''The Arena'' is a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

film from producer

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) 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 t ...

on the subject of female gladiators. It is a remake of the 1974 '' The Arena'' with

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...

. It was shot in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

by Kazakh

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Timur Bekmambetov Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (, ; ; born June 25, 1961) is a Russian-Kazakhstan, Kazakh film Film director, director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic ''Night Watch (2004 fi ...

with a Russian crew and it featured ''Playboy'' Playmates

Karen McDougal Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) 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.Fegley, Richard, & Wayda, Stephen (photog ...

and

Lisa Dergan Lisa Dergan (born August 10, 1970) is an American model, actress, media personality, and sportscaster. She was ''Playboys Playmate of the Month for July 1998. Dergan has established a career beyond ''Playboy'', in particular in the world of ...

,Roger Corman's Cult Classics: Lethal Ladies Volume 2

SLANT Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...

in their feature film debut, playing

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

slaves forced to be gladiators in a Roman arena.

Cast

as Jessemina *

as Bodicia *

Olga Sutulova Olga Aleksandrovna Sutulova (russian: О́льга Алекса́ндровна Суту́лова; born 4 May 1980) is a Russian theater and film actress. Biography Olga Sutulova was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Pe ...

as Livia * Yulia Chicherina as Diedra * Viktor Verzhbitsky as Timarchus

References

External links

*
''The Arena'' review
by

Joe Bob Briggs John Irving Bloom (born January 27, 1953), known by the stage name Joe Bob Briggs, is an American syndicated film critic, writer, actor, and comic performer. He is known for having hosted ''Joe Bob's Drive-in Theater'' on The Movie Channel fr ...

''The Arena''
at gladiatrix.info 2001 direct-to-video films 2001 films Direct-to-video drama films Remakes of American films Films directed by Timur Bekmambetov 2001 drama films American remakes of Italian films Films set in ancient Rome Films set in the Roman Empire Films about gladiatorial combat Bazelevs Company films 2000s English-language films {{2000s-drama-film-stub