The Arena | |
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Directed by | Timur Bekmambetov |
Written by | John William Corrington |
Produced by | Roger Corman Sergei Livnev |
Starring | Karen McDougal Lisa Dergan |
Edited by | Dmitriy Kiselev |
Distributed by | New Horizons Home Video |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 min. |
Countries | Russia United States |
Language | English |
The Arena is a direct-to-video film from producer Roger Corman on the subject of female gladiators. It is a remake of the 1974 The Arena with Pam Grier. It was shot in Russia by Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov [1] with a Russian crew and it featured Playboy Playmates Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan, [2] in their feature film debut, playing Amazon slaves forced to be gladiators in a Roman arena.
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He started with writing films for Roger Corman including The Tomb of Ligeia (1964). Later, he became a well-known figure of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974), which is widely considered one of the greatest screenplays. Towne also wrote the sequel, The Two Jakes (1990); the Hal Ashby comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975). He is also known for his collaborations with Tom Cruise on the films Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993) and the first two instalments of Mission: Impossible franchise.
Roger William Corman is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works that have an already-established critical reputation, such as his cycle of low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The film's concept may have been inspired by "Green Thoughts", a 1932 story by John Collier about a man-eating plant. Hollywood writer Dennis McDougal suggests that Griffith may have been influenced by Arthur C. Clarke's 1956 science fiction short story "The Reluctant Orchid".
Timur Bekmambetov is a Russian-Kazakh film director, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic Night Watch (2004) and action thriller Wanted (2008), as well as for pioneering Screenlife films: Unfriended (2015), Searching (2018) and Profile (2021). He founded Baselevs, a production company that earned a spot among the 2021 World’s 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video, according to Fast Company.
Karen McDougal is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998. In 2001, the readers of Playboy voted McDougal the runner-up of "The sexiest Playmate of the 1990s".
Lisa Dergan is an American model, actress, media personality, and sportscaster. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for July 1998.
The Arena, also known as Naked Warriors, is a 1974 gladiator exploitation film directed by Steve Carver and starring Margaret Markov and Pam Grier. Joe D'Amato, the film's cinematographer, has stated that he took over direction of the fight scenes in the film.
Humanoids from the Deep is a 1980 American science fiction horror film starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's uncredited executive producer, and his company, New World Pictures, distributed it. Humanoids from the Deep was directed by Barbara Peeters and an uncredited Jimmy T. Murakami.
She Gods of Shark Reef is a 1958 B-adventure film directed by Roger Corman that was partially filmed on location in Kaua'i back to back with Thunder over Hawaii in 1956. The film was distributed in 1958 by American International Pictures as a double feature with Night of the Blood Beast.
Barbarian Queen is a 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film starring Lana Clarkson, directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film premiered in April 1985 in the United States. It was executive produced by Roger Corman, and it was the third in a series of ten movies that Corman produced in Argentina during the 1980s.
Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die is a 1990 American slasher film written by Mark Thomas McGee and James B. Rogers, directed by Jim Wynorski, and starring Gail Harris and Melissa Moore. The film features a similar storyline and many of the same actresses from its predecessor, and Wynorski's previous film Sorority House Massacre II, of which Hard to Die is essentially a remake.
Screwballs II, also known as Loose Screws, is a 1985 Canadian teen sex comedy film. It is a sequel to Screwballs. It was one of the first releases from Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures.
Rodman Flender is an American actor, writer, director and producer.
The Unborn is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by Rodman Flender and starring Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga, James Karen, K Callan, and Jane Cameron. The screenplay concerns a couple who cannot have children. They try in-vitro fertilization, but then strange things start happening to the mother while she is pregnant.
Naked Paradise is a 1957 drama film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Richard Denning and Beverly Garland.
Target: Harry is a 1969 thriller film directed by Roger Corman.
Steve Carver was an American film director, producer, and photographer.
Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader is a 2012 American 3D science fiction comedy horror film directed by Kevin O'Neill and produced by Roger Corman as his first 3D production. The film stars Treat Williams, Sean Young, and Jena Sims. The film was released on August 25, 2012 on Epix.
The Filmgroup was a production and distribution company founded by filmmakers Roger Corman and Gene Corman in 1959. Corman used it to make and distribute his own movies, as opposed to ones he was making for American International Pictures. The company ultimately folded, however, lessons from running the company helped Corman make a success later of New World Pictures. Filmgroup also produced early feature work of Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Charles B. Griffith, Curtis Harrington, Jack Hill, Monte Hellman, Robert Towne and Jack Nicholson.
The Woman Hunt is a 1972 film directed by Eddie Romero and starring John Ashley, Pat Woodell, and Sid Haig.