This is a very long shot. Saw a movie (or part of it) on TV in the 1980s. It was set in Antiquity, like ancient Greece. There was an underwater scene, in which a group of men where swimming under a war boat to try to sink it. They were trying to drill a hole in its hull, while being attacked by soldiers throwing spears at them from the boat. Many were getting killed, pierced by spears. It was quite graphic. Sadly I don‘t remember anything else. It looked similar to movies like Jason and the Argonauts, but that is not it.
Do you think it was a TV show or a movie? How graphic was it, like horror movie graphic?
It felt like an epic movie. But who knows, maybe it was some kind of historic documentary, although I don’t remember any narration. I don’t think it was a TV show, as I think I would have stumbled across more episodes.
The scene I described was graphic in the sense that you could see blood in the sea, when some men were getting pierced and killed by spears. I remember one was pierced through the neck, and was struggling to get the spear out while sinking to his death. However, it was not intentionally gore, like in some horror movie. One could say it was quite realistic.
I also remember that the men were using a crankshaft to make a hole in the boat’s hull. And the one using the crankshaft was killed, but another picked it up and continued.
These are the only Greece setting type movies made during or before the 1980s that I can think of: The 300 Spartans (made in 1962), The Fury of Achilles, Clash of the Titans (1981), and Iphigenia. I hope that helps.
Thank you for your suggestions. In the meantime, I have finally identified the movie: it is called The Giant of Marathon (1959). It’s on Youtube. The scene I described takes place in the final minutes. It seems my mind has added a few details but overall the description was fairly accurate. And I can confirm it is graphic and that is probably why it had a strong impact on me as a child.
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