Plot: What’s it about?
Goliath (Mark Forest) is a top class warrior in all respects, but even as he hews through monsters of all types, trouble brews back in his homeland. While Goliath battles creatures and hideous beasts, his brother Illus has fallen in love with a woman, but this is not the good kind of romance, to be sure. You see, this woman is to be wed to King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford), an evil tyrant who was responsible for the deaths of Goliath’s own parents. Now Eurystheus has taken aim on Illus for his forbidden love, via a sentence of death. But this execution is under most cruel rules, as Illus is to be crushed under the foot of a massive elephant. In addition to that mess, a centaur has taken Goliath’s wife captive and taken her to Eurystheus, which means Goliath’s return will a vengeful one, without a doubt. Even if he can manage to fend off the hordes of warriors Eurystheus is sure to dispatch, will Goliath be able to navigate the Horror Cave, where his wife is held and countless dangers lurk around every corner?
This ain’t no Ben-Hur, but it sure is fun and in this case, that’s more than enough reason to celebrate, I think. If you’re a fan of the sword & sandal epics and also love those B movies, Goliath and the Dragon is just the flick for you. It has terrible performances, laughable set pieces, and of course, embarrassing special effects. The monsters look as if they’re made of paper mache, but the warriors still fight like they’re real, which results in total hilarity, without a doubt. I can’t believe the cast could keep a straight face sometimes here, between the awful writing and downright abysmal special effects. But like in many other terrible movies, it all winds up being highly entertaining after all these years, though for all the wrong reasons. This is by no means the adventure epic the filmmakers intended, but Goliath and the Dragon is a lot of fun to watch, especially when Mark Forest (Goliath and the Sins of Babylon) has to do battle with those poorly constructed monsters. This disc from Something Weird (via Image Ent.) has some flaws, but still comes through in the end, so it is more than recommended, especially with a bonus feature film on deck.
Video: How does it look?
Goliath and the Dragon is presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. This is a decent treatment on the whole, but I think this is a recycled transfer, as it shows the flaws usually seen on laserdisc releases. I saw more edge enhancement, shimmering, and moire patterns than expected, sometimes enough to distract the eyes, which was a let down. A new anamorphic transfer would clear most of those issues up, but perhaps finances wouldn’t allow for that, at least in this case. The colors look dated, but not too much so, while contrast is even handed, with no detail loss. I think had a new transfer been struck, this could have been an impressive version, but as it stands, this one is stuck below average.
Audio: How does it sound?
The mono option used here shows some signs of age, usually via some distortion here and there. The music seems to fall victim more than not, with slightly off tone moments, which are noticeable, but too bad. The sound effects are cheese laden, but come off well enough, though they also sometimes get a little shaky at times. The poorly dubbed dialogue is hilarious and sounds decent enough, but is never too crisp or sharp. On the whole, a lower end audio experience, but under the circumstances, I won’t complain too much.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You’ll find less than usual in terms of extras here, but the disc is far from bare bones, to be sure. The trouble is that none of these extras are for Goliath and the Dragon, not even a trailer for the featured movie is included. But the extras are related in theme and of course, better to have some related supplements than none at all, I think. A small archive of sword & sandal trailers are included, as well as three bonus sword & sandal short films, Muscleman Montage, Hercules Oblivious, and The Son of Hercules vs. The Fire Monsters. As always, a gallery of exploitation artwork is included, this time focused on the sword & sandal side of the fence. The main bonus attraction however is The Conqueror of Atlantis, a bonus feature length film. The flick is full frame and looks bad, but is watchable, even with Something Weird’s brand present, which can be annoying, to say the least.
