Overview: Originally released in 1961 as 'Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide' in Italy, 'Hercules and the Captive Women' is the updated US version released for audiences in 1963.

Follow the chronicles of Hercules with Reg Park in his Hercules film debut! Action packed from the beginning, Hercules encounters Ismene (Laura Altan) when he must save her from a shape-shifting creature -- and that's just the beginning!

Ismene then brings Hercules to Atlantis where they come face to face with the evil Queen Antinea (Fay Spain), Ismene's mother, and try to prevent her dreams of world conquest. Will Hercules prevail?

Blu-ray Verdict: For those not in the know, the release was produced from rare 35mm archival elements beautifully restored from a 4K transfer in its original aspect ratio and features a showing of exclusive commentary and special features just as strong — if not stronger — than Hercules himself!

In truth, and having now watched it twice in five days, Vittorio Cottafavi's 'Hercules and the Captive Women' admittedly recycles the standard Hercules plot structure, but still manages to create something of, and unto itself.

Indeed, if you have seen any of its predecessors or descendants, of which I'm sure you have by now and after all these years, you have seen something very much like this film.

However, in this case, the entire army of evil-doers Hercules must confront are immortals from Atlantis who have been secretly infiltrating Greek politics! Ergo, most of the action takes place on Atlantis after Hercules, his son, and a couple of friends wash up there.

Hercules is played by Reg Park, a very beefy, in truth non-actor, built like a comic book superhero. Furthermore, Park seems to spend the first third of the film lounging about, and most of the next third flexing and fighting, before the final third when all things come to a mighty head.

His occasional lines are clearly spoken, but without a great deal of enthusiasm, but his acting overall is rather good, funnily enough. Overall, most of the character acting is good, but with no real stand out highlights amongst the leads in the cast, the film just plays out.

But therein lies its ultimate charm, especially now here in 2021, given that it has now been enhanced into a stunning 4K Restoration and comes complete with a slew of Exclusive Special Features! [See below].

As for the action sequences themselves, they are fairly entertaining, but don't compare favorably to the special effects saturated fight scenes of today, of course.

And when the guards all remove their helmets to show they all look the same - blonde haired, blonde bearded, blue eyed - having been created in the image of their fearless leaders beau, there does suddenly arise a certain nod of approval from the watcher for the creepy reveal.

Here they are more simplistic, artfully done, skilled in their moves, but cumbersome at times, for sure. Like many Hercules films, 'Captive Women' features lavish costumes and sets. The costumes are most definitely above average in standards for the day, and quite a few of the Atlantean sets are actually really nice and believable.

This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.20:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Full Feature, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K): Hercules and the Captive Women
Hercules and The Conquest of Cinema: A Swords and Sandals Documentary
Audio Commentary by film critic, Tim Lucas
The Duel of the Titans: full color insert booklet with an essay by C. Courtney Joyner
Introduction by MST3K writer and co-star, Frank Conniff

'Hercules and the Captive Women' will be available for purchase April 13th, 2021 on Blu-ray ($24.95) and DVD ($19.95). To learn more about this special-edition release or to pre-order.

Official Purchase Link

'Hercules and the Captive Women' Official Trailer