Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Diagonaldi Very well executed

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

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

Maciste_Brother GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON is a sensational title. Unfortunately, the film doesn't live up to the title. It's a wildly uneven Sword & Sandal which runs hot to cold and vice versa. It starts off promisingly (30 "virgins" for the evil King of Babylon in exchange for peace) but then the movie totally forgets about that plot point and concentrates on typical brawny action, with the stand-out scene being the one where Hercules, eh, Maciste, eh, Goliath (Mark Forest sans beard) is bound to an altar and directly above are holes in the ceiling with spears attached to ropes within those holes, and whenever the ropes are cut, one spear is released and is supposed to fall on Goliath. Oh, and the bad guy forces Goliath's partners to cut the ropes to see if they're trust-worthy. The scene is effective and it's very reminiscent of the laser scene in GOLDFINGER, which was made a year after this Goliath film, so kudos to the filmmakers here.The rest of the film is standard S&S action hampered by an uneven script and an unfortunate use of stock footage from other films. The film has many highlights, including the battle on the ships and the chariot race, which look like they were cleverly edited with scenes taken from other movies. Or the editing is just bad and the shots just don't match. The chariot race is actually very good, certainly with the added detail of the Princess (the beautiful José Greci) participating in the race. I've never seen a chariot race with a woman. It's cool. But other scenes don't fare better. For example, the battle between the ships looks like it's from another film. You see, the boat with our heroes, in the close-ups, the men are mostly bare-chested and yet in the long shots (presumably the shots from the other film) there are no bare-chested men! During the chariot race, when one man, wearing a green tunic falls off of his chariot, the tunic is totally different in the close-up shots from the long shots. These big continuity errors make the lavish film look cheap.Then there's that annoying little people actor, who was also in THE TEN GLADIATORS and basically ruined that film. I purchased the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack and he's in three films up to now. I hope he's not in more films! The image quality on the WARRIORS 50 DVD pack is awful, so much so that I purchased the Retro Media DVD, which is in widescreen. The image on this DVD is excellent and the movie was certainly better because of it. It's a must for fans.The cast is very good and the star power adds much to the uneven production. Mark Forest is beefy perfection. He's supposed to play Maciste but he's Goliath in the US version. This story is not a one man show though as Goliath joins others to prevent the 30 virgins to be shipped to Babylonia. Mimmo Palmara and Giuliano Gemma, as Xandros, are part of the beefy team rebelling against the rulers of Babylonia. As I mentioned before, José Greci plays the Princess who's character, by law, can only marry a man who can defeat her in the Chariot race. Yes, you read that right.GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON is certainly spirited and it doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a plus. The music score is good. In general, it's an above average Peplum. But the suspected use of stock footage, the muddled script & the annoying midget keep it from being a great Peplum.

horrorfilmx Way above average for this type of thing. Lavishly produced, with plenty of truly rousing action sequences and a real sense of fun helped in no small way by the presence of Mark Forest. Forest had charisma to spare, with his teen idol good looks (impaired only slightly by a prematurely receding hairline!) and herculean physique. Most of all he really seemed to get into the action and fight scenes and in this film he's ably supported by the stunt choreographers, who bring a sense of humor reminiscent of the old Burt Lancaster epics (THE CRIMSON PIRATE etc.) or the early Jackie Chan. In addition SINS OF BABYLON is directed with real flair. Highly recommended for those into peplum.

Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) The use of Little People (or "midgets" in hammerhead speak) in these Italian Peplum films always puzzles me. I am sure the diminutive actors were delighted to have the opportunity to work and it looks like most of them enjoyed their experiences. The purpose appears to be comic relief: Watch the little guy run between the legs of the two Pizza-Pizza guards with their plumed helmets, they bend down to grab him, their heads konk together & the mini hero turns, issues a poorly lip synced wise crack, and later ends up reclining on a couch surrounded by fawning harem girls who think he's so cute ... Watch the midget bonk a guy over the head with a club to save the muscle bound hero, Ho Ho Ho. I'll grant that the Midget Role is an important part of the Peplum film formula, but the hyperactive, wise-cracking ball of energy in this one is SO obnoxiously used that it detracts from what otherwise would have been a 10/10 effort. Times have changed over the course of the 43 years (!!) since this film was made and I don't find midgets to be inherently funny. So pardon my raining on the parade here a bit.All that aside this is a *WAY* superior action/adventure film populated & made by the best from the Italian cult genre school of film-making: Director Michele Lupo, composer Francesco De Masi, and performers Mark Forest, genre legend Giuliano Gemma, José Greci, José Canalejas, Piero Lulli, and the great Paul Muller. The scope of the film is also on a much grander scale than the usual throwaway Peplum shenanigans of Pizza-Pizza guards chasing a Son of Hercules & his damsel in distress over the familiar looking countrysides of Morocco, Spain, France or Italy that would later be featured in the Spaghetti Western craze which came after the Peplum Fad died out: It's like SPARTACUS meets BEN HUR meets HERCULES meets THE SEVEN GLADIATORS -- A group of super noble Adonis types battles an evil tyrant king to free their people from the yoke of oppression, namely a yearly tribute of "The 30 most lovely virgins" as sacrifices to the gods. The whole idea of depleting a people of their most sexually attractive women just to sacrifice them is of course appalling but ultimately counter-productive. Who in their right mind would want to selectively exterminate all of the good lookin' babes?? Again, with all that aside, this movie totally rocks: There is an extended, violent chariot race, duels to the death a-plenty, scenes where the Herculean heroes take on entire squadrons of Pizza-Pizza guards & make them look like buffoons, prisoners being thrown to the lions for kicks, and an eye-popping battle between two full-sized war galleons that were made just for use in the film that is amongst the most spectacular battle scenes from these potboilers that I've ever witnessed. A surprisingly large sum of money & talent was sunk into this project (1963 was perhaps the zenith year for the Peplum Fad) and it shows. Even non-fans of the genre will be impressed & entertained by the film, with gorgeous women, expansive detailed set construction, some genuinely creative camera work, a cast of thousands and a body count to match, dialog that actually sounds like stuff out of classical Roman history, nefarious court intrigue that holds the fates of entire peoples in the balance, and truly committed performances by the leads ... even the midget throws himself into the role with a certain amount of gusto that's admirable if ultimately annoying to the point of detracting from how seriously one can really regard the film during his scenes.No offense meant mind you, I just don't understand why someone would go through so much effort to create a really superior, epic scale entertainment & then shoot themselves in the foot with extraneous craparoni. But to quote the late Dr. Carl Sagan yet again, "The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with mere human ambition", and if getting to enjoy such a splendid film requires couple dozen stupid midget humor scenes then that is a price I will be happy to pay. This movie RULEZ! 9/10: Leave the midget at home next time guys, they aren't funny anymore, and serve only to demonstrate the insensitivity of the times in which the movie was made. So be it.

dbborroughs Goliath returns to his home land to help stop the flow of 30 virgins a year to Babylon.As Sword and Sandal films go this is pretty good. Its not the worst its not the best. Its just a good, light entertaining film that makes you smile as things go along. Filled with interesting set pieces, a chariot race, a sea battle, dungeon torture, this movie attempts to give you more than the usual film of this nature.The trouble is that the film seems to have been done before. Its not even so much that the film has the same plot as the vast majority of this type of film, its that the sets, the tortures and perhaps whole sequences show up elsewhere. Even allowing for the fact that the trailer has shown up on various other taps and DVDs, this film seems overly familiar, especially to anyone who has ever watched more than a handful of these films.Still as these things go its not a bad movie. See it.