Im Reich der Amazonen

Roger Corman tells a story so well that this sword & sorcery adventure would have been on par with popular blockbuster films such as Conan the barbarian, were it not for obvious shortcomings in the time and money spent on production. The dubbing is sloppy and the dialog is toneless. The cheap special effects are mediocre at best and, at their worst, they look like something taken out of a cheap horror/science fiction flick from the 1950's.

As an alternative attraction, Corman affords us numerous glimpses of sexy and/or athletic women, usually dressed in revealing attire and sometimes completely naked. Unlike a soft-porn production, however, the emphasis is on action and adventure, thus providing a unique platform for this kind of voyeurism.

This movie may have some appeal for amazon aficionados. The hand to hand combat scenes come off reasonably well. In fact, Mindi Miller (Windsor Taylor Randolph), as Dyala, was particularly adept at handling a staff. And, both she and Penelope Reed, who played Tashi, have physiques suitable for their roles.

Corman depicts amazons somewhat differently than I have seen in other productions such as Xena. In Corman's story, amazons have a prominent role in society, but still keep their place alongside men. This makes sense if anyone ever wondered where baby amazons come from. I also like the fact that despite being great warriors, the amazons still remain vulnerable, allowing us to fear for their safety and making them appear more human.

Basically, the amazons are threatened by en evil wizard, who makes a pact with supernatural ghost-like beings and uses human sacrifice to gain metaphysical powers. To stop him, Dyala and Tashi, are sent on a dangerous quest for the sword of Azundati. The suspense and the overall impact of the movie are dampened, however, since we know that despite impossible odds, ultimately good will conquer evil, and all will enjoy a happy ending. So, Corman makes their challenge more difficult by creating dissension and treachery among the amazons and their friends. To provide a greater sense of reality and mortal peril, a few key characters in the story actually die.

If you like the thrill of naked breasts and thighs, but you still want a half-way decent story, this movie may be worth your while.

Just in case your not hip to who Roger Corman is and your not familiar with the term "Amazons" than maybe you should find another film to view because as far as exploitation goes this delivers the goods. Story is about an evil wizard named Kalungo (Joseph Whipp) who along with his minions attack the Amazon city of Imbissi in which the female warriors are forced to retreat with the Spirit Stone. They head to the Emerald Queen (Anita Larronde) who informs them that they need to retrieve the Sword of Azundati which is the only thing that can combat Kalungo.

*****SPOILER ALERT***** A beautiful (of course) warrior named Dyala (Mindi Miller) is dispatched on the mission with Tashi (Penelope Reed) who is the daughter of her sworn rival Tshingi (Danitza Kingsley) who is also a spy for Kalungo. While on their journey they encounter thieves and snakes and hoards of other tribes that want to sacrifice them to supernatural trees.

This was made in Argentina and directed by Alejandro Sessa who is making his debut after being a producer on several Corman films and it appears that he learned very well on how to stretch a dollar with a small budget. Naked Amazon warriors. Yep! That's what everyone who hasn't seen this is wondering about so I can tell all of you that this indeed delivers an abundance of nudity and I had to chuckle when the two lead characters venture off to save the world and no sooner than you can say "Russ Meyer" they are skinny dipping in a lake! Not only does this work as far as exploitation but also on a "so bad it's good" level with horrible dubbing and editing. How about that top notch transformation scene where the lioness changes into the naked woman? Or the laughable attempt of actor Whipp trying so hard to be evil when he looks like a left wing pacifist. The story is somewhat all over the place with it's magic swords and feuding families but if your a connoisseur of films that have hot and frequently nude Amazon women or of just bad films altogether than you can be rest assured that this is exactly what it advertises.

The title suggests this is likely to be about women who fight with swords. That's certainly the case, but when we see that they do this wearing boots and bikinis (while their male allies and opponents of course dress far more modestly) it's fairly obvious what kind of movie this is. In fact it's a standard Conan-style fantasy. A powerful wizard-warrior is invading and two young Amazons are sent on a quest for a magic sword – the only thing which can defeat him. There's not a whole lot of originality in this theme, and not much elsewhere either, but there is a surprise or two, and the shape-shifting lioness is a nice touch.

The budget is very low, the special effects laughable, the acting poor across the board, the direction clumsy and the dialog always predictable. The fight scenes need a Cory Yuen makeover – even the martial arts trained (and splendidly named!) Windsor Taylor Randolph, who plays Dyala, the lead Amazon, is unconvincing as a swordswoman. But the story, though unoriginal, is good enough to maintain some interest and excitement.

This movie isn't about any of that though. It's about bare female skin, the bikini-clad Amazons, and various women they need to rescue, who keep ending up naked. There's even a brief sex scene. Some of the bodies on display, particularly the truly gorgeous Penelope Reed as Dyala's sidekick, are athletic rather than soft starlet types and, while the nudity is always gratuitous, it's definitely not unpleasant.

Anyone who enjoys a corny fantasy quest with tough women and isn't put off by the exploitation side, should have fun watching this.

Ok here is the plot:

The movie has boobs in it.

Really the cover art describes the film much better than I can.

Anything past boobs was clearly irrelevant to the people who made it and the people who watched it :)

This is a definite "so bad it's good" movie.The acting is nothing short of atrocious,the fight scenes are incredibly clumsy,the dialogue about equal to an Ed Wood movie and the facial expressions are priceless!That coupled with loads of pointless nude scenes featuring the super hot Xena-type warriors in the lead roles makes for a totally hilarious movie.