MovieChat Forums > Annibale (1960) Discussion > Could have been a great film.

Could have been a great film.


This film was cut so much it's unbelievable. I guess the studio bosses decided it was too bloated and trimmed like a madman barber.

The film seems like it could have been good, Victor Mature has a commanding presence, but unless you know what was going on historically I could imagine you'd be pretty lost.

It's unfortunate, because Hannibal was a true and dire threat to the Roman Republic. I believe I read somewhere that Roman women would tell their children afterwards that unless they behaved, Hannibal would come and get them. Kind of like a Boogie Man of the B.C. era.

The film focuses too much time on Hannibal's and Sylvia's love story or whatever you want to call it and barely even references some of the massive battles that Hannibal fought against the Roman armies. I believe only 1 battle is really played out, and that was Cannae. The film only mentions the name of it in passing, so unless you are a Roman historian you probably wouldn't have any clue what it was and how significant it was.

The time has definitely come for a good Hannibal biopic to come out. All we need is a good script and Victor Mature to be resurrected from the grave.

Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.

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