Review of La Gerusalemme liberata

THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS is very much a stock Italian adventure film of the 1950s. It's made in glorious colour and features a plot in which the heroic and fearless European Christians go up against the scourge of the Middle East, namely Saladin and his Islamic army. It's a dated film for sure, and one which feels stodgy and slowly-paced at times. However, it's also fairly intelligent, and it features a handful of action set-pieces, including the climactic siege, which hold their own against the fight-fuelled peplum epics to follow. Sylva Koscina and Gianna Maria Canale light up the screen as love rivals while Rik Battaglia and chums do their usual heroic feats.