Supermen contre les amazones

This is pretty much your standard sword and sandal affair, perhaps a little above average, but nothing to write home about. It's OK. The chicks are pretty hot, despite the fact that they keep their clothes on, and they don't even try to explain why they are all about the same age. Do they all decide to get pregnant at the same time and then kill themselves at the same time after their children are able to fend for themselves? Whatever. It's a silly film and there is no need to be asking questions like that. My main reason for bothering to review this at all is to point out that it has, perhaps, one of the WORST, inane and inappropriate soundtracks EVER. Just epic bad stuff and the only movie I can think of that comes close is The Puma Man. Obscure reference? I guess, yeah, but it's accurate.

Wild Hong Kong-Italian co-production with a handful of US actors thrown into the mix as the mysterious centuries-old magician and protector Dharma (Landi) nurtures his young protege (Jordan) in the art of sleight of hand to perpetuate the illusion of immortality in the face of marauding Amazons led by statuesque Queen Longo.

Madcap fantasy blends peplum and martial arts stylings with cartoonish slapstick, even a blush of romantic blaxploitation with former Harlem Globetrotter Hannibal paired with Detroit-native TV actress Moody (each of the three 'supermen' conveniently colour matched with ethnically similar girlfriends of varying skill and plot importance).

The action sequences and stunt-work looks well orchestrated, whilst the Amazons are impressive physical specimens (Woods and Gille in particular) but the acting is mostly colour by numbers, and the tone awkwardly uneven failing to capitalise on the opening sequence in which the girl gladiators compete with one another to elect the next Queen (echoing Terence Young's Amazon women epic 'War Goddess'). Longo (who also appeared in 'War Goddess') and veteran spaghetti western heavy Pizzuti deliver the most watchable performances, whilst Hannibal generally looks at ease in a physically demanding role.

The version I saw entitled 'Amazons and Supermen' contains a few scenes towards the end in which the Italian actors' dialogue loses the English dub but if anything this improves their inane banter in a film that's better seen than heard (if at all).

Sometimes mildly amusing, momentarily faintly erotic, but mostly just tedious, it's disappointingly mild PG-grade material that may struggle to attract anything other than a young adolescent audience who even then might find it underwhelming. There's better (funnier or more erotic depending on your preferences) Amazon women pictures before you stoop to this one (e.g. 'Hundra', 'Women Gladiators' and the aforementioned 'War Goddess' are worth checking out).

If you can get through its funky and funny opening credits and title sequence, presented sometimes in negative format, you are doing well...

Produced in collaboration with the mighty Shaw Brothers studios, you can certainly see the influence the Hong Kong giants had on Italian cinema of this time, and if there wasn't so much white flesh kicking about and ridiculous comedy sequences, you could definitely mistake it for a bizarre, Chang Cheh directed kung fu epic.

Now - don't take my words and twist them!

What I mean is the ascetic of it all - the large cast, the wild sets, crazy characters, violent training sequences and mad weapons. The opening 10 minutes alone is an army of Amazonian women beating the hell out of each other before introducing us to one of the Supermen in a whacky (but fun) teahouse-style fight reminiscent of any amount of 70's kung fu comedies...

This Rarescope presentation could have done with an HD clean-up which may have made it all the more exciting. It's not a terrible film by any means, featuring many mad-cap moments, some great stunt work and acrobatics, and enjoyable kung fu fights (as well as the usual 70's style comedic Italian slapping scuffles and daft music). It's like Fantasy Mission Force meets a Bud Spencer film meets The Princess Bride, which isn't a bad thing in my opinion!

Shaw Brothers star Yueh Hua seems to enjoying himself all-the-same, and I can't blame him. As dated as the film may seem, it is just so nutty you can't help but smile during most of its running time.

Overall: Plenty of laughs and comical action, Amazon Vs Supermen passes the time pleasantly, but its hardly a classic!

So, if you want to watch a movie with 20 or 30 stunning women who know how to ride horses, this is the movie for you. Yes, it has a plot, and yes, there are some hilarious continuity errors, such as the stone quarry filled with heavy equipment tracks. But, it is good Italian slapstick, and nearly 50 years ago, when this movie was made, the world had not yet become obese. There is virtually no nudity in this film, but if you were around when this film was made, it's worth it just to bathe in the aura of a time when everybody wasn't overweight. Some of the scenes go overly long, and my copy popped in and out of Italian in some places, but I will definitely watch this film again in a few years.

This film is great, only in the bad movie sense.

Imagine if you will a film that allows a trampalining star to be the lead character. The amount of times we yelled "Yes we realise you can jump really high" was enormous.

It's not a good film, but enjoyable, sort of like an early attempt at the Scorpian King, only with no where near the budget.

All in all a film that MST3000k should have done at some point.

Jake