hundra

THE FLICK: A young warrior’s tribe is viciously slaughtered by the marauding hordes of a fiendish king, prompting a quest for revenge that sprawls across a great wasteland and beyond. Sound like any barbarians you know? Sure, Hundra may have purchased all the leftover props and costumes from Dino De Laurentiis’ Conan and shot on the very same locations, but that’s where the similarities end claims director Matt Cimber. After all, Hundra’s a woman (played by wrestling legend Laurene Landon) charged with finding a suitable mate to provide “seed” to carry on her race of Amazonian warriors. And like any 20-something virgin, Hundra’s pretty picky. One of the most amusing commentary track moments on DVD this year comes when moderator and Subversive Cinema founder Norm Hill asks the director if Conan was an influence on his film. Allow me to paraphrase: Hill: “The opening of the film is very similar to Conan, isn’t it?” Cimber: “I don’t think so. There’s no raid in the beginning of Conan.” Hill: “Oh yes there is.” Cimber: “Well, it didn’t look anything like this.” Awkward silence. Hill: “Okaaaay, then....” It’s obvious Cimber, director of numerous Blacksploitation titles and the infamous Butterfly with Pia Zadora, has no sense of humor or humility when it comes to his work. But oddly enough, Hundra is a loose, funny fantasy that should have earned more attention than it did in light of the success of Conan and The Beastmaster, which found whole new audiences on home video and endless cable replays. And that opening sequence he refers to is directed with just as many thundering hoofbeats and bloody beheadings as anything in Schwarzenegger universe. Hundra could have been an easy target for ridicule, with its loin cloth heroine squeezing suitors by the balls and fighting midgets wielding phallic symbols. But the film never mocks its main character, presenting her as a comic-book-style defender of women’s rights, while at the same time keeping the tone light enough for a laugh or two along the way. As Hundra, Landon has a gangly sort of appeal, rattling off lines like, “A man will never penetrate my body...with his sword or with himself” with the sort of conviction only a struggling actor can pull off. The film lets her keep her dignity in a genre that demeans women on a regular basis. But more impressive is the film’s look, which flies in the face of low-budget conventions with a scope and scale not too far removed from De Laurentiis. Cinematographer John Cabrera (second unit DP on Conan) makes the most of the scenic Spanish locations while Ennio Morricone (yes, the Ennio Morricone) contributes a catchy, bombastic score based on the work of Verdi. Overall, Hundra is a well put-together slice of ‘80s cheese with fewer holes in it than you might expect. THE FEATURES: Sit back and relax while director Matt Cimber takes credit for inventing popcorn, compact discs and the language of cinema. OK, the first two I made up, but to hear Cimber say it, Hundra is the Citizen Kane of action films. (He worked with Orson Welles, you know?!). Actually, Xena does have a whole lot of ‘splaining to do, but that’s about where the legacy ends. Cimber is joined by Landon for a running commentary track that barely takes a breath. Moderator Norm Hill guides the conversation as best he can, but Cimber needs no prompting to talk about the film’s origins and influence. The 45-minute Making Of picks up on the highlights of the commentary, expanding on Landon’s rise to brief semi-stardom and adding some interview segments with co-writer John Goff. But the most distinctive extras are the 10-page comic-book adaptation of Hundra’s continuing adventures – The Coven of Six – and the full soundtrack of Ennio Morricone’s music on a second disc, limited to the first 5000 units. Subversive has rescued something really special this time. Just don’t tell Hundra that...she’ll kick your ass!