AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Leofwine_draca An extremely bad movie about warrior women which still manages to entertain from the sheer absurdity of it all. That, and a couple of the fight scenes are pretty good too, especially the huge, long-expected battle at the end which very nearly lives up to expectations. Sure, a lot of Italian cinema is stylish, magnificent stuff, but they also made their fair share of clunkers. Alfonso Brescia's movie is hindered by exceptionally bad dubbing, acting, photography, choreography, lack of script, you name it...it's a wonder that this film is watchable at all.Things begin horribly with a really cheesy scene of a man and a woman riding towards each other on horseback in slow motion. What follows is a story involving capture, escape, torture, and eventually betrayal and warfare. This is bad stuff through and through, and bad movie fans will no doubt get a kick out of watching it. The best thing that I can say is that there's a lot of action, so it never becomes too boring. Sadly the majority of the action scenes take place in the dark, so it's impossible to see what's going on. Copious use of day-for-night filming also makes this film look very poor. Forget about any luscious woodland locations - it looks like this film was shot in a copse somewhere, and picturesque is far from the word to describe this disappointing, dirty-looking locale.The music is cheesy and horrible, the acting highly amateurish from most of the cast, with only one or two of the leads showing any professionalism whatsoever. Lincoln Tate is okay as the hero, and Lucretia Love (impossible to believe that this is her real name) as the heroine, but that's about it. The dubbing is highly amusing and over the top as usual, packed with funny lines like "murdering bunch of bitches". The Amazons' battle cry sounds like "hahohi-i-i-i-i-i!!" and is really cheesy! Despite being a film about strong, powerful women this still manages to be extremely sexist, with one scene involving a lady almost being raped incredibly played for laughs! As I mentioned, the action scenes are all right and worth watching, especially the huge battle at the end which is where all the budget apparently went. There's a definite martial arts influence with lots of flying kicks, headbutts and punches going on. The gore is minimal but there are a few cool scenes of people being repeatedly speared and stabbed. Most incredibly of all, though, are the many mistakes which are easy to spot while watching. For instance, actresses change parts in one scene, noticeably by their hair colour changing! Also, in the film's major battle at the end, it's pretty obvious that the Amazons are actually played by men. Three factors give it away; a) they wear masks to disguise their faces all of a sudden, b) they're muscular, and c) they've got hairy arms and legs. It makes for very surreal entertainment, that's for sure. Although a terrible film in most respects, BEAUTY OF THE BARBARIAN is a forgotten epic to be sought out by bad-film connoisseurs...if they can be bothered.

kkinne This film could have been better, but if you are willing to overlook it's many flaws then it's not unbearable. The amazons being depicted as villains was pretty much the norm prior to Xena. I like inter-gender fights to the death as much as any guy but please, PLEASE have the women involved actually be women. Most of the fighting involved male stunt doubles wearing masks and bad wigs, as well as being photographed from behind using a blue filter to suggest nighttime or dusk (note all of the sharp shadows during "night" sequences).The fights where women actually were used were badly choreographed. The male actors acted as if they were holding back, and the women acted like they were afraid to break a nail. And what was with all of the hidden springboards?However the worst aspect of the film was the groan-inducing dialogue. As was typical of many films from the 70's everyone seemed to be trying to sound biblical. All in all, an OK but cheesy film.

gridoon This is basically yet another variation on the "Magnificent Seven" theme, only here we have (not 7 but) 4 people coming to protect a village and teach the villagers how to defend themselves (not against Mexican bandits but) against an aggressive army of Amazons. The film begins rather well: the grungy, dirty look, the stunts, the Amazons' mean-spiritedness, they all have an air of authenticity. But most of the action sequences occur at night, and it's often hard to see what's going on. And the biggest disappointment of all, during the big climactic battle nearly all the Amazons have their faces covered by white masks, apparently to camouflage the fact that they have been replaced by male stuntmen. Blech. At the end, there is a fierce swordfight between the bravest woman in the village (well played by the profoundly beautiful Paola Tedesco) and the Amazon Queen, but it's a case of "too little, too late". (**)

John Seal Coming ten years after the heyday of the sword and sandal epics, Battle of the Amazons adds two ingredients to the well established recipe: bared breasts and a modicum of bloodshed. Otherwise, this is a standard if watchable effort, unimaginatively directed by Alfonso Brescia and burdened by the obvious use of male stunt actors in the place of women during the climatic battle sequence. Produced at the height of the Women's Liberation movement, Battle of the Amazons is a call to arms for men (and their loyal wives) threatened by feminism. Eurovista's DVD utilizes a reasonably worn English language print but is thankfully in widescreen format, and extras include a very worn, full frame theatrical trailer and a TV teaser in much better condition.