Only reason I watched this today (on a tape from one of the usual online sources) was that I expected it might be a movie I remembered from my youth. And, by "youth," I mean when I was about 7 or 8. The movie is a pretty standard "strong-man" film, although the man appears in very few scenes. Mostly, it's about a bizarre society of "amazon" women (who, I suspect, have none of them ever been on the same continent as the eponymous river) who enslave other women and force them to participate in gladiatorial combat. The slaves wear delightfully short skirts and lots of facial make-up. I have this creepy feeling that this film may have set my notions of what "sexy" means for the 35 years that have followed my seeing it, as I _still_ think thighs and mascara are pretty neat. But, also, I have always remembered a couple of scenes in particular, especially a climactic tug-of-war between Thor and 100 of the amazons. Perhaps it must be conceded as some indicator of quality that, unseen by me again in all that time, I _still_ remembered this movie. (On the other hand, if I had remembered it better, I'd have saved my money and not bought the tape. Make of those facts what you will.)
16 Reviews
Inept sword-and-sandal
gridoon20243 February 2018
Both the Italian ("Le Gladiatrici") and the American ("Thor And The Amazon Women") titles sound like they can't miss, but they do. This film does deserve credit for being one of the earliest films featuring female gladiators, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The entire premise doesn't make much sense: why would this matriarchical society purposely kill off so many of its finest female warriors? Might be of interest to some: Harry Baird's impressive muscle display in one scene. * out of 4.
THOR AND THE AMAZON WOMEN (Alberto Leonviola, 1963) *1/2
Bunuel197618 May 2011
This is another film which I have just watched but it has already slipped my mind quite completely! Indeed, the peplum genre – especially in its lowest form, and this is easily among the least I have watched! – has a curious tendency to be instantly forgettable.
The fact that this features no recognizable cast members certainly did not help and, though I purposely scheduled it to be viewed right after the brand-new Marvel/Kenneth Branagh blockbuster THOR (2011), unsurprisingly the film has nothing at all to do with that superhero figure despite featuring a character by that name in the English-dubbed version I watched. Rather, as can be gleaned from the title, it awkwardly blends mild feminist attitudes with the vaguest whiff of Scandinavian mythology (I guess the film-makers could not get the rights to Hercules, Maciste or any of those other muscle-bound characters!); incidentally, it was originally released as, simply, LE GLADIATRICI – that is to say, making no reference whatsoever to the dime-a-dozen he-man hero (here played by the generically-named Joe Robinson)!
However I rack my brain to try to recall the plot details, I cannot come up with anything substantial and the same goes for the rest of the protagonists, be it friends or foes! I can only surmise that the people involved kept the script handy in order to get from Point A to Point B during the shooting stage of this type of unassuming (read: invincibly low-brow) fare – but it does feel odd that, having gone through 86 minutes of it, there is nothing tangible to talk about after only a couple of days! Actually, there is a 10-page dissection of the film available online but I will be damned if I am going to read it to jog my memory of it all but, from the accompanying stills, I hazily recall: Thor fighting a caged ape; his having a colored sidekick; the villainous Queen of Babylos {sic} having a fluffy white cat for a pet; and her gladiatress minions not only getting to don Smurf-like head-gear but forever prone to breaking into the hilarious war-cry of "Elt! Elt! Elt!" WTF?!
The fact that this features no recognizable cast members certainly did not help and, though I purposely scheduled it to be viewed right after the brand-new Marvel/Kenneth Branagh blockbuster THOR (2011), unsurprisingly the film has nothing at all to do with that superhero figure despite featuring a character by that name in the English-dubbed version I watched. Rather, as can be gleaned from the title, it awkwardly blends mild feminist attitudes with the vaguest whiff of Scandinavian mythology (I guess the film-makers could not get the rights to Hercules, Maciste or any of those other muscle-bound characters!); incidentally, it was originally released as, simply, LE GLADIATRICI – that is to say, making no reference whatsoever to the dime-a-dozen he-man hero (here played by the generically-named Joe Robinson)!
However I rack my brain to try to recall the plot details, I cannot come up with anything substantial and the same goes for the rest of the protagonists, be it friends or foes! I can only surmise that the people involved kept the script handy in order to get from Point A to Point B during the shooting stage of this type of unassuming (read: invincibly low-brow) fare – but it does feel odd that, having gone through 86 minutes of it, there is nothing tangible to talk about after only a couple of days! Actually, there is a 10-page dissection of the film available online but I will be damned if I am going to read it to jog my memory of it all but, from the accompanying stills, I hazily recall: Thor fighting a caged ape; his having a colored sidekick; the villainous Queen of Babylos {sic} having a fluffy white cat for a pet; and her gladiatress minions not only getting to don Smurf-like head-gear but forever prone to breaking into the hilarious war-cry of "Elt! Elt! Elt!" WTF?!
Public Domain for Good Reason
thestarkfist24 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is confused and misleading. At the very beginning you are treated to a little ditty about "the God of Thunder, Mighty Thor"! The song was actually Thor's theme song in an early attempt to animate the old Marvel comic book characters. They were shown on TV after school back in the '60's! How it wound up attached to this mess is beyond me, but it does illustrate how misleading the movie is. The Thor in this picture is NOT the God of Thunder. He's just some steroid junkie with blonde hair and the name. At no point during this flick is any attempt made to connect him to the old Norse legends. He's just a strong guy. A strong, mostly incompetent guy.
Now, seeing as the title of the movie has Thor in it, you might expect that the story would be about him, but you'd be wrong! As has been pointed out in some of the other reviews, Thor actually has little screen time. The film is mostly concerned with the trials and tribulations of Tamar, who has been captured by the Amazons and will soon have to fight for her life in the arena. So, right from the outset, this movie misleads you twice. I doubt this was an accident.
What to say about this flick? considering that the Italians invented this film genre you would expect it to be much better than it is. The men are portrayed as buffoons while the women are basically ruthless and brutal. There's really not much of a storyline and so, in order to pad out the film to its 84 minute length, the director treats us to lots of clumsily staged battles- to-the- death between the slave women. There is a lot of killing in this movie. Some of the slave girls choose to disembowel themselves rather than slay one of their comrades. At one point we're shown a shot of a pile of dead slave girls, all of whom were slain in the arena in one afternoon of sport!
As you might surmise, this movie is actually kind of dark for a 60's sword and sandal flick, which makes the scenes with Thor and his African companion all the more incongruous. Many of their scenes are played for laughs in a broad slapstick manner. One minute a slave girl is running herself through with a sword, and the next Thor and Ramalamatutu, or whatever his name is, are doing schtick! I was wondering if they were going to break into "Who's On First" sometimes.
The movie delivers all of the girl fights you could possibly desire, but if you're looking for the ultra-buff hero to pull down a temple or toss giant statues around like they were made of cardboard, you're going to be very disappointed. The only feat of strength that Thor pulls off in the whole film is beating 101 Amazons in a game of tug-of-war. Somehow this is all that is required to bring the Amazon Empire crashing down. Oh brother!
I downloaded this movie off of one of the free public domain movie websites. As I state in the title of this review, there's a reason why nobody has held on to the rights to this flick. By today's standards it has the potential to be seen as extremely offensive. Thor's black chum spends most of his time addressing him as "master". I'm surprised he doesn't play the banjo too. The worst offense, however, is contained in the working premise of the story. you see, The Amazons are bad because they want to subjugate men. Tamar and the good women in the film all realize that women are supposed to be subservient to men. As Tamar herself explains, that's how Nature wants it to be. Given how goofy the men act in this little cowpile of a film it's kind of surprising that she didn't go over to the Amazon queen's way of thinking.
Now, seeing as the title of the movie has Thor in it, you might expect that the story would be about him, but you'd be wrong! As has been pointed out in some of the other reviews, Thor actually has little screen time. The film is mostly concerned with the trials and tribulations of Tamar, who has been captured by the Amazons and will soon have to fight for her life in the arena. So, right from the outset, this movie misleads you twice. I doubt this was an accident.
What to say about this flick? considering that the Italians invented this film genre you would expect it to be much better than it is. The men are portrayed as buffoons while the women are basically ruthless and brutal. There's really not much of a storyline and so, in order to pad out the film to its 84 minute length, the director treats us to lots of clumsily staged battles- to-the- death between the slave women. There is a lot of killing in this movie. Some of the slave girls choose to disembowel themselves rather than slay one of their comrades. At one point we're shown a shot of a pile of dead slave girls, all of whom were slain in the arena in one afternoon of sport!
As you might surmise, this movie is actually kind of dark for a 60's sword and sandal flick, which makes the scenes with Thor and his African companion all the more incongruous. Many of their scenes are played for laughs in a broad slapstick manner. One minute a slave girl is running herself through with a sword, and the next Thor and Ramalamatutu, or whatever his name is, are doing schtick! I was wondering if they were going to break into "Who's On First" sometimes.
The movie delivers all of the girl fights you could possibly desire, but if you're looking for the ultra-buff hero to pull down a temple or toss giant statues around like they were made of cardboard, you're going to be very disappointed. The only feat of strength that Thor pulls off in the whole film is beating 101 Amazons in a game of tug-of-war. Somehow this is all that is required to bring the Amazon Empire crashing down. Oh brother!
I downloaded this movie off of one of the free public domain movie websites. As I state in the title of this review, there's a reason why nobody has held on to the rights to this flick. By today's standards it has the potential to be seen as extremely offensive. Thor's black chum spends most of his time addressing him as "master". I'm surprised he doesn't play the banjo too. The worst offense, however, is contained in the working premise of the story. you see, The Amazons are bad because they want to subjugate men. Tamar and the good women in the film all realize that women are supposed to be subservient to men. As Tamar herself explains, that's how Nature wants it to be. Given how goofy the men act in this little cowpile of a film it's kind of surprising that she didn't go over to the Amazon queen's way of thinking.
Anti-feminist Thor Adventure Lacks Excitement
zardoz-1324 May 2005
"Thor and the Amazon Women" exemplifies the kind of moronic muscle man movie that gives peplum a bad name. In this poorly scripted and staged potboiler set in ancient times, a matriarchal society enslaves helpless males to toil in its salt mines and imprisons captive females to train as gladiators. Enrolled in a gladiator school, these gals must wear twenty-one rings on one arm. The rings account for the number of battles that each must fight to acquire their freedom. Anyway, when Queen Nera's (Diana Ross look-a-like Jannin Hendy of "Mole Men Vs. the Son of Hercules") beautiful blond Barbie doll-type soothsayer who wanders around a grotto prophesies that a strongman will dismantle her distaff empire with his bare hands, the Queen proclaims that anybody who can identify such a dude will receive a reward of a hundred male slaves if she can reveal his whereabouts. Nera dispatches an expedition to find a man called Thor and bring him back alive. They march into Thor's homeland and try to catch him with a set of bolas, an array of ropes attached to spiked balls whose thorny points have been dipped in a drug designed to incapacitate its victim. They hurl this weapon at Thor as he backs away from them. You see, Thor refuses to fight women. Entwining his ankles, the bolas topple our brawny protagonist so that he falls backwards off a cliff and lands atop of his servant, Ubaratutu (African-American beef-cake specimen Harry Baird of "Tarzan the Magnificent"), who hides him from the Amazons. These nubile chicks wear headdresses that resemble something a smurf would sport. Since they cannot take Thor back to Nera, the Amazon women abduct a princess-in-exile, Tamar (shapely blond beauty Susy Andersen of "Black Sabbath") and her younger brother. Tamar and her brother Homolke—it seems—belonged to the royal patriarchal family that once ruled the kingdom over which Nera presides. Marauders attacked Tamar's village, burned their houses, and dragged their dad behind their horses until he died. They escaped with their lives and have lived in exile ever since. Okay, Thor recuperates in a cave under the watchful eye of Ubaratutu. The fall from the mountain disjointed Thor's shoulder, so Ubaratutu refuses to let him track down Tamar's abductors until he is well enough to travel.
Clocking in at 85 minutes, this lackluster,battle of the sexes saga spends more time on the Amazon women than our mesomorphic hero. In fact, Thor doesn't reach the Amazon camp until about 49 minutes have elapsed, and he botches his initial act of heroism to save a man from execution. If you rank your muscle man movies by the feats that the hero performs to vanquish his opponents, nothing here appears remotely impressive. Meanwhile, simple-minded Ubaratutu follows Thor into the land of Amazon women, but this comic black sidekick wants nothing to do with Thor's shenanigans. While Thor is trying to figure out what is going on in this Amazon camp where the men have no desire to revolt because they are inadequately fed, Ubaratutu becomes the apple of Queen Nera's eye. She ogles him like a voyeur from a secret room and asks him to assume a variety of poses as he stands on a lazy Susan platform to show off his strength. Eventually, Nera crowns Ubaratutu as her king, that is, until she grows tired of him.
The irony about the politically incorrect "Thor and the Amazon Women" is that in the land of the white man, Ubaratutu is a slave, while in the land of the Amazon women (most are Caucasian), the queen is black. Furthermore, Queen Nera totes around a white cat as a symbol of her authority. Eventually, they capture Thor and bring him before her. Our eponymous hero and she engage in a philosophical argument that constitutes the high point of the film. Quoting Nera, she proclaims: "But we after a long period of slavery under the rule of men realized that women were superior to men. They (women) procreate children, they are internally stronger than men, they know how to resist physical and moral pain." Not surprisingly, Thor calls her "cruel." She maintains power over the men sweating for her in the mines, because they have lost their rebellious spirit. Before this confrontation, Tamar converses with Yamad (Maria Fiore of "Rambo's Revenge"), Queen Nera's Captain-General of the Army. The captain-general has grown disillusioned with their matriarchal society and secretly serves as the architect of a conspiracy to overthrow Nera. Quoting her, Yamad says to Tamar: "The rule of women was the most frightful and horrible form of government." Yamad adds, "A woman cannot deprive herself of every human sentiment in the name of the superiority that nature never meant to assign to them." This is about as good as the dialogue gets that scenarists Fabio Piccione of "The Glass Sphinx," Maria Sofia Scandurra and director Antonio Leonviola contrived for this half-baked hokum.
In the last ten minutes, Thor is put atop a platform and forced to compete in a massive tug of war match with 101 female warriors. If he loses, he will plunge from the platform into a blazing fire, while at the same time the princess Tamar must battle an unscrupulous brunette to the death in a triangular-shaped area with spikes on the edges. British actor Joe Robinson isn't given nearly enough either to do or say in this anti-feminist 85 minute yawner. Robinson later appeared as a villain in the 007 movie "Diamonds Are Forever" and slugged it out with Sean Connery in the claustropobhic confines of an elevator. Actually, the women do a lot more fighting than Thor, and his victory over them in the tug of war is nothing memorable. Of course, in an era that probably didn't have cosmetics and apparel as depicted here, the women are all gorgeous and perfectly made up with red lipstick and blue eye-shadow.
Clocking in at 85 minutes, this lackluster,battle of the sexes saga spends more time on the Amazon women than our mesomorphic hero. In fact, Thor doesn't reach the Amazon camp until about 49 minutes have elapsed, and he botches his initial act of heroism to save a man from execution. If you rank your muscle man movies by the feats that the hero performs to vanquish his opponents, nothing here appears remotely impressive. Meanwhile, simple-minded Ubaratutu follows Thor into the land of Amazon women, but this comic black sidekick wants nothing to do with Thor's shenanigans. While Thor is trying to figure out what is going on in this Amazon camp where the men have no desire to revolt because they are inadequately fed, Ubaratutu becomes the apple of Queen Nera's eye. She ogles him like a voyeur from a secret room and asks him to assume a variety of poses as he stands on a lazy Susan platform to show off his strength. Eventually, Nera crowns Ubaratutu as her king, that is, until she grows tired of him.
The irony about the politically incorrect "Thor and the Amazon Women" is that in the land of the white man, Ubaratutu is a slave, while in the land of the Amazon women (most are Caucasian), the queen is black. Furthermore, Queen Nera totes around a white cat as a symbol of her authority. Eventually, they capture Thor and bring him before her. Our eponymous hero and she engage in a philosophical argument that constitutes the high point of the film. Quoting Nera, she proclaims: "But we after a long period of slavery under the rule of men realized that women were superior to men. They (women) procreate children, they are internally stronger than men, they know how to resist physical and moral pain." Not surprisingly, Thor calls her "cruel." She maintains power over the men sweating for her in the mines, because they have lost their rebellious spirit. Before this confrontation, Tamar converses with Yamad (Maria Fiore of "Rambo's Revenge"), Queen Nera's Captain-General of the Army. The captain-general has grown disillusioned with their matriarchal society and secretly serves as the architect of a conspiracy to overthrow Nera. Quoting her, Yamad says to Tamar: "The rule of women was the most frightful and horrible form of government." Yamad adds, "A woman cannot deprive herself of every human sentiment in the name of the superiority that nature never meant to assign to them." This is about as good as the dialogue gets that scenarists Fabio Piccione of "The Glass Sphinx," Maria Sofia Scandurra and director Antonio Leonviola contrived for this half-baked hokum.
In the last ten minutes, Thor is put atop a platform and forced to compete in a massive tug of war match with 101 female warriors. If he loses, he will plunge from the platform into a blazing fire, while at the same time the princess Tamar must battle an unscrupulous brunette to the death in a triangular-shaped area with spikes on the edges. British actor Joe Robinson isn't given nearly enough either to do or say in this anti-feminist 85 minute yawner. Robinson later appeared as a villain in the 007 movie "Diamonds Are Forever" and slugged it out with Sean Connery in the claustropobhic confines of an elevator. Actually, the women do a lot more fighting than Thor, and his victory over them in the tug of war is nothing memorable. Of course, in an era that probably didn't have cosmetics and apparel as depicted here, the women are all gorgeous and perfectly made up with red lipstick and blue eye-shadow.
Preposterous!!
sould15 April 2008
Having just viewed this god awful movie I cannot go on without a comment. As a long term fan of sword and sandal movies I try to hunt down just about everything from that era, however this is the first time I have had to watch it bit by bit, yes it's so bad it's hilarious. Our hero Thor, a real bad acting performance from British actor Joe Robinson see's him up against Amazonian women who rule the land with an iron fist enslaving men and even having their own female gladiators to kill each other in the arena. From the very start it is quite clear that the writers of this nonsense must have came straight from a school play. Our hero Thor lives in a neat little underground cave with his black "servant", homo erotic overtones by the score when he gives his master an err...massage to sort his bad shoulder you know you are in for some fun, the servant...what ever his name is!, is portrayed as a bungling oaf and with the silly music that accompany's him is all there to see just how degrading it is, I will refrain from going over the plot but you really must see some of these scene's for yourselves, the first one is when Thor is discovered by the Amazon women and the line is "we are here to capture you Thor and take you back" or when his servant is captured by the queen who is luckily for him is also black puts him on a revolving pedestal and tells him to flex his muscles all over his body, she is so smitten by him in an instant he has some sort of African garb on and is to be her husband and king, the ensuing fight between him and Thor who is trying to change his mind on this is utterly hilarious.
This movie makes greats like Santa Clause Conquers The Martians and Plan 9 From Outer Space like cinema masterpieces!.
This movie makes greats like Santa Clause Conquers The Martians and Plan 9 From Outer Space like cinema masterpieces!.
"Others will rise after my death who will put an end to the mad dictatorship of women!!"
richardchatten3 June 2019
Unlike other Italian schlock whose racy titles promise more titillation than they could ever deliver, the Amazon Women of this film totally dominate the proceedings and it also lives up to its original Italian title 'Le Gladiatrici', with plenty of ferocious girl-on-girl swordplay. Thor, in the form of Joe Robinson, happily spends more time cosily shacked up with his chum Ubaratutu (played by Harry Baird); while the matriarchy presided over by the lynx-eyed, white cat stroking Black Queen Janine Hendy - who "thirsts for blood and death" - goes about its day to day business of showing itself as profligate with the lives of its hot young women as Sumuru would be eighteen thousand years later in her own bid to rule over men.
It would be tempting to describe the women and costumes as too modern looking, did its sexual politics ("the rule of women was the most frightful and horrible form of government") not already seem so antidiluvian a mere half century later.
It would be tempting to describe the women and costumes as too modern looking, did its sexual politics ("the rule of women was the most frightful and horrible form of government") not already seem so antidiluvian a mere half century later.
Ridiculous And The Women Look To Modern
Rainey-Dawn20 January 2017
These women have 1960s hair and make-up on - way to modern for the time era this film is suppose to have taken place in. The stupid blue strap around their heads made it worse. And WTF are they wearing? Every single this about this film is ridiculous: acting, story, make-up, costumes, directing, cinematography - you name it.
The costuming looks extremely cheap... most all peplum films have outstanding costumes but his film looks like they raided a dollar store costume department at Halloween.
If you are a guy and want to look at some girls then you might like this film just for that reason alone. I have a feeling if the women were ugly the film would be rated 0.
1/10
The costuming looks extremely cheap... most all peplum films have outstanding costumes but his film looks like they raided a dollar store costume department at Halloween.
If you are a guy and want to look at some girls then you might like this film just for that reason alone. I have a feeling if the women were ugly the film would be rated 0.
1/10
Some may find this witless muscle movie amusing. Others may nod off.
jamil-524 January 2000
Italian muscle movie of the 'sixties with it's brains in its gluteus maximus muscles. Aggressive amazons are enslaving men; to the rescue come the mighty Thor and his black sidekick, Ubaratutu (spelling?). I was convulsed with laughter both times that I saw this flick but many will simply accept it for what it is: a knuckle-headed spinoff of the Hercules series. I haven't seen it listed on TV in more than three decades, either because it's considered too stupid to show (why would that stop them?) or, more likely, because it's just too politically incorrect for our "sensitive" times: Ubaratutu is portrayed as dim-witted and cowardly and always refers to Thor as "master." If you watch this with people who are tuned-in to "camp," it may destroy you, as it did me. I laughed so hard that I cried, but don't say you weren't warned.
Thor and the Amazons...
BandSAboutMovies29 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
With the Italian title meaning The Female Gladiators, this film was released here as Thor and the Amazon Women. It's actually a sequel to Taur the Mighty, but I think you'll be fine with just watching it without seeing that movie.
It comes from Antonio Leonviola, the man who made Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops and Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules.
A civilization of women warriors, lorded over by the evil Black Queen (Janine Hendry, Taur the Mighty) has been decimating the men of their country. Soon, they come up against Tamar (Susy Andersen, Black Sabbath), who is the daughter of a great warrior who teams with Thor (Joe Robinson, who was Taur in that aforementioned movie and I guess may be that character again. Perhaps not. Is it more confusing if Tamar is the daughter of Taur and Robinson is just playing a whole different role? Ah man...), Ubaratutu (Harry Baird, The Four of the Apocalypse) and her younger brother Homolke.
Nera the Black Queen like two things: her cat and gladiator battles between captive women. She must be Italian, because this is one of the prized tropes of my ancestral forebearers. One of the captives, Ghebel (Carla Foscari, Mole Men Against the Sons of Hercules), tells the evil leader about Thor, a strongman who prophecy claims will end the Black One's evil kingdom. Tamar ends up getting kidnapped and turned into one of the gladiators.
Luckily, the captain of the guard opposes the queen is ready to help our heroes. She tries to lead an uprising but is killed and the Queen orders Tamar and Ghebel to fight to the death. Just then, the rest of our heroes attack. Tamar ends up winning the battle and kills both Ghebel and the Black Queen, deposing her rule and putting her brother on the throne, which seems kind of backward to have a little boy leading everyone when Tamar has more than proved herself.
That's right. A movie about a female empowered society that does all it can to prove to you that a female empowered society is the worst idea ever. What I'm saying is that if you expect a movie that proves the superiority of female leadership, look elsewhere than a 1963 peblum movie.
By the way Thor and Ubaratutu look at one another, I think Tamar would have been better off keeping Nera in power.
It comes from Antonio Leonviola, the man who made Atlas in the Land of the Cyclops and Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules.
A civilization of women warriors, lorded over by the evil Black Queen (Janine Hendry, Taur the Mighty) has been decimating the men of their country. Soon, they come up against Tamar (Susy Andersen, Black Sabbath), who is the daughter of a great warrior who teams with Thor (Joe Robinson, who was Taur in that aforementioned movie and I guess may be that character again. Perhaps not. Is it more confusing if Tamar is the daughter of Taur and Robinson is just playing a whole different role? Ah man...), Ubaratutu (Harry Baird, The Four of the Apocalypse) and her younger brother Homolke.
Nera the Black Queen like two things: her cat and gladiator battles between captive women. She must be Italian, because this is one of the prized tropes of my ancestral forebearers. One of the captives, Ghebel (Carla Foscari, Mole Men Against the Sons of Hercules), tells the evil leader about Thor, a strongman who prophecy claims will end the Black One's evil kingdom. Tamar ends up getting kidnapped and turned into one of the gladiators.
Luckily, the captain of the guard opposes the queen is ready to help our heroes. She tries to lead an uprising but is killed and the Queen orders Tamar and Ghebel to fight to the death. Just then, the rest of our heroes attack. Tamar ends up winning the battle and kills both Ghebel and the Black Queen, deposing her rule and putting her brother on the throne, which seems kind of backward to have a little boy leading everyone when Tamar has more than proved herself.
That's right. A movie about a female empowered society that does all it can to prove to you that a female empowered society is the worst idea ever. What I'm saying is that if you expect a movie that proves the superiority of female leadership, look elsewhere than a 1963 peblum movie.
By the way Thor and Ubaratutu look at one another, I think Tamar would have been better off keeping Nera in power.
Pink Freud...
poe42618 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
One would think that a movie with a title like THOR AND THE AMAZON WOMEN would be something to see; wet dreams come true, and all that- but it's not: it's unintentionally hilarious, in a PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE kind of way. First (and foremost), Thor has a big, black MALE companion (Ubaratutu, or "Tutu," for short), who whisks him off to their hidden man-cave when the Amazons get too frisky. Second, there are the requisite feats of super strength, one of which pits our hero against an army of Amazons (some of whom look like men in drag) in a tug of war... (...) Third, there's the Amazon queen, who's black, just like Thor's man-cave companion, but who dispenses with her black manservants so fast it'll make your head spin ("Use 'em and lose 'em," she seems to suggest). I started to give this one a five (one for each finger of my fist), but a 3 was really all I could find it in myself to spare.
Two Hunks, Many Amazons
Kakueke8 December 2001
In this unusual sci fi/ancient warriors flick, it is the women who dominate the Kingdom, enslaving the men and any women who disagree with their tyranny. Queen Nera is searching for the man destined to overthrow her if he outshines 101 Amazon warriors in a contest of sheer strength, who turns out to be Thor (Joe Robinson), accompanied by his sidekick, black slave Ubaratutu (Harry Baird). Both are muscle hunks. Lovely Tamar (Susie Anderson), whose father was the rightful ruler of the kingdom but like others was overrun and killed by the queen and her Amazon warriors, is seeking to restore his throne to her adolescent brother.
Women who disagree with the queen must fight each other as gladiatrices, while the men join Amazon warriors as guards or are kept dehumanizingly in caves. Tamar and her brother are captured, while Thor and Ubaratutu come to the rescue. The queen has her men as temporary husbands before disposing of them nastily when she is tired of them, and she seduces Ubaratutu after he is captured. We are treated to some amusing muscle displays by Ubarututu before the black queen (she reminds one of Eartha Kitt) preceding the sudden appearance of Thor, who insists to Ubaratutu that he should not trust her. Both are taken prisoner. The queen declares it is women who should rule, but a chief henchwomen confides privately to prisoner Tamar that she agrees with Tamar that rule and force are for men, that they deprive women of their softer side. It is up to Tamar and Thor to save the day.
Phew, such a plot could only be in an Italian-made movie! The visuals are excellent, with nice scenic backdrop, and the story does not drag. The acting may not be great, but the actors have only the wooden characters of the genre to put anything into. Despite the title, it is Tamar rather than Thor who is the chief protagonist, and she is a commanding presence throughout. Women don't have to feel cheated by the theme: to each his or her place, but the women become more human again. Fun to watch, not to be taken seriously.
Women who disagree with the queen must fight each other as gladiatrices, while the men join Amazon warriors as guards or are kept dehumanizingly in caves. Tamar and her brother are captured, while Thor and Ubaratutu come to the rescue. The queen has her men as temporary husbands before disposing of them nastily when she is tired of them, and she seduces Ubaratutu after he is captured. We are treated to some amusing muscle displays by Ubarututu before the black queen (she reminds one of Eartha Kitt) preceding the sudden appearance of Thor, who insists to Ubaratutu that he should not trust her. Both are taken prisoner. The queen declares it is women who should rule, but a chief henchwomen confides privately to prisoner Tamar that she agrees with Tamar that rule and force are for men, that they deprive women of their softer side. It is up to Tamar and Thor to save the day.
Phew, such a plot could only be in an Italian-made movie! The visuals are excellent, with nice scenic backdrop, and the story does not drag. The acting may not be great, but the actors have only the wooden characters of the genre to put anything into. Despite the title, it is Tamar rather than Thor who is the chief protagonist, and she is a commanding presence throughout. Women don't have to feel cheated by the theme: to each his or her place, but the women become more human again. Fun to watch, not to be taken seriously.
Endlessly amusing sword and sandal adventure
Leofwine_draca5 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This sequel to TAUR THE MIGHTY is such a hilariously cheesy movie with so much fun stuff going on in it that it's impossible not to like. Sure, the film was obviously made on the cheap and has dated badly what with its stereotypical (not to mention racist!) depiction of race - and women come to think of it - but for fans of cheese or camp then this film is a must see! Nowhere else would you find two male heroes (who live together in a cave) with such a close relationship which includes massaging each other and engaging in some fun fisticuffs. The homoerotic aspect is just one of the many enjoyable things that this movie has to offer.
The main thrust of the plot (as the re-titling would suggest) concerns a female tribe of Amazons who live in a quarry and enslave men in the local grottos (filmed in Yugoslavia). The evil Queen Nera takes delight in raiding local villages in the vicinity and enslaving the men, whilst training the captured women into becoming female gladiators. The women must then fight to the death on homemade platforms while the spectators watch. Now, the sight of watching sweaty women battle to the death might sound like a lot of fun (!) until you realise that firstly, the majority of them don't bother shaving their armpits (!), and secondly, the actresses involved clearly have no weapons skills whatsoever so their fighting attempts are pitiful (and poorly-edited to boot).
Now, lurking around in the background is Taur and his black friend Ubaratutu (although we surprisingly see little of them - whoever re-titled this film for UK release obviously had the right idea) who manage to get themselves captured and manage to escape again before inevitably creating an uprising. The incredibly cheesy and hilariously funny ending sees Taur engaging in a tug-of-war match with 101 women (!), and a flaming pit of fire waiting for him if he fails. Of course he wins out in the end, and there's a huge battle involving lots of writhing bodies before the evil Queen is inevitably speared to a wall, an event surprisingly common in these times (or at least as these films would have you believe).
The above description only skims the surface of the film really and there is a lot more to enjoy besides. Subplots include two gratuitously irritating children for no particular reason, although particularly grating is the fact that the obnoxious young blond-haired boy ends up becoming a king! There are lots of silly costumes and cheap sets to enjoy plus an almost endless display of naked flesh (mostly from the men here). The film has a surprisingly high death toll as we see the bodies piling up after the gladiator battles and numerous women get stabbed, speared, or shot in various mean-spirited ways. The film really does push the gruesome boundaries with repeated shots of a rotting hanged body and a scene of mild rack torture which results in the victim's death.
The film is packed with bad actors and actresses dubbed badly for extra amusement. The women are hopelessly unconvincing in their roles with the exception of the actress playing Queen Nera, who is pretty good at making evil eyes at people while sitting on her throne and stroking her white cat like a certain Blofeld. Harry Baird - a regular in British movies - plays Taur's black sidekick and is portrayed as an absolutely stupid, posing idiot who mainly acts as the film's unintentional comic relief. I guess that means this film isn't for those with strong politically correct values. Joe Robinson plays the Tarzan-like lead (I believe he was originally meant to be Tarzan before the Burroughs estate threatened to sue) and is as wooden as you can get for a strongman, but I couldn't help liking his good-naturedly dumb performance anyway. WOMEN GLADIATORS is an action-packed tale of fighting women and half-naked men engaging in unbelievable antics. It has never won any awards for realism or production values but then again it doesn't need to. As a pure example of the bad film at its best, WOMEN GLADIATORS offers endless amusement and a lot of fun from all the weird stuff going on in it. See to believe.
The main thrust of the plot (as the re-titling would suggest) concerns a female tribe of Amazons who live in a quarry and enslave men in the local grottos (filmed in Yugoslavia). The evil Queen Nera takes delight in raiding local villages in the vicinity and enslaving the men, whilst training the captured women into becoming female gladiators. The women must then fight to the death on homemade platforms while the spectators watch. Now, the sight of watching sweaty women battle to the death might sound like a lot of fun (!) until you realise that firstly, the majority of them don't bother shaving their armpits (!), and secondly, the actresses involved clearly have no weapons skills whatsoever so their fighting attempts are pitiful (and poorly-edited to boot).
Now, lurking around in the background is Taur and his black friend Ubaratutu (although we surprisingly see little of them - whoever re-titled this film for UK release obviously had the right idea) who manage to get themselves captured and manage to escape again before inevitably creating an uprising. The incredibly cheesy and hilariously funny ending sees Taur engaging in a tug-of-war match with 101 women (!), and a flaming pit of fire waiting for him if he fails. Of course he wins out in the end, and there's a huge battle involving lots of writhing bodies before the evil Queen is inevitably speared to a wall, an event surprisingly common in these times (or at least as these films would have you believe).
The above description only skims the surface of the film really and there is a lot more to enjoy besides. Subplots include two gratuitously irritating children for no particular reason, although particularly grating is the fact that the obnoxious young blond-haired boy ends up becoming a king! There are lots of silly costumes and cheap sets to enjoy plus an almost endless display of naked flesh (mostly from the men here). The film has a surprisingly high death toll as we see the bodies piling up after the gladiator battles and numerous women get stabbed, speared, or shot in various mean-spirited ways. The film really does push the gruesome boundaries with repeated shots of a rotting hanged body and a scene of mild rack torture which results in the victim's death.
The film is packed with bad actors and actresses dubbed badly for extra amusement. The women are hopelessly unconvincing in their roles with the exception of the actress playing Queen Nera, who is pretty good at making evil eyes at people while sitting on her throne and stroking her white cat like a certain Blofeld. Harry Baird - a regular in British movies - plays Taur's black sidekick and is portrayed as an absolutely stupid, posing idiot who mainly acts as the film's unintentional comic relief. I guess that means this film isn't for those with strong politically correct values. Joe Robinson plays the Tarzan-like lead (I believe he was originally meant to be Tarzan before the Burroughs estate threatened to sue) and is as wooden as you can get for a strongman, but I couldn't help liking his good-naturedly dumb performance anyway. WOMEN GLADIATORS is an action-packed tale of fighting women and half-naked men engaging in unbelievable antics. It has never won any awards for realism or production values but then again it doesn't need to. As a pure example of the bad film at its best, WOMEN GLADIATORS offers endless amusement and a lot of fun from all the weird stuff going on in it. See to believe.
dreadfully delightful drek
quisizyx-704-1327305 April 2010
Or should the summary be delightfully dreadful drek?
I would recommend this with certain caveats. Seen years ago with the local Sci-Fi group on Bad Movie Night, this sophomoric effort of a jaw dropping galacticly gaping yawn of a YAHM (Yet Another Hercules Movie) was astoundingly amusing due to the rapid fire quips, comments, puns, & imaginative invented subtext. The script/dialog & plot are entirely forgettable which, juxtaposed (w/a nod at T&A) by minimal female costuming along with burgeoning beefcake exposure, results in any attempt at good, much less excellent, acting a forlorn forgone conclusion. The rough low budget charm of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and the wondrously sad editing (police car leaving station at night cutting to completely different police car in rapid transit down road in daylight cutting to original police car arriving at destination at night) and props (wiggling of cardboard "head stone" in graveyard as cape brushes over it) of Plan 9 from Outer Space are entirely missing. Missing also is any value as a stream of consciousness Psych and Sociology Prof Fodder audience endurance test such as Erasurehead. The entirely forgettable character of Uber-Tattoo (de pain, de pain) er... Uber-Tanto (heap bad medicine, Kimosabi) er... Ubaratutu has no real redeeming character traits or anything of value to support interest or this movie. Just further evidence of a lack of any talent or skill by the writer(s) of this sad effort totally negating any scope or expanse for an actor to work completely hobbling the characters.
Unless in a very open and receptive frame of mind with a view toward enjoying the obvious lack of energy between characters, you will leave the video store upon returning the movie muttering, "What was my motivation?" (which I would imagine the actors would echo once the project was over, they saw the completed product, and they received their paycheck).
Further comment would be redundant given previous reviews so would rather recommend viewing this schlock w/a group forewarned and ready for fun. Solo viewing isn't recommended unless in the proper frame of mind (out of body?).
I would recommend this with certain caveats. Seen years ago with the local Sci-Fi group on Bad Movie Night, this sophomoric effort of a jaw dropping galacticly gaping yawn of a YAHM (Yet Another Hercules Movie) was astoundingly amusing due to the rapid fire quips, comments, puns, & imaginative invented subtext. The script/dialog & plot are entirely forgettable which, juxtaposed (w/a nod at T&A) by minimal female costuming along with burgeoning beefcake exposure, results in any attempt at good, much less excellent, acting a forlorn forgone conclusion. The rough low budget charm of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and the wondrously sad editing (police car leaving station at night cutting to completely different police car in rapid transit down road in daylight cutting to original police car arriving at destination at night) and props (wiggling of cardboard "head stone" in graveyard as cape brushes over it) of Plan 9 from Outer Space are entirely missing. Missing also is any value as a stream of consciousness Psych and Sociology Prof Fodder audience endurance test such as Erasurehead. The entirely forgettable character of Uber-Tattoo (de pain, de pain) er... Uber-Tanto (heap bad medicine, Kimosabi) er... Ubaratutu has no real redeeming character traits or anything of value to support interest or this movie. Just further evidence of a lack of any talent or skill by the writer(s) of this sad effort totally negating any scope or expanse for an actor to work completely hobbling the characters.
Unless in a very open and receptive frame of mind with a view toward enjoying the obvious lack of energy between characters, you will leave the video store upon returning the movie muttering, "What was my motivation?" (which I would imagine the actors would echo once the project was over, they saw the completed product, and they received their paycheck).
Further comment would be redundant given previous reviews so would rather recommend viewing this schlock w/a group forewarned and ready for fun. Solo viewing isn't recommended unless in the proper frame of mind (out of body?).
I was prepared for the worst, but...
ralphv119 November 2020
...but it was not bad at all. The situation is not unusual for the genre (strongman vs usurper queen/king to save oppressed populace), but the matriarchal setting sets it apart from most of the rest. I only recall one other, but that was deliberately staged as a slapstick comedy whereas this film, despite some humorous moments, is played in earnest. The historical accuracy...well, none of us really go to these films for a history lesson, do we? Besides, this film doesn't reflect an historical period or even pretend to. Existing outside the flow of history, the mishmash of elements (Phyrgian caps, Peoples of the Sea helmets, the names Thor and Babylon, the use of Greek lipstick, Egyptian khol eyeshadow, and steel weaponry) are not as jarring as they would have been in a more standard historical milieu. The pacing is not bad, but could have been better, as could have been the role of Thor in the actual overthrow of the Queen. Still, the lack of focus on Thor and reduced screen time does allow more character development among the Amazons and their women gladiators. While the Queen existed mostly to monologue the justification of her rule, the real characterization was developed through her eyes, the dead gaze of a sociopath no longer able derive any emotions from the wielding of absolute power and spectacle of atrocity.
"Go Now, And May The Gods Protect Your Youthfulness!"...
azathothpwiggins17 June 2021
In THOR AND THE AMAZON WOMEN, the men have been enslaved by the females of the title. A prophecy tells of a mighty testosterone-filled warrior who will arise to free these subjugated males.
Enter Thor (Joe Robinson), who, at first, refuses to engage this estrogenic army, and is nearly captured. Luckily, a fellow burly man, named Ubaratutu (Harry Baird) rescues him, so that they can hang out in Ubaratutu's cave home and chat in their colorful, polyblend loincloths.
In the meantime, Thor's girlfriend and her son are captured instead. While she is inducted into the Amazon's school of gladiatrixes, her son becomes a slave.
About this time we must ask TWO QUESTIONS: #1- How do all of these warriors keep their hair so soft, manageable, and oil-free? #2- Is there going to be any actual action in this movie? If this were a Hercules movie, many men, women, trees, boulders, etc., would have been flying around like Frisbees by now!
Meanwhile, Thor and Ubaratutu chat on.
Oh no!
Ubaratutu is caught by the fiendish, Smurf-hatted females, and forced to flex his muscles while rotating before their queen! Oh! The humanity! Can Thor deliver him, and every red-blooded man, before further indignities ensue?
Amazingly, though a lot seems to be going on, this movie still manages to be quite dull. Even the final, obligatory "test of strength" is no more rigorous than a "challenge" found on some survival game show! The big revolt also turns out to be less than exciting.
INTERESTING FACT: When men are enslaved by Amazon women, they all sleep together in huge, sweaty piles...
Enter Thor (Joe Robinson), who, at first, refuses to engage this estrogenic army, and is nearly captured. Luckily, a fellow burly man, named Ubaratutu (Harry Baird) rescues him, so that they can hang out in Ubaratutu's cave home and chat in their colorful, polyblend loincloths.
In the meantime, Thor's girlfriend and her son are captured instead. While she is inducted into the Amazon's school of gladiatrixes, her son becomes a slave.
About this time we must ask TWO QUESTIONS: #1- How do all of these warriors keep their hair so soft, manageable, and oil-free? #2- Is there going to be any actual action in this movie? If this were a Hercules movie, many men, women, trees, boulders, etc., would have been flying around like Frisbees by now!
Meanwhile, Thor and Ubaratutu chat on.
Oh no!
Ubaratutu is caught by the fiendish, Smurf-hatted females, and forced to flex his muscles while rotating before their queen! Oh! The humanity! Can Thor deliver him, and every red-blooded man, before further indignities ensue?
Amazingly, though a lot seems to be going on, this movie still manages to be quite dull. Even the final, obligatory "test of strength" is no more rigorous than a "challenge" found on some survival game show! The big revolt also turns out to be less than exciting.
INTERESTING FACT: When men are enslaved by Amazon women, they all sleep together in huge, sweaty piles...
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