I GIGANTI DELLA TESSAGLIA
(The Giants of Thessaly)
98 min. | Alexandra P.C. and S.C. Lyre | Italy/France
1960

Starring:

• Roland Carey as Giasone (Jason)
  
• Ziva Rodann as Creusa
  
• Massimo Giarotti as Orfeo (Orpheus)
  
• Luciano Marin as Euristeo

Directed by: Riccardo Freda
Written by: Ennio De Concini, Ricardo Freda et al.

The screen explodes with wondrous spectacle bigger than anything you have ever seen!!
- tagline for the 1963 American release.

Produced just before the famed 1963 version, the Italian I giganti della Tessaglia (The Giants of Thessaly), also known as Gli argonauti (The Argonauts), was an Italian-French coproduction that bore a slight resemblance to its source material. Instead of following the adventures of Jason, the film provided a mishmash of mythological scenes, including elements taken from the Gigantomachy, the Odyssey, and, yes, the Argonautica. Badly reviewed and poorly dubbed, the film was widely neglected in the U.S. until the movie fell became available online in many poor quality versions after apparently falling into the public domain. The film is best remembered for its score, by composer Carlo Rustichelli, considered one of his best works.

PLOT
The film begins with Thessaly being overrun by giants sent by the gods to destroy mankind, and, oh yeah, a volcano, too. In order to placate the gods, King Giasone (Jason) of Iolco (Iolcus) gathers the Argonauts to travel in search of the Golden Fleece. Along the way, they stop at Lemnos, where witches have killed all the island's men and turn some of the Argonauts into animals. They also have a run-in with a cyclops. Finally, they reach the land where the Golden Fleece is kept, and Giasone seizes it by climbing a large statue. Meanwhile, back in Thessaly a scheming regent named Adrasto plots with Giasone's wife, Creusa, to steal the throne. Giasone successfully retakes the throne of Iolco, and somehow the movie ends up devoting its remaining time to Orfeo's (Orpheus') death scene and Atalanta's marriage.  If this sounds thrilling, it isn't. The film's few action scenes are heavily undercut by the endless talking.

Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590–580 B.C. (© AlkaliSoaps / Wikimedia Commons)

THE GIANTS OF THESSALY: FACT VS. FICTION

At the climax of The Giants of Thessaly, Jason must seize the Golden Fleece from atop a large statue modeled on ancient Greek kouros statues of the sixth century BCE. The film's statue appears to be around thirty feet tall while genuine kouros statues were typically life size or slightly larger; however, both the real kouroi and the movie's statue feature the same stereotypical stiffly formal pose with one leg placed in front of the other.

It is widely believed that the kouroi were influenced by Egyptian statuary during the sixth century BCE, a period when Greece and Egypt were known to be in contact. The Greek statues were used form many purposes and can be found across Archaic Greece. The largest number have been found in sanctuaries of the god Apollo and may have represented him, while others are known to have been used as grave markers.

Either way, there are no known examples of kouroi larger than three meters (approx. nine feet), so the movie's statue is a clear exaggeration. Additionally, the movie's statue is in Colchis, where Greek kouroi have not been found; and the movie's statue is about a thousand years too early for the style of art depicted, assuming that Jason's journey occurred sometime between 1600 and 1200 BCE.

ADRASTO (to CREUSA): Whenever your eyes are flashing with rage, you're even more beautiful.
-- I giganti della Tessaglia (1960)