The Arena (1974)

R  |   |  Action, Adventure  |  January 1974 (USA)
5.4
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Two thousand years ago, the people of Rome are so blasée, so used to violence, that entertaining them becomes a political problem. Someone suggests, after a hectic girl fight in a kitchen ... See full summary »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Lucretia Love ...
Paul Muller ...
Daniele Vargas ...
Marie Louise Sinclair ...
Livia (as Marie Louise)
Maria Pia Conte ...
Lucinia (as Mary Count)
Rosalba Neri ...
Cornelia (as Sara Bay)
Vassili Karis ...
Marcus (as Vic Karis)
Silvio Laurenzi ...
Priscium (as Sid Lawrence)
Mimmo Palmara ...
Rufinius (as Dick Palmer)
Antonio Casale ...
Lucan (as Anthony Vernon)
Franco Garofalo ...
Aemilius (as Christopher Oakes)
Pietro Ceccarelli ...
Septimus (as Peter Cester)
Jho Jhenkins ...
Edit

Storyline

Two thousand years ago, the people of Rome are so blasée, so used to violence, that entertaining them becomes a political problem. Someone suggests, after a hectic girl fight in a kitchen between a Nubian and a Viking slave, as a joke, that they should fight in the arena, instead of male gladiators. The idea is approved, though - and a female "Spartacus" theme follows. Written by Artemis-9

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Black slave, white slave. See more »

Genres:

Action | Adventure

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

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Language:

Release Date:

January 1974 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Naked Warriors  »

Filming Locations:


Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Pietro Ceccarelli did the choreography for the fight scenes. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Josie's Castle (1972) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Across 100 intense feet, champs trying' to catch a woman that's weak.
26 April 2011 | by (Edinburgh.) – See all my reviews

Women in prison movies have long been a popular subgenre amongst fans of exploitation fare. Well, The Arena is another one of those movies, with the main difference being that the action is transported to ancient Rome.

Margaret Markov is Bodicia and Pam Grier is Mamawi and some other women are . . . . . . . . . . some other women in this tale of gladiators and gladiatrixes.

There's plenty of laughable dialogue, numerous moments of gratuitous nudity, a lot of bloodless violence and just enough to entertain lovers of lowbrow schlock.

Steve Carver directs with a minimum level of competence but he takes the story through the required beats of the particular subgenre while making sure that the strong women stay front and centre.

Writers John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington know that they're not adapting Shakespeare here but they could have made everything feel as if just a little more care was taken.

The cast? Well, the women are strong and sexy. Well, they're supposed to be (was Deirdre REALLY a name used in Roman times?). The men are mostly, as expected, pigs and abusers though Silvio Laurenzi (aka Sid Lawrence) is a hoot as the effete Priscium and Pietro Ceccarelli (aka Peter Cester) is enjoyable as Septimus.

So you get Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, some gratuitous nudity, a small helping of casual racism and a large helping of casual sexism and battle scenes that occasionally make use of a trident - which makes for a fun time for some people. I just thought it was okay.


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