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Sword and sandal films are a Cinematic Genre of Adventure or Fantasy films that have subjects set in Biblical or Classical Antiquity , often with contrived plots based very loosely on Mythology or History . Most movies based on Greco-Roman history and mythology, or the surrounding cultures of the same era ( Egyptians , Assyria ns, Etruscans , Minoans ), etc. are sword and sandal Epic Film s. The greatest productions of this Film Genre were made during the late 1950s and early 1960s , but it has experienced a recent renaissance. Broadly considered, this could compass such diverse films as '' Ben-Hur '', '' Cleopatra '', '' Titus '', or '' The Ten Commandments ''. In this sense, it is one of the oldest movie genres; the original '' Ben-Hur '' was made by Sidney Olcott in 1907 ; the 1914 silent film '' Cabiria '' was important in the development of the art of Cinematography , and was one of the first sword-and-sandals films to make use of a massively-muscled actor, Batolomeo Pagano. Another name for the genre is '''''peplum''''', from a Latin word for a sort of Tunic , easy to make, and favoured by the Costume departments for these films. One critic, Roger Hillman, has argued that these images of muscular masculinity and physical prowess were used as cinematic support for the rise of Italian fascism under Benito Mussolini during the twenties and thirties. His argument is contained in a paper within a recent volume on transnational reception of peplum as a popular cinematic genre. Maciste film illustrates many people's expectations from the genre.]] More specifically, however, the "sword and sandal" ). The absurd plots, out-of-synch Dialogue , wooden acting of the muscleman heroes, and primitive Special Effects that were often woefully inadequate to depict the Legendary Creature s on-screen, all conspire to give these films a certain Camp appeal now. This, and the Beefcake factor, made the films' unintended humour notorious in the Gay Community . To be sure, however, many of the films enjoyed widespread popularity among very general audiences, and had production values that were typical for popular films of the day. Several have been subjects of the '' Mystery Science Theater 3000 '' treatment. A movie series and Syndicated Television show called '' The Sons Of Hercules '' was made from a number of different films; this ran in the 1970s . LIST OF SWORDS-AND-SANDALS MOVIES '', a 1914 Silent Movie , is an early classic in the genre.]]
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