My Son, the Hero
| My Son, the Hero | |
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| Directed by | Duccio Tessari |
| Screenplay by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Alfio Contini[1] |
| Edited by | Maruizio Lucidi[1] |
| Music by | Carlo Rustichelli[1] |
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Running time | 120 minutes[1] |
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| Language | Italian |
My Son, the Hero (Italian title: Arrivano i titani - The Coming of the Titans; alternative UK title: Sons of Thunder) is a 1962 mythological sword-and-sandal comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Giuliano Gemma, Jacqueline Sassard, Pedro Armendáriz, Antonella Lualdi and Serge Nubret.
Plot
King Cadmos of Crete (Pedro Armendáriz) murders his wife to be with his scheming mistress, Ermione (Ilse Steppat). Following the crime, a prophetess curses Cadmos, foretelling that he will die on the day his infant daughter, Antiope, falls in love. In defiance of the gods, Cadmos proclaims himself a deity and undergoes a mystical vapor treatment alongside Ermione, rendering their bodies invulnerable except for a single spot on Ermione's chest. To protect his life, Cadmos plans to ordain an adult Antiope (Antonella Lualdi) into a life of enforced chastity as a cloistered priestess in his service.
Enraged by Cadmos's hubris, Zeus offers a reprieve to the incarcerated Titans in Tartarus if their youngest and most intelligent brother, Crios (Giuliano Gemma), agrees to overthrow the tyrant. Arriving in Crete, Crios befriends the mute servant Aquiles (Serge Nubret) and intentionally provokes an arrest to infiltrate the palace dungeons. There, he encounters Antiope and immediately falls in love with her. After winning a gladiatorial death match by using oil to outmaneuver the formidable slave Rator (Gerard Séty), Crios is appointed as Cadmos's personal servant, though his secret romance with Antiope soon draws Ermione's suspicion.
During a staged human hunt where Rator is the target, Crios corners Cadmos on a cliffside but is forced to jump into the sea with Rator when Ermione and the royal guards intervene. Seeking a strategic advantage, Crios travels back to Tartarus via a ruined temple of Pluto to steal the Cap of Invisibility. He attempts to rescue Antiope, only to discover she has been moved to the Isle of the Gorgon. Crios and his allies successfully infiltrate the island and slay the Gorgon, but the ensuing mystical storm alerts Cadmos's forces. To save a wounded Crios, Antiope and Rator surrender to the incoming troops.
In response to the crisis, Zeus releases the remaining Titans to aid Crios. Equipped with Zeus's thunderbolts, the Titans launch a massive assault on the city, stirring the oppressed Cretan citizenry into open rebellion. As the military forces collapse, a panicked Cadmos kills Ermione by targeting her vulnerable spot before seeking out Crios in the palace's subterranean chambers. Crios uses a thunderbolt to breach an underwater wall, washing away the invulnerability vapors protecting Cadmos's priests. As the cavern floods, Crios hurls his final thunderbolt at the tyrant's feet, casting Cadmos directly into Hades, before rescuing Antiope and establishing a new home for the liberated Titans.
Cast
- Pedro Armendáriz: Cadmos
- Giuliano Gemma: Crios
- Antonella Lualdi: Ermione
- Jacqueline Sassard: Antiope
- Serge Nubret: Rator
- Gérard Séty: Achilles
- Tanya Lopert: Licina
- Ingrid Schoeller: Emerate
- Franco Lantieri: Tarete
- Isarco Ravaioli: Centinela
- Fernando Rey: High Priest
Release
My Son, the Hero was released in Italy on 4 May 1962.[1] It was released in France as Les Titans on 31 August 1962.[2]
It was released the United States on 18 September 1963 with a 111 minute running time.[1]
Reception
Guliano Gemma's love scenes with Jacqueline Sassard have been considered among the most convincing of this genre and the film as a whole has been called "a masterpiece of Italian cinema".[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 163.
- ↑ "Arrivano i titani (1960) Duccio Tessari" (in French). Bifi.fr. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ↑ Hughes 2011, p. 18.
Bibliography
External links
- My Son, the Hero at IMDb
- My Son, the Hero at the TCM Movie Database (archived)