Red Sonja is one of my favourite 'bad' movies. It's probably Brigitte Nielsen's best film (admittedly a low bar) and it's chock-full of quotable lines and crazy moments. Watch out for the wizard who gets caught out having his scrying mirror set to the porn channel. The final battle scene in a chamber lit by over a thousand real candles that had to be constantly re-lit and nearly burned the set down is a real highlight, with Nielsen and Sandal Bergmann doing a great job of looking like they really, really want to kill each other. War Goddess is notable largely because the actresses who played Antiope and her rival for the Amazon throne, who engage in the oiled-up fight scene, reportedly hated each other's guts... and were both living with the director when the movie was being filmed.
The complete list together with current IMDB ratings out of 10:- 1. Red Sonja (1985): 5.1 2. Sheena (1984): 4.9 3. She (1984): 4.8 4. Hundra (1983): 4.6 5. Amazons (1986): 4.2 6. Barbarian Queen (1985): 4.1 7. Sorceress (1982): 4.4 8. Golden Temple Amazons (1986): 3.7 9. The Sisterhood (1988): 3.6 10. The Lost Empire (1984): 4.7 11. She Wolves of the Wasteland (aka Phoenix the Warrior) (1988): 3.7 12. Warrior Queen (1987): 3.3 13. War Goddess (aka The Amazons) (1973): 4.7 14. The Arena (1974): 5.2
Just realized Sandahl Bergman, .a.k.a. Veleria from Conan the Barbarian, was in a bunch of these films mentioned in this video. I never noticed that back in the day as a kid. And the look of the guy at 13:20 says, "I'm not paid enough to risk this stunt."
7:03 "What sets Hundra apart from other female heroines is her refusal to conform to societal expectations." That's literally what *all* Strong Female Characters(TM) have in common.
@@dgenergene4418 what about it? Was good enjoyed it and Herculies but that was what 30 years ago now ... its been a bit since we seen that sort of story and setting And Xena and Herculies while fun wheren't really the style but something of there own ... still great
Hundra deserves special mention for the absolutely *awesome* dog companion she has throughout the film. Up there with Blood (A Boy and His Dog) as one of the best canine companions in a fantasy/sci-fi movie.
Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪. Wow! "Sandral Bergan, Hundra, Red Sonya, ..................WonderWoman1984" : Beautiful and Deadly ~ ESPECIALLY - a Sword Bow and Arrows, a knife; a Rifle, and their Bodies. 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
@@Emper0rH0rde you missed out Simu Liu being the 1st Asian action movie star ever (with the release of Shang Chi)! The world must seem like a scary place for the twitter addicts that have grown up believing this nonsense.
Flashing back to going to the VHS store in the 1980s and 1990s and seeing all these box covers of the scantly-clad amazon warrior women. I do in fact remember most of these films from the boxes. I saw a couple and I think they were mostly made in Italy.
LANA CLARKSON❤ Rest in Power friend. I still imagine that you were the one to assist Phil Spector into the “Other Side” as the Barbarian Queen, beating his ass to the point of his 2nd death, but instead of killing his spirit, you toss him over the gates of hell. Miss You everyday.
Why is this genre dead again? I would abso, abso, absolutely love more movies like this. Heck with modern easy ways to do special effects post and just youtube/tiktok people who can act pretty decently you can make a ton of cheap but very watchable female barbarian / exploitation movies.
Because feminist is now running hollywood, they even create sequel to popular franchise with female lead but failed because they never understand why it good to see woman fighting
Sheena is NOT a barbarian movie. It is a 'Jungle Queen' movie. There's a difference. For one: Sheena is MODERN, while barbarian movies are period pieces taking place in another time and era. That is what distinguishes them apart.
Agreed. Neither is Warrior Queen which is a period drama/exploitation flick in Ancient Rome about the fall of Pompeii (I was super disappointed when I saw it as the cover and opening scene sold it as such). As an aside, I recently watched the whole modern (2000's) Sheena tv show and it was wonderful cheesy fun!
Yes. Actually, it's so different that I can't fathom how anyone could get confused. Worse, the video even goes to the extreme of calling "Sheena" a "Sword & Sorcery movie". Idiotic.
But the intersection between these two genres is pretty significant.. and since they are generally exploitation flicks the differences are largely irrelevant to much of the audience. They are action movies about athletic scantily clad fighting women commonly unfettered by social norms plus often a naivety that appeals to certain male fantasies. Not to say that you could not make a great movie in either genre while avoiding everything in the intersection. After all that still leaves, story, world building, character etc :)
🗞️Just to Clarify the Gaslight/Lies… Lana Clarkson was at Phil Spector house to discuss producing the TV Variety Show LANA UNLEASHED, show him the TV Pilot and NOT for sex. Lana Lived by “I’ll be No Mans Slave and No Mans Whore” Motto from Barbarian Queen. ❤
@@Albemarle7 I have so much Emotional Damage because of the badgirl genre having died decades ago. All the fit, barely clothed female fighters with swords and such, or in space, or post apocalypse. With a big sprinkle of exploitation (read nudity). I miss that man. All movies nowadays are so freaking clean and PG13. It's either Marvel or The PHub, people used to make stuff in between...
"14 Amazon" is a good one. A "Shaw Brother" martial art production from the 80's. It tells a story about 14 women who are wives of 14 general that lead any army of female soldiers, made up of mother, daughter, wives, and so on, on a rescue mission to save the men, that are either husband, father, or son that fought in the war and are now captured by the mongols. It's not the best but it has a a really good storyline.
In my country's history, we have female warrior Princess too. When siammese (sukothai) trying to invade northern malay peninsular at kra isthmus, many people died causing her to train 35 woman and 5 Men slaves with the art of archery. But unlike those female, she Learned the art of sword and leading those female. Siammese using tactics where they forcing King to defense at eastern Coast border but the truth is siammese King attacking palace. Our Princess manage to kill siammese King that rode elephant, her assistant use arrow to pierce his armor and when he fell down, she chopped her head. The she tied his body on long rope to elephant ass and then she slashing elephant trunk to make elephant ran. Even until today, Thailand refused to admit that their King's head got chopped by a malay Princess.
Sorry, but most of these movies are no Sword & Sorcery movies. Some of them belong to the post-apocalyptic genre, others to the jungle adventure genre and one is even a Sword & Sandal (or Peplum) movie.
@@ColtraneTaylor It is "sword and sorcery" not "sword and stone". "Sword and sorcery" movies are fantasy movies in a more primordial world. They do not take place in the real world, they are not based on legend, they are never post-apocalyptic nor contemporary. If you see modern guns in a movie it cannot be "sword and sorcery". If the movie tries to retell a Greek, Roman or Biblical legend or takes place in that era then it belongs to the "sword and sandel" genre.
Not gonna lie, these types of films were cheesy, YET entertaining. Also, notice the narrator's use of the word titular when describing these films 😅😅😅😅
As a kid my friend's aunt worked at the local cinema and would often give him (and us) posters from the theatrical runs. I remember having a huge Dracula poster that was a double-bill with The Arena. To this day I've never actually watched it but every time I see people discussing it, it makes me think of that poster. And yeah, this is a great list. A few I've never actually seen so I'll definitely be tracking them down. Nothing quite like watching people wandering around in a foggy forest for 90 minutes. :D
Lana Clarkson was the best!! Barbarian Queen 2 wasn't as good but the first one is great. Burn in Hell Phil Spector. Monique Gabrielle in Deathstalker 2 is a close second. Toni Naples was also really good in that movie.
I'm looking for a movie, but I dont have idea about the plot. - I just know the two main characters were two women barbarian warriors like. - They have "a friend" girl or "acquaintance", who for some reason ends up in the enemy's lair, not so much as a prisoner but more like an enslaved servant woman. She was more in the magician or minstrel or villager style, not a warrior. - In the final riot/reveleion/fight, it is revelated that this girl actually betrayed the main girls and is stâbbed to dëath. - There're 2 secondary characters, two classic barbarian warrior guys that are something like the love interests of the two main girls. - The end consists of the four of them riding their horses.
The same can be said for Male barbarian movies on the exploitation bit. They are all buff and dressed in scantily clad clothes, furs, and butt flaps. Men are used the same way women are, it’s just that no one recognizes it.
Yup. I imagine that if you look back at the directors/producers of "barbarian" movies, the ones who made the male barbarian movies were in the closet (since it was the 70s and 80s).
A female version of The Road Warrior with gratuitous nudity was exactly what I was looking for when I saw most of these, and as you said, I was not disappointed.
I'd take a scantily clad empowered woman with a sword in her hand over any of the chopped, coloured haired, bespectacled screaming banshee victims of today.
There is always a liitle controversy about how much flesh was displayed by the girls but they looked fantastic, just as the guys did and no one complained about them! At the end of the day, it was all great fun. Let's face it, if you don't love Deathstalker 2, you are no fun!
The 1980 - Eye candy for the guys. Werewolves in tongas?! 😅😅😅 We must never forget Xena Warrior Princess. She led the way into TV female warrior beauties.
Oh god...the trauma. I saw a lot of these as a little kid. "She" had by far the largest impact as I kept finding it hilarious in all the wrong place, even then. Good list, sir.
There's a real mix of well-intentioned, fun and exploitation movies in here. But is saying that, please stop loading in buzz words and phrases like 'representation' and 'strong and independent' These actual words have become so misused in the last 5 years, if you can't use them in their original form... then don't pollute the 80's with modern concepts. This video doesn't deserve a dislike, but it's not getting a thumbs up either.
I absolutely agree with you, I've seen a few of these movies, and though cheesy they were pretty fun, but hearing this dude saying "strong, independent, empowered, non-conforming, etc," made it almost unbearable watching this video until the end. But it's not surprising watching a few of their videos, where they shill for all the crappy movies or series that Hollywood puts out nowadays, it seems that this channel has an overdose of soy intake.
@@NewVideoseeker Most of their videos are still pretty good, but some lately have been crammed with leftist ideology. Worst offender was one on strong female cartoon characters. That did get a dislike from me.
I do, that's the whole point. When was growing up with the Original He-man. Teela, Evil-Lyn and the Sorceress were all strong and capable without all looking or acting like Roidy Magoo's in He-Man: Revelations. There were plenty of cartoons of that era with female characters who were capable and weren't damsels in distress. I know they are two examples that everyone falls back on but they still feel relevant. Ripley in Aliens, it feels a better example than Alien. She was surrounded by capable marines and she was tougher than all of them. Her maternal instinct, a feminine trait was instrumental in that bravery to rescue Newt. Sarah Connor, growing from a scared and overwhelmed waitress to a driven survivor. By the end she was dragging Kyle Reese up to his feet when they were hurting. She fought every step of the way. Now you have Rey from Star Wars who doesn't have to work for anything, she is given everything automatically. Instead of making women strong by making them brave and capable, they have to weaken the men around them. The Charlie's Angels movie. Whether they are allies or enemies, the men are weak, inept and incompetent. It's poor writing that denigrates women. Marvellous Videos made a video almost a year ago and tried to claim that finally women were having their shine and be strong as if it had just happened yesterday. We have always had strong Female characters. Jennifer Lawrence has been so brainwashed that she thinks she is the first female action star. I've mentioned two already and here's a third. Geena Davis made a few action movies back in the day, some only gained better recognition after, but she made good films. Male traits and demonised in men but celebrated in women. It's a weird world.
In the 1980s, it was about sexy women wearing barely nothing and Swarts, nowadays, it’s about spandex and big guns, the perverts of Hollywood got a love them
I thought the go carts in Phoenix the warrior made sense, because it's the post apocalypse. So you'd probably couldn't find all the parts to up keep a regular jeep
Sheena is originally a comic book from the 40ies. As such it’s a reoccurring franchise in several formats. From what I was able to find, there was no tv series related to the movie, but a tv series way older than the movie (1956) and one way younger (2000).
There should be a full disclosure at the beginning that this critic is a flamer. Or is that just implicit in all millennial commentaries? "This woman is clearly being exploited and has lackluster talent while over here is shining thrilling cameo by this oiled up male thespian..." Lol
