Duel of the Titans (1961) User Reviews

Two towering sword and sandals stars in a historical exciting production

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 10 October 2006]

A good cinematic adaptation from legendary history of Rome founders which joined two Peplum's two greatest heroes . Two twin brothers , sons of God Marte and Rea Silvia are dropped to the river Arno . They are breast-feed by a she-wolf . One time grown-up , Rómulo (Steve Reeves) and Remo (Gordon Scott) for the foundation of city of Roma fight against the dictator king Amulio (Volpi) ruler from Alba-Longa . Romulo kidnaps a gorgeous princess (Virna Lisi) falling in love , then her father , the King (Massimo Girotti) of Sabinos pursues them . Romulo and Remo arrive in the valley of sevens hills (Palatino , Capitolino..) , battleground for warring rival brothers and they confront each other . Romulo will make a furrow , as signal of Roma foundation . Romulo became a King (753-15 B.C) uniting the various slopes ; his successor was Numa Pompilio (Enzo Cerusico) .

This is an enjoyable myth-opera with struggles , love and hatred , tortures and including meticulously battle scenes that convey us a spectacular scenario . Reeves and Scott are perfect as the mythical heroes who encounter pretty risked situations while trying to find a location for foundation a city . The producers originally wanted Steve Reeves to play both Romulus and Remus , but he declined to do double roles and recommended former Tarzan Gordon Scott and the protagonists were both born in the same year -1926- . Steve Reeves achieved an enormous success as Peplum starring (Hercules , Hercules and Queen of Lidia , Battle of Marathon) and nobody topped him in popularity . Gordon Scott was the second greatest hero , he played as Goliath in various movies and other bouncing characters (Coroliano , Muzio Scevola , Lion of Tebas) . Agreeable screenplay with historical remarks by two Spaghetti Western masters : Sergio Leone and Duccio Tessari . Colorful cinematography by Enzo Barboni (Trinity/Hill and Bambino/Spencer films director). The motion picture was well directed by Sergio Corbucci (Django) . Rating : Above average muscle-men and better than most epic opera-spaghetti , thanks to Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott .

Muscle-rama!

[dinky-4 · 6/10 · 8 June 1999]

Steve Reeves was the "god" of these sandal-and-spear movies and Gordon Scott the "demi-god," and here you have them together playing brothers in one of the best examples of the genre. Plus Virna Lisi! In telling the tale of Romulus and Remus, this manages to include one of filmdom's odder whipping sequences. Steve Reeves is spreadeagled to a vertical frame which is rapidly rotated by one man while another man goes at Steve's chest with a whip. Curiously, though the whipper goes at his work with a vengeance, at the end of the sequence, Steve only has about 4 welts on his skin!

Non-Campy Peplum From The Director Of "Django"

[Steve_Nyland · 7/10 · 29 January 2009]

Pretty good historical Peplum effort here by Sergio Corbucci, the Italian exploitation director best known for his trend setting spaghetti western classic DJANGO. It's easy to dismiss Italian sword & sandal spectacles from the early 1960s: they are universally low budgeted, take shortcuts that their Americanized counterparts wouldn't dream of (BEN HUR, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, SPARTACUS) and borrow liberally from them as well, sometimes to the point of plagiarism. Not that there is anything automatically wrong with that, artists steal good ideas from each other all the time, and there's only so much you can do with a bunch of guys running around in tunics with swords.

This one tells of the founding of Rome by the twin brothers of legend, Romulus and Remus, wonderfully personified by Steve Reeves (HERCULES, HERCULES UNCHAINED) and particularly Gordon Scott (TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES) in his first Peplum outing after ditching the Tarzan loincloth. Reeves plays the noble, stoic Romulus, destined to be the first king of Rome whether he likes it or not, and Gordon Scott plays Remus as you have never seen Gordon Scott before -- Wild, erratic, envious, prone to violence, distrustful of anyone who does not blindly follow his leadership, and ultimately flawed enough to come across as very human rather than the son of a Roman god.

Legend has it that Reeves refused an offer to play a dual role as both brothers and insisted the producers bring in his friend Gordon Scott instead, and it is a testament to Reeves' humbleness as a performer that he ceded the meatier role to his friend; Reeves is great as Romulus, but Scott is excellent as Remus, and the performance opened the door for Scott to appear in several more Pepla before the fad wore itself out. This one proves that he was capable of acting in addition to throwing large boulders at people, and the brothers' final showdown is indeed the stuff of tragedy and legend.

There's actually some high powered talent behind this effort. In addition to the A list manbeef and director Corbucci, spaghetti western specialists Duccio Tessari and Sergio Leone both played a role in scripting the non-hammy, non-campy screenplay, with cinematography by Enzo Barboni of TRINITY era fame, sets by the always brilliant Carlo Simi, and a sweeping, robust musical score by Piero Piccioni that is quite fittingly epic in nature. Supporting cast stalwarts Piero Lulli, Franco Volpi, José Greci, Laura Solari, and Jacques Sernas as the scurrilous Curzio bring a breadth to the production that makes many other examples of the genre seem silly by comparison.

Here is a thinking man's Peplum, eschewing the traditional gladiator bouts and he-man physical strength displays for a tightly woven story with a convincingly realistic tone. I would rank this movie up there with Gordon Mitchell's FURY OF ACHILLIES as amongst the best that the Italians were able to muster to cash in on the fad. Both films deal with historical legends and both maintain a somewhat serious tone throughout, and you can tell with this one that the Italian filmmakers were endowed with a sense of pride in telling their own pre-history for a change instead of just another potboiler script. Even with all the chest oil there's a tone of dignity to the film that is atypical of what the Peplum genre usually has to offer.

If I were to have a genuine criticism about the film it would be in regards to the barbaric horse race through a gauntlet of fire that the producers saw fit to include during the opening movements. It doesn't look like it was very safe for man or beast, and I can only hope that they asked the horses' permission first before running them through the very real pre-CGI obstacle course of burning rubbish and trip wires just for the benefit of the cameras. You have to wonder about the Italians sometimes -- couldn't they have just had a nice harmless javelin throwing contest?

7/10

Strong tale of the Founding of Rome

[mhrabovsky1 · 11 December 2000]

Double beefcake with the story of Romulus and Remus - the alleged founders and twin brothers of Roman legend who established the "eternal city" in folklore, Rome. Great casting with plenty of bulging biceps in Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott of Tarzan fame. Scott appears somewhat burdened and uneasy playing second fiddle to Reeves in this film as the overly zealous brother Remus who upon his father's dying bed (in this case a straw covered ledge!) is told he is the son of a god along with his brother (Reeves), but Scott keeps the secret until he is forced to tell his brother...........very begrudgingly. As the movie rolls on Reeves becomes more of a hero and Scott more of a villain as they part ways with their loyal bands in an attempt to try and reach Rome first and to escape from the posse of Roman soldiers who are attempting to recapture the general's daughter(the lovely Virna Lisi)......in the end a great "duel" with a knife wielding joust between Reeves and Scott, with Mr. Reeves laying down his brother with tears and proclaiming the founding of the eternal city, Rome.

A Pretty Good Movie

[misterjd · 7/10 · 11 May 2021]

This movie is a pretty good movie, there's lots of action scenes, the storyline makes sense. It takes place in Ancient Rome. It's a good movie for the time period. What I didn't like as much was that the movie wasn't centered as much around the plot, but instead the movie was centered around the two men's muscles. It, again, is a good movie for the 60's, but cannot compare to modern movies. Overall, it's a pretty good movie worth seeing, but only if you don't mind that the main plot of the movie is the two men's muscles, how big they are, and how manly the men are.

Better-than-average peplum

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 22 December 2019]

This is the only film encounter of musclebound screen legends Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott; they are both marvellous to look at, as are Virna Lisi and José Greci, for that matter. Reeves is rather stolid as the noble brother, but Scott shows a villainous side that I have never seen from him before. Thematically, the film has strong shades of "Spartacus"; obviously it is not as good, but it's well-produced (in addition to the climactic battle, there is a volcanic eruption) and, although it was written by 6 (!) different people, the story hangs together pretty well. **1/2 out of 4.

A hunk o hunk of heroes.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 17 March 2022]

The teaming of Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott in this historical epic about the days of Romulus and Remus is an above-average peplum film about the days of pre-ancient Rome and how the twin brothers rebelled against ruthless rulers to establish law and order and eliminate corruption. This film shows their mother taking the babies to the river, only for them to be rescued by a mother wolf, and suckled. Later after killing the wolf, a sheep farmer takes them in and that leads to their heroic deeds as they age and realize how horrible their rulers are. Plenty of romance with some very beautiful women, spectacle and action, lots of extras leads to an exciting if not perfect film.

I'm taking the story with a grain of salt past the legends that I know about Romulus and Remus, and I guess the camera couldn't fit into the wolf's den to show them being suckled. Reeves and Scott are definite eye candy, and outside of a few flirtatious scenes with a character named Julia, they really don't say all that much so they're acting is minimal outside of being directed in fight scenes. A prequel of sorts to the same year's "Duel of Champions" which was set centuries later in the days before the Roman Empire and made several mentions of Romulus and Remus. Enjoyable for its big scope and rousing score oh, it's obvious that they put a bit more money into this sword and sandal epic than most of the other output of that genre. A great sequence involving a volcano is another highlight with terrific special effects of people falling in.

Legendary Founders of Rome

[steven-222 · 8/10 · 12 February 2006]

One of these days, I hope, we'll see a serious re-evaluation of the so-called sword & sandal genre of historical/mythic epics produced in Italy in the 1950s and '60s. When seen in ideal circumstances—excellent prints in the original widescreen formats—the best examples of the genre are quite impressive. DUEL OF THE TITANS (ROMOLO E REMO) is one of the best, and it's magnificent.

This is not a muscleman fantasy with superhuman feats of strength, like HERCULES, but a serious retelling of the foundation myth of Rome. Various elements of the Romulus and Remus story are freely but intelligently reinterpreted, the sets and costumes have a convincing Iron Age look, and the larger-than-life characters of the legendary Twins are strongly portrayed by Gordon Scott and Steve Reeves. Both actors are at the peak of their considerable cinematic charisma. (Virna Lisi as Julia and Ornella Vanoni as the pants-wearing Tarpeia are also impressive!)

As I write (2006), the movie is virtually impossible to find except as a bootleg. It deserves a DVD release of a quality widescreen print.

A fine Example of a Sword n' Sandal

[lostinaction · 8/10 · 13 September 2008]

From the 60's up to the 80's Italian Movie Producers made money with Horror Pictures, Comedies, Spaghetti Western, Giallo, Poliziotteschi and other Genres. But there was another unique Subgenre before: Sword n' Sandal Movies. Many of later well known Directors like Mario Bava, Sergio Leone, Enzo Barboni, Duccio Tessari and many more worked and learned in this Sub-Genre. Sergio Corbucci was one of them either. He should later become famous for directing Spaghetti-Western like Django, Navajo Joe, Il Mercenario, Companeros and many more. Romulus and Remo was one of his first directing jobs and IMO he did it very well. But Corbucci wasn't the Highlight in 1961. People went to cinema to watch the clash of two Action Heroes of that time: Steve Reeve (Hercules) as Romulus against Gordon Scott (Tarzan) as Remo.

Both Actors were allowed to show their muscles and they have some pretty good fights. Next to them there are two attractive women Virna Lisi as blonde Princess of the Sabina Tribe and Laura Solari as an Amazon Warrior. The Story is about the mythology of the founding of Rome "The Eternal City". Romulus (or Romolo) and Remo (or Remus) are twin brothers who were wet-nursed by a female wolf. Surprisingly the Movie follows more and the less the mythology with few inventions. In the storyline there are some flaws but IMO not as terrible as in other Sword n' Sandals. The Action and the Fights are all well shot. There is a high body count but don't worry no blood. During watching it I got the feeling to watch a Spaghetti-Western with a lot of Horse riding and swords instead of guns. Most of the scenes are typically for this genre: a fight in a gladiator arena, a pagan scene, a torture scene and many more. "Romolo e Remo" is a fine entertaining Example for this Subgenre with a nice music too.

Up to the mid 60's the Sword n' Sandal Movies weren't produced any more in Italy. The audience wanted to see something new. Gordon Scott and Steve Reeve disappeared from the screen. Musclemen weren't popular any more. In the 80's a new Muscleman conquered Hollywood: Arnold Schwarzenegger.

a pretty good one...

[Majid-Hamid · 10/10 · 11 August 2010]

Well..this not the best of Steve Reeves or Gordon Scott movies, but definitely not the worse! There are plenty of worse movies outside there, so please do not judge the Italian movies in a bad way...TROY (Brad Pitt) is 1000 times much much much more worse compared to the Italian movies! Duel Of Titans is simply one of the better movies, and please check out for this one. The acting is good, the dubbed English audio is not very bad and moreover i've got a good dubbed audio for this movie! I don't know whether this movie originally use the Italian or English language..or maybe both??? No matter what kind of language they use in this movie, this is still a good movie. Good acting from both Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott, and fine storyline and plot. Not the best, but still a pretty good one. Buy it, surely you won't regret! 8/10 stars

Surprisingly good muscle-bound peplum

[jamesrupert2014 · 8/10 · 16 May 2022]

Brothers Romulus (Steve Reeves) and Remus (Gordon Scott), nursed by a wolf then raised by a shepherd, lead a rebellion and then fall out over a woman (sexy Virna Lisi) and over the founding of Rome, the eternal city. While likely not remembered as 'actor's actors', Reeves and Scott are absolutely fine in this colourful, well-made mytho-historial saga. The production manages to look more epic than it is and the battle scenes, while a bit small-scale, are quite well done. There is some fine horse stunt-work (notably in the early race through fire and in the final battle scenes - I suspect that the rules pertaining to animal stunts were more relaxed in Italy than in the US). The 'special effects' (such as arrows hitting in or near people) are well executed and although the dubbing leaves something to be desired, the characters are all fine for a sword-and-sandal opus. I watched this primarily because I wanted something 'visual that's not too abysmal', and was pleased (and surprised) that it wasn't abysmal at all. The torture scene, where Romulus is spun on something akin to a giant salad-spinner while being flogged, is one of a kind (and a tribute to the sacrifices the actor was willing to make for his art).

Italian Peplum Classic with Steve REEVES, Virna LISI and Gordon SCOTT

[ZeddaZogenau · 10/10 · 7 January 2024]

With Steve REEVES and Gordon SCOTT, the two greatest sword and sandal film actors meet. It's about the two hostile brothers who, according to legend, were responsible for the founding of Rome. The argument escalates when the beautiful Julia (Virna LISI, Silver Palm for LA REINE MARGOT) enters the lives of the two brothers.

José GRECI and Massimo GIROTTI can also be seen in other roles. Sergio LEONE contributed to the script and was directed by Sergio CORBUCCI. 848,000 tickets were sold in West German cinemas (source: InsideKino).

One of the best sword and sandal films from the heyday of the genre!