The Last Days of Pompeii

The Last Days of Pompeii (Italian: Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei) is a 1959 Italian sword and sandal action film starring Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, and Fernando Rey and directed by Sergio Leone. Mario Bonnard, the original director, fell ill on the first day of shooting, so Leone and the scriptwriters finished the film. The film is characterized by its CinemaScope framing and lavish look and is one of many films produced during the 1960s as part of the "peplum" sword and sandal craze, originally launched by Pietro Francisci's 1958 film Le fatiche di Ercole, released as Hercules in the United States by Joseph E. Levine. The film is also interesting as an early example of Leone's work, which would soon become internationally popular with his series of spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood. In his use of widescreen, as well as his penchant for colorful violence and outlandish plot twists, Leone displayed a visual flair that would soon propel him to directorial fame.