Original subtitles

There's no use trying.

The truth is there's no man in China

able to ring the Bell of Freedom.

Let us entreat the Great Khan of Mongolia.

Perhaps with his mighty assistance,

there will be, at last, a free China rid of Tatars.

- [Narrator] In the 13th century, the empire of China

had lain for years under

the cruel oppression of the Tatars.

The Empire Wung attempted, in vain,

to arouse his people to action

by sounding once more the gigantic bell

which was the ancient symbol of their liberfy.

But there was no longer any man

strong enough to make it ring,

so he was forced, at last, to appeal

for aid from foreigners.

The Great Khan of the Mongols heard his appeal

and drove the Tatars out of the Celestial Empire.

The people of China hailed him as their deliverer

without realizing, at the time,

that they had only exchanged one master for another.

- Honor and glory to the Great Khan of the Mongols

who has magnanimously led his mighty army

in the service of a just cause,

the liberty of our ancient land.

The sovereign of the Celestial Empire

now awaits you in his palace,

where you will receive a welcome worthy

of your endeavor and of your victory, oh Invincible Khan.

Our people great you and your soldiers

as if we were their brothers,

and humbly bow low in recognition of their valor.

- And what do they mean to say with their dancing?

- I will tell you.

It's a ceaseless struggle between good and evil spirits.

- Good will triumph over evil, if I'm not mistaken.

- Great Khan, you are not mistaken.

- And now, with your permission, I would like

to repay your hospitality with my own offering to you.

- What will they do? - I have no idea.

'[Boy]I Who are they?

- Wait and see.

To wait patiently is the pearl of all virtues.

- Stop where you are!

The assassin must not die yet.

What he can reveal to us is too important.

I intend to hear the name of his leader

out of his own mouth.

There is one sure way of forcing him to speak up.

Put him on the rack at once!

- Who gave you the order to kill the emperor?

Speak up!

Give him another twist of the cord there.

Are you ready to talk?

Who was it that ordered you to kill the emperor?

You are trying my patience.

All right, have you decided to speak up yet?

What is the name of the person who paid you?

- Try another twist of the cord then.

- Give it to him.

Make it tighter!

- As tight as you can stretch it.

- The man is dead.

- Pigheaded.

It's not surprising he couldn't speak without a tongue.

- I shall be the custodian

of this symbol of divine protection

for as long as we await the imperial prince's

accession to his throne.

- Proclaim to the people that the imperial princess Lei-ling

is to be sent to the nuns of the convent of Tang

who will instruct her in the principles

of the religion of her people.

The prince Tai Sung will live at court,

to be educated in preparation

for the throne of his ancestors.

And while that continues, I shall hold

the regency of the Celestial Empire of China.

- [Narrator] 10 years have passed.

The Great Khan of the Mongols has reduced

the whole land to misery.

Tremors of revolt are felt throughout China,

but every attempt is in vain.

Slavery is the lot of everyone.

- Ready?

- [Officer] Mongol soldiers were waylaid and killed

in the neighborhood of this village.

The Great Khan, in the boundless wisdom of his justice,

orders that for every Mongol soldier killed,

10 hostages are to be beheaded!

- Continually striking back in ever-widening circles,

disappearing into nowhere.

There's not a reprisal that has any effect

on that stubborn network of complicity

which is their only protection.

- Your father's enemy mustn't live

under the same roof as you,

and keep a sword in your house to repel your blood enemy.

That is their law.

They consider you their enemy.

Yet if you were to crown yourself Emperor of China,

it would be another matter.

- How could I do it?

He is the future emperor of china.

Before long, he will attain his majority,

and if he's crowned, it's the end of our domination.

- The prince takes much joy in hunting.

It's often so dangerous.

An accident could happen easily.

That leaves Princess Lei-ling,

confined by the walls of her convent.

If rebels were reported to have found

a refuge in a convent of nuns.

- We would have to make a surprise raid on it.

The imperial princess would be killed

without my knowing it, and I could place

the entire blame on those insurgents.

- The princess could now be quite changed.

More than you and I may think.

- She has the imperial dragon tattooed on her arm.

It won't be difficult to recognize her now.

- Fate is cruel to prepare such an end

for the two young heirs.

- Having you as my advisor, Liu Tai,

is a comfort I'm unable to express.

- You needn't express it now, but I'm sure you will find

an adequate way to show it after you become emperor.

- Come.

Good news, Imperial Prince, we've been discussing

the idea of a great tiger hunt to celebrate your birthday.

- That is more pleasure than I'm worthy of having, sir.

- I'll keep going forward in this direction for a while.

Watch that the tiger doesn't get away in the marshes,

and you, Tai Sung, stand near the trap

they've dug for the tiger.

We'll see who is the better huntsman.

- All right, just let the tiger show his face to me

and I'll bring you his beautiful pelt

as an ornament for your saddle.

- Bayan, you're responsible for the protection

of the imperial prince.

Tell the others to make haste now.

The convent for the princess

and the Buddhist nuns is miles away.

And also tell the leader not to forget

he is to kill the one with the dragon tattoo.

Hee-yah!

- [Officer] Hurry, hurry, throw him In that pit

they've dug for the tiger.

- [Tai Sung] No!

No!

- [Officer] Hurry, hurry, that tiger can't be very far away.

- [Tai Sung] No, let me go!

- [Officer] Cover it over.

Come on, hurry, climb the tree.

- [Tai Sung] Help!

Help!

Help!

- [Soldier] Hey, cut it out!

He's pulling up the tree!

Stop shaking the tree!

Stop it.

Boy, stop it!

- [Soldier] Let go of the tree!

What are you doing down there?

- [Soldier] Let go, let go!

- [Soldier] Look, he's uprooting the tree we're in.

Look out!

I'm falling off, I'm falling off!

Hold me, hold me!

I can't hold on any longer!

- Search for the right one!

The princess had a dragon tattooed on her upper arm!

Search everywhere, search everywhere!

Don't let a one evade you!

" [Woman] Help!

- [Guard]I what do you want, who are you?

Who are you?

- Don't be afraid, wayfarer.

You are most welcome here.

That is the Imperial Prince Tai-Sung you are carrying.

He has been wounded.

How did this occur?

We are eager to learn all.

Who are you?

- I am Maciste.

I was born from the rocks.

- Tell us, if you will, where is it that you have come from?

- I come from the west.

- Pray, come in.

If you detest the invaders of China, then your home is here.

Make the imperial prince comfortable in my cell.

- Gently.

- In the struggle against our oppressors the Mongols,

I am only the humble mind which gives directions.

Cho is instead the sword blade which gives battle,

always and everywhere.

- He must be a man of great courage.

I should like to meet him.

- It is he who will meet you

and rather sooner than you think.

That is, if you want to Join us in our struggle.

- [Monk] The imperial prince is resting now.

His wounds are only superficial,

and he will be well soon.

- Ah, good.

- However, if it was indeed the Great Khan

who ordered that he be put to death,

then it behooves us to let him think

that his plan has worked.

Toi-Tang.

Go at once into the forest and bury

the body of the dead tiger,

but take care not to cover his tracks.

- What about the bodies of the three guards I killed.

- Oh, when the Mongols discover the bodies

of their three unfortunate companions

torn with this rake, they'll think

it was the tiger who killed them.

- Meanwhile, to further the deception,

we will send the gory remains of Tai-sung's clothing

to a high priest at the palace who will inform

the Great Khan that the prince is dead.

- That's the last chance I'll give you traitors.

You let her get away.

- [Soldier] Fortunately, my lord,

there is no proof that she escaped.

- Fortunately, you say.

What's so fortunate in that?

You dare say fortunately, you may have succeeded.

Also, Tai-Sung fortunately may have died,

but do you know his body vanished

into thin air without a trace?

- I beg you to pardon me, my lord.

I swear I did the best I could.

- I won't have any incompetence,

and I will not put up with mediocrity

or mistakes like yours.

Put him to death!

Make him suffer for his failure.

- [Soldier] No, please, my lord, no, please, please!

Don't, my lord, please!

- There are no more tears in my eyes.

I am brokenhearted.

The more I see of disaster and death

extending their talons, the more I wish to die now.

- This belonged to Prince Tai Sung?

- There were students of my monks

who were on a pilgrimage to a monastery,

and they were drawing near it when they happened

to see a huge tiger as he was crouching

over and devouring the youth.

But to their horror, as they approached the tiger,

the ferocious beast ran away, dragging along

the corpse of that unfortunate youth

into its forest lair, and the monks, you see,

could do no more than collect together

the wretched garments that the victim had

as undeniable evidence of his disastrous end.

Woe is me.

It's my bitter fate now to identify

those heart-rending vestiges,

torn to shreds and drenched with blood as they are.

It's Prince Tai Sung's, it's my young lord's clothing.

- How my heart is saddened

with this frightful news of yours.

I shall order that everyone throughout the empire

observe a period of mourning in memory of the dead prince.

- Do you know Wang's Tavern?

- [Merchant] Yes, down there at the end of the street,

that way.

That's right. - Thank you.

- [Maciste] Where is Wang's Tavern?

- [Merchant] Right down there.

- That way? - Yes.

- [Innkeeper] A thousand welcomes, my friend,

a thousand welcomes to my humble tavern.

- Give me your hand.

I would like to see if this ring will fit your finger.

- No, I'm very sorry, my friend,

but it's much too large to fit my finger.

However, I believe I do know someone

who, if he put it on, it would fit to perfection.

Follow me, if you please.

Excuse me, this stranger here has a ring

which ought to fit well on your finger.

- Go.

I've been expecting you.

I'm called Cho.

- How did you know I was coming?

- I know many things about you.

The important thing is you're a friend,

and I'm more confident in our future.

- I know of you that you're a man of great courage.

- A man with no resolution is a sword blade

without an edge.

Both of us are about to do great things.

Has the imperial prince recovered now?

- He's getting better every day.

" [Woman] Help!

Help!

- Keep step- - Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Oh, no!

- Landlord!

- [Innkeeper! What is it you want?

- A room for myself and this little lotus blossom,

and we don't wanna be disturbed.

- Take your hands off that girl!

- Don't you go shoving your dirty nose into this.

I'm ready to flatten you and anyone else

that tries to. - No!

- [Kidnapper] I'll teach you not to scratch.

- I don't want! - Get away from me!

- Didn't I tell you to take your filthy hands off that girl?

Don't you understand, or shall I make it clearer?

- [Customer] Oh, that's not right.

- [Official] Who did this to you anyway?

- [Merchant] A lunatic inside there.

- There's nothing to be afraid of,

but I think you better get out of here now.

Listen, is there any other way

to get out of here. - Thank you.

- Yes, through the cellar. - Go with him.

- [Woman] The guards!

- We'll meet again back at the monastery.

Leave the guards to me, run.

- [Woman] The guards, the guards!

- No one is to move from here!

See here now, are you the one

who made the assault on that poor man?

- Who, me?

We were just trying some acrobatics,

and he went flying through the window.

- Look here, are you trying to make a fool of me?

- I could never make a fool of you even if I tried.

Your face is too intelligent for that.

- I think a few twists of the cord

would teach you to behave better.

- Ah, that's very thoughtful of you.

It would do me good, as you say.

You oughta try the same thing.

- Watch yourself!

Don't make fun of me or you'll be sorry.

- But I tell you, I'm not making fun of you.

- Mind what you say because men

who get clever with me, I lead by the nose.

- Ah, by the nose?

Now, that's very clever of you.

I would never have thought of that one.

I would like to go on all day, but, unfortunately,

I have an urgent appointment.

I hope you won't think it is rude of me,

but will you excuse me?

- [Official] Stop him!

Go to the other end!

- I'm sorry about what's happened,

but I couldn't help it.

- [Innkeeper] There are times when a great calamity

brings its own recompense in a sense of satisfaction.

- Goodbye, friend.

- Is there a bit of rice left for me?

I was trying all day to forget

how beautiful your face is and your sad eyes.

I couldn't do it, though.

But who are you?

Is that old man a relative of yours?

Is he a friend of whoever brought you here?

And that other man, do you love him?

No, what am I dreaming of?

You're so different from the women

that you see with a man who behaves as he did.

There's something so pure about you.

You don't mind if I'm telling you this?

Do you know, every evening,

I must change my hideout,

conceal myself in a different place.

- You're in hiding, but why?

- Oh, because it's fairly easy to evade

in daylight what's shot at you

and difficult to watch at night for an arrow.

- Who would shoot the arrow?

- One of the guardsmen of the grand Khan.

I am a rebel leader.

The Mongols will torture China forever

if we don't go on pouring out our blood

until we've made another kind of great wall to stop them!

- Continue if you will, please.

- What is it you want to know, why I hate the Mongols?

Because they oppress us,

exploit the resources of our land,

defile with their murderous hands

all that we venerate as being sacred.

What's come over me to tell you

things you can't understand?

- But I can, too.

AS much as you, perhaps.

- [Cho] As much as I?

A young girl like you?

- Do you know what this is the sign of?

- The dragon tattoo!

Imperial Highness, please, forgive me.

I never dreamt I was speaking to you.

But you mustn't stay in this place.

I must take you where you'll be protected.

- And where is that?

Why, they're searching all over China for me right now.

- No one will find you in our hideout in the mountains.

- But you, who are you?

I don't even know what your name is.

- I'm sorry, my name is Cho.

- Cho, Cho the rebel leader.

I've heard so many marvelous things about you.

- Please, forgive me, I'm afraid I have to go now.

- Take me with you.

- Don't you worry, I'll soon come back to fetch you.

I have to find a way of smuggling you out of here.

- [Guard] Make way, make way there!

Make way.

- [Townsman] What's he done?

- No, no, let go of him, let go of my son!

Oh, my son! - What has he done?

- They're accusing him of plotting with the rebels.

He must've been denounced by some spy!

- [Cho] Control yourself.

Perhaps they day we are waiting for is not so far away.

- Look out, Cho!

- Quick, after him!

- [Leiling] Run for your life!

Run!

- [Official] Bring her along with us, hurry.

- [Soldier] Come on!

- Move faster there, come on, move I said!

Get going, don't take all night!

Your information was correct and most useful to us.

- You, your turn.

Nah, nah.

You have to take advantage of the force of his attack

on you and make use of his momentum, understand?

Good.

You, wait there.

On your feet!

Pair off and try it now.

Watch your stance.

All right, again, from the start.

There, there.

You!

Go on, attack him.

- [Man On Left] How do you expect me to attack him?

He's a prince.

- If he were a Mongol, it wouldn't matter

if he were a prince or a peasant.

Go on.

Come with me!

- [Man] What's happening?

- [Man] They're bringing someone in.

- We picked him up on the riverbank.

He's been badly wounded by an arrow.

- Maciste. - What?

- The princess Lei-ling has been taken prisoner

by the Khan's guards.

She's in mortal danger.

They're going to kill her, they're going to kill her!

- Quick, get him inside!

We must look after his wound.

- They're only rebels.

Their agony has endured now for two moons.

I advise you to speak up.

Who was the man with you in the fisherman's hut?

Where is the rebel leader's stronghold?

Hmm, so you don"t wanna speak, huh?

I'll loosen your tongue, even if it kills you.

- No, no, no!

No!

- Let me see that.

The imperial princess Lei-ling!

Release her at once!

How fortunate that I was here to rescue you.

But why did you keep still, my dear princess?

If fate had not revealed your identity,

the executioner would certainly

have been merciless with you.

- Oh, please, spare me your sarcastic remarks.

I know that I'm your prisoner.

And I have no illusions, either,

as to the fate in store for me.

- My prisoner you say?

Oh, no, my guest is what you mean, isn't it?

Or, better still, reigning queen of this palace

and of all the land of China, which now belongs to you.

Have no fear, dear.

I have never forgotten the promise

that I once made to you on the tomb

of your poor, unfortunate father.

The man who laid waste to your convent

has paid for it with his life.

Come with me, imperial princess.

Never fear.

This is a day of great rejoicing for all of China.

- What are you waiting for?

Why don't you kill her?

Do you want to see the Chinese rise in rebellion?

- No one will rebel to free Lei-ling

because Lei-ling is not a prisoner here,

but the queen of this palace and of this entire city.

An empress of celestial China,

and I shall wear the imperial coronet as true sovereign.

- I think you've lost your senses.

- Supposing that I were to marry Lei-ling,

she and I would share the throne,

and then no Chinese again would disobey,

rebel against us, or oppose us

once enthroned as divine sovereigns of the Celestial Empire.

- Why were your watchdogs sent to intrude

upon the peace of my solitary study?

- Please, forgive me if I have interrupted you,

but when there are glad tidings,

I must do so with all due respect to you.

You are called here to perform a marriage at once,

uniting me and Princess Lei-ling.

- What you are asking is impossible.

- Anything is possible as long as I want it done.

- Such a matrimony is not, I say!

I mean immediately.

It's impossible to have a wedding celebrated

with the speed that you obviously desire.

The laws of the Ancients prescribe that we follow

a ceremonial which is long and complicated.

- Al right then, but I yield to you

on condition that the time we must wait

is reduced to the minimum.

- A minister of God should never serve

the earthly sovereign who is unjust in deed and thought.

He must renounce the ministry he holds

rather than defile his soul with actions

that are infamous and reprehensible.

- NO more preaching.

I don't like your tone.

I like even less the things that you're saying.

Now, go, and learn this lesson,

I and no one else give orders in the Empire of China.

- "I don't know how much longer it will be

"possible to postpone the marriage ceremony.

"Therefore, it is necessary to make haste

"If we are to succeed in saving the imperial princess

"and, with her, the whole of China."

If the grand Khan marries the princess,

it means the end for all of us.

The throne will be his by right

and no one will be able to rebel.

- We must get inside the palace.

- And kidnap Princess Lei-ling.

- You're still too weak to move.

- But we have to act quickly.

Even if it means that we all

must lose our lives, we have to.

- I will go to Peking.

I will find a way into the palace,

and, with the help of the high priest, rescue Lei-ling.

- But that way, you're risking your own life, Maciste.

- I'm not Chinese, Tai Sung, but justice

doesn't recognize any boundaries

or any difference of race or tongue.

- [Tai Sung] We must let the high priest know

Maciste is coming so he can help him.

- Our little feathered friend is one of our best messengers.

- "A man of great strength and good heart

"is on his way to the palace

"to rescue the imperial princess.

"He will be waiting for you in the armory

"just as the moon is rising.

"The others will wait in readiness back at the monastery.

"We will save Lei-ling and, with her, the whole of China."

- By order of the Great Khan,

Lord of the Mongols and Regent

of the Throne of the Celestial Empire,

eight men caught in rebellion

and found guilty of crimes against the security

and welfare of the state have been condemned

to public execution, but the Great Khan,

in his infinite mercy and wisdom,

and as a tribute to his forthcoming marriage

with the imperial princess Lei-ling,

has decided that only five of them are to die,

and these five are to be executed

here in the sight of the populace of Peking.

On this occasion, the Great Khan has ordered

a demonstration of a new execution system

which he has invented.

Painted gourds will represent the heads of the condemned

to show how they will be sliced off

by the blades fixed to the underside of the chariot.

- [Official] Proceed with the demonstration!

- [Official] These are the names

of the three who are pardoned!

- Bring that man here!

- This way!

- I saw that you were in danger of being killed out there

and I wanted to save your life.

- You are Tao the high priest.

- The word had already reached my ears

that a man of good heart has become one of us.

I must confess that this renews my spirit.

You put hope in my heart, indeed.

It's as if a cherry tree that had grown

barren with great age were to burst into bloom again.

But tell me, for what reason are you here?

- I have come to rescue Princess Lei-ling.

I sent you a message by your pigeon

to let you know I was coming.

- And I never received it, which leads

me to believe that the web which our enemies are weaving

about us must now be growing tighter and tighter.

I shall try, nonetheless, to help you.

When night falls, come back to me.

I will be waiting for you.

I shall show you the way from the throne room

to the imperial princess.

- I was expecting you.

If you were able to enter the palace

without being apprehended, you owe it to me.

Tao, as you see, can do nothing more to help you now.

When a sovereign wishes a minister dead,

that minister must die.

Don't be afraid now.

I alone am aware of your presence here.

And I also know what you have come here for.

That is why I wanna help you.

I would like to prevent this marriage as much as you would.

I shall lead you to Lei-ling,

and I will show you how to get away from here.

- Very well, let's go.

The guards.

- No, don't be afraid.

They won't wake up for a good while.

I took measures to make sure.

- Lei-ling, there's nothing to fear.

I've come here to help you.

Cho sent me.

_Cho?

Well, tell me, whatever's happened to him?

Is he safe?

- He was wounded.

- Oh, is his wound very serious?

- Yes, very serious, but not the one in his body.

The one in his heart.

Only you can heal that wound.

- You must hurry.

This way.

- [Guard] The imperial princess has escaped!

Hurry, sound the alarm!

- You'd better think of your own safety now.

I'll never forget what you've done for us.

- I did it for myself, not for you.

- Two horses have been ridden away from here,

and I'd say they're far away by this time.

- Little brother. - Lei-ling!

- [Cho] We shall never be able to thank you.

If you hadn't been successful,

it would've meant the end of all our struggles.

- I'm delighted to see that you are in good health again.

- Imperial princess.

- Imperial princess.

That's hardly the way you addressed me at first

when we were in that fisherman's hut by the river.

- Many things have changed for the better

since then, you know.

You are Lei-ling, daughter of the emperor of all China,

and 1 am known as Cho, a fisherman and a son of a fisherman.

I'm not sure it's even proper for me to talk to you.

- There is no use your denying it.

That veil that caught in the bushes is all I needed.

Tell me, where are the rebels hiding her?

Vinegar and rock salt,

a salve that should loosen your tongue.

You, continue, another taste of the lash.

- No, no, I'll tell everything I know, stop it!

Please, stop it!

- All right, now tell me, in what hideout

are they keeping her?

- No, no, your reasoning is absolutely wrong.

I tell you, you couldn't be more mistaken if you tried to.

When you say so, you're only being

stubborn and idiotic, as well.

- Well, you're in no position to know.

- I only know that you're in love with Lei-ling

and that Lei-ling is in love with you,

but neither one of you has the courage to see the truth.

- Well, why shouldn't we accept fate?

For her, life in the imperial palace with you.

For me, a fisherman's life where I was born and raised.

- Any man shall be judged solely

on his own merits and by what he does.

This is a law which was written by my father,

and which I was taught by him.

Cheer up.

Let's both go see Lei-ling together.

And you mustn't forget, either,

that it's you who are captain here.

It's you who gives the orders.

- Mongols here at the gates, hurry!

- They're well armed all right,

and there are thousands of them, too.

Why, it's a regular army.

- Liu Tai must have decided to turn traitor.

Do you think we can defend our position?

- We'll do the best we can.

This monastery is a good place to defend.

- But you think we can defeat them?

- I don't know.

There certainly are a lot of them.

Let's go, lead on.

Hurry.

- We can go that way!

- No, what are you doing?

You're not going into battle, too, are you?

Oh, I beg you, Tai Sung, don't go out there.

- [Tai Sung] That is where my place is, with my people.

- But you're still hardly more than a boy, Tai Sung.

- [Tai Sung] How would I have the courage

to sit on my father's throne

if 1 didn't fight to Win it back?

- Your fighting is not going to have any influence

on the outcome of the battle.

- [Tai Sung] Maybe not, but my example will.

- [Lei-Ling] Oh, no, Tai Sung, don't go!

- It's up there.

On the other side, there's a passage

that goes all the way through the mountain

and would lead us to safety if we could get through,

but, for centuries, these boulders

have blocked up the only entrance to it

and made it unusable.

It's our last and only hope of getting out.

- Tell your men to fall back in the monastery.

Hurry!

- Fall back into the monastery!

Everyone, fall back!

Hurry!

Run!

- Goon, goon!

- Quickly!

Hurry up, keep moving!

- Hold off the Mongols as long as you possibly can.

- Bring your troops up to batter down the gates.

- This way, come on, set up those ladders!

- I said batter down the gates!

- [Officer] Come on, get moving!

Make way for the battering ram!

- You must follow us.

We have to abandon the monastery.

- It's giving way!

You mustn't stand here like this.

Oh, please, you mustn't stay here, I tell you!

They're going to kill all of you!

Why won't you believe me?

- Please, the Mongols will show you no mercy

because you're priests.

- This is our ancient house.

We will not leave it now.

We know our fate is already written on the eternal scroll.

- Go through.

- [Lei-ling]I NO, I'm going through last, the same as you.

- Hurry up. you. hurry up!

- Get moving. - Hurry up!

- Forward, forward!

Not these, the others.

After them!

- [Cho] No, Prince, no!

- Tai Sung!

- Carry him into the passage.

- Tai Sung!

- [Lei-ling] For ages, a wise and holy man

has been living up here as a hermit.

He never speaks to anyone,

and no one knows what power keeps him alive.

But perhaps he will reply to us and advise us what to do.

- Listen to me, venerable sage.

I am Maciste,

and these who are with me are people who are suffering,

people of your own land who are fighting

and dying for their liberty.

And this one here is Prince Tai Sung.

He was the only son and heir of the emperor.

He was killed while defending his people.

Young as he was, he was able to die like a warrior,

without hesitation, but so were they all!

Now these people are in desperate need of help.

They want to know what path to follow.

You can tell them.

If sorrow and great pain will move you, I beg you to speak.

Help them, help them!

- There is great faith and much loyalty

in the action you are taking

and in the words you are saying.

I know it is not hatred that makes you do so,

nor ambition in your heart.

Nor is it yet the thirst for vengeance.

You are a strong man of great heart and soul,

and you struggle for your fellow men

and for the triumph of justice.

Now hearken to my advice to you.

Now hearken to me, Maciste.

The ringing of the Bell of Liberty

is the chant for all the fallen.

The sound of that great echoing bell at last,

though the one who rings it suffers

the pains of death, shall be the tocsin

to arouse the survivors.

- We thank you, oh venerable sage.

Maciste is the one who will make the bell ring.

Only through silence could he hold death at bay.

But he was willing to meet death rather than let us die.

- [Maciste] The most important thing

I must do now is ring the great bell.

- No strength in the world is able to make it ring.

It will take a miracle to help you do it.

The entire populace of China has been waiting

a long time for the signal

to rise up against their oppressors.

- [Maciste] I will do it.

- [Cho] And I'm coming with you.

- But the whole idea is impossible.

They're bound to catch you.

- Don't be afraid.

We will take every precaution.

Now or never is the moment.

The situation is more than ripe.

We mustn't lose time.

You will soon see the turning point in our fortunes.

- But how will you manage to even get close

to the great bell?

It's behind the walls of the palace gardens,

and the gardens are like a labyrinth.

How are you ever going to get through to it

without being discovered?

- I must have a try.

- No, no, Maciste, you've already done

more for China than we have any right to ask,

and so have you,

while I've done nothing.

- What are you trying to say?

- I've finally learned that there is one thing I can do.

And the mere fact of what I am has its bargaining value.

I shall return to Peking.

The Great Khan will be overjoyed

to have a chance to marry me,

and I'm positive that by agreeing to marry him

I will bring peace, at last, to China.

- Why, I forbid you to commit such a crime!

It's madness!

- No, Cho.

Once I am installed in the palace, it will be easy.

All doors will open at my orders.

- I will follow you and be your protective shadow.

You, in the meantime, with all your men,

are to lie in wait outside the city

until you hear the bell ringing.

Then come in and join the uprising.

- Your decision does credit

to your wisdom, Princess Lei-ling.

And my heart leapt with joy at the tidings.

I never lost hope, and our wedding

will be held with utmost speed,

and with a splendor China has never witnessed.

- My only hope is that I can succeed

in making you a good wife, but I'm not sure

that I have the qualities required to be a good empress.

- Oh, don't bother your beautiful head about that.

All the governing will be mine to worry about.

And you must do nothing else but occupy

your days and bringing more and more happiness

to your lord who is also your slave.

- [Lei-ling] Hurry, the great bell

is at the end of this path.

- The great bell. - The bell!

- The great bell! - The bell of liberty

is being rung!

- [Cho] The bell of freedom is struck at last!

- [worker] Kill the guards!

- [Worker] On to Peking!

- Seize him! - Seize him

and take him to the palace!

- [Guard] Bind him fast before he recovers.

- [Guard] Come on!

- SO this is why you returned to the palace,

to strike me a blow from behind!

But you're not going to enjoy the fruits of your treachery.

You'll be dead like all the others

who've shown opposition to my will.

Close it.

- [Liu Tai] Princess Lei-ling.

- [Lei-ling] What's that?

- [Guard] Come on, move!

Come on there, move I said!

Put him down on the ground, right on this spot.

Leave him there.

- Well?

Finally, we've heard the last of the legendary man

whose strength is invincible.

How is he?

- He has perished.

- Even as the blood has drained from his body,

SO also his soul has flown.

- We've lost Maciste.

Everything is finished.

- Now I would like to see whether the rebels

have courage enough to attack us.

Have the men assemble everyone in Peking.

I'll show those would-be rebels once and for all

how senseless it is to go against me.

Let this one be buried beneath

the lowest foundations of the palace.

Then even his ghost will never appear to us

since it's imprisoned in irons forevermore.

- Come on, pick up the body.

Come on, hurry, hurry!

Get a move on, I said!

That's it.

- Maciste has performed a feat of valor.

Now we must complete what he has begun.

On to Peking!

- [Official] The rebels are in a trap!

Surround them, destroy them all!

- [Official] This time, no mercy will be shown to anyone!

- [Hermit Voiceover] Awake, Maciste.

Hearken to my voice.

Her eyes have returned to battle with the living

The time has come for the triumph of good over evil

- If you're referring to those ragamuffins

loitering outside the city,

you're in for a bitter disappointment.

Don't worry, they'll be here in time to watch the show,

and then they'll run as fast as they can for home.

Bring this one forward.

Tell the truth now, are you afraid?

Cheer up, Maciste may come and set you free.

Nah.

- Watch out!

- Sometimes, life can be reborn from death.

This was true for you and for me.

With your marriage, a new dynasty will reign in China,

and I'm sure that, from this day,

there begins a happier time for your people.

- Must you really leave us now?

- It was fate that brought me here.

It is my destiny to move on and help

wherever I can in the fight between right and wrong.

I wish you happiness.