The Final Executioner

L'ultimo guerriero

William Mang

Marina Costa

Harrison Muller Jr.

Woody Strode

Margit Evelyn Newton

Stefano Davanzati

Renato Miracco

Maria Romano

Luca Giordana

Karl Zinny

Cinzia Bonfantini

Giovanni Cianfriglia

Franco Ukmar

Romolo Guerrieri

Roberto Leoni

Carlo de Nonno

Alessandro Lucidi

Guglielmo Mancori

Luciano Appignani

Graziella Marsetti

Eugenio Liverani

radiation

mutant

post-apocalyptic future

gang leader

rape and murder

barbarian

nuclear

Italiano

The Lifeforce Experiment

Donald Sutherland

Mimi Kuzyk

Vlasta Vrana

Corin Nemec

Hayley Reynolds

Miguel Fernandes

Michael Rudder

Michael J. Reynolds

Bronwen Mantel

Peter Colvey

Richard Zeman

Ann Page

Henderson Walcott

Philip Pretten

Michael Caloz

Stephano Ficca

Piers Haggard

Ann Brodie

Daphne du Maurier

Brock Jolliffe

Kent Walwin

Mike Hodges

Osvaldo Montes

Stéphane Lefebvre

Gerard Macdonald

Yves Langlois

Paul-André Guérin

John Meighen

André Chamberland

Nicolas Clermont

Peter Benison

experiment

afterlife

English

Village of the Giants

Tommy Kirk

Johnny Crawford

Beau Bridges

Joy Harmon

Robert Random

Gail Gilmore

Tisha Sterling

Tim Rooney

Kevin O'Neal

Charla Doherty

Toni Basil

Ron Howard

Joe Turkel

Rance Howard

Freddy Cannon

Bert I. Gordon

H. G. Wells

Jack Nitzsche

Franz Bachelin

Alan Caillou

Paul Vogel

John A. Bushelman

Robert R. Benton

Wally Westmore

Herman E. Townsley

Flora M. Gordon

John R. Carter

giant

_**Cool score, gorgeous women and those wild 60s!**_

In some ways "Village of the Giants" (1965) is a godawful flick about a group of "kids" (more like mid-20s) who stumble upon a potion that turns them into giants. Godawful or not, there's just something mesmerizing about this flick! It's ridiculous and the "special effects" are laughable, yet it's full of energy and is thoroughly entertaining in a swingin' 60s kind of way; and entertainment's the name of the game.

Highlights include: the weird bass-driven 60's score titled "The Last Race" by Jack Nitzsche (borrowed by Tarantino for "Death Proof"); the accompanying sensual dancing of the "teens" (they really don't know what else to do after becoming giants, so they just dance, lol); the cast includes a young Ron Howard, Beau Bridges, Robert Random and Tommy Kirk, as well as not one, not two, but three gorgeous 60's females -- Joy Harmon, Tisha Sterling and, best of all, a young redheaded Toni Basil (who went on to become a one-hit wonder with "Hey Mickey"). Watch out for Basil in the pool party scene. She also has an extended dance sequence late in the film in black leotards.

So, yeah, "Village of the Giants" is a real turkey, but it's a golden turkey. " For comparison, it's superior to the contemporaneous "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (which was released 2.5 months earlier) in that it is (1) in color, (2) doesn't attempt to be serious melodrama in the manner of "A Streetcar Named Desire" and (3) lacks a sneering one-dimensional psychopathic vixen as antagonist. In other words, "Village" treads similar terrain to "Faster" but without the negative elements.

The film runs 1 hour, 21 minutes, and was shot in Burbank and Hollywood, Ca.

GRADE: B (Actually a "C" but "A" for entertainment value; so overall "B" )

Village of the Giants (1965) Original Trailer [FHD]

Genre: Science Fiction