The Classical epic was not a uniquely American genre. Although other European countries took less interest in such films, the Italians held the view that as they were the heirs of the Roman Empire their national cinema should celebrate it. This view originated before World War I, continued under Mussolini and survived Italy's defeat in World War II and the downfall of the dictator, with Italian film-makers turning out historical adventures of this sort throughout the fifties and into the sixties. The genre eventually died out in the late sixties, around the same time as the Hollywood epic. A feature of these films was the use of foreign, especially American, stars to give them more international appeal. The best-known of these stars, Steve Reeves, was far better known for the films he made in Italy than for anything he did in his native America.
"Hannibal" (or "Annibale") is a film of this type, although the man whose life is celebrated here was of course not a Roman but one of their greatest enemies. Two Hollywood stars (Victor Mature and Rita Gam) were brought in to play the leading roles and they shot their lines in English while the rest of the cast spoke Italian. Two versions, one Italian-language and one English-language, were eventually produced.
The film begins with Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with his men and elephants. It combines details of his military career with a sub-plot about a romantic relationship between Hannibal and Sylvia, the niece of the Roman senator Fabius Maximus. This romance is fictitious; Fabius Maximus, known to history as Fabius Cunctator, or Fabius the Delayer, because of the guerrilla tactics he advocated against Hannibal's armies, was certainly a real person, but Sylvia appears to be an invention of the scriptwriters.
The Italian film industry could not normally match the financial resources which Hollywood could throw at the epic, and this occasionally shows. The scenes of crossing the Alps are quite well done, but the battle scenes are not always convincing. We hear Fabius in the Senate advocating hit-and-run tactics and then see what appears to be a minor skirmish between Roman and Carthaginian troops, suggesting that Fabius's advice has been heeded. That apparent "skirmish" is supposed to represent the Battle of the Trebbia, which involved some 40,000 men on each side and which ended in a massive Roman defeat precisely because that advice had been rejected. (The re-enactment of the later Battle of Cannae is rather better done).
Mature had appeared in several Hollywood epics, including "The Robe", "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and "Samson and Delilah", and it was probably this pedigree which landed him the role in "Hannibal". He was never a great actor, but great acting was not always the main requirement for the heroes of sword-and-sandal epics. A solid, heroic presence, manly good looks and a powerful, muscular frame were often of more importance- Reeves had been a champion bodybuilder before becoming an actor, a sort of earlier version of Arnold Schwarzenegger- and these are all attributes which Mature brings to this film. He struggles to show a lot of emotion in the love scenes, but that matters less than it does in "Samson and Delilah", where the love between the two principal characters is the whole point of the film. Here, the love of Hannibal and Sylvia is a bit of an afterthought tacked on to the main military story, and something of which Hannibal seems rather ashamed. (He has a wife and family back in Carthage). As for Gam, she was never a star of the first rank in America, and is largely forgettable here.
Mature does, however, manage to bring out something of his character's essential decency and nobility; Hannibal may be a warrior, but he is one who adheres to a code of honour more than do most of his Roman opponents, with the exception of Fabius. Had Hannibal succeeded in defeating Rome, the consequences for subsequent history would have been incalculable, but I suspect that many in the audience who saw this film would have been rooting for him. "Hannibal" may be a standard piece of sword-and-sandal spectacle, but it is probably better than many examples of the genre. 6/10
"Hannibal" (or "Annibale") is a film of this type, although the man whose life is celebrated here was of course not a Roman but one of their greatest enemies. Two Hollywood stars (Victor Mature and Rita Gam) were brought in to play the leading roles and they shot their lines in English while the rest of the cast spoke Italian. Two versions, one Italian-language and one English-language, were eventually produced.
The film begins with Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with his men and elephants. It combines details of his military career with a sub-plot about a romantic relationship between Hannibal and Sylvia, the niece of the Roman senator Fabius Maximus. This romance is fictitious; Fabius Maximus, known to history as Fabius Cunctator, or Fabius the Delayer, because of the guerrilla tactics he advocated against Hannibal's armies, was certainly a real person, but Sylvia appears to be an invention of the scriptwriters.
The Italian film industry could not normally match the financial resources which Hollywood could throw at the epic, and this occasionally shows. The scenes of crossing the Alps are quite well done, but the battle scenes are not always convincing. We hear Fabius in the Senate advocating hit-and-run tactics and then see what appears to be a minor skirmish between Roman and Carthaginian troops, suggesting that Fabius's advice has been heeded. That apparent "skirmish" is supposed to represent the Battle of the Trebbia, which involved some 40,000 men on each side and which ended in a massive Roman defeat precisely because that advice had been rejected. (The re-enactment of the later Battle of Cannae is rather better done).
Mature had appeared in several Hollywood epics, including "The Robe", "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and "Samson and Delilah", and it was probably this pedigree which landed him the role in "Hannibal". He was never a great actor, but great acting was not always the main requirement for the heroes of sword-and-sandal epics. A solid, heroic presence, manly good looks and a powerful, muscular frame were often of more importance- Reeves had been a champion bodybuilder before becoming an actor, a sort of earlier version of Arnold Schwarzenegger- and these are all attributes which Mature brings to this film. He struggles to show a lot of emotion in the love scenes, but that matters less than it does in "Samson and Delilah", where the love between the two principal characters is the whole point of the film. Here, the love of Hannibal and Sylvia is a bit of an afterthought tacked on to the main military story, and something of which Hannibal seems rather ashamed. (He has a wife and family back in Carthage). As for Gam, she was never a star of the first rank in America, and is largely forgettable here.
Mature does, however, manage to bring out something of his character's essential decency and nobility; Hannibal may be a warrior, but he is one who adheres to a code of honour more than do most of his Roman opponents, with the exception of Fabius. Had Hannibal succeeded in defeating Rome, the consequences for subsequent history would have been incalculable, but I suspect that many in the audience who saw this film would have been rooting for him. "Hannibal" may be a standard piece of sword-and-sandal spectacle, but it is probably better than many examples of the genre. 6/10