[2] Lou Ferrigno was originally announced by Cannon as the star of a single Hercules film, to be directed by Bruno Mattei and produced by his regular associate Alexander Hacohen.

[4] Mattei promised "a grandiose return" to the glory days of the Italian peplum, and several veterans of the genre were brought back for the film, such as actors Brad Harris and Dan Vadis and cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti.

[5][6] Producer Alexander Hacohen cited local filmmakers' experience with the genre and ready-made locations, resulting in three times lower production costs, as the rationale for filming in Italy rather than in the U.S.[7] Principal photography lasted six weeks in late spring and early summer of 1982, shortly before Hercules.

[7] Fragasso later complained of budget cuts on the part of Cannon honchos Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, which resulted in the number of extras being pared down to unflattering levels.

[11] However, the actress accused Ferrigno of being insecure about sharing the spotlight with her, hogging the screen and even requiring one of her showcase scenes—a drinking contest with a tavern's male patrons—to be shot in his absence.

He added that Bruno Mattei "seems totally at a loss when confronted with an action scene", singling out the "clumsy horsemanship of the participants in a noticeably unexciting chariot race, and the gauche weediness of the village girls and dotards [in the] final battle.

"[21] John Stanley, author of the Creature Features series of books, was more measured and found it to be "[e]ntertaining for its rousing sword battles and the performance of the provocative Danning, otherwise a ho-hum affair.

"[22] HBO's Guide to Movies on Videocassette and Cable TV deemed that the film "offers plenty of action, but poor dubbing and special effects are obvious.