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adrianasunderworld · 4 months

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More of the Twst Stardew Valley au!

Just because I like it and want to continue.

Part One

Part Two

I've mentioned before that the witch that turns your chicken eggs into void eggs is Malleus grandma. That also means the witches hut is also his grandmas house. In that quest line you learn more about Malleus backstory of how he was orphaned and raised by his grandma and Lilia. And how his childhood was all about learning magic and thus he never got used to making friends. That is until he meets Yuu.

When you go down into the mines, the deeper levels have the blot phantoms for you to fight.

Fleur Town is the neighboring town you can take by bus, and there you can meet Rollo and friends. You can buy things off of them there, and yes, like Fellow and Giddel, there is a quest to get him to move to Night Raven.

If you marry Epel, he will occasionally gift you an apple or even an apple sapling.

Marja is kinda like the Evelyn in this au. Your sweet local granny who will occasionally gift you food if you befriend her. Specifically her famous apple pie.

The towns little school house sadly does not have much to offer in terms of arts programs. So Vil has occasionally volunteered to teach the kids about acting and helping them put on small shows for their families for them. Maybe a heart event or quest line for Vil is to help him collect supplies for the kids show. " Farmer, help! I need this amount of wood and this amount of cloth so I we can build the sets and costumes for the children."

In the same vein as the farmer going into Robin and Demetrius room in the game, and finding books about blended families, if you go into Falena and Ashas bedroom, you'll find books about how to recognize being the Golden Child and moving forward from there. One of Falenas friendship heart events is him expressing how he wishes to be closer to his brother and recognizing that their father played favorites and wasn't a good parent to Leona.

Again in the same vein as above, part of Leonas storyline is learning about his childhood and always being ignored by their father, and when he wasn't, being compared to Falena and how that soured his relationship with his brother.

If you marry Leona, The Kingscholars recognize you as a member of the family and make references to it. Like Cheka referring to Farmer Yuu as Auntie/Uncle/etc.

Idia has once, and only once, attempted to go into he mines and considered joining the adventures guild, thinking it would be like one of his fantasy RPGs. He was sorely mistaken and never did it again. He saw one green slime and got the fuck out.

Cater lives in a house with his two sisters and they are almost always arguing over the division of chores.

Once Yuu starts getting close to Riddle, his mother will have a cutscene telling them that Riddle has a bright future ahead of him, and that Yuu should tread lightly around him so as not to ruin anything.

Like Kent in game, you don't meet Lilia until after the first year in game. Baul, Silver, Malleus, and Sebek all mentioned Lilia throughout that first year. From they tell Yuu, Lilia is a veteran and the leader of the adventurers guild and is off on his travels. Hes written to Silver that he will be back soon, and then the mysterious Lilia shows on your doorstep at the start of Spring of year 2 to introduce himself.

Ruggie lives in trailer just outside of town and close to where he works, he mentions he sends money to his grandma back home. Obviously if you marry Ruggie, his financial situation is much better, and he has dialogue about how he can help his granny so much more now thanks to you for it. The house is always in top shape and the animals fed when Ruggie is your husband.

Crowley is always hatching schemes to bring in more tourists and business to town. So he often ropes Farmer into helping him get supplies for whatever event or ideas he has in mind to bring people to Night Raven. That usually includes handing over fliers to Rollo to hang up in Fleur Town. Or gathering wood to build stands for the farmers market he decided to open.

If you marry Jack, his personal add on room and hobby corner in the yard is full of exercise equipment and his cactuses. He has dialogue about how it's great being able to jog around the farm in the morning and how you shouldn't strain yourself and ask him if there's any heavy lifting to be done.

The cave on your farm that lets you either grow mushrooms or collect fruit are two separate offers. Jade will tell you that the cave on your property is a prime spot for growing mushrooms and he can set it up. Or Lilia will come and tell you about the fruit bars in the area and how he can help so bats are more likely to hang out in their and this leaves fruit for you to collect. You can choose to accept one offer over the other, if you reject both at the time, you can tell them you changed your mind later.

Mr. And Mrs. Shroud will ask Yuu about the blot monsters in the mines, and regularly put out commissions on the community board or Guild about the monsters. They are scientists that research them and always welcome whatever info you tell them, or giving them the stone items they drop when you kill them.

Royal Sword Mart Manager, Ambrose has a grandson he mentions if you come over to shop. Eventually said grandson, Arthur, will come to town, stating he's come to live with his grandfather now that he's getting older and Arthur worries for him and his health. Yes Arthur is also a marriage candidate.

Trey works at the local bakery and often gifts Yuu things like cake and bread as they become better friends.

One of Riddles cut scenes is Yuu overhearing a conversation between Riddle and his mother. Mrs. Rosehearts complaining about Riddles friends, Trey and Che'nya. Riddle tries to defend them, but his mother won't hear it. Once she walks away, Riddle notices the farmer, he explains how his mother was always strict and homeschooled him over sending him to the local school house with the other kids. Especially because she didn't approve of the local kids like Trey and Che'nya, who would always sneak Riddle out to play. If you marry Riddle, he has plenty of dialogue about how he's excited to invite Trey and Che'nya over for dinner, what sweets they should serve for dessert, and how much his mother would disapprove.

@mangacupcake @marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind

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mj-ackerman · 2 years

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Tatsuya Endo's Character Commentary from the Official Spy x Family Fanbook English Translation:

Someone might've already translated this somewhere, but I wanted to share my own translation here for those who hasn't read it yet^^. I'll start with the Forgers. Long post ahead. DO NOT REPOST

<<Part 2 Here>>

Loid Forger:

(Endo) He's honest and sincere. His disguise is cartoonishly exaggerated, but it is also important that real-life spies have to be (who they are). "Twilight" also came out simple. I wanted to use cooler horizontal characters, but I already submitted it to the meeting as it is, so... Spy should not stand out, so I thought about putting a modest mole or piercings as a character trait, but in the end, I decided not to add anything. As a last resort effort, I added the WISE badge to his collar, although I know that there is no way a spy will wear a company emblem (?) (Laughs). To make it easier for the readers to recognize him, I had him wear this badge as much as possible even when disguised.

(Hayashi) "Having no features became his features" right?

(Endo) The readers may see him as "actually a very nice guy", but in my mind, he has a more flattering image. Although he is not devoid of emotion, he's someone who prioritizes his mission first.

He is technically managing Franky by holding onto his weaknesses in a constructive way, but I think they understand each other. Like Neil and Mozzie in the drama "White Collar", I would like to see a relationship where they are business partners, but still understand each other.

Anya Forger:

(Endo) She moves on her own, so I don't really have much concept for her. Her visual was created by combining "Ashe" from the one-shot "煉獄のアーシェ / Rengoku no Ashe" and "Misha" from "石に薄紅、鉄に星 / Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi". I came up with several ideas for her design, with the image of something like a decoration attached to her head.

Ashe from Rengoku no Ashe (Left) & Misha from Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi. Both are Tatsuya Endo's manga

Anya is getting more and more deformed as I draw her. Her eyes got bigger and her head and body got smaller. I also like round eyes so much that I ended up drawing them right away. She also has a little bit of Hoshimaru from "Narutaru" (by Mohiro Kitoh) in her. I think of mistakes like saying "Odekeke / ooting" on the spot. I think about how a child might make a mistake, or give priority to a comedic tone.

Narutaru, a manga by Mohiro Kitoh

Yor Forger:

(Endo) She is the character that I thought about the most visually. While referencing various video games and anime, I didn't think even 1 millimeter about an assassin's look.

As for the weapon, I got the idea from the main character from the spy novel "Eyes of the Needle'' (by Ken Follett), who uses a needle-like weapon called "Stiletto". Thinking about it, Izumiya from "月華美刃 / Gekka Bijin'' (one of Endo's previous manga) also used a needle weapon, so I may have an image of "Kill= stab" for myself. That's how I also came up with the name "いばら姫 / Ibara Hime / Thorn Princess."

Gekka Bijin, a manga by Tatsuya Endo

Her name was originally "Yolanda", which sounds like an Eastern European name, and it became "Yoru / Yor" as a nickname. I thought it would be better to keep it short for the speech balloon. Then the readers mistakenly thought "Because Loid is Twilight, that's why she's Yoru''Night ``?''. I actually didn't even think about it (LOL).

My favorite part is the overall design. I wanted to create parts that would move with the action, so I made the costume and the fringe flutter. As an assassin, no matter how you look at it, it's hard to move, but I wanted her to look good. I've always liked fighting heroines , and now that I think about it, Princess Arina from "Dragon Quest'' might be my starting point. I drew my first manga in the "Dragon Quest 4-koma Manga Theater'' with the story of Princess Arina. The needles on Yor's both hands may have been inspired by Killer Pierce?

The way her hair curled under the cover of volume 3...I want you guys to pretend that it didn't happen (Laughs) . I know some cosplayers may have tried to recreate it, but...sorry, that was just a joke I thought of.... I think she just put the back together normally and let the sides hang down.

Bond Forger:

(Endo) At the meeting, we were talking about a large dog, and I remember buying a book about dogs. In the end, I made him white and fluffy like a Great Pyrenees. The black toes are original. It's like inverted socks. I wanted to give it some character traits, and if it didn't have solid colors, it would be too white for the manga, and the balance would be off. The image is more like an "uncle dog" than a "grandpa dog."

By the way, I'm totally a cat person, but cats can't run with Anya, so I rejected the idea. The footsteps sound "te-chi-te-chi"... doesn't it sound like that when the ground is hard? Not only Bond, but onomatopoeia was influenced by Nishimori-sensei. Nishimori-sensei's manga with onomatopoeia is so cute.

I'll do the rest later ^^

#long post #spy x family #spy x family official fanbook: eyes only #loid forger #anya forger #yor forger #bond forger #forger family

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abnerkrill · 1 year

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Conservatism is baked into pro-fidelity adaptation arguments

Aka, what incorrect lessons the Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptations taught fandom, and why the Internet is mostly wrong about The Rings of Power.

I don't particularly like the film adaptations of Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it's not because they "changed things" (and it's certainly not for Annabeth's hair color.) They're bad films purely because they're bad films, lacking the original texts' (Riordan's books/the ATLA show) charm, personality, point of view, and humor. Crucially, they both lack the essentials of plot and characterization and contain ill-fitting humor, bombastic CGI, and appeals to "mainstream" popularity that didn't actually appeal to any kind of mainstream because audiences are slightly too sensible to fall for something that cheap.

But fandom as a whole, and a whole rash of individual fans, took the wrong lessons away from these failed adaptations. People started to complain solely about superficial changes made (Annabeth's hair, the poor/problematic ATLA casting) and came to the conclusion that if the adaptations were only more faithful to the source material, they would've made good movies. (Which is why Riordan and the ATLA showrunners now are so hellbent on proving their new takes will be faithful. Because the fans are feral and bloodthirsty about it.)

Which is wrong. Because films are films, not books/animated shows. The medium demands fundamental, structural modifications. Films have more compact run-times than books and animated shows, and different dramatic shapes. Films are made for a 1-sitting experience—for this type of heroic quest story, it's always a 3-act structure, play credits. The medium necessitates changes. (Since Percy Jackson/ATLA/ROP are TV shows, not films, I'll caveat that TV shows are structurally even more difficult. Not only do you need to balance season arcs and their dramatic shapes, you need sufficient dramatic push-and-pull on an episode-to-episode basis.) On this level, we can agree fidelity is, to some degree, a myth.

Going deeper, though, I argue that fidelity is not only a myth, but also an innately conservative argument that prioritizes "keeping things the same" at the expense of "making something actually good and worthwhile." Fidelity, of course, means faithfulness, but the only other place you commonly hear the word "fidelity" is in the context of marriage and relationships. Who needs to stay faithful? Husbands and... well, really, mostly wives, in the Christian cultural imagination. Why? Purity and sanctity, and freedom from sin, which sounds a lot like fandom purity culture and the Madonna/whore dichotomy transplanted into another realm. Yes, fandom has created a sanctity/sinning, Madonna/whore dichotomy for adaptations. On one hand are the Good and Pure Adaptations that do not stray from the Lord's course (the author's original text.) On the other hand we have The Very Sinful Whore Adaptations, like Rings of Power.

I know a lot of fans had a deep emotional whiplash to Rings of Power, I among them. I was hesitant because I don't trust large profit-driven corporations like Amazon and especially because I despise Bezos (and would support pirating all Amazon material, let's be real.) I was hesitant also because there was such immediate, widespread backlash to the costumes and casting and trailers, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon and nitpick details—backlash that took advantage of my vulnerable emotional state because of how much I care about Lord of the Rings. LOTR, both books and movies, was incredibly formative and important for me and my whole generation, and if it felt like this new adaptation would taint it—well, you weren't alone in thinking that.

(The ROP writers room, of course, operates independently from Bezos and corporate Amazon. But for those participating in the backlash, nevermind that there are hundreds and thousands of dedicated artists and artisans on the show! We hear Amazon, we have an instinctive response that makes us unable to conceive of the show as an artistic endeavor. Still: the writers and artists on ROP are just that, writers and artists. With Amazon's money, they hired some of the best people working in the industry, and from all accounts there wasn't all that much corporate interference. Or... at least about as much corporate interference that Peter Jackson and every other director and writer deals with.)

(Also pause to note that there was immense and similar backlash to the Peter Jackson films as there currently is to Rings of Power. Even think back to the Hobbit trilogy backlash not one decade ago. This is the exact same phenomenon, we just find ourselves on varying sides of the equation depending on our age and experience.)

I'm sorry to say that everyone who jumped on the ROP backlash bandwagon before the show was even released was manipulated and taken advantage of by alt-right, pro-culture-war trolls, tradcaths, and bad actors. I include myself among those duped by the toxic discourse, because as late as March of 2022 I was telling friends I didn't want to hear a single thing about the LOTR show, I was so mad at it already. Mind you that we'd barely had posters at the time, let alone any real information about the show. It was suspect and evil already in our minds.

How do I know it was trolls and not genuine, good-faith criticism driving the response? Firstly, because pop culture divisiveness is a well-known, extremely effective tool of Russian troll farms to further divide democratic nations. There's an excellent academic paper by Morten Bay at USC about how Russian trolls utilized trolls spreading conservative backlash to Star Wars: The Last Jedi to stoke political division. Guarantee you that ROP casting, Little Mermaid casting, Marvel casting, and every other liberal/conservative divide in pop culture has been used similarly by Russian troll farms to stoke American political division. It's not even up for debate—take a look at Bay's research to see the numbers. ROP is a great target for trolls because it's so important to so many people.

Second, conservative Catholic publications published many reviews and thinkpieces that are highly critical of the show. Imagine my surprise then when well-meaning liberals and progressives on Twitter and Tumblr were sharing these pop culture critiques and fully agreeing with them. Unfortunate times when your own baked-in, uninterrogated need for textual fidelity turns out to be a tradcath line of thinking.

Finally, you have only to look at Youtube and Instagram comments on anything ROP-related to see that the vast majority of anti-ROP vitriol is racist, sexist, and/or tradcath and otherwise fascist in nature. I've read a lot of comments because I lack self-control and the complaints really come in one of two flavors: fidelity arguments, and straight-up nasty racism. Or both. Unsurprisingly the two are married, because both types are yearning for an unpolluted, faithful, and ultimately conservative take on Tolkien.

I liked Rings of Power a lot once I actually watched it, though it took me two or three episodes to break through the unfortunate bandwagoning and negative conditioning I had internalized from social media responses. It's not entirely "faithful", which turns out to be a wonderful thing because there are things Tolkien never acknowledged that the show ought to. Like the degradation and dehumanization of the Uruk race. Or the potential for ostensibly noble Elves like Galadriel to dance on the edge of corruption because of her thirst for vengeance. Or (at least I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they make good on the hints of this idea in Season 2 and beyond!) how Númenor's fall and destruction is an ultimate test of religious faith for the Faithful because how could Eru have allowed it? We could've had a Rings of Power that ignored those themes and subplots because they're not in Tolkien's texts, but it would've been a loss; they're the most compelling parts of the show.

Okay, I promise I'm leading towards a conclusion. It's this: misdirected Percy Jackson, ATLA, and Rings of Power complaints were born from fan culture transposing Christian purity culture onto adaptations, with extreme and emotionally-charged backlash against adaptations that aren't considered faithful. But adaptational fidelity is both an unrealistic goal and an inherently conservative one. Politically and artistically, progressives should be the first to want interesting, new, surprising, compelling interpretations of favorite texts. That's how new ideas and perspectives can proliferate, sparking conversation and ideas and more forward-thinking instead of stagnation and just repeating the same stories endlessly. (Funny how everyone complains about endless sequels and remakes, but the second adaptations make changes people also complain. Can't win!)

But fan attitudes are also revelatory in that they show how much fandom is only superficially progressive. Tolkien fans—even the most liberal—are desperately, slavishly loyal to the Catholic politics of a 20th century white male author (one who, let us never forget, said his Orcs looked like the ugliest Asians [author's disdainful paraphrase.] and the Romantic, Christian-y, black-and-white morality and aesthetics of Peter Jackson's films. ROP's girlboss Galadriel was a funny jokey meme, nevermind that most of the commentary is disgustingly misogynistic; even liberals don't like girlboss Galadriel because, I suppose, ethereal perfect queen Galadriel with an absolutely static character arc is a more compelling character to them? (Unsure why angry rageful Galadriel isn't a feminist favorite on this website—oh, except there's an obvious answer: people's progressive credentials are shallow and uninterrogated, and we don't like angry women who are in the wrong and need to change.)

And then there's Bronwyn, who I've seen criticized for not being a consistent character (as if she should only be a mom or only a leader or only a lover. I think it's realistic and very cool for her to contain multitudes.) Or Míriel, last queen of Númenor who's bound to die a tragic death—I swear it made me want to grind my teeth into dust when I read that this was bad and racist of the writers because she's a woman of color and her storyline involves her getting deposed and dying. As if it doesn't make complete, heart-wrenching sense for a women of color to desperately fight a losing battle against corrupt enemies. As if women of color don't also deserve to be tragic, noble heroines. I think it goes back to the fact that these women contain multitudes, an immense upgrade from Tolkien's women, who with the notable exception of Eowyn are pretty shallow characters.

I almost went and made a caveat here that it's okay for you to dislike the show if you want. Which, I guess, sure, I'm not making decisions for you. But I suspect that if people interrogated their dislike for ROP's Galadriel, Bronwyn, Arondir, Míriel, and other divisive characters, they might find that they're regurgitating what the tradcaths and trolls taught them to say, because the tradcaths and trolls have perfected the art of making you angry on the Internet. Who really benefits from LOTR remaining a 20th century relic of stagnant politics? Traditionalists who want Tolkien to remain pure, white, and Christian.

I do have two main criticisms of Rings of Power, which are the "The Elves will take your jobs!" line (dumb) and occasionally the pacing (needs work.) And other than the casting of Arondir, Bronwyn, Disa, Míriel, and other important characters with actors of color, it's not a particularly progressive narrative in and of itself. But the Internet backlash stems from the sad fact that while we were all happily ensconced in our safe, superficially progressive fandom spaces, we were all duped into the insidious conservative rhetoric that fidelity is good and ROP's a bad adaptation because it's faithless. Frankly, I'm all for faithlessness, provided it's faithlessness in outdated and harmful politics. Let's take back ground from the tradcaths and trolls, and not let them pre-ordain our decisions for us.

#rings of power #meta #trop

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soob1nn · 5 months

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MY FILMS - ADULT FAME DR

REMINDER! I haven’t shifted yet, so all these is just my imagination 🤍

masterlist - main masterlist

Films are a powerful medium of storytelling and artistic expression. Combining visual, auditory, and narrative elements, films captivate audiences, transporting them to diverse worlds, evoking emotions, and sparking thought. From silent classics to cutting-edge blockbusters, the world of cinema has evolved, reflecting societal changes and pushing creative boundaries. Whether it's the magic of a well-crafted screenplay, the mesmerizing performances of actors, or the technical brilliance behind the scenes, films continue to be a dynamic and influential form of entertainment and cultural expression.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga is a cinematic adventure like no other, immersing audiences in a world of high-seas exploits, swashbuckling action, and supernatural wonders. This beloved franchise, brought to life by the charismatic Captain Jack Sparrow, has left an indelible mark on the world of cinema.

What sets the "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga apart is its perfect fusion of thrilling action and cleverly woven mythology. From the very first installment, "The Curse of the Black Pearl," to subsequent sequels, the films have taken viewers on a journey filled with cursed treasures, mythical creatures, and, of course, eccentric pirates.

At the heart of the saga is the enigmatic Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed brilliantly by Johnny Depp. Jack's witty charm, unpredictable antics, and ever-present quest for rum have made him an iconic character in cinematic history.

The franchise's success also lies in its ability to seamlessly blend history and fantasy. The Caribbean settings, the pirate code, and the age of exploration provide a historically rich backdrop for the fantastical elements like cursed Aztec gold, undead sailors, and mermaids.

Each film in the series has introduced new characters and expanded upon the lore, creating a vast and interconnected narrative that keeps fans eagerly awaiting the next installment.

With unforgettable moments, memorable quotes, and a score that resonates long after the credits roll, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" saga has carved its place as a beloved classic. It's a thrilling voyage into the world of pirates, where legends, curses, and epic battles reign, making it a timeless adventure that continues to captivate audiences of all ages.

BEAUTY OF THE BEAST

"Beauty and the Beast," in its live-action adaptation, breathes new life into a timeless tale that has enchanted generations. This magical film takes the beloved animated classic and transforms it into a visually stunning and emotionally captivating experience.

Set in a picturesque French village, the story follows the intelligent and kind-hearted Belle, brilliantly portrayed by Emma Watson, who longs for more than the provincial life she leads. When her father becomes a prisoner in the enchanted castle of the Beast, played by Dan Stevens, Belle courageously takes his place, embarking on a journey of discovery, love, and the power of inner beauty.

With its stunning visual effects, lavish costumes, and memorable musical score, the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" faithfully pays homage to the original while adding depth to its characters and narrative. The film not only celebrates the power of love but also explores themes of tolerance, acceptance, and the beauty that lies within.

This enchanting adaptation is a cinematic masterpiece that captures the hearts of both long-time fans and new audiences, reaffirming the enduring power of this classic tale as old as time. "Beauty and the Beast" in its live-action form invites us to be their guest in a world where magic and love flourish, reminding us that beauty truly comes from within.

LITTLE WOMEN

"Little Women" stands as a cinematic jewel, capturing the timeless essence of Louisa May Alcott's literary masterpiece. This film adaptation, directed by Greta Gerwig, breathes new life into the beloved narrative of the March sisters, presenting a fresh and poignant take on sisterhood, ambition, and the pursuit of one's dreams.

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, "Little Women" unfolds the lives of the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy—each with distinctive personalities and aspirations. The film gracefully weaves between the past and present, allowing audiences to witness the joys and challenges of the sisters as they navigate the trials of womanhood, love, and societal expectations.

With an all-star cast featuring Winter Reed Jackman, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen as the March sisters, and an exceptional performance by Timothée Chalamet as Laurie, the film brings these iconic characters to life with depth and authenticity.

Greta Gerwig's directorial prowess shines through as she infuses "Little Women" with a contemporary spirit, resonating with modern audiences while maintaining the timeless charm of the original story. The film is a celebration of the strength, resilience, and individuality of women, urging viewers to embrace their ambitions and forge their paths.

"Little Women" is a poignant and visually captivating cinematic journey that captures the spirit of sisterhood and the pursuit of one's aspirations. It invites audiences to revisit the cherished tale with fresh eyes, offering a profound and emotionally resonant experience for both new and devoted fans of this literary classic.

KNIVES OUT

"Knives Out" is a modern masterpiece in the realm of whodunits, a brilliantly crafted film that masterfully blends mystery, humor, and a star-studded ensemble cast. Directed by Rian Johnson, this murder-mystery film takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride of suspense, twists, and dark humor.

The story centers around the death of wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey, portrayed by Christopher Plummer. When renowned detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, is enlisted to investigate, the Thrombey family becomes the focal point of scrutiny. With each member harboring secrets and motives, the plot thickens, and the suspense escalates.

"Knives Out" boasts a stellar cast including Daniel Craig, Winter Reed Jackman, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more, each delivering standout performances that contribute to the film's gripping atmosphere. The narrative is cleverly layered, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats as they attempt to unravel the intricate web of deception and motive.

Beyond its gripping storyline, "Knives Out" is a sharp and satirical take on family dynamics, privilege, and the consequences of wealth. Rian Johnson's expert direction and sharp dialogue elevate the film, making it a delightful homage to classic whodunits while infusing it with a contemporary edge.

This cinematic gem not only keeps the audience guessing until the very end but also provides a fresh and entertaining perspective on the murder mystery genre. "Knives Out" is a clever and stylish film that engages the mind, tickles the funny bone, and ultimately leaves a lasting impression, establishing itself as a standout in the pantheon of modern cinema.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK

"Top Gun: Maverick" is a highly anticipated sequel that soars into the iconic world of fighter jets and high-stakes aerial combat. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, this film is a thrilling continuation of the 1986 classic, "Top Gun."

Set decades after the events of the original film, Captain Maverick finds himself adapting to a new era of aerial warfare dominated by drone technology. As he mentors a new generation of Top Gun graduates, the film promises heart-pounding dogfights, cutting-edge aviation sequences, and a nostalgic nod to the beloved elements that made the first film an enduring favorite.

"Top Gun: Maverick" not only reintroduces fans to the adrenaline-fueled world of fighter pilots but also introduces fresh faces played by actors like Miles Teller and Winter Reed Jackman. With its combination of high-octane action and character-driven storytelling, the film aims to capture the spirit of the original while propelling the narrative into uncharted skies.

As Maverick confronts his past and embraces the challenges of the future, the film offers a blend of nostalgia and innovation, promising an exhilarating cinematic experience for both longtime fans and a new generation of moviegoers. "Top Gun: Maverick" is poised to be a blockbuster that reignites the Maverick legend while delivering a visual spectacle that takes the iconic franchise to new heights.

THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" unfolds on the silver screen as a spellbinding cinematic journey through the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's Golden Age. Adapted from Taylor Jenkins Reid's compelling novel, this film invites audiences into the captivating life story of Evelyn Hugo, a legendary film actress portrayed with brilliance and nuance.

In the film, we follow Evelyn's journey through the decades, beautifully capturing the essence of old Hollywood. The glamorous sets, meticulously crafted costumes, and evocative cinematography transport viewers to a bygone era where stars shone brightly on and off the screen.

As the narrative unfolds, the complexities of Evelyn’s seven marriages come to life, each husband portrayed by a stellar cast that adds depth to the character-driven drama. The film navigates the twists and turns of Evelyn’s life, revealing secrets, scandals, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of fame and love.

The storytelling prowess of Taylor Jenkins Reid is masterfully translated to the screen, with Evelyn's compelling voice narrating her journey. The film seamlessly weaves together themes of identity, love, and the price of success, creating an emotional tapestry that resonates with audiences.

While exploring the intricacies of Evelyn's life, the film introduces Monique Grant, the journalist chosen by Evelyn to tell her story. Monique's personal journey becomes an integral part of the cinematic narrative, adding layers of depth and connection to the overarching tale.

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" on the big screen is more than a glamorous expose of Hollywood excess; it's a poignant exploration of the human experience. The film's rich storytelling, combined with outstanding performances and lush visuals, elevates it beyond a mere adaptation, making it a cinematic triumph that lingers in the hearts of viewers long after the final credits roll.

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lightbulb-warning · 8 months

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platonic rarepairs ough,,,i think the first two i think of are tenko&shuuichi and himiko&tsumugi! i latched on to tenko&shuuichi right after the first trial when tenko threatens to beat kaito's ass for punching shuuichi (she seems to have a real soft spot for sad wet cat people. also LMAO) and there's this optional side conversation after shuuichi walks into the dining room without his hat where she says the others were insensitive by asking about something that should be kept between him and kaede, and she'll help carry on kaede's wish too and shuuichi has this soft little smile and!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!! their FTEs and love hotel together mean NOTHING to me they're so much more endearing in the main story. friends!!

as for himiko&tsumugi - i cannot for the *life* of me find it, but i swear there's this bit in one of the trials where she says she'll silence someone with a spell called the DEATH SPELL and tsumugi says 'um, well, i suppose being dead would silence someone pretty good!' and it made me laugh so hard i immediately latched on to them. i think a lot abt them hanging out on the sidelines,,making costumes together, talking about magical girl anime, becoming even closer once they joined the student council - and tsumugi being himiko's closest friend left by ch6. it would make the betrayal more impactful i think.

as for romantic rarepairs - i don't wanna say akasaiou since that just consists of three decently popular ships, so! i've been thinking a lot about gokutoujou lately :] gonta complimenting kirumi's spiderweb patterns and telling her she reminds him of a spider,,,kirumi being unafraid of gonta or his bug friends,,,formal dancing lessons that slowly transition into lazy circles as kirumi happily listens to him tell her about a cool beetle he found ○|￣|_ they're so soft. i just want them to fall in love as they realize the other wants them for THEM, not for any service they can provide.

i'll stop here because this became insanely long but. IF YOU EVER WANT MORE RAREPAIR RANTS I AM H E R E AND I AM FULL OF THOUGHTS

YES?? GOOD FOOD!! SUBLIME THOUGHTS YOU'VE GOT THERE!!!!!!!! hand over the rest of your rants, COWARD!!/lh

had a lot of fun with these, thank you for aiding me in my quest!! >:D

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junebugtwin · 5 months

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Hey feel absolutely free to ignore this if you don't feel like it- I saw some fanart on your blog and now I've lost it and can't find it anymore. I've been trying to find it for like 40 min and I'm all out of ideas so desperate last ditch effort would you be able to help me out?

It was an uncolored fanart of Taylor, wearing her costume below the neck with no mask. She was wearing fashionable small rectangle glasses. The composition started up from her waist, so she felt tall. idk if this is helpful but I thought they drew her wide mouth in an attractive way. Yes I recognize that there's no way anyone can remember small details like this while trying to recall specific fanart.

Again, feel absolutely free to just delete this and move on with your day, I was pretty deep in your blogs tags so like I don't expect anything to come of this. I just wanted to send it to a friend who's down bad for Taylor and now I've spent so long looking for it the sunk cost has made it into my solemn and eternal quest.

Okay so! I'm searching through my WormArt folder as we speak, and these are the possible options for the post you might be thinking of:

but these are obviously colored and not exactly to your specifications, so, I was thinking maybe it was a frame of one of my animations?

but to be honest i don't have that many colorless pics of taylor, so maybe ur thinking of a different worm artist? let me know if you find it!

#worm #parahumans #taylor hebert #skitter #my art

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mask131 · 4 months

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Greek mythology media (1)

To begin this overview of Greek mythology in media, I originally wanted to start with some of the most famous American pieces of fiction - those that shaped, for the better and for the worse, the "Americanized" perception of Greek mythology... Including Disney's Hercules.

However after some thought, I think I need to cover something else beforehand... What I like to call the "Hercules saga".

(Picture courtesy of greekgodsparadise.com)

Have you ever wondered why Disney made a movie about Herakles and yet named him "Hercules"? Why would Disney commit such a blatant mistake, using the Roman name of the hero despite everything else being (vaguely) Greek-inspired? Because Roman mythology is better known than the Greek (see my Medusa posts)? Not exclusively...

The reason why Disney made a movie named "Hercules" instead of "Herakles" was because their animated piece was very obviously a follow-up of an entire GENERATION of movies based on the figure of Herakles, but being sold, publicized and shared with the name "Hercules". Beyond this "mistake of Disney" is actually an entire generation of cinema history that people today completely forgot about, and that explansi why, of all the Greek myths, the one of Herakles is supposedly the one with the most movies attached to it...

I/ The beginning of it all

To start this deep dive we need to begin with the movie that started it all. The 1958 "Hercules" movie - at least it was its English title. Its original title was "The Labors/Trials of Hercules", "Le fatiche di Ercole". For yes, this movie was an Italian production (with some Spanish and French collaborations).

This movie's story is... quite more confusing than you would expect. Yes, the title is correct: Hercules is the main hero of the story. This being an Italian production, all the names were taken from Roman mythology rather than Greek - Hercules, Jupiter, Venus... And this is precisely why the name Hercules would go on to become so famous, but that's for later. However, despite what the title hints, this story isn't about the Twelve Labors of Herakles. Two of these trials appear in the first third of the story: the Nemean Lion and the Cretan Bull. However, the actual literary work of Antiquity this movie is based on is... the Argonautica of Apollonios of Rhodes. Yes, this movie is also about Jason, and the Argonauts, and the quest for the Golden Fleece, but with Jason being only a secondary character. In fact, most of the Argonauts's adventures aren't even told since the actual quest for the Golden fleece is massively reduced, with a good quarter of the movie entirely dedicated to the Argonauts' stay on the island of the Amazons... So this movie is a bit of everything. A bit of Herakles but not too much, a bit of Argonauts but not too much - though there's a LOT of the Amazons...

Fun fact: the lighting and the special effects were done by Mario Bava, who would later become of the iconic names of horror in Italy.

The movie being in public domain, you can find it pretty easily online, and having watched it, what is my opinion? Well... On one side the movie definitively aged badly. Many elements of it at now laughable today. The main love interest's costume is to the toga what the bikini-chainmail is to an armor, and her obviously modern makeup is very distracting. The fights of Hercules with the Nemean Lion and the Cretan Bull very obviously involve him punching fluffy puppets. Somehow a very modern fountain sitting by an ancient Greece palace... Ominous storm clouds are just a mud-stain on the camera's lense in an otherwise clear blue sky. Of course when the Amazons arrive the camera focuses twice on their naked legs ; and their cemetery is properly hilarious. The adorable Nemean Lion forgets he is supposed to play dead and shouldn't blink one he is "strangled". Oh yes, and there is also a VERY racist moment during the arrival in Colchides, where our heroes are faced with what is supposed to be primitive, savage, cavemen-like people... But who are in effect just black men wearing furs, a few prosthetics, and making monkey sounds. Very racist.

One of the things with this movie is that there is also several versions of it going around. We are lucky to have the cinematic, clean and properly-dubbed version on Youtube for free - right here ; but you will also find around the Internet versions of a much poorer quality which were designed for television airing, and which have a different English dub. Such a version can be found here for example. And then you apparently have yet a third version somewhere with yet a third dub that makes pretty big flaws (such as changing Hercules' entire rant to the oracle/sybil about immortality into a rant about "strength" which changes the entire idea of the movie). That's one of the evils of the public domain: re-dubs are everywhere.

Now all that being said... While this movie has definitively aged, I can still see why it became one of the classics of mid-20th century cinema, and why it caused such a big reaction upon its release.

Some of the ideas and concepts brought up are very interesting - for example weaving an entire motif of "revenge is not the answer" in a story where both Hercules has to bent to the unfair treatment of a king, and Jason has to find the murderer of his father. The treatment of the characters can also be interesting - from an Hercules who actually seeks humanity instead of immortality, and has to live in a world where his divine powers are actually freaking out people and shunning him as a monster ; to a king Pelias that is not actually actively evil or cartoonishly malevolent, but rather a fearful, suspicious and worn-out man who still does evil things out of anger, cowardice and bad advice, but who has been exhausted and burdened by guilt and regret to the point he enters the story only wishing to give up the throne and die... There is also a fascinating angle where the movie insists on the fact that Hercules is just as much intelligence as strength - for example with a wonderful scene of him proving even an average human person can shoot incredibly well arrows without a divine strength, but just good advice and observation of the environment and a well-formed technique... that ends with the big twist that those excellent bow-lessons he gave to the "random boy" he selected where given to ULYSSES out of all people. Yep, we have a movie where Herakles was Odysseus' mentor...

Mind you, while there are great ideas and concepts which make the movie stand on its own, in terms of mythological adaptation it is very poor, because as I said it mixes together edulcorated and scrawny versions of the myth. You've got two of the 12 labors done in a very different context. You've got a brand new Hercules characterization that doesn't touch upon his actual legends. You've got a Jason and the Argonauts story without sirens, Medea or giant ship-crushing rocks, and where Jason is just a background character. This "mixed" nature extends to the very tone and focus of the movie. It is a rich movie, no doubt, that blends and mixes the genres - but while it is precisely its charm (you are never bored with it), it is also what causes it to feel a bit unfocused. It starts with the naive and cliche romance between Hercules and a princess, leading to the angsty "I don't want to be immortal" scene of Hercules... It continues in what is basically a Gothic story about a strange and dysfunctional family burdened by the dark mystery shrouding a past crime that still haunts the present, and who lives in a half-abandoned palace where a ghostly murderer and treacherous whisperer haunts the shadows... We then cut to what is basically a PSA for athletism and sports, and then we delve into your typica adventure-movie alternating comic book humor with fights against monsters ; and then we have an entire mini-movie inside the movie at the Amazons island which unfolds as a romantic tragedy... This movie has everything, and perhaps a bit too much of everything, and feels like four different movies crammed together in one.

The other big "good point" of this movie is DEFINITIVELY the visuals. This movie allows me touch upon what was one of the big qualities of the good mythological movies of the mid 20th century: they truly knew how to make visual delights. The opening visual of a sheperd playing a Pan's flute while being listened to by his goats? The oracle all shrouded in a black veil suddenly revealing a blood-red dress? The three royal children going to the throne room - only for the two actual innocents one to be fascinated by the Golden Fleece while the brat immediately sits on the throne? Hercules climbing a shadowy mountain towards the red-lit temple of the gods? The visual of the Golden Fleece hanging from its tree, above a mount of dead leaves that turn out to be the asleep dragon? There are so many parts of these movies that just speak so much with just the sights. And it isn't just the sights, but some details in this movie are particularly head-turning. Ranging from the subtle - Hercules and the oracle locking gaze upon first meeting, and not saying anything but clearly showing a link because they are two beings of the world of the gods recognizing each other, and are thus set apart from the other humans in the room... To the more obvious: this movie had the genius idea to decide that the dragons of Ancient Greece were actually just FRIGGIN DINOSAURS that the gods somehow protected from extinction X)

II/ Omphale comes on stage

1958's Hercules was a HUGE success in Italy - and by extension in most of Europe. It was such a huge success that its director, Pietro Francisci, released the VERY NEXT YEAR the sequel, known in English as "Hercules Unchained". A quite silly title given the "unchained" part refers to a segment of the original 1958 movie. The actual title of this movie is "Ercole e la regina di Lidia", "Hercules and the queen of Lydia". For this movie, Francisci took the same team: Mario Bava for the special effects, Steve Reeves to play Hercules (he had been selected for the first movie because he had freshly won the title of Mister Universe - in fact, people did note that due to lacking an acting background he was quite stiff and unnatural in the first movie).

Many people at the time - including Howard Hughues himself - considered that this movie was a better one than the original, with enhanced acting, a much more "punchy" writing, more convincing action scenes, as well as very impressive baroque sets (which, fun fact, had been heavily inspired by the art of Flash Gordon). But the same audiences and critics of the time recognized a structural flaw in the piece, saying the various elements and tones were unbaIanced and that the movie felt as if it continued dozens of minutes after its plot actually ended. I... kind of disagree?

Just like the original movie mixed together the legends of Herakles' labors with the Argonauts' journey, this movie tries to tie together Herakles' time at Omphale's palace and the "Seven against Thebes" events, aka the battle between Eteocles and Polynices for the throne of Oedipus their father. I have to say I much prefer the first movie somehow, perhaps because it was a bit simpler? This piece is even less faithful to the Greek mythology material (which wasn't hard given the first movie was already a very loose adaptation), and in fact here we really feel the "sword and sandal" flavor. As in, this movie bears more common points with your typical sword-and-sorcery or heroic-fantasy short story/novella than with Ancient Greek epics or theater plays. Though the latter point is to be nuanced, because this movie is VERY theatrical. It is very staged, very visual, very dramatic - and perhaps too much because in many scenes the dramatic overcomes just basic logic or common sense (Hercules' repeated "arms up while invoking the gods" scenes do get ridiculous), and while some scenes are impressive, they do feel like someone filmed a stage-play rather than a movie. Let's not talk of an even greater fantasmagoria when it comes to the setting (the usurper of Thebes has Roman "pit of tigers"-type of gladiator plays, while the queen of Lydia who works with Egyptians and has an Egyptian-decored lair, organizes "Arabian Nights"-like dances and wears definitively 20th century fashion dresses... My last grief would be that this movie is actually repeating its predecessor (Omphale's palace being the island of the Amazons, the final fight being identical to the one of the previous movie), though it does bring to the table some new elements that are quite charming (Ulysses grows on me here as we see him growing into his trickster self, while being a plucky, comical young clever sidekick ; and the fountain of the "Water of Oblivion", aka a non-trademarked Lethe, is a great set piece).

But no matter what I may think of it, this movie was still an even bigger success than its predecessor, to the point it made its producing company, the studio Galatea, one of the biggest movie companies of all of Italy. Unfortunately, it also was the end of the "original" Hercules movie series. The producer of the two first pieces, Lionello Santi, part of the Galatea studio, decided at the surprise of everyone to abandon the newborn ad successful franchise. He entrusted it to a certain Achille Piazzi, who decided to name as a new director for the third Hercules movie Vittorio Coffatavi, pushing Pietro Francisci away. Since Steve Reeves only wanted to work for Francisci and no one else, the actor of Hercules was also replaced, by Lou Degni - better known by his stage name, Mark Forest. And finally, "Hercules Unchained" marked the end of the Francisci-Bava collaboration. For you see, Mario Bava did even more work and poured even more effort (or so he claims) into "Hercules Unchained" than into the original "Hercules" , to the point he asked to be designated as a co-director in the movie's credits. But Francisci refused, claiming Bava hadn't done so much work as he claimed: Francisci insisted "Hercules Unchained" was his piece before all things, and that Bava just wanted to take credit for his work, and refused to change Bava's function in the official rolling credits. This battle led up to the two of them not working together anymore.

III/ Hercules becomes... Goliath?

The result of all these changes was a third Hercules movie release in 1960, called... "Goliath and the Dragon"?

This third movie's actual title is "Hercules' Revenge", "La vendetta di Ercole". However, the American distributors changed it to "Goliath and the Dragon" because they needed to make this movie a sequel to an earlier success, the Franco-Italian movie "Goliath and the Barbarians". Which... isn't even a movie about Goliath, but rather a historical movie about a guy named Emiliano in the 6th century... Ah those wacky American distributors, back at their hijinks...

New director, new actor, new team... But also new scenario! Indeed, with this movie we have a fresh start, and a return to a more accurate depiction of Greek mythology... Well kind of. They kept numerous elements of the old movies, but brought in many more from the old Greek legends - the Twelve Labours for example (that Hercules finishes at the beginning of the movie with the taming of Cerberus), or his wife Dejanira. The story in itself, while trying to be more "Greek myth-flavored", is still a unique story mixing elements from various other tales. Hercules' son (turned into Goliath's brother in the American dub) is in love with Thea, who is unfortunately the daughter of a wicked king that wants to take the control of Thebes, Hercules' city. At first it seems the story will be just about the various manipulations and schemes of the wicked king and his allies to try to get rid of Hercules (for example making his son believe he wants to take Thea for his own, and using treacherous messengers to try to convince the poor boy to poison his father without realizing what he is doing) ; but then the third/fourth act of the movie completely takes us into a different direction, as now a prophecy by the gods overlaps with the conflict against the wicked king and... Its a bit convoluted.

I kind of skimmed through the movie because by now the "sequelitis" had started to really kick in. I will admit two good points for this piece: one they attempt to return to more mythologically faithful material, and even though they tell a new story they try to keep Greek elements in it (impossible love triangle between a son and a father, betrayals and tragic deaths within a same family, a hero going up against a wicked usurper king, prophecies the hero will try to fight against...). These efforts are unfortunately completely ruined by the American dub which changes the nature of everything. The second positive point would be the final part of the movie - when we leave the simple "romantic drama and political treacheries and other Shakespearian schemes" to enter the "let's fight a prophecy" domain. Hercules receives a prophecy that his son will take over the throne of the wicked king... in exchange for the life of "the woman who loves Hercules" (interpreted as his wife, Dejanira). As a result, the entire family of Hercules will struggle against this prophecy and try to avoid it - from Hercules becoming obsessively protective of his wife, to his son growing suicidal to protect his mother ; and here we really go into a much more emotional and human side of the story. We even have Hercules turning against the gods for this prophecy - despite having just finally cleared up his curse and made peace with them after his Labours, he still can't accept having his family doomed like that - going for the help of an oracle only for her to get KILLED when she disobeys the gods to bring him aid ; and it comes to Hercules being forced to make a heroic sacrifice, destroying his life to save others... There's really something more unique and touching in all that, that also reasonates well with Greek myths.

All that being said: the bad points. The Hercules movie of the era grew by the 70s and 80s to be synonymous with "hilarious kitsch comedy". Nobody could take them seriously anymore - and this movie really shows why. The first two Hercules pieces have laughable elements - but many were intended as light-hearted comedy, and the others still leave room for the seriousness of the piece. But here? Nah. On one side you have the special effects that aged very, very badly - resulting in the goofiest dragon and most ridiculous Cerberus battle you will ever see and the cheapest lightning effect ever made. And if the bad special effects weren't enough, you also have the American dub that changes the whole stories and tries its harder to rewrite the Greek myth into a more generic-fantasy things (while also fitting to a previous unrelated movie), resulting in a plotline even MORE convoluted than what it already was... This movie can be fun to watch just to see how ridiculous it all got, and unfortunately the most serious and interesting parts only come to us after bunch and bunch of cliches, convoluted writing, very bad dialogues (like REALLY bad) and papier-mache monsters.

[As a quick note here, this movie was also a step-up in the genre when it comes to the supernatural. You see, the first two movies actually had a more... let's say "realistic" approach to the magical elements of mythology. The gods and the supernatural was definitively real, but the movies made sure to frame it in a quite "realistic" light. The gods themselves never appear, and only speak through oracles or manifest through sudden changes in the weather. The monsters our hero fights are all just regular animals (a lion, a bull - well a bison they try to pass off as a bull), and even the "strange land of Colchides filled with wonders" is framed realistically as a sort of patch of land where prehistoric times continued on untouched (with the "monsters" there being just cavemen/Prehistoric men ; and the "dragon" being a dinosaur). And from the realm of the divine we have people with clearly supernatural abilities (Hercules with his immense strength, the oracles able to predict the future), but they still look like ordinary people... This all served the purpose of conveying the fantasy of the myths while working within limitations of budget and special effects.

This movie decided to actually bring the fantasy to screen by having actual monsters, and having the oracle fade in and out like a ghost, and a centaur turning into a satyr, and having the gods speak directly to the heroes or shooting lightning bolts at those they dislike... But as I said those special effects aged very, very poorly, and it is precisely by trying to do a "big show" that they actually ruined this strange worldbuilding-charm that worked so fine for the first two movies. "Showing less does more", as they say.]

IV/ Hercules against... vampires?

While Francisci and Bava never worked together again, both returned to the making of Hercules movies later on, each on their own.

Francisci released in 1963 a movie called "Hercules, Samson and Ulysses" (in its original title "Ercola sfida Sansone"), taking back the duo of Hercules and his sidekick Ulysses from the original movies, and having them confront the Biblical Samson... But given we are entering mythological crossovers, I will not be looking at this movie in any more details.

As for Mario Bava, in 1961 he released a movie co-made with Francesco Prosperi (and with Western Germany), "Ercole al centro della terra" - Hercules at the center of the earth. In America it was released as "Hercules in the Haunted World", but in many European countries, includng France, this piece's title was... "Hercules against the vampires". Why? Simply put: because the main villain is played by none other than Christopher Lee, and he plays a character with similarities to Dracula... As a result advertisers decided putting a big "vampire" stamp on this movie would work, despite it having no actual vampire.

The story is simple: Hercules returns to his home in Italy (remember we are still in a Greco-Roman mythology setting) after a war, only to discover his fiancée Dejanira (or Deianira as you English people like to call her) has fallen into an unexplained state of madness... An oracle tells Hercules the only way to save her is a magical stone from the realm of Hades. Hercules and his friend Theseus descend into the Underworld, unaware that Dejanira' caring uncle (Christopher Lee) is actually the one who caused her madness, and an evil sorcerer conspiring with the forces of evil to conquer the world...

Unlike the previous movie, "Hercules in the Haunted World/Hercules at the Center of the Earth" is much more of a "must watch" - or rather of a far better quality than its predecessors. We return to the charm and power of the earlier Hercules movie, but are then taken into a completely different direction thanks to Bava being able to truly make a movie of his own, with all the experience he gathered since the first Hercules. While the story veer into a much more... "fantasy" tone and plot, it is still a definitively "Greek mythology-inspired" type of fantasy, as elements of the legends of both Herakles and Theseus abond (descending into the Underworld, Deianira, the Hesperides and their golden apple, Procrustes and other of the bandits/threats Theseus had to face during his journeys...). Mind you, it is not because the Greek mythology elements and influence are everywhere that this movie is faithful to the legends, oh no, great liberties are taken here... Medea is now an oracle for the gods, Pluto becomes an evil god, you have references to Dante's Inferno while travelling through Hades, the Hesperides become daughters of Helios cursed by Pluto and entrapped in a land of endless midnight... This is definitively not a class about Greek mythology.

But the real strength of this movie, its real greatness (beyond Christopher Lee's presence, because come on, every Christopher Lee scene is great), is its visuals. This movie is a visual delight. Bava really used all of his tricks as a lighting and special effects guy - despite the movie having a not so big budget, Bava managed to created a gigantic fantasmagoria and epic sets and deeply oniric scenes simply through the use of colors, ciaroscuro, optical illusions, set design, and the power of not doing too much. In many ways this movie is the complete reverse of "Goliath and the Dragon": the "Goliath" movie tried to have these big impressive special effects but just became a cheesy, badly-aged kitsch piece ; while the Mario Bava movie is deeply otherwordly and haunting despite a quite limited budget and not doing "too much". (Mind you, not all things aged well, for example Procrustes' costume aged a lot, but the scene of Hercules climbing the giant tree of the Hesperides for example is wonderful).

Another slight flaw I would point out is that they have a very annoying "comical relief sidekick character" that... literaly serves no real purpose and I don't know why he is here, and he kind of ruins the mood (except for maybe one good joke). But this is definitively a movie to WATCH (not obviously appreciate, but just watch) - and it is disponible freely on Youtube in HD if you ever want to watch it. This movie, in fact, caused a brief wave of "creepy peplum" movies, a sort of... sub-genre crossing the "sword and sandal" with elements of horror movies (the "trio" of these morbid peplum movies tend to include Riccardo Fera's "Maciste in Hell" (The Witch's Curse, by American title), and Corbucci & Gentilomo "Maciste against the ghost/Goliath and the vampires/Maciste contro il vampiro".

What else to say... This Hercules was played by Reg Park, who would become the mentor of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who himself would later play Hercules. And oh yes, as a side note here: I haven't talked about this before in detail, but a departure from the Greek mythology is that in all those movies, and it is a common link between all of them, the character of Hercules is not a mortal who after death becomes a god, but the reverse. A great deal and great stress is placed on the fact that Hercules is an immortal among mortals, and a "god among men", and many times you will see or hear Hercules deciding to renounce his immortality or use his immortality as a bargaining chip... This builds an entirely different character, and a sort of meta-continuity for the cinematic incarnation of Hercules that neatly separates him from his mythical counterpart.

V/ The importance of the Hercules saga, and why it shaped Disney's Hercules

So... four movies (plus one mentioned). I said that the 1958 Hercules movie had been a huge success not just in Italy but in Europe as a whole. What I however did not say, because I wanted to keep it more of a surprise, is that this movie was an ENORMOUS success in the USA. Probably much bigger than you think.

The first two movies, "Hercules" and "Hercules Unchained" as they were named in English, were bought, translated and transported to the USA by Joseph E. Levine. Levine poured a LOT of money into a very aggressive and intense advertisement campaign to promote those movies, which not only were everywhere in theaters, but also aired on television. And this all resulted in a massive success, which gave Levine an entryway to build a big career in the movie industry, and the Hercules movies a lasting fame up until the 70s. By the mid-70s their fame and success slowly died out, from the tastes changing (making these pieces look ridiculous by modern audiences) to the television-copies of the movies being of very poor quality and badly preserved. By the 80s, these movies were a laughingstock, and the original duo of "Hercules" and "Hercules Unchained" even got a full-on parody in 1997. The two movies were recut into one, a whole new comical dub was made, and this resulted in "Hercules Recycled", about a TV exercise show-host who battles dinosaurs, fast-food obsessed mutants and insurance salesmen to save Earth by retrieving a secret formula inscribed onto a golden bath-mat...

But another one of the reasons the "Hercules" movies ended up being rejected and mocked mercilessly was oversaturation.

When people saw that "Hercules" and "Hercules Unchained" were HUGE successes both in Europe and America... The hunt was open, and it was free market for all. Everybody tried to recreate the movies, everybody tried making sequels of the movies, everybody did blatant rip-offs of the movies... In Italy at least, which was where the whole craze took place. It was the era of the "mythological peplum", of the "sword-and-sandal", of the "muscle-opera". During the 60s, around TWO HUNDRED movies based on the same principles, cliches and formulas were made for European and American audiences: movies taking place in a vague and unclear Antiquty, inspired by Greco-Roman mythology or Biblical stories, with a very muscular, oily, barely-dressed bodybuilder playing the hero, and him punching his way through soldiers and bandits and monsters, while trying to win the heart of a beautiful princess (or avoiding the deadly charm of wicked queens and enchantresses) - and with sometimes a plucky sidekick or comical relief by his side. Many were the protagonists of these tales, but ultimately they were all avatars of the same archetype: Hercules, Samson, Goliath, Ursus, Maciste were all replacable with each other.

Such an intense and fast mass-production of course brought the early death of the genre, that became "out" just as fast as it was "in"... Before it was replaced by the new cinematic craze coming from Italy and imported to the USA: the "western spaghetti", star of the 70s.

But this era left a deep mark onto America (and Europe too). In America, they were the reasons why the name "Hercules" became more famous than "Herakles". These movies were a prolongation of the bodybuilding trend, and of the athletic culture and body-worship and sport craze that had been started by the Mister Universe contest and the Charles Atlas celebrity. And - more interestingly perhaps for this website - these movies were also very influential and appreciated by homosexual communities of the 60s and 70s... I mean you literaly had muscular hunks bare-chested, oily and sometimes almost entirely naked, wrestling constantly with other half-dressed men, and surrounded by pretty girls and erotic sex-icons and pin-ups, who wore the toga-equivalent of the "chainmail bikini" of Conan fantasies... These movies were bound to attract gays and lesbians of their time.

There is a LOT of those Italian Hercules movies in the 60s, like a LOT. I can't possibly cover them all, but I will leave here the titles of some I will definitively not talk about (due to not being "Greek mythology" enough for my taste): 1961's "Sansone"/"Samson against Hercules" ; 1962's "La furie di Ercole" (The fury of Hercules) ; 1963 "Ercole contro Moloch" (Hercules against Moloch), 1964's "Ercole contro Roma" (Hercules against Rome), 1964's "Il trionfo di Ercole" (Hercules' Triumph), 1964's "Hercules against the sons of the sun", 1964's "Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili", 1964's "Hercules against the tyrants of Babylon"...

And even by leaving out those eight movies, with the five others I described before, I have still left, in the span of the Italian 60s, SIX more movies I could possibly talk about... As I said, we know around 200 movies were released during this decade in Italy - though hopefully for us, all the lesser and cheap ones faded into obscurity...

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