The old wave of peplum movies, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was an entirely unintentional gay phenomenon. Zack Snyder’s entirely ridiculous “300” was a sensation in 2007, and since then we’ve gotten such diverse entertainments as Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals” and TV’s “Spartacus.” And now, in 2014, we’re anticipating “The Legend of Hercules,” the Rock’s “Hercules,” “Pompeii” and “300: Rise of an Empire.”Īs far as the eye can see, giant shouting men in elaborate loincloths. We’re in the midst of a Renaissance of sorts, actually.
From 1958’s “Hercules” with Steve Reeves to the new “The Legend of Hercules” starring Kellan Lutz, and everything in between, the genre lives and breathes through the muscled bodies of often scantily-clad actors. It was true back when they were called “peplum” movies (a word for tunic), and it’s absolutely true today. There’s something undeniably homoerotic about the very concept of the sword and sandal flick. Sword and sandal movies have always been a bit gay. The Out Take is a bi-weekly column on queer representations in film.
