Arena da Morte

1st watched 10/12/2001 - 3 out of 10(Dir-Timour Bekmambetov): Hard to believe, american playboy playmates pose as female gladiators in this Russian film obviously financed by Americans for video release. This is actually a remake of a Roger Corman film of the early seventies and guess what(He is the executive producer of this film). Lots of violence, some sex but mostly cheaply done film trying to profit on the recent films that have been done in this realm. At least this is not too exploitative of the women in the film. They are more human than most of the men portrayed in the movie, but again this is an obvious movie that was created and setup for a particular purpose and it reaks of this.

This is a prime little exploitation flick with a couple of cute, costumed Playboy-Bunny gladiatrix being harassed by the local Roman invaders. It's an update of Roger Corman's Pam Grier classic from the early seventies, spiced up with some flash-cut editing, filtered cinematography and impressive location photography done in Russia. There's enough flesh peddling, sleazy sexual situations and action to reasonably satisfy today's B-movie fans, but it's all relatively kinder and gentler than viewers should expect from your typical exploitation flick. The most enjoyable thing about the DVD release is the mini-commentary supplements from the two lead bunnies. It's an amusing take on their adventures as low-budget movie stars and adds immeasurably to the enjoyment of the feature. Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't a lot more cheesy, sword-and-sandal ripoffs in the wake of Ridley Scott's enormously successful GLADIATOR. This is one genre where the sky's the limit!

Roger Corman has an unusual reputation. He has produced or directed a large number of "cheapie" movies--including this one, which was shot in Russia(per the DVD commentary, even the interior shots were done on soundstages in St. Petersberg).

Sometimes, one just doesn't feel like some sort of heavy-duty, call-to-action movie--say, like "Spartactus"(1963). On the other hand, if you feel like being entertained, "Arena"(2001), is likely to "hit the spot" very nicely. Just like a lot of Roger Corman's films.

The fact of the matter is that, surprisingly, the screenplay is well-crafted and not as goofy as you might think. The Romans did try to implement their customs wherever they conquered--including the contests of the gladiators as they were being performed in the Great Coliseum in Rome. And there was even a disastrous attempt to perform them in Greece(the Greeks rioted because of the carnage). Female gladiators--while unusual--were not unknown and some of them even appeared in "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe. A wooden, scaled-down clone of The Great Coliseum in Rome is not only possible, it is likely that there were hundreds of them in the forested frontier regions of the Empire.

A nice, fun movie for an evening's entertainment.

But you could say the same thing about other movies from Roger Corman, notably "The Undead"(1957) and "The Dunwich Horror"(1969). Incidentally, many of today's movies are just that--entertainment--and, IMO, no apologies are necessary.

Movies with "a message" are not--and should not be--the only alternative.

I came into this movie expecting two things - a lot of nudity and not much of a plot. Neither one came to fruition. The story was surprisingly easy to follow and pretty much made sense. A group of slaves gets sent to the frontier of the Roman Empire; some are pressed into gladiator duty. The local governor is trying to assimilate the local populace into the Empire so he organizes "quality" gladiator fights for the entertainment of the people. He figures what could be more entertaining than watching some slave girls duel. They get trained and then they fight. It's not a great story, but it works.

The lead actresses are indeed Playboy material. However, they aren't particularly good actresses and there wasn't enough screen time for their assets. As such, these ladies were miscast. They could have found some girls who could actually look like they were fighters and it would have made this a little better.

The real killer in this movie is the cinematography. The color filters are straight up annoying. The emphasis on close-ups - while I'm sure used to cover up the cheap sets - made it hard to watch. And the average shot length on this must have been two seconds. A drunk monkey with an iPhone could have shot a better movie.

This story had potential. It was horribly undone by poor acting, awful editing, and fight scenes scripted by 10 year olds.

Of course Roger Corman was going to cash in on the success of "Gladiator" by having one of his films from the 70's remade. Probably not as good as the original since I have not seen it but this still is entertaining junk. Playboy playmates are cast and of course they are kidnapped, raped, forced to train, and then of course to fight as female gladiators. Here's your chance to see female gladiators with very noticeable breast implants. The film is made with a serious tone and mood and definitely not tongue in cheek. Entertaining exploitation that was actually filmed in Russia.