The Science!? 09: Giants of Rome (1964)

Gaul during the Gallic Wars. Julius Caesar (Alessandro Sperli) is just one step away from being recalled back to Rome and being branded unsuccessful in the conquest of Gaul. He knows he must win a decisive victory against the Gallic forces. The trouble is that a very important mountain pass is blocked by a terrible secret weapon the Druids invented. To remove this obstacle, Caesar sends a small commando unit, lead by a certain Claudius Marcellus (Richard Harrison), behind the enemy lines to destroy the weapon. Of course the troop gets captured, escapes with a few prisoners including the mandatory love interest, fights dangerous battles and is hindered by a cowardly traitor in their midst. There may even be a heroic sacrifice or two.
Antonio Margheriti has, as a typical filione director, made films in every genre imaginable, some of them not suited to his directorial strengths. He was at his best when he worked either on Gothic Horror or war movies (his love for science fiction lead to fun, but very uneven films). Here, he uses a classic war movie formula in a historical setting and the results are quite satisfying. The action is much more dynamic and gruesome than I'm used to in movies (not produced in Asia) of the the first half of the Sixties. This is one of the few cases of Western movies of this time where I would even use the word "choreography" when speaking of the fights.
Story and characters are neither surprising nor original, but Margheriti expertly diverts the viewer's attention by keeping a high tempo and a high body count.
I could now criticize the many historical inaccuracies and stupidities the film contains, but really - who watches these films for the historic truth? Especially when the basic story could take place in any time and any war, just with different weapons.