The real scandal of Rome? Hollywood's obsession with white guys in togas.
The history of the peplum genre, known as sword-and-sandal cinema, set in Antiquity, from the silent film era to the present day.
Editing
Juxtaposing Hercules clips with McCarthy-era propaganda footage.
Director
Jérôme Korkikian
Julien Bocher
Self - Narrator (voice)
Hervé Lacroix
Self - Narrator (voice)
Damien Boisseau
Self - Narrator (voice)
Douglas Wick
Self - Film Producer
David Franzoni
Self - Screenwriter
Lou Ferrigno
Self - Actor
John Milius
Self - Filmmaker
Oliver Stone
Self - Filmmaker
Michael Douglas
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Russell Crowe
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Ridley Scott
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The term 'peplum' was originally French film critic slang from the 1950s, later reclaimed by scholars.
The documentary reveals how Italian peplum studios deliberately cast bodybuilders to compete with Hollywood's 'intellectual' epics, accidentally creating a queer subculture around muscular male physiques that producers never anticipated.
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