In the late 1950's and early 1960s, there was an explosion of enormously popular Italian films starring American bodybuilders and set in mythical antiquities. With titles like Hercules against the Moon Men or Goliath vs. the Dragon, these films are mostly remembered today for their unintentional humor and low production values. Their emphasis on the spectacularly muscled male body means that they are more likely to be shown at gay film festivals than for their original audience: straight teenage boys. The peplum films (as they are known in Europe) offer a rare opportunity to examine a series of key questions: how does a genre like this come to be popular? why did it die off? what does the peplum tell us about the formation of masculinity? what is its sexual orientation, if any? Finally, why have such films returned in force over the last 5 years (in America, this time), from Gladiator to 300 to Beowulf? While they no longer feature professional body builders (although the Rock might be a partial exception), they use elaborate techniques to enhance the musculature of their protagonists—from personal trainers for ‘proper’ classical physiques in Gladiator, to computer-enhanced musculature in 300, to the ‘ideal’ solution of Beowulf—using motion capture technology coupled with completely invented and computerized ideal male bodies.
