Sfida dei Giganti, La (1965, ITA) C-85m. SCOPE **½ D: Maurice Bright (=Maurizio Lucidi). Starring Reg Park, Gia Sandri, Giovanni Gianfriglia, Audrey Amber (=Adriana Ambesi), Luigi Barbini, Franco Ressel. One of the very last peplum epics, this one is among the most violent. Hercules (Park) must enter the underworld to get a cure for his son, who has lost his mind in a lion attack. Meanwhile, the widowed queen of Syracuse is looking for Hercules to help her get rid of the men who have come to woo her, but ends up with Hercules' evil half-brother. Starts out bland, with production values slightly below standard, but when Herc goes to Hades, film picks up. Entire scenes lifted off Mario Bava's classic ERCOLE AL CENTRO DELLA TERRA (1961) and probably also SODOM E GOMORRAH (1962). For Hercules fans. English title: HERCULES THE AVENGER.