Sword & the Sorcerer (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Sword-&-sorcery movies were alllll the rage back in the early 1980s {some 30+ were released then} and, well, one of my faves was the aptly titled, 'The Sword & the Sorcerer' (directed & co-written by Albert Pyun). It was one of those terrifying, R-rated medieval fantasy flicks I watched & oddly enjoyed as a kid. Is it a quality movie? Nope. But as a child, I was transfixed by what I was watching. In a dark, dangerous age of sorcery & black magic, the murderous megalomaniac, King Titus Cromwell (Richard Lynch), awakens the hideous demonic necromancer, Xusia of Delos (Richard Moll).
Why is he awoken? To usurp the throne of tender-hearted King Richard of Eh-Dan, enslave his daughter, Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) & force into exile his youngest son, Talon (Lee Horsley); he wouldn't discover his royal heritage til the distant future. 10 violent years later, Talon - now an incredible mercenary warrior wielding a magnificent triple-bladed sword - returns fiercely determined on revenge, & to help Princess Alana with a mission. Unbeknownst to him, however, is the fact that the brutal tyrant & evil sorcerer is alive, mustering his strength for one last battle. It is up to our dauntless adventurer hero, the 'lost prince' Talon, to restore peace to the kingdom that has been suffering for so very long. Bloody action & wizardry ensues.
As far as I'm concerned, the very best of these sword-&-sorcery flicks were 1984's Conan the Destroyer, 1981's Excalibur (directed by John Boorman), & this one; I even prefer it to 1982's other major s-&-s offering, the dank, turgid Conan the Barbarian. In fact, though the latter film is viewed as iconic because of Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming a star from it ... that film made the same amount of $$ as this film did; both were hits. Lee Horsley is solid as Talon, the warrior seeking revenge on the one being who killed his father years before. Katherine Heller makes for a plucky heroine; behaving more intelligently & courageously than your typical damsel in distress – she can hold her own. Richard Lynch impresses as King Titus Cromwell, the bloodthirsty ruler. And the other actor of note is Richard Moll, who is outright terrifying as the gruesome Xusia of Delos.
One of my big memories from childhood was watching Xusia come alive in a fiery dungeon where he - dripping with blood - yanks out the beating heart of a woman. Disgusting! But I was hypnotized by it. Now, no one can argue that this film is 'any good'. Pyun piles on the characters, the lands, & subplots; not always to good effect. The dialogue is weak. And some of the acting is either too wooden OR over-the-top. That said, some of the visual effects are ... effective. The action is inspired. The medieval-style sets {various castles, dungeons, locales, and that crossbow arrow-like 3-pronged sword} & costumes are pretty great. And the make-up designs are 'monstrously' amazing. Ick! But a good ick. Poor storytelling & acting aside, 'The Sword & the Sorcerer' is simply a fun, adrenaline-fueled fantasy excursion. Movies that drip with atmosphere - like this one - get a pass from me.
Why is he awoken? To usurp the throne of tender-hearted King Richard of Eh-Dan, enslave his daughter, Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) & force into exile his youngest son, Talon (Lee Horsley); he wouldn't discover his royal heritage til the distant future. 10 violent years later, Talon - now an incredible mercenary warrior wielding a magnificent triple-bladed sword - returns fiercely determined on revenge, & to help Princess Alana with a mission. Unbeknownst to him, however, is the fact that the brutal tyrant & evil sorcerer is alive, mustering his strength for one last battle. It is up to our dauntless adventurer hero, the 'lost prince' Talon, to restore peace to the kingdom that has been suffering for so very long. Bloody action & wizardry ensues.
As far as I'm concerned, the very best of these sword-&-sorcery flicks were 1984's Conan the Destroyer, 1981's Excalibur (directed by John Boorman), & this one; I even prefer it to 1982's other major s-&-s offering, the dank, turgid Conan the Barbarian. In fact, though the latter film is viewed as iconic because of Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming a star from it ... that film made the same amount of $$ as this film did; both were hits. Lee Horsley is solid as Talon, the warrior seeking revenge on the one being who killed his father years before. Katherine Heller makes for a plucky heroine; behaving more intelligently & courageously than your typical damsel in distress – she can hold her own. Richard Lynch impresses as King Titus Cromwell, the bloodthirsty ruler. And the other actor of note is Richard Moll, who is outright terrifying as the gruesome Xusia of Delos.
One of my big memories from childhood was watching Xusia come alive in a fiery dungeon where he - dripping with blood - yanks out the beating heart of a woman. Disgusting! But I was hypnotized by it. Now, no one can argue that this film is 'any good'. Pyun piles on the characters, the lands, & subplots; not always to good effect. The dialogue is weak. And some of the acting is either too wooden OR over-the-top. That said, some of the visual effects are ... effective. The action is inspired. The medieval-style sets {various castles, dungeons, locales, and that crossbow arrow-like 3-pronged sword} & costumes are pretty great. And the make-up designs are 'monstrously' amazing. Ick! But a good ick. Poor storytelling & acting aside, 'The Sword & the Sorcerer' is simply a fun, adrenaline-fueled fantasy excursion. Movies that drip with atmosphere - like this one - get a pass from me.