Cameron Mitchell has always been a slow rumble in the background of my movie and television experience. Throughout the 70's and 80's, I saw him in dozens of supporting parts on a broad variety of television shows, and along with John Saxon, always in the relatively thankless position of bringing fire to a character, but eternally being shoved to the rear. Like Saxon, Cameron's career never went much higher than support roles.
In the last few years, along with Lee Van Cleef, Cameron Mitchell has climbed forward on my list of personal favourite actors; his presence, calm intensity, and focus really grab my attention. His incredible performance in the Sergio Corbucci Spaghetti Western Minnesota Clay (read my review HERE) really put him on my map, and the fantastic (if a bit odd) Mario Bava Viking epic Erik the Conqueror really hit it home; Mitchell is a massively undervalued artist. It took the Italians to make that clear, which they have done quite a bit in my little movie universe.
If you have a history book open right now, I'd close it if you don't know the story of Caesar's conquest of Gaul; this movie follows the history close enough that there will be spoilers between those pages! If you don't know the history, then you're in for an extra treat, as the true account holds all the drama usually reserved for the best movies. In CAESAR THE CONQUEROR, General Julius Caesar has amassed troops, and he's made war against the various tribes in Gaul, an area that roughly covers modern France. At that time every area was dominated by a different tribe, ruled by it's own chieftain. These tribes commonly made war on each other, and it was this combative relationship between the tribes that Caesar took advantage of. He divided them, made deals with various tribal leaders against their rivals, and in this way he began to whittle away at the autonomy of Gaul itself.
In the last few years, along with Lee Van Cleef, Cameron Mitchell has climbed forward on my list of personal favourite actors; his presence, calm intensity, and focus really grab my attention. His incredible performance in the Sergio Corbucci Spaghetti Western Minnesota Clay (read my review HERE) really put him on my map, and the fantastic (if a bit odd) Mario Bava Viking epic Erik the Conqueror really hit it home; Mitchell is a massively undervalued artist. It took the Italians to make that clear, which they have done quite a bit in my little movie universe.
If you have a history book open right now, I'd close it if you don't know the story of Caesar's conquest of Gaul; this movie follows the history close enough that there will be spoilers between those pages! If you don't know the history, then you're in for an extra treat, as the true account holds all the drama usually reserved for the best movies. In CAESAR THE CONQUEROR, General Julius Caesar has amassed troops, and he's made war against the various tribes in Gaul, an area that roughly covers modern France. At that time every area was dominated by a different tribe, ruled by it's own chieftain. These tribes commonly made war on each other, and it was this combative relationship between the tribes that Caesar took advantage of. He divided them, made deals with various tribal leaders against their rivals, and in this way he began to whittle away at the autonomy of Gaul itself.
Enter Vercingetorix of the Averni.
 Gaius Julius Caesar |  Vercingetorix of the Averni. |
Vercingetorix rose to power in his own tribe, and slowly made alliances with other tribes; he began to convince the Gauls that defeat of Rome was possible, and one by one, the tribes joined together in order to face the onslaught of General Caesar's army. The rest is history, and the setting for this film. The depictions of both Caesar and Vercingetorix are strong; Rik Battaglia(who I know from the spaghetti westerns Mannaja and Duck, You Sucker, is a charismatic Vercingetorix here, and provides a great foil for Cameron. There is action and intrigue a-plenty, fun settings, and even a few very lovely women! It'sll good fun for the Peplum fan.
CAESAR THE CONQUEROR is a really solid film experience. I've seen it available for free in various locations on the internet, and it is also available on some very common Peplum dvd collections.
CAESAR THE CONQUEROR is a really solid film experience. I've seen it available for free in various locations on the internet, and it is also available on some very common Peplum dvd collections.
I had to make a note of the ending moment in the film. If you know the history (or have seen any TV shows about Caesar, in particular the first season of HBO's legendary ROME series), you know that Caesar whupped Vercingetorix's ass. This great Peplum ends with that event, and the moment in which Vercingetorix offers his sword in defeat. It's very well done. The last words in the film are from Caesar himself; it's unlikely that he even thought them in actuality, but I would like to think so:
"I have fought, and won, but I haven't conquered man's spirit, which is indomitable"
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