What a great looking movie.

Several demons come to earth to begin plans for taking over the world. Standing in their way is Maciste a super strong good guy. The demons offer Maciste anything he wants if he will aid them however he turns them down. They eventually trick Maciste so that he ends up in hell where he proceeds to mop up the place.

If you've ever seen any of the sword and sandal films from the 1950's and 1960's with Maciste you're looking at the same character. Created in the 1913 film Cabria the do gooding muscle man has been helping the down trodden ever since. Not dressed as a muscle man, but instead as a country gentleman, Maciste's appearance may throw some people off, but rest assured its the same guy.

I love this movie. Its a great deal of fun. It looks great with demons,dragons and a giant that put most other film makers to shame (at least until the advent of computer graphics). This is an epic with thousands of demons and huge sets and great action and everything about a movie that makes you go WOW. There is a wonderful moral sense to the film that we no longer have and which adds a nice dimension to the film.

It also doesn't go in the direction you think it will which is great for those who think they've seen it all.

Silent or no, this is one of the best muscle man movies there is (trust me I've seen most of them) and is worth searching out. Even better its a damn fine movie in its own right.

See this movie or I'll send the flying demons after you.

Since I was going through some of the low-brow Italian peplums of the 50s and 60s over the Easter period, I decided to watch this Silent epic (also made in Italy) simultaneously. However, it turned out to not really be a peplum after all – despite the muscular title character (protagonist of a long-running series of films and, here, somewhat incongruously sporting modern attire – including a suit and tie!) and the fact that the Italians had actually pioneered the religious epic genre during the Silent era! That said, I guess I should have known since I had already watched Riccardo Freda's colorful but disappointing 1962 semi-remake (actually set against a 17th Century Puritan backdrop) but, there at least, Maciste is still somehow fitted with the traditional loincloth…

Anyway, to get to the movie itself: since I hadn't previously watched any of the Silent Italian epics, I didn't quite know how well it would have worn the passage of time but, surprisingly, I was left reasonably impressed by the visual splendor of the production which often evoked medieval paintings – particularly in its hellish sequences. In fact, as I watched the film, I was most reminded – as had been another viewer writing on the IMDb – of Benjamin Christensen's HAXAN (1922) and F.W. Murnau's FAUST (1926) which, I'm sure you'll agree, is high praise indeed for a film of this kind! Besides, the human form taken by the devil Barbariccia (literally "Curlybeard") and his minions evokes memories of Scapinelli, the Mephistophelean figure of "The Student Of Prague" (a German folk-tale filmed twice, at least, during the Silent era)…

The plot of the film proper – Maciste is apparently a do-gooder whose activities are giving Hell a bad name, so a devil is sent to Earth in order to tempt him; somehow, the former ends up in the underworld and, giving in to the affections of some devilish sirens, is himself turned into a hellish creature…until saved by a child's prayer on Christmas Eve! – is quaint yet curiously effective, especially given the myriad unconvincing-looking demons Maciste has to face; at one point, there's even a revolt (never fully explained, at least in the 66-minute print I watched) against Barbariccia's dominion in Hell – which is an interesting way of saying that petty jealousies and machinations, the cause of so much evil on Earth, are present in the afterlife as well!

I don't recall the 1962 film enough to make comparisons, except to say that it was an unintentional laugh-riot, but also that the plot of the later version is quite different – as it involves a reanimated witch who had been burned at the stake (in fact, it was called THE WITCH'S CURSE in the U.S.); I know, however, that I enjoyed the 'original' a good deal and am certainly interested now in seeking out more Silent spectacles from Italy – L'INFERNO (1911),THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1913),CABIRIA (1914),etc.

I had not heard of this film. At my age and with all the movies I've viewed, it's surprising that it never crossed my path. I was most intrigued by how the desirability of the male form has changed over time. This guy would be considered an overweight lunk nowadays. As it is, he is admired for his strength and his morality. That's the way it should be. The filmmakers have created a real world, depicting hell in sort of a Danteesque portrayal. This man makes the ultimate sacrifice; his soul; in order to gain vengeance against Satan himself. Of course he makes some mistakes along the way, but he has a pure being and endures all that is thrown at him. The images are incredible for the time and the story is interesting. I guess this fellow was part of a canon of films that no longer exist. It's worth a shot, just to see how quickly a gifted filmmaker could begin to see the possibilities of the new technology.