'''Hercules in New York''' is principally known for being the first film featuring actor
Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is on the
IMDb bottom 100 listing, and is widely considered to be one of the worst films ever made. It was lambasted for its poor acting, dialogue, special effects, costumes and make-up.
Playing the film's
title character Schwarzenegger, because of his long last name, is credited as "Arnold Strong", and because of his thick
Austrian accent, had all his lines
dubbed, although often modern showings of the film have his audio line restored.
On
October 19,
2006, the
San Francisco Chronicle reported that Premiere Pictures was auctioning off the rights to the film on eBay for a minimum bid of $550,000.
[1]
Plot
The film begins with
Hercules on
Olympus, berating his father
Zeus for not allowing him to leave the gods' abode to adventure among mortal men. Eventually Zeus tires of Hercules and blasts him with a lightning bolt, casting him out of Olympus - giving Hercules what he wanted.
After some of strange encounters in the air and at sea, Hercules arrives in
New York City, where hilarity ensues in the form of interactions with various New Yorkers, who regard him as physically superior but socially awkward. He meets a skinny little runt called Pretzy. Hercules becomes a successful
professional wrestler.
Zeus watching Hercules from the heights, becomes irritated with Hercules antices, which he feels are making a mockery of the gods, and calls on
Nemesis to stop Hercules. After
Mercury makes an unsuccessful attempt to bring Hercules home, Zeus orders Nemesis to see to it that Hercules is consigned to the infernal regions ruled over by
Pluto. However,
Juno, the hero's ever-jealous stepmother, has her own plans for Zeus's wayward offspring. In the final apocalyptic battle Hercules is saved by the miraculous arrival of
Atlas, a
Titan, and a (short haired)
Samson, a biblical hero.
External links
★
''Hercules in New York'' at the
Internet Movie Database