Product Details

• Actors: Edmund Purdom
• Directors: Viktor Tourjansky
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Alpha Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: June 26, 2007
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000PUB59K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,406 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Herod The Great" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Gotham (dba Alpha) Release Date: 07/24/2007

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue in Judea, September 7, 2009

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herod the Great (DVD)

These relatively inexpensive DVDs are usually dubbed from unrestored films. Budget brand labels (such as ALPHA or UNITED AMERICAN) offer no "bonus" features beyond rudimentary chapter access.


HEROD THE GREAT is one of many now-public domain Roman-era costumers. English speakers used for this American edition are typically mediocre. Also, few efforts were made to match translations to on-screen mouth movements. As was common in 1950s-60s Euro-historo-epics, actresses look as if their makeup was applied with a trowel. There's an abundance of bright orangey-red hair in this cast (including among the men). Were there actually fiery-haired Romans?

SYNOPSIS--
Before King Herod of Judea is arrested, he makes his friend Aaron vow to kill Queen Miriam if he (Herod) should die. A lying informant tells Aaron that the king has been executed by the Romans, but Aaron is unable to slay Miriam, as promised. When Herod is ultimately freed and returns home, his son wrongly convinces him that Aaron is a traitor who's taken Miriam as his lover.


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.

(4.6) Herod the Great (Italy/France-1959) - Edmund Purdom/Sylvia Lopez/Massimo Girotti/Sandra Milo/Elena Zareschi/Ettore Manni

3.0 out of 5 stars melodrama without historical context or originality, October 3, 2011

By 

Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herod The Great (DVD)

This is a potboiler about the notoriously bloody Herod the Great, the client King of Rome during the era of Augustus. He was known as a great builder and bloodthirsty paranoid, whose appetite for power led him to kill his own wife and embalm her in honey to be kept for his pleasure. In this film, we see him as a tough leader under stress, who knows love and court intrigue, and turns into a brutal tyrant before going insane with grief. Unfortunately, the film neither fascinates for the history nor brings any of the characters to life beyond 2-dimensional stereotypes. It is a badly dubbed Italian film from the 1950s, I believe. It is good for putting it on in the background and drinking and laughing with friends, but not for serious viewers.

3.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue in Judea, September 6, 2009

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Herod The Great (DVD)

These relatively inexpensive DVDs are usually dubbed from unrestored films. Budget brand labels (such as DIGIVIEW) offer no "bonus" features beyond rudimentary chapter access.


HEROD THE GREAT is one of many now-public domain Roman-era costumers. English speakers used for this American edition are typically mediocre. Also, few efforts were made to match translations to on-screen mouth movements. As was common in 1950s-60s Euro-historo-epics, actresses look as if their makeup was applied with a trowel. There's an abundance of bright orangey-red hair in this cast (including among the men). Were there actually fiery-haired Romans?

SYNOPSIS--
Before King Herod of Judea is arrested, he makes his friend Aaron vow to kill Queen Miriam if he (Herod) should die. A lying informant tells Aaron that the king has been executed by the Romans, but Aaron is unable to slay Miriam, as promised. When Herod is ultimately freed and returns home, his son wrongly convinces him that Aaron is a traitor who's taken Miriam as his lover.


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.

(4.6) Herod the Great (Italy/France-1959) - Edmund Purdom/Sylvia Lopez/Massimo Girotti/Sandra Milo/Elena Zareschi/Ettore Manni