Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

MARIO GAUCI Although Steve Reeves is the first name which comes to mind when one thinks of "Peplum" movies – and with good reason since he was the subgenre's first (and perhaps only) bona-fide star – the sheer fact that I was introduced to them as a kid in the early 1980s via Italian TV broadcasts of MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1961) and GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) has made me look out for Mark Forest's movies more than any of the others who have likewise stepped in the sandals of such muscle-bound heroes over the years. Indeed, out of 14 titles in Forest's filmography, I have now watched all but one – THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR (1964). The film under review, then, made when the mythological epics had been overtaken in popularity by the newest fad in Italian cinema i.e. Spaghetti Westerns, was his last film appearance since, unlike his contemporaries, he apparently chose not to diversify his curriculum – even though he was a professional singer and a qualified teacher of that art form! Rather than bow out playing in any one of the roles that had made his name like Hercules and Maciste, Forest's final star vehicle was an "Arabian Nights"-type fable with his superpowers – emphatically stated in the film's very title – here being attributed not to any blood relation to the gods but having his mother being hit by a lightning bolt during the fatal childbirth. This conveniently satisfies a prophecy that this kingdom's first-born can only ever be harmed by "a red flower". Needless to say, a band of rogue desert nomads come to hear of this through the duplicitous court maid and they kidnap the child and murder the latter witness. Curiously enough, the villain (Mimmo Palmara) dispatches his newly-acquired son to be raised by an old woman in a remote part of the sand dunes and only returns to claim him 30 years later!; by that time, he has not only grown into Mark Forest but his favourite past time seems to be swimming in crocodile-infested waters while racing and daring them to catch up with him (even if he is still unaware of his extraordinary powers)! Once he is back into the fold of Palmara's tent encampment, he is belatedly and summary trained in the art of war and sold to the troops – by ordering his astonished archers to cut down his own son with arrows – as their secret weapon against the armies of Forest's real sovereign father – led by his younger brother Howard Ross (here still billed under the more colourful moniker of "Red Ross").True to formula, given that there are two brothers and two battling factions in the narrative, there must also be two women, one who divides the siblings and one who comes between putative father and adopted son; the former is played by the unlikely-named Dea Flowers (in what appears to be her only role) and the sultry Rosalba Neri fills the latter. Flowers is bethrothed to Ross but soon falls for Forest's tender loving care when kidnapped by Palmara's clan and supposedly given to him as a slave; similarly, Neri is the rebel leader's favourite but soon falls under the spell of Forest's brawny figure. During the course of the film, the two brothers are unknowingly engaged in a duel to the death but the kind-hearted Forest is somehow unwilling to go through with it and spares Ross' life; later still, while ostensibly employed to insinuate himself into the enemy fortress, Forest gets to learn the truth after meeting his father and brother face to face. Needless to say, our hero turns against Palmara and executes him – but not before Neri sacrifices her life for him to "the red flower" (which turns out to be plain fire after all) – and new Prince Regent Ross relinquishes his bride-to-be Flowers to a modest family life in the desert oasis Forest inhabited as a kid.All in all, while not a particularly outstanding entry in the genre, this proved a surprisingly decent and enjoyable one which I came across dubbed in English on "You Tube" – especially in view of the fact that it was Forest's swan-song, was directed by Civirani – who had made the latter's weakest effort, HERCULES AGAINST THE SONS OF THE SUN (1964) – and, what is more, was originally titled very similarly to Antonio Margheriti's ANTHAR L'INVINCIBLE aka THE DEVIL OF THE DESERT AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964) starring Kirk Morris that I just caught up with a few days ago, which ought to have spelled redundancy!

zardoz-13 "Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun" director Osvaldo Civirani and scenarists Alessandro Ferraù, Roberto Gianviti, and Luciano Trasatti concocted a warrior unlike any other in the annuals of traditional Sword & Sandal films. In some way, Kindar is like Superman, but he isn't an extraterrestrial. Instead, Kindar (Mark Forest) is born into royalty as the son of a sultan, but his birth is singular. He was born during a storm, and lightning struck his mother when he was born and killed her. Meantime, baby Kinder emerges as a man who isn't vulnerable to anything. Like Superman and Kryptonite, Kindar has only one weakness, a red rose. Actually, the red rose here is a metaphor for fire. Nothing but flames can harm Kindar. The Sultan is awestruck by this turn of affairs. Essentially, a villainous rebel leader, Seymuth (Mimmo Palmara), abducts the infant and raises him as his own. He keeps Kindar hidden for some twenty years, and Kindar hasn't the slight clue that Seymuth isn't his real father. When he rides into battle for the first time, Kindar lives up to his name as 'the Invulnerable.' Seymuth plans to use Kindar to lead his army of nomadic warriors into the city. Unfortunately, Seymuth's plan doesn't work out, and Kindar discovers that he is the son of Eman, King of Utor. Eventually, Kindar and Seymuth have a face-off.Civirani, who also served as cinematographer, lensed the action on location in Egypt as well as on the Nile River. The pyramids of Giza, Abusir, and Dahshur are visible in some long shots. The spectacle, Palmara's villainy, and the authentic Egyptian scenery make this Sword & Sandal melodrama tolerable, but it lacks surprises and revelations. Forest furnishes his solemn muscular presence, while Palmara is every inch an audacious dastard. Rosalba Neri and Dea Flowers provide the feminine pulchritude. Only serious Peplum fans should apply. "Kindar the Invulnerable" isn't one of Forest's better epics.

bkoganbing As foretold by the prophets there would one day arise a man who was born of lightning and would be invincible. And that's who Mark Forest plays in Kindar The Invulnerable.Someone must have been reading Superman comics and decided to create a Superman like character for their sword and sandal film. Forest is impervious to all, swords, spears, rocks. There is something in the prophecy also about a red flower being his Kryptonite, but no one can figure that one out.This was the last film made by Mark Forest aka Lou Degni of Brooklyn who went to Italy to study opera and paid his way through the lessons by doing these muscle films. He was the best looking of all the muscle dudes who were glutting the market with these epics in the early Sixties. I sincerely hope he had a good career in opera to make up for some of these films. He certainly had a focus.

alphaboy Mark is hit at his birth by a bolt of lightning which kills his mother but makes him almost invulnerable: Only the "Red Flower" can harm him, though nobody knows what it is. Unfortunately, he is soon thereafter kidnaped and made the chief warrior of a desert bandit tribe led by Mimmo Palmara, which tries to sack Mark's city of birth. Two great scenes: Mark, without knowing it, has to fight his own brother in a whipping and wrestling duel in the mountains. And: Mark lets himself be put into an iron maiden to prove that he cannot be harmed; he steps out of it and simply states, "I am invulnerable." Extra wooden acting during love scenes (even in comparison to other products of Italian popular cinema of this time)!! Low production costs, partially boring. Recommended for fans of Mark Forest or Italian trash cinema only. Almost the bottom of the barrel. Rosalba Neri has only a very small part to play, which is a pity.