Sword-and-sandal, also known as peplum, is a subgenre of largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman antiquity or the Middle Ages. These films attempted to emulate the big-budget Hollywood historical epics of the time, such as Samson and Delilah (1949), Quo Vadis (1951), The Robe (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963). These films dominated the Italian film industry from 1958 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by spaghetti Western and Eurospy films.
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish.
Nala is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King film franchise. Introduced in the animated film The Lion King (1994), Nala subsequently appears as a less prominent character in the film's sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004), and serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard (2015–2019). In the original animated film trilogy, the adult Nala is voiced by American actress Moira Kelly. Young Nala's speaking voice in the original film is provided by actress Niketa Calame, while singers Laura Williams and Sally Dworsky provide the singing voices of young and adult Nala respectively. Nala is introduced as the daughter of an unnamed lion and Sarafina, the best friend of Simba, and ultimately becomes his wife as well as the daughter-in-law of Mufasa and Sarabi and the niece-in-law of Scar by the end of The Lion King. Nala becomes Simba's wife as well as his Queen Consort. Nala is also the mother of Kiara and Kion, and in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, she is the mother of Kopa.
Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane, Max Casella, Kevin Schon, Quinton Flynn, Bruce Lanoil in the Wild About Safety shorts and Kingdom Hearts II, while Pumbaa is voiced by Ernie Sabella, and was portrayed by Tom Alan Robbins in the original cast of the Broadway musical. In the CGI remake, the characters are portrayed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella first came to audition for the roles of the hyenas, but when the producers saw how well they worked together, they decided to cast them as Timon and Pumbaa.
L'ira di Achille, internationally released as The Fury of Achilles, is a 1962 Italian historical drama set in the ninth year of the Trojan War and is based primarily on Homer's Iliad. The film was directed by Marino Girolami and starred Gordon Mitchell as Achilles. It was released in the UK in 1963 as ACHILLES and was filmed in EuroScope and Eastman Color.
Scar is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Disney's The Lion King franchise. He was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton, and animated by Andreas Deja. Scar is introduced in the first film as the ruthless, power-hungry younger brother of Mufasa, ruler of the Pride Lands. Originally first in line to Mufasa's throne until he is suddenly replaced by Mufasa's son Simba, Scar decides to lead an army of hyenas in his plot to take the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, who escapes into exile, ultimately blaming his brother's death on his nephew.
Ursus is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Carlo Campogalliani. It was originally theatrically released in the US on a double bill with "Jack, the Giant Killer" (1962) before being sold to television in the U.S. The film was later released to American television retitled Ursus, Son of Hercules as part of the Sons of Hercules TV syndication package.
Sergio Ciani, best known as Alan Steel, was an Italian bodybuilder and actor.
The Vengeance of Ursus is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Luigi Capuano.
Hercules, Prisoner of Evil is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Anthony Dawson and an uncredited Ruggero Deodato. Deodato, the official assistant director, replaced Margheriti as he was busy with the completion of the film The Fall of Rome. Deodato actually directed most of the film in actuality but Margheriti was credited as the director. The film is filled with a variety of horrific themes and elements, featuring a killer werewolf, and is as much a horror film as it is a peplum.
The Rebel Gladiators is a 1962 Italian peplum film directed by Domenico Paolella starring Dan Vadis, Josè Greci and Alan Steel.
Samson and the Slave Queen is a 1963 Italian peplum directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was originally made as a Maciste film in Italy, in which the fabled strongman meets Zorro. It was redubbed into a "Samson" movie for distribution in the U.S. and "Samson" meets "El Toro"
Vacanze di Natale '90 is a 1990 Italian comedy film directed by Enrico Oldoini.
The Bacchantes is a 1961 adventure-fantasy film directed by Giorgio Ferroni. It is loosely based on the Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae.
Son of Samson is a 1960 Italian peplum film directed by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Mark Forest. The film was distributed to English-speaking countries as Son of Samson, although in the original film, Maciste had no relation to Samson whatsoever.
Ursus in the Land of Fire, released directly to U.S. television as Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire, is a 1963 Italian peplum film directed by Giorgio Simonelli and starring Ed Fury as Ursus, and Adriano Micantoni as the evil usurper, Amilcare.
The Two Gladiators is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Mario Caiano and starring Richard Harrison.
The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules is a 1963 Italian-French peplum film written and directed by Siro Marcellini and starring Gordon Scott.
Revenge of the Conquered is a 1961 Italian epic adventure film directed by Luigi Capuano and starring Burt Nelson and Wandisa Guida. It grossed 244 million lire at the Italian box office.
