The Colossus Of Rhodes Review(1961)

The Colossus Of Rhodes, Sergio Leone's first feature actually directed by him, is an impressive showcase of his then unknown genius and a great example of how directing can solely elevate an average writing.

The film follows a Greek Hero, Darios, who while on a vacation in Rhodes, gets involved in a plan to overthrow the king by 2 different parties.

The film has many of Leone's stylistic choices like the wide shots or the extremely closeups. We even have a tracking shot which seems to have been the groundwork for the intro shot of Clint Eastwood in For A Few Dollars More. Leone also employs extremely masterful staging. Take the scene where Darios meets with Diala the 2nd time.

We see them seperated by a garden portion and they are angled and seperated slightly. Slowly as they go on talking it ends with both of them face to face with each other without any obstructions. Or the scene when the rebels try to escape to a place but are stopped by the defensive systems of Rhodes. Leone's treatment of this scene is maybe his first showcase of his trademark suspense. He starts the suspense by the slow and careful movement of the boat and imbues tension by the acting of the rebels, constantly cutting it with the image of the massive Statue/defense system, bringing to our mind an information conveyed in a previous scene. Thus he is able to unleash maximum tension release when the defense system finally works.

The Cinematography is absolutely gorgeous not in sense of eye-popping visuals, but by the fact that Leone has an extreme penchant for strong imagery. His use of the camera is also masterful. The writing, though middling storywise, has some great call back moments such as the aforementioned ones and also one in the climax.

An interesting start, The Colossus of Rhodes marks the beginning of a legendary career of a legendary filmmaker.