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Romulus and Remus (Duel of the Titans) – Explosive Media/Koch Media (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/France, 1961
Director: Sergio Corbucci
Writers: Ennio De Concini, Luciano Martino, Franco Rossetti, Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari, Sergio Leone, Adriano Bolzoni
Cast: Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott, Virna Lisi, Franco Volpi, Laura Solari, Piero Lulli, José Greci

Release Date: March 11th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 108 Minutes 40 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: FSK 12 (Germany)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English, German
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: 13,99 EUR

"Romulus and Remus were thrown into the Tiber shortly after birth, fed by a she-wolf and raised by a shepherd. In revenge, they lead a bloody raid against the ruling regime of King Amulius, at the end of which one of the most important cities of antiquity will be founded." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Romulus and Remus comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.1 GB

Feature: 26.3 GB

Though no information is provided about this transfer source, it is in great shape, and print debris has been cleaned up. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, the image looks crisp, black levels are strong, and compression is very good. That said, peplum is a genre that has not fared well transfer-wise; fortunately, this transfer is one of the stronger ones.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD mono mix in German. For this review, I only listened to the Italian and English tracks. Quality-wise, these two tracks are comparable. They both sound clean, clear, and balanced. Also, range-wise, they sound robust when they should. Included are removable English and German subtitles. The English subtitles appear to be a direct translation of the Italian track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (56 images - posters/stills/advertisements/lobby cards), a theatrical trailer (5 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Steve Reeves stunt double Giovanni Cianfriglia (7 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable German subtitles), German theatrical version of Romulus and Remus (101 minutes 8 seconds, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono German with removable German subtitles), and reversible cover art.

Summary:

Directed by Sergio Corbucci, who would go on to become one of the filmmakers most synonymous with spaghetti westerns. Romulus and Remus is the second of three peplums Sergio Corbucci directed. The other two are Goliath and the Vampires and The Slave. Key collaborators on Romulus and Remus include directors Sergio Leone (Once Upon a Time in The West) and Duccio Tessari (The Bloodstained Butterfly), who both contributed the screenplay, and cinematographer Enzo Barboni, who would go on to direct They Call Me Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name.

The narrative revolves around two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned and kept alive by a she-wolf before a shepherd took them in. Though they are twins, these brothers could not be more unalike. Where Remus is driven by his ambitions even at the expense of others, Romulus’ empathy has him always putting everyone ahead of himself. Their bond would be broken when Remus was seduced by power and greed.

Despite Romulus and Remus having all of the trappings that are synonymous with peplums, Notably muscular leading men and an ample amount of action sequences, just to name a few things, It is a film that also uses Roman mythology as its foundation. The two brothers Romulus and Remus are at the heart of this film, leading to the founding of the city of Rome.

When discussing Peplum, a key ingredient in these films is their leading men. And though most peplums have one protagonist, Romulus and Remus have two. Cast in the role of Romulus is Steve Reeves (Hercules); he is the actor more than any that has come to define the peplum hero, and cast in the role of Remus is Gordon Scott, who also made a name for himself in peplums. He is also known for portraying Tarzan in six films. Despite their physical stature playing a role in the story at hand, this film actually does a good job allowing these two actors to shine in more dramatic moments.

At just under one hundred and nine minutes in length, there are rarely dull moments. And what the narrative lacks is more than made up for with its action sequences, which are all well executed. A few standout moments include a horse race where bales that are on fire are obstacles and a scene where Romulus fights a bear. Also, Sergio Corbucci had a knack for creating tense moments, and his direction is rock solid. Ultimately, Romulus and Remus is a perfect mix of action and historical drama.

Romulus and Remus gets a strong audio audio/video presentation from Explosive Media/Koch Media, recommended.