Barbarian Queen
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| Barbarian Queen | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Héctor Olivera |
| Produced by | Roger Corman Alejandro Sessa |
| Written by | Howard R. Cohen |
| Starring | Lana Clarkson |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Rodolfo Denevi Rudi Donovan |
| Editing by | Silvia Ripoll Leslie Rosenthal |
| Distributed by | Concorde Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 1985 |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | Argentina United States |
| Language | English Spanish |
| IMDb profile | |
Barbarian Queen (also known as Queens of the Naked Steel) is a 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film premiered in December 1985 in the United States. It starred Lana Clarkson.
[edit] Overview
Set during the days of the Roman Empire, a simple village is preparing for the wedding of their king and queen. Suddenly, it is raided by Roman troops, and most of the people are whisked off to be slaves or killed. The queen (played by the late Lana Clarkson), and two of her best female warriors survive the attack and set off to liberate the queen's sister (who is to be the rogue Roman commander's concubine) and king (who is sent to the gladiator arena).
Travelling a river, they gradually catch up to slower-moving elements of the Roman raiding party, killing the soldiers and freeing their female hostage who has been stripped, tied to a fence, and tortured. Searching the soldier's belongings, they find out where the raiding party was heading and follow, eventually arriving at the Roman city. Donning disguises, each woman searches on her own and is eventually captured.
One female warrior, played by Argentinian actress Susana Traverso, is killed while trying to escape from the commander's dungeon. Another, played by Texas native Dawn Dunlap, is raped and left for dead in an alley by Roman soldiers, and the leader, played by Lana Clarkson, is captured and sujected to torture on the mistaken belief that she is a rebel spy in what is considered to be a cult classic scene. Rescued by the local underground after her rape, the only warrior woman not dead or captured decides to join the rebel movement to free her queen, seek vengeance for the citizens, and liberation of the slaves.
This movie benefitted from a surge in interest in the sword and sandal genre sparked by the success of the film adaptation of Conan The Barbarian (film). Playing in discount movie theaters to a sparse crowd, Barbarian Queen was panned by the audience. However, Lana Clarkson's acting was generally well received, and her performance in the dungeon scene made an impression with the followers of the genre, such that the movie is now considered a cult classic as a result.
A follow-on film, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back was billed as a sequel, when in actuality neither the plot nor the characters had anything to do with the original Barbarian Queen film, other than casting Lana Clarkson in the title role. That film went straight to video and never generated much interest.
Despite grass-roots pressure to produce a third installment, a third Barbarian Queen film would not be made. Tragically, Lana Clarkson died at the age of 40 of a gunshot wound to the face in the lobby of music producer Phil Spector's mansion in Alhambra, California, on February 3, 2003. Mr. Spector was charged with her murder.
[edit] Cast
- Lana Clarkson....Amethea
- Katt Shea....Estrild
- Frank Zagarino....Argan
- Dawn Dunlap....Taramis
- Susana Traverso....Tiniara
- Victor Bo....Strymon
- Arman Chapman....Arrakur
- Andrea Barbieri....Zoraida (as Andrea Barbizon)
- Tony Middleton....Zohar
- Andrea Scriven....Dariac
- Robert Carson....Shibdiz
- Matilde Mur....Eunuco
- Eddie Little Sky....Vendedor (as Eddie Little)
- Patrick Duggan....Shaman
- Lucy Tiller....Orellia
- Ivan Green....Karax
- Theodore McNabney....Cerus (as Theo McNabney)
- Richard R. Jordan....Vanir
- John Head....Alfana
- Daniel Seville....Kantaka
- Eva Donnelly....Ciega
- Henry Finn....Guard
- Louis Alday....Warrior
- Grace Castle....Arrakur’s Lover
- Norman Friedman....Warrior
- Alexander Essex....Warrior
- Guy Reed....Warrior
- Alfred Alexander....Warrior
- Arthur Neal....Warrior
[edit] External links
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