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DVD The Viking Queen
There are no Vikings in The Viking Queen, a low-budget adventure from Hammer studios set in the British Isles during the Roman reign of Nero. Salina (Carita), the curiously Italian-accented daughter of a dying British king, inherits his kingdom on the eve of a treaty that splits power between the native monarchy and the Roman government. American star Don Murray (of Bus Stop and The Hoodlum Priest fame), looking oddly uncomfortable in a Roman tunic, is the fair-minded Roman governor-general Justinian, whose jurisprudence and willingness to compromise infuriates his bloodthirsty second in command. Plots from within both camps threaten not just the uneasy peace between the Britons and the Romans but the hot-and-heavy love affair between Salina and Justinian (whose flirtatious chariot race leads to a little riverside nooky). This sword-and-sandal-meets-bearskin-and-clubs adventure is at its best on location in the British countryside, where the grand scenery belies its meager budget, but the battle scenes suffer from a tiny cast of soldiers and lackluster choreography. There are plenty of scantily clad maidens (who knew the ancient British climate was so temperate?), Druid ceremonies with human sacrifices, and even a kinky flogging, but ultimately director Don Chaffey's attempts to inject Hammer's lurid edge into the drama come off as both perfunctory and forced. Though often entertaining, this period adventure never reaches the smart, sexy, and showy gothic splendor of Hammer's horror classics. --Sean Axmaker
Viking Queen is a low budget 60's film, with some great costumes, great dialog, and little historical accuracy.
Why did I give it a high rating? Viking Queen, is simply a hell of a lot of fun!
Carita stars as Celtic Princess, Selena, who must liberate her people, the Iceni tribe from the brutal control of the romans. Torn between her love for a roman general, and the needs to help her people, Carita dons a skimpy warrior's costume and leads her people into battle.
Historical purists steer clear of this one, but everyone else might enjoy this film. Be warned, there is a fair amount of gratuitous nudity and violence in this film, it may not be appropriate for all viewers.
Hmmmm...
Totally fails to live up to any SM expectations you may have. Carita is an absolute honey, though.
Cheap and historically inaccurate...but fun to watch!
It's a damn shame that the average American is totally ignorant of the Celtic legacy of the western world; modern pop culture and three centuries of fundamentalist Christianity have done their part in obliterating all accurate memory of our northern European roots from the minds of the masses. That's why I applaud any movie that treats the subject of Celtic antiquity, even if most of these films are a far cry from historical reality. This is certainly the case with The Viking Queen: The Celtic Britons were NOT Vikings (a later Germanic people), the druids did NOT worship Zeus (the druid character in the film invokes this Greek deity), Brythonic Celts never had the name Angus (the name of a Briton prince in the film...the name itself is Gaelic Celtic), and on and on. However, the film does make a somewhat lame attempt to depict the political turmoil in the Britain of the first century of the Common Era; the invading Roman legions never did win the undying loyalty of the entire isle of Britain and uprisings were common throughout the remaining years of the empire. That being said, the film is otherwise good cheesy fun for the non-sticklers: hot chicks, lots of violence, humorous over acting, the typical Hammer offering (and I'm not at all surprised that a movie with this subject matter was produced in Britain and not the United States). Carita's "Viking" Queen character is loosely based on the historical personage of Boudicea of the Iceni tribe, who ravaged Roman occupied Londinium during the Briton uprising against the forces of the general Paulinus. So, this is not the worst film ever made, I'm just a little disappointed that we have countless biblical and Roman celluloid epics to choose from but precious few serious films about our own ancestors;The Viking Queen is hardly serious...it reduces a dynamic period of our history into a lusty comic book farce.
Deep in the African jungle, great white hunter David Marchant (Michael Latimer) discovers a secret Amazon society where blondes don't have more fun. Captured after trespassing on the sacred grounds of a dangerous tribe of albino-rhino worshippers, he escapes execution by entering a hidden land where women in fur bikinis have enslaved the men, and the brunettes are served by subservient (and quite buxom) blonde slaves. Naturally David falls for cleavage-endowed Saria (Edina Ronay), who believes he is their legendary savior, while the vicious, dark Queen Kari (Martine Beswick) decides to make him her own personal servant to cater to her... every need. Director-producer Michael Carreras (who also wrote the film under the pseudonym "Henry Younger") reused leftover sets from One Million... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Michael Carreras DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 1999 Usually ships within 2 to 3 days
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Polish-born actress Ingrid Pitt's erotically supercharged presence is the highlight of this double bill of vampire chills from Hammer Films. In Countess Dracula, Pitt stars as an aging noblewoman (inspired by the real-life Erzebeth Bathory) who discovers the secret to eternal youth in the veins of young virgins, while in The Vampire Lovers (based on J. Sheridan LeFanu's "Carmilla"), Pitt's sensuous bloodsucker seduces Hammer starlets Madeleine Smith and Kate O'Mara and incurs the vengeful wrath of Peter Cushing. Countess is the more sober of the two films, with Jeremy Paul's script and Peter Sadsy's direction playing out more like an Old Dark House mystery than Hammer horror, while Lovers' aims for comic-book thrills with plenty of nudity and violence (much of... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Peter Sasdy DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Truly one of the greatest Hammer Films of the 1970s. Screenwriter/Producer Brian Clemens brings a breath of fresh air to the Hammer establishment that had been missing for some time. Bizarre and inventive, without being exploitive, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a gloomy amd atmospheric Victorian horror. Everything is played seriously, which makes the film more believable and enjoyable. The two leads are perfectly cast. Martine Beswick is menacing as Sister Hyde without being camp, and Ralph Bates puts in a sensitive and understated performance as Dr. Jekyll. Roy Ward Baker's snappy direction compliments everything nicely. The score by David Whitaker adds much to the proceedings. As usual Anchor Bay has put together a great package for an underappreciated film. Presented uncut, the picture... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ralph Bates - Martine Beswick Director(s): Roy Ward Baker DVD Release Date: Released the 04 December 2001 Usually ships within 24 hours
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