Recently while seeking a movie about marathon running I discovered The Giant of Marathon, a swords-and-sandals spectacle set in ancient Greece and starring Steve Reeves (1926-2000). Bodybuilder Reeves's acting talents are equal to the script and directing of this entertaining 1959 made-in-Italy film. He stars as Phillippides (not "Phidippides" — was the name garbled, or deliberately altered for modern audiences?) and begins by winning essentially all the events in the Olympic games. Reeves then proceeds to unite Athens and Sparta, leads them against the invading Persian hordes, and almost single-handedly saves the day during the land battle at Marathon. Next he rides back to Athens to head off an invasion by sea. On the way he loses his horse during a river crossing and therefore must — you guessed it! — run the rest of the way. The subsequent underwater battle scenes are lovely. So is leading lady Mylène Demongeot.

(cf. Running on the Sun (2005-11-04), Without Limits (2005-02-12), Strawberry Fields (2006-11-07), The Runner (2007-02-07), ...) - ^z - 2008-08-06

(correlates: StrawberryFields, YouthfulExuberance, TheBelay, ...)