YouTube, MySpace and their cousins have made it all the easier for action heroine fans to get their entertainment fix. Each month, we pick one clip to feature: this is the archives of the previous nominees.

April 2010

The trailer for Samurai Princess, scheduled for release on DVD, May 25th. I got a Barnes & Noble gift-card for my birthday. I think I know what it might be used for...

March 2010

I have become aware of an odd Japanese sub-culture of sexy action heroines, which might be best described as Power Rangers for mature viewers. While it seems they contain rather too much bondage and torture for me to be entirely happy with them, they are certainly within the remit of the site. Here's a sample clip from Gravure Heroine Gaia Ranger, produced by Zen Pictures, who appear to be the market leaders in such things. Some of them appear to have received distribution in the West, so might follow up there. Obviously, this is the kind of thing where you need subtitles, to follow what's going on...

February 2010

Luc Besson has always been one of the directors most intimately connected to action heroines: most obviously in Nikita, The Messenger, and Angel-A, but his other works, such as Leon and The Fifth Element also contain GwG elements. He has been largely absent from the director's chair of late, except for his trilogy of kid-flicks based on the Arthur books, but returns to the field in April with Les Aventures Extraordinaires D'Adèle Blanc-Sec, which translates as The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec (if you hadn't worked that out). Based on a series of comics, it follows the heroine through her exploits at the turn of the century, which appear to involve... Well, here's the official synopsis:

The year is 1912. Adèle Blanc-Sec, an intrepid young reporter, will go to any lengths to achieve her aims, even sailing to Egypt to tackle mummies of all shapes and sizes. Meanwhile, in Paris, it's panic stations! A 136 million-year-old pterodactyl egg on a shelf in the natural history museum has mysteriously hatched, and the bird subjects the city to a reign of terror from the skies. But nothing fazes Adèle Blanc-Sec, whose adventures reveal many more extraordinary surprises... Set in the carefree world before World War I, Adèle Blanc-Sec's adventures see the brave young woman fearlessly battling crooks, corrupt politicians, demon worshippers and mad scientists.

Given Besson's skill with action (I just watched Leon again this afternoon, and it remains one of my all-time favourites), I'm fairly hopeful for this one. A poster and the teaser trailer are below: it opens in Europe in April.

January 2010

This month's offering certainly falls into the category of "stumbled upon." I started off looking on YouTube for the Resident Evil 4 trailer, and somehow drifted from there to Babes With Blades. There appear actually to be two troupes by that name: one from Britain, under Cecilia Fay, and the other out of Chicago - the latter appears to be more theatrically-based, with the last production listed being an all-female version of Macbeth. The UK version is more...well, see the video below. They appeared on Britain's Got Talent - yes, the show that gave the world Susan Boyle - and even Simon was impressed. Rule Britannia!

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