules !!!

Luigi Cozzi , director of Starcrash !! and Starlog and Fantastic Films Magazine's highly praised Italian Sci-fi fan and magazine contributor , sure can give more bang for the buck when it comes to cheap budgetary special effects but for a theatrical release it doesn't deliver the Goods !!! The sequel was slightly better overall but not by much !!

There's no doubt that this is a cheesy movie and not something I would recommend. At the same time, some of the goofy looking sets actually came off as a bit appealing. I guess it helps that Lou Ferrigno is a pretty appealing actor. This really has little do with Greek mythology or at least the story of Hercules. Come to think of, Disney's Hercules wasn't much about the actual mythology either. It ended up being better because it had a lot more spirit.

The dumbest thing is probably how the villain uses giant robots. Honestly, this stuff is so ridiculous it makes "Power Rangers" look highbrow. Well, it actually was kind of entertaining with how colorful everything was. I probably should hate this movie, but I'll admit it was somewhat amusing. There have actually been a lot of bad Hercules movies out there, especially "The Legend Of Hercules". It just has too goofy a setup to like, but for me it wasn't horrible. **