Trailer
Plot summary
King Minos is a wizard who turns to science in his attempt to take over the world, and he means to sacrifice the princess Cassiopea. Hercules is a semi-divine being, an orphan and the son of King Amphitryon of Thebes, and he sets out to stop the king and to rescue her. The benevolent sorceress Circe comes to his aid, and an evil sorceress and creatures that breathe laser fire stand in his way. The story is loosely based on Greek mythology and borrows elements of science fiction, and it gives Hercules a romance with the princess Cassiopea that the Greek myth leaves out.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Hercules (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Ennio Morricone was announced as the composer but asked to be taken off Hercules after Luigi Cozzi showed him dailies and asked him to copy Bernard Herrmann's style for the Ray Harryhausen films; Cozzi then chose Pino Donaggio to replace him.
- Hercules changed directors before filming: Bruno Mattei says Luigi Cozzi conspired to have him removed by running down his planned script, while Cozzi says Cannon fired Mattei after seeing the dailies of The Seven Magnificent Gladiators.
- For a July 1983 Los Angeles promotion, Lou Ferrigno rode a chariot pulled by two white horses down Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard; although special permission had been obtained, a policeman stopped him for having no registration plate.
- No stunt double of comparable size could be found, so Lou Ferrigno performed most of his own stunts, except in water because he could not swim, and choreographed most of his action sequences himself.
- Luigi Cozzi was given only two weeks to finish the Hercules screenplay, to limit delays and extra payments to Lou Ferrigno, who was already in Rome shooting The Seven Magnificent Gladiators.
- Lou Ferrigno was offered the title role just after The Incredible Hulk finished and signed five days later, having already turned down several other projects; he had idolised Hercules and Steve Reeves since childhood.
- Lou Ferrigno only found out his voice would be dubbed when he went to the premiere; Mirella D'Angelo said she was the only local actor who voiced her own character in the Italian version.
- The animal costume in the bear fight was reused from Ator, the Fighting Eagle and padded with stock footage from Grizzly, while the collapse of King Minos's palace was lifted from 1951's Quo Vadis.
