The Saracens (1963)

Excellent but underrated film

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It may well be because I'm watching too many movies of a similar nature in too short a time-frame but, lately, I've found myself almost totally forgetting about the events occurring in a particular movie after a mere couple of days have elapsed from its first viewing. This obscure Italian peplum is another such example alas because, frankly, the only two things that have stayed with me after these three days were: that it was a slight step up from the dismal (and similarly-titled) 'sword-and-sandal' flick I had watched previously on that same day i.e. ALI BABA AND THE SEVEN SARACENS (1964), and also the fact that I couldn't stop myself from laughing for a couple of minutes on end afterwards when, during a court dance sequence, a man comes tumbling down to the floor and drags his dancing partner with him; that it was a goof and not an intended gesture is borne out by the way the woman giggles in embarrassment after regaining her composure!! All I can add at this juncture is that the film stars Richard Harrison, a staple of this type of unassuming fare, but his character - and, by extension, characterization - is too bland to merit more than a footnote in this already skeletal review...

Richard Harrison, everyone's third or fourth choice when it comes to a Eurotrash leading man, stars in this fantastical history lesson from director Roberto Mauri. Set during some imprecise period during the middle ages (I think), The Saracens tells the tale of the brave Christian folk of the Dalmatian coast, and their battles against the wicked and impious Turks, who wish to import Islam to Croatia. Shot on location to next to no effect, the film has all the usual ingredients of the genre: lots of action, lots of beautiful women in skimpy costumes, and an intensely wicked villain, Rabaneck (Demeter Bitenc). There's also a noble Muslim who sees the error of Rabaneck's ways and switches sides. There is absolutely nothing here that you haven't seen in a hundred other similar flicks, so your tolerance for The Saracens will depend on how you feel about early 60s sword and sandal movies in general.