NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Film Detective Blu-ray (April 2021): Film Detective have transferred Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women to Blu-ray. It is cited on the box as being from a "4K Restoration From the Original Camera Negative" but is abnormally faded. The source density appears compromised in the beginning but eventually holds up reasonably well. The overall 1080P is modest, mostly flat without an abundance of grain but some colors have depth (more in the second half - plenty of burnt orange) and it has instances of showing a pleasing image. It is in the 2.20:1 aspect ratio and is the 'English version' of the film and is clean without undue damage, blemishes or even speckles. Please see the screen captures below to get a good idea of the HD presentation. 

NOTE: We have added 80 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Film Detective offer a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the English-language version of the film (and a lossy Dolby track.) Despite being an sword-and-sandal adventure film, everything is fairly passive through the lossless. In the commentary Tim Lucas discusses the score - in this English version it was cobbled together from library tracks by Gordon Zahler (The Human Duplicators) with pieces from, Hans J. Salter (Bengal Brigade, The Female Animal, Naked Alibi, Pittsburgh, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx), Leith Stevens (Syncopation, The Gun Runners, World Without End, The Night of the Grizzly, I Married a Monster From Outer Space, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Garment Jungle) and others. I found it somewhat unremarkable, if occasionally bold, for the most part but generally supportive of the camp-ier qualities of the film. Film Detective offer optional English or Spanish, subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Film Detective Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Tim Lucas. Tim also did the commentary for Kino's Blu-ray of Hercules in the Haunted World and is the biographer of Director Mario Bava (who is credited in Hercules and the Captive Women for visual effects.) He is one of my favorites and talks in detail about the how this was an epic, shot in Super Technirama 70, differences with the versions - what was cut and why, the voice DUB'ers (both English and Italian) etc. Unfortunately, the sound was not edited correctly on the commentary - when Tim says "Let's listen to what they say", "This line always gets a laugh" or "The electronic music you just heard..." there is no audio - it's just his voice - making the pauses more pronounced. Film Detective didn't mix in the sounds of the film with his commentary. It still has plenty of value as Lucas extols the extensive production values, the very early use of optical printer work in an Italian films, Mario Bava's input or possible input - as well as his father Eugenio. Tim elaborates on the 'peplum' subgenre - largely Italian-made historical, mythological, or Biblical epics mostly set in the Greco-Roman or medieval period. He mentions comparables like, one of my boyhood favorites, George Pal's Atlantis the Lost Continent. It's at his usual expertly prepared level of commentary filling in minute, lesser-known detail of the production. Film Detective include the Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) of Hercules and the Captive Women running over 1.5 hours, and its three minutes introduction by co-star, Frank Conniff. Plenty of fun. I enjoyed the 20-minute documentary "Hercules and The Conquest of Cinema: A Swords and Sandals" discussing the evolution of the genre. Lastly, is a 12-page liner notes booklet with an essay "The Duel of the Titans" by C. Courtney Joyner and color photos.  

I've been ordering some of the 60's Italian Hercules films from Amazon Germany and have long thought we need more of them to Blu-ray on this side of the Atlantic. Vittorio Cottafavi's Hercules and the Captive Women is almost shocking in the vast extent of its production values. From that standpoint it is impressive and not a bad sword-sandal adventure as well, if lacking some identifiable cohesion. That, in-turn, gives it kitsch value. I think most know what to expect and the nostalgia component is here in spades as well. The Film Detective Blu-ray is far from perfect but has the essential Tim Lucas commentary, the complete Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, a worthwhile documentary and a booklet/essay. You probably know if this is your cup-of-tea - I know it's mine - and those fans won't be disappointed in this package. Absolutely recommended!  

Gary Tooze