My Son The Hero (original title: Arrivano I Titani, transl. Here Come The Titans) is a 1962 Italian Sword and Sandal movie directed by Duccio Dessari, starring Giuliano Gemma in his first protagonist role.
During the time of Classical Mythology, Cadmos, the megalomaniac king of Crete, has his wife murdered in order toremain with his scheming lover Hermione. For this deed, the Sybil curses him in the name of the Olympian gods, foretelling him that his infant daughter Antyope will one day fall in love with the man who will bring Cadmos' reign of terror at an end. Furious at the gods' judgement and unable to kill his daughter on the spot (lest the curse would fulfill itself immediately), Cadmos renounces the gods and proclaims himself one. To this end, he and Ermione undergo a treatment with mystical vapors which render their bodies invulnerable. Once Antyope has reached the proper age, Cadmos plans to have her ordinated as a priestess in his service, to have her shut away from the world of men in a life of enforced chastity. Enraged by this intention, Zeus finally decides to send an agent to do his bidding. He turns to the Titans, still incarcerated in the pits of Tartarus, and offers them release if their youngest and weakest, but smartest of their number, Crios, agrees to cast Cadmos into the underworld. Crios is happy to accept the assignment, and travels to Knossos, the capital city of Crete, in order to fulfill his mission...
Compared to more traditional Sword and Sandal movies, My Son The Hero has milder violence and a greater amount of humour, and will certainly be a welcome addition for any aficionados of the genre.
This movie has examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Cadmos and Ermione aren't physically abusive to Antyope, but they force her to stay in the royal palace and forbid her from having any sort of contact with anyone that's not her handmaidens.
- Affectionate Parody: Of its own genre.
- Anticlimax Boss: Crios cannot harm Cadmos and does not even fight him, instead throwing down a thunderbolt that opens the earth below Cadmos' feet and sends him down into Hades.
- Brought Down to Badass: As he returned to the world as a simple man, Crios doesn't have the inhuman strength he used to have as a Titan. However, he can more than hold his own. Later, this applies to all the other Titans as well.
- The Caligula: Cadmos, who has turned Crete into a religious dictatorship with himself as the only figure of worship.
- The Cameo: Several figures of Classical Mythology make an appearence in this movie. Among them, Prometheus, Sisiphus, the Sisters of Fate and several others.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Crios, high on the 'chivalrous', low on the 'pervert'.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Rathor becomes Crios' friend after Crios defeats him in the gladiatorial games and convinces Kadmos to spare Rathor's life.
- Guile Hero: Crios is not afraid to use fisticuffs if need be, but he prefers to think his way out of sticky situations.
- Lady Macbeth: Ermione, Cadmos' lover who is just as unscrupolous as him. And possibly even more cunning.
- Never Trust a Title:
- The Hero in this movie is a young titan who at one point says he's the son of Jove, king of the gods, but Jove is not an actual character in the movie, making the title choice of "My Son" an odd one.
- The original title is "Here Come The Titans". Aside from Crios, the Titans are not released until the third act near the climax of the film.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Cadmos and Ermione become impervious to any sort of injury after bathing in the vapors of the river Styx. However, Ermione still has a vulnerable spot on her chest; and Cadmos is not protected from being literally tossed into Tartaros.
- Scary Black Man: Rathor, a large man of color who starts out as Crios' opponent in Cadmos' gladiatorial games. Subverted when Crios befriends Rathor.
- Screw Destiny: Cadmos is doing all he can to do this. In the end, he fails.
- Sword and Sandal
