That
this movie was ever made is an absolute miracle. Enjoy it.
Original Italian
Title: SERVITU GLADIATORE SESSO [Bondage Gladiator Sexy]
also known as LE BACCANTI and BACCHAE
[The Bacchantes]
director: Giorgio Ferroni
starring: Taina Elg · Pierre Brice · Alessandra Panaro
· Alberto Lupo · Akim Tamiroff · Raf Mattioli
The god Dionysus
comes back to Earth - to Thebes, precisely - to visit the home of his
late mortal mother. But he walks into a scorched, barren land ravaged
by a drought which has caused a firestorm of hate, fear, and discontent.
He is also surprised to learn that the ruling dynasty has forbidden the
worship of any god except Demetri (who seems to be ignoring them). King
Pentheus has decided to take extreme measures to bring rain to his land;
he is willing to catch goddess Demetri's attention by offering a human
sacrifice to her. It is decided that a young temple virgin named Manto
will be slaughtered on the altar. Jealous Dionysus demands to be worshiped
instead. Even though Pentheus spurns him, Dionysus wins over the populace
- especially the young people - with gifts of magical wine and ecstatic
orgies. He also wins the love of beautiful Dirce, a young woman who had
been promised as a bride to King Pentheus. The whole thing escalates into
a battle between the gladiators and the female army of Dionysus inside
the sacred caves.
After the International
success of MILL OF THE STONE WOMAN, director Giorgio Ferroni was
given a pile of cash and a green light to make whatever film he desired.
This result was this fever-dream, an excursion into intellectual camp
which is virtually unparalleled in the annals of cinema. Here is a sword-n-sandal
version of Euripides' challenging Greek tragedy, infused with other Thedan
myths, Italian folklore (including the struggle of thwarted young lover),
obvious references to the hippie counter-culture, punctuated startling
dance sequences choreographed by American filmmaker Herbert Ross who later
directed Footloose. That this movie was ever made is an
absolute miracle. Enjoy it.
An
Italian film with English subtitles; widescreen format (16:9), uncut (98
minutes), DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT; extras include
selected theatrical trailers.
Violence/Semi-Nudity/Sexual
Situations/
Recommended for Adult Audiences
