Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is Roger Corman's version of Gladiator and Caligula rolled into one, years before them! And it's not bad, either. Beautiful slave girls must fight to the death in the arena in ancient Rome as a novelty for the jaded Romans. The gladiator girls learn to fight and then use their skills to revolt and escape. Sort of a feminist take on Spartacus.
And the production values belie the usual low-budget restrictions. The costumes, sets, props, and fight scenes are good, and Pam Grier, in her pre-Coffy star-making role, is feisty, pugnacious, and naked, too. Her nude scene, in fact, got a top 3-star rating in Craig Hosoda's The Bare Facts video guide!
The bonus features on this DVD include not one, but two Leonard Maltin-Roger Corman interviews, but neither of them is about this movie in particular! There's the movie trailer, trailers of several other Corman films, a chapter index, booklet, and a few mini- biographies of cast and crew. The image quality is good.
Unfortunately, though, the movie is in full screen format when it would have really benefited from the widescreen treatment. All in all, not quite what it should have been, but still worth it to all us diehard Corman/Grier/ancient Rome fans! MORITURI SALUTAMUS!
"O Cæsar, Morituri Salutamus!"
"O Cæsar, we who are about to die Salute you!" was the gladiators' cry In the arena, standing face to face With death and with the Roman populace.
--Longfellow
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Arena (aka Naked Warriors) (1974)
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