Maciste

Maciste (pronounced|maˈtʃiste) is one of the oldest recurring characters in cinema. He cuts a heroic figure throughout the history of the cinema of Italy, even if the movies that featured him were usually of poor artistic quality. He is usually depicted as a Hercules-like figure, utilizing his massive strength to achieve heroic feats that ordinary man cannot.

Name

Gabriele d'Annunzio, who invented the name for the 1914 film "Cabiria", claimed it was an ancient nickname for Hercules. According to William Smith's "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman mythology", "Macistus" (Μάκιστος) was "A surname of Heracles, who had a temple in the neighbourhood of the town of Macistus in Triphylia." A related name is "Mecisteus" (Μηκιστεύς), used of two different characters in mythology and also as a surname of Heracles.

According to Maggie Günsberg in "Italian Cinema: Gender and Genre", d'Annunzio used two sources: one from ancient Greek, "makistos", meaning "longer," (but Doric Greek μάκιστος actually means "greatest", "tallest", or "longest in time") and the second from a Latin word "macis" meaning "rock" (cf. Italian "macigno"; there is, however, no such word in Latin). In the first of the 1960s films, Maciste tells another character in the film that his name means "of the rock", and a later film, "Valley of the Thundering Echo", implies that Maciste magically materializes from out of the Earth itself when his abilities are needed.

"Cabiria"

Maciste made his debut in the 1914 Italian silent movie classic "Cabiria". Including this first one, there have been at least 52 movies featuring Maciste, 27 of them being silent films starring Bartolomeo Pagano, who played Maciste in "Cabiria". This 1914 silent film was a story about a slave who was involved in the rescue of a Roman princess from an evil Carthaginian king who plotted to sacrifice her to the cruel god Moloch. The film was based very loosely on "Salammbo", a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert, and had a plot and screenplay by Gabriele d'Annunzio.

Maciste's debut set the tone for his later adventures. Typical plots involve tyrannical rulers who practice vile magical rituals or worship evil gods. Typically, the young lady who is the love interest runs afoul of the evil ruler. Maciste is a super-strong guy who must rescue her. There is often a rightful king out there somewhere who wants to overthrow the evil usurper. There is an obligatory belly dance scene. There is often an evil queen who has carnal designs on the hero. These films, then, could be set in settings from Mongolia to Peru, from Egypt to the Roman Empire. His life story, or his origin in ancient Carthage, did not prevent him from appearing in any setting from classical antiquity or modern times.

Bartolomeo Pagano's Maciste films

As a character, Maciste had two distinct moments in the spotlight. The first was in the Italian silent movie period, in which the original Maciste from "Cabiria", the muscular actor Bartolomeo Pagano, starred in a series of at least 26 sequels over the period from 1915 through 1926. Then decades later, (following on the heels of the success of the two 1950s Steve Reeves "Hercules" films) Maciste was revived for a series of 25 sound films (all made between 1960-1965).

The Bartolomeo Pagano silent Maciste films established the character as someone who could appear at any place and at any time. Some of the earlier ones, made during World War I, had the distinct flavour of propaganda, and cast the hero in the role of a soldier. Later films in the series return to fantasy, but the fantasy was not always mythological. Maciste appears as an Olympic athlete, in contemporary settings, or in the afterlife. His character and his plots remained consistent in whatever setting; he was a populist Hercules, using his physical prowess to overcome the evil ruses of effete aristocrats and authority figures.

Revival of the 1960s

The character was revived in the 1960s. In 1958, Steve Reeves' "Hercules", an Italian production, created a minor boom in Italian dramas featuring American bodybuilders in vaguely mythological or classical historical subjects. Maciste was the hero in 25 of these films. Other films starred such heroes as Ursus, Samson, Hercules and Goliath. Maciste was never given an origin, and the source of his mighty powers was never revealed. Nor was he confined to one specific time period/setting since the films' settings moved freely from Biblical times to ancient Rome to the 1700s. This sword and sandal fad continued for about six years, until the new fad for spaghetti Westerns took over the attention of the Italian cinema industry. The name Maciste was not in the title of the English versions of most of these films: when these films were imported into the USA and dubbed in English, the hero's name was often changed to Hercules, Samson, Goliath, Atlas, or Colossus, because the name Maciste was not widely recognised in the USA. Some Italian sword and sandal films were not theatrically released in the USA; they premiered on American television in a syndication package called "The Sons of Hercules", usually broadcast on Saturday afternoons. Best remembered for its stirring title song, films originally featuring Maciste were dubbed into a variety of different "Sons of Hercules" pictures, with stock narration at the opening attempting to tie the film's lead character in to Hercules any way they could. A number of Italian musclemen played Maciste in the 1960s films, but Mark Forest was the actor who played Maciste the most (7 times). Other actors included Gordon Scott, Gordon Mitchell, Reg Lewis, Kirk Morris, Samson Burke, Alan Steel, Richard Lloyd, Renato Rossini and Frank Gordon.

Influence of Maciste

* Some authorities have made Maciste out to be a somewhat darker figure. The character is the enslaved embodiment of physical strength and vitality; as he travels to exotic locations, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, he does battle against Oriental decadence and barbarism, as particularly embodied in the cult of Moloch that figured in the plot of "Cabiria". It is certainly true that "Cabiria" tapped into Italy's celebration of its colonial adventure in Libya, and that Maciste appears as the ideal slave, always longing to be re-united with his Roman master.
* The "Cabiria" scene in which Maciste pushes a mill wheel for ten years seemingly inspired John Milius, who shot a similar one for his movie "Conan the Barbarian".
* Federico Fellini credited the 1926 "Maciste all'inferno" as the movie that made him decide to become a director.
* The 1960s adventures have been enjoyed mostly by devotees of camp style. Two of the films, "Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste" (translated as "Colossus and the Head Hunters") and "Maciste e la regina di Samar" (as "Hercules against the Moon Men") appeared on the comedy television program "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. In "Colossus and the Head Hunters", the pronunciation of Maciste's name was frequently mocked as "my cheesesteak."

Maciste filmography

The Silent Film Series (in chronological order)

*"Cabiria" (1914) introduced the Maciste character
*"Maciste" (1915) aka "Marvelous Maciste"
*"Maciste bersagliere" ("Maciste the Ranger", 1916)
*"Maciste alpino" (1916) aka "Maciste The Warrior"
*"Maciste atleta" ("Maciste the Athlete", 1917)
*"Maciste medium" ("Maciste the Clairvoyant", 1917)
*"Maciste poliziotto" ("Maciste the Detective", 1917)
*"Maciste turista" ("Maciste the Tourist", 1917)
*"Maciste sonnambulo" ("Maciste the Sleepwalker", 1918)
*"La Rivincita di Maciste" ("Maciste's Revenge", 1919)
*"Il Testamento di Maciste" ("Maciste's Will", 1919)
*"Il Viaggio di Maciste" ("Maciste's Journey", 1919)
*"Maciste I" ("Maciste the First", 1919)
*"Maciste contro la morte" ("Maciste Vs Death", 1919)
*"Maciste innamorato" ("Maciste in Love", 1919)
*"Maciste in vacanza" ("Maciste on Vacation", 1920)
*"Maciste salvato dalle acque" ("Maciste, Rescued from the Waters", 1920)
*"Maciste e la figlia del re della Plata" ("Maciste and the Silver King's Daughter", 1922)
*"Maciste und die Japanerin" ("Maciste and the Japanese", 1922)
*"Maciste contro Maciste" ("Maciste Vs Maciste", 1923)
*"Maciste und die chinesische truhe" ("Maciste and the Chinese Trunk", 1923)
*"Maciste e il nipote di America" ("Maciste's American Nephew", 1924)
*"Maciste imperatore" ("Maciste the Emperor", 1924)
*"Maciste contro lo sceicco" ("Maciste Vs the Sheik", 1925)
*"Maciste all'inferno" ("Maciste in Hell", 1926)
*"Maciste nella gabbia dei leoni" ("Maciste in the Lions' Den", 1926)
*"il Gigante delle Dolemite" ("The Giant From the Dolomite", 1927)

The 1960's Film Series (in chronological order)

There were a total of 25 Maciste films from the 1960s sword-and-sandal revival. The first title listed for each film is the film's original Italian title along with its English translation, while the U.S. release title follows in parentheses. (Note how many times Maciste's name in the Italian title is altered to a totally different character name in the American release titles):

* Maciste nella valle dei re/ Maciste in the Valley of the Kings (Son of Samson, 1960) starring Mark Forest

* Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste/ Maciste Vs. the Headhunters (Colossus and the Headhunters, 1960) starring Kirk Morris

* Maciste nella terra dei ciclopi/ Maciste in the Land of the Cyclops (Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops, 1961) starring Gordon Mitchell

* Maciste alla corte del gran khan/ Maciste at the Court of the Great Khan (Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World, 1961) starring Gordon Scott

* Maciste contro il vampiro/ Maciste Vs. the Vampire (Goliath and the Vampires, 1961) starring Gordon Scott

* Maciste, l'uomo più forte del mondo/ Maciste, the Strongest Man in the World (Mole Men Vs The Son of Hercules, 1962) starring Mark Forest

* Maciste contro Ercole nella valle dei guai/ Maciste Against Hercules in the Vale of Woe (Hercules in the Vale of Woe, 1962) a silly comedy/ satire which starred Kirk Morris as Maciste and Frank Gordon as Hercules

* Maciste all'inferno/ Maciste in Hell (The Witch's Curse, 1962) starring Kirk Morris

* Il trionfo di Maciste/ The Triumph of Maciste (Triumph of the Son of Hercules, 1962) starring Kirk Morris

* Maciste contro i mostri/ Maciste vs. the Monsters (Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules, 1962) starring Reg Lewis

* Totò contro Maciste (Totò vs Maciste, 1962) starring Samson Burke; this was a comedy/satire (part of the Italian "Totò" film series) and was never distributed in the USA; available only in Italian

* Maciste, il gladiatore piu forte del mondo/ Maciste, the World's Strongest Gladiator (Colossus of the Arena, 1962) starring Mark Forest

* Maciste contro el sheik/ Maciste Vs. the Sheik (Samson Against the Sheik, 1962) starring Ed Fury

* Maciste, l'eroe piu grande del mondo/ Maciste, the World's Greatest Hero (Goliath and the Sins of Babylon, 1963) starring Mark Forest

* Zorro contro Maciste/ Zorro Vs. Maciste (Samson and the Slave Queen, 1963) starring Alan Steel

* Maciste e la regina de Samar/ Maciste and the Queen of Samar (Hercules Against the Moon Men, 1964) starring Alan Steel

* Maciste nelle miniere de re salomone/ Maciste in King Solomon's Mines (Samson in King Solomon's Mines, 1964) starring Reg Park

* Maciste alla corte dello zar/ Maciste at the Court of the Czar (Samson vs the Giant King, aka Atlas Against the Czar, 1964) starring Kirk Morris

* Maciste, gladiatore di sparta/ Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta (Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules, 1964) starring Mark Forest

* Maciste contro i mongoli/ Maciste Vs. the Mongols (Hercules Against the Mongols, 1964) starring Mark Forest

* Maciste nell'inferno di gengis khan/ Maciste in Genghis Khan's Hell (Hercules Against the Barbarians, 1964) starring Mark Forest

* La valle dell'eco tonante/ Valley of the Thundering Echo (Hercules of the Desert, 1964) (*aka in France as "Maciste and the Women of the Valley") starring Kirk Morris

* Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus: gli invincibili/ Hercules, Samson, Maciste and Ursus: The Invincibles (Samson and the Mighty Challenge, aka Combate dei Gigantes, aka Le Grand Defi, 1965) starring Renato Rossini as Maciste; This was more of a satire poking fun at the peplum genre

* Gli invicibili fratelli Maciste/ The Invincible Brothers Maciste (1965) starring Richard Lloyd as Maciste

* Maciste il Vendicatore dei Mayas/ Maciste, Avenger of the Mayans (1965) (Note* This cheaply-made Maciste film was made up almost entirely of re-edited stock footage from 2 older Maciste films, "Maciste contro i mostri" and "Maciste contro i cacciatori di teste", so Maciste keeps changing from Reg Lewis to Kirk Morris in the film. (This movie is very scarce since it was never distributed in the USA and is available only in Italian.)

Note* - In 1973, the Spanish cult film director Jesus Franco directed two low-budget "Maciste films" for French producers: "Maciste contre la Reine des Amazones" ("Maciste vs the Queen of the Amazons") and "Les exploits érotiques de Maciste dans l'Atlantide" ("The Erotic Exploits of Maciste in Atlantis"). The films had almost identical casts, both starring Val Davis as Maciste, and appear to have been shot back-to-back. The former was distributed in Italy as a "Karzan" movie (a cheap Tarzan imitation), while the latter film was released only in France with hardcore inserts as "Les Gloutonnes" ("The Gobblers"). These 2 films were totally unrelated to the 1960s Italian Maciste series.

ee also

*Sword and sandal film genre

External links

* [http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/hercules.html The Many Faces of Hercules at Brian's Drive-In Theater]
* http://www.santoandfriends.com (Mexico's Hercules)