Warrior Women

Smithsonian Channel - Samurai Warrior Queens (2015)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MKV/AVC @ 2703 Kbps | 46mn 0s | Audio: English AC3 384 kbps, 6 channels | Subs: None | 1.01 GiB
Genre: Documentary

In ancient Japan, honor and glory were reserved for male soldiers only, which makes the story of Takeko Nakano so remarkable. Not only was she a female Japanese warrior, but she was joined by several hundred other samurai warrior women, whose complete dedication and extensive suffering remains one of the world's great untold stories. Discover Nakano's rise to become a martial arts master, her epic battle for her clans' independence, and how in today's martial arts schools, the spirit of Japan's female warriors continues to thrive.

I didn't bother seeing the recent remake of "Conan the Barbarian" (and from the box office and reviews, if looks like I didn't miss anything.) Instead, I bought and watched the contents of "Roger Corman's Cult Classics: Sword and Sorcery." As I've mentioned in the past, Corman was quick to ride on the success of the original "Conan", with movies like "Sorceress" and "Barbarian Queen" flooding theaters and VHS rentals back in the day. The most successful of these though, was the "Deathstalker" series, which took the basics of the Sword and Sorcery genre and added more exploitable elements to them. So with all that out of the way, let's take a look at the first two movies in the franchise.

I didn't bother seeing the recent remake of "Conan the Barbarian" (and from the box office and reviews, if looks like I didn't miss anything.) Instead, I bought and watched the contents of "Roger Corman's Cult Classics: Sword and Sorcery." As I've mentioned in the past, Corman was quick to ride on the success of the original "Conan", with movies like "Sorceress" and "Barbarian Queen" flooding theaters and VHS rentals back in the day. The most successful of these though, was the "Deathstalker" series, which took the basics of the Sword and Sorcery genre and added more exploitable elements to them. So with all that out of the way, let's take a look at the first two movies in the franchise.

Are dudes in loincloths, topless ladies, lizard monsters, and bad special effects your idea of a good time? Enjoy cheapjack Conan The Barbarian rip offs? Not phased by sets that look like they were made out of papier-mâché? Then Shout! Factory, in their ongoing mission from God to release as many Roger Corman films as they can, have got the DVD set you’ve been waiting for…. The Sword And Sorcery Collection!

Are dudes in loincloths, topless ladies, lizard monsters, and bad special effects your idea of a good time? Enjoy cheapjack Conan The Barbarian rip offs? Not phased by sets that look like they were made out of papier-mâché? Then Shout! Factory, in their ongoing mission from God to release as many Roger Corman films as they can, have got the DVD set you’ve been waiting for…. The Sword And Sorcery Collection!

A cultured diplomat joins a band of savage warriors in time to meet an even more fearsome enemy in this historical adventure. In 922 A.D., Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) is a Muslim emissary from Baghdad en route to meet with the King of Saqaliba when he is captured by a gang of Vikings. While Ibn and his people are intelligent and well-mannered, the Vikings are a rowdy and sometimes unpleasant lot, with an unquenchable appetite for food, alcohol, and women. However, in time he develops an understanding and respect for the Viking warriors and is welcomed into their society by their leader, Buliwyf. However, Ibn must now join them as they return to their homeland once they receive word of an invasion by a huge pack of bloodthirsty invaders who will destroy and eat anything in their path – including the flesh of the men they have killed. The 13th Warrior was based on the book Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, which was in turn adapted from tales of Viking folklore.

BBC - Joan of Arc: God's Warrior (2015)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MKV/AVC @ 1884 Kbps | 58mn 52s | Audio: English AAC 128 kbps, 2 channels | Subs: None | 793 MiB
Genre: Documentary

Writer and historian Dr Helen Castor explores the life - and death - of Joan of Arc. Joan was an extraordinary figure - a female warrior in an age that believed women couldn't fight, let alone lead an army. But Joan was driven by faith, and today more than ever we are acutely aware of the power of faith to drive actions for good or ill. Since her death, Joan has become an icon for almost everyone - the left and the right, Catholics and Protestants, traditionalists and feminists. But where in all of this is the real Joan - the experiences of a teenage peasant girl who achieved the seemingly impossible? Through an astonishing manuscript, we can hear Joan's own words at her trial, and as Helen unpicks Joan's story and places her back in the world that she inhabited, the real human Joan emerges.