The Arena (2001/I)

User Rating:

2.2/10   

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writer:

John William Corrington (writer)

Release Date:

28 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Action

Tagline:

In an age of Gladiators... Destiny lies at the end of a sword.

Plot:

In an age of Gladiators, the power that was Rome held its empire together with the might of its armies...

Plot Keywords:

Gladiator | Slave | Druid | Roman | Slave Girl

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Karen McDougal	...	Jessemina
Lisa Dergan	...	Bodicia
Olga Sutulova	...	Livia
Yuliya Chicherina	...	Diedra
Severina Kamugish Kemirimbe	...	Lucinia
Viktor Verzhbitskiy	...	Timarchus
Anatoli Mambetov	...	Septimus
Alexsei Osipov	...	Flavius
Kirill Ulyanov	...	Priscium
Gabriel Vorobyov	...	Aemelius
Leon Maximov	...	Claudius
Natalya Surkova	...	Cornelia (as Natalia Surkova)
Alexsei Dedov	...	Wolfstan
Igor Botvin	...	Quintus
Ernst Romanov	...	Caesar

Also Known As:

Gladiatrix (Russia)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Russia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

St. Petersburg, Russia

Company:

Juga Films Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the movie, Bodicia relates how she was captured by the Romans. She says that her lover gave her a tattoo on the left side of her chest and that they then made love, which the movie shows. As she continues her narrative, of the Romans coming the next morning, the movie shows her fleeing. In this scene, her garments open to bare her chest, but there is no wound, blood, or any other evidence of a tattoo having been given the night before.

Quotes:

Claudius: Our land will be cursed forever!

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Arena (1974)

Fun with swords, clubs, wooden prisons and T&A

It's not gladiator but it is not bad. The worst thing about this movie is that you constantly feel like you are watching a Japanese film that has been dubbed in English. The voices of the Playmates are the ones that belong to them but I can't be sure of any of the others.

The two main female characters are lovely. AND YES they do get nekkid. In the Featurette for Lisa Dergen she revealed that the guy she was supposed to be having sex with was very nervous, she was not as she had partaken in quite a bit of wine and was dis-inhibited. She said that somewhere in the scene he leaned over and whispered in her ear the he was gay. She laughed. In the editing it just looks like she is enjoying his labors so they left it in.

The sets are not bad but the "cells" where the slaves are kept are pretty flimsy wood. Really not strong enough to keep in what we are supposed to believe are warriors. They did do a very good job of making things look used instead of brand new.

The SOUND other than the dubbed feeling is quite good.

The dialogue oft times written as though it is intended to be sarcastic but rendered with complete sincerity. I wonder if that is due to non-English speaking actors giving dialogue phonetically.

The fight scenes are not up to par with much of anything else I have scene of this type. Editing is used to make up for the lack of good coordination among the fighters but it doesn't quite make up for it.

For an afternoon of fun and a good bit of T&A THE ARENA is a good choice.