release year: 1966
genre: Hammer drama
viewing setting: home DVD, 1/23/2000
what I expected: gratuitous T&A
what I got: a soap opera with battle, set in the age of the Roman Empire
synopsis: The Roman commander overseeing an occupied area of Britain falls in love with the local queen and tries to do the right thing...but treachery and stupidity tear it all apart.
impressions: It reminded me of 1492 and Braveheart - which isn't necessarily a good thing. What we had here was a few good people trying to make everything happy and fair, and bad people who insisted that it wouldn't work, then did bad things to ensure that it didn't work. Argh! If a few select jerks had been put to the sword from the get-go, everything would've turned out ok. But no. And the sad thing is that this kind of thing really happens. Of note: a character named Beatrice, human sacrifices, flogging, wanton plunder, huts put to the torch, people who've never picked up a sword in their life fighting and winning against highly-trained Roman centurions.
acting: Actually, surprisingly good considering that this was supposed to be a movie about half-naked warrior queens and men being burned alive in the "cages of Hell."
final word: I just wanna know one thing: what was the Viking connection?
rating: C