The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)

The early 80's were a great time for fantasy films and that era produced many of my favorites including, Conan The Barbarian, Clash Of The Titans, Excalibur, The Beastmaster and this film as well. The Sword And The Sorcerer is a bit more lighthearted than the above pictures and the tone is very tongue in cheek. However, a fairly well made, coherent and enjoyable adventure flick was made. The plot is pretty straightforward as Talon, son of King Richard has grown up and is a swashbuckling rogue mercenary that stopped home for revenge on Cromwell for killing his family and to liberate the kingdom from Cromwell's tyranny. Our hero Talon, played by Lee Horsley is a hybrid of Han Solo and Conan. In my opinion, Talon has more in common with Han Solo than Conan though. While our hero is quite capable in battle, Talon has a lot of homeboys and they come out of the woodwork to help Talon in his time of need. Of Talon's homies, Captain Morgan is my favorite. The underrated Richard Lynch gives the best performance in the film as main villain and usurper king Cromwell. Talon is armed with a triple bladed sword that can shoot at people as well. There is a lot of great action here as well as some decapitations, gore and T+A. Overall, The Sword And The Sorcerer is a fun, action packed fantasy film that does not take itself too seriously. However, the film is not so campy that it is too over the top to have the audience take it seriously when the story needs it to be.

Fmovies: Ah, this brings back the memories.

This was one of the scariest movies I saw when I was young, and one of the best adventure/d&d movies. Some of the scenes were truly gruesome, especially the big monster bloke with the beating heart. I still remember grimacing as the hero puts his hand on the tree and one of the baddies fires an arrow into it, and when Talon is attached to the cross and has to pull his hands with big nails in them out. Ouch, that gave me the heebygeebees. Classic stuff for kids, although I nearly died with embarrasment (watching this beside my mum at the time) when Talon is being chased through the castle and crashes into the bedroom filled with beautiful bronzed naked women.

9/10 as a kid, but the cast do know it's trash and ham it up for what it is.

Lee Horsley (Easily the most likable barbarian warrior) stars as Talon a mercenary hired to save the brother of a rebel princess, the reward of course is one night with that said rebel princess and so armed with a spring loaded sword which shoots out (Also looks heavy as hell) Talon takes on Titus(Richard Lynch) the man who killed his father much sword and sorcery action takes place. I proclaimed in one of my reviews (That dealt with Albert Pyun) that I figured his best movie was Kickboxer 2 or Kickboxer 4, that is until I went and clicked on Albert Pyun's name and saw that he had gone and directed one of my childhood favorites. The Sword And Sorcerer is of course a rip off Conan The Barbarian but this one feels no less epic and Pyun's style seems appropriate provided he doesn't go crazy with his camera angles. He keeps it under control here and he brings a real sense of excitement to the action. Sword and Sorcerer is also helped by Horsley's performance which is build on humor, intelligence and charisma. Whatever to this guy? So even though Pyun did direct the movie this is still a must see and I think it is perfect for anyone who likes the Sword and Sorcery genre. Also there is tons of gore which I look at as very favorable.

* * * out of 4-(Good)

The Sword and the Sorcerer fmovies. When this one came out, Hollywood and the networks were shooting out Sword & Sorcery projects as fast as they could get made, hoping to cash in on Dungeons and Dragons game and the Conan flick. Well, aside from DRAGONSLAYER, SWORD AND THE SORCEROR is the best of them all. Where CONAN was bloated and self-important to the point of pomposity, this one is a fun ride with nary a slow moment. Even better, it actually has a plot that makes you think!

Oh, have to disagree with one comment about half-naked women.... Kathleen Beller is COMPLETELY naked when Talon crashes into the harem, escaping the guards.

What's not to like? A great balance among all the elements of what makes film fun. Lee Horsley resembles Errol Flynn, and Robert Tessier fills the screen and steals every scene, as always. Richard Lynch curls his lip a lot, the sneering Jay Robinson is on board, and the special effects don't interfere with the plot, as in today's SFX-o-ramas. Plenty of gorgeous gals in great costumes, and without great costumes. Shakespearean skullduggery abounds everywhere, buckles get swashed, and people walked out of the theatre saying "I thought they didn't know how to make them like that anymore." (Hey, wait a minute ... we're STILL saying that!) Highly recommended!

"I have a debt to pay" ... for 15 years of viewing pleasure. This film is an absolute joy, untarnished by repeated viewings, sadly overshadowed by Schwarzeneger's vastly inferior Conan movies, and unreasonably critically trashed alongside truly terrible contemporary low budget thud and blunder efforts. The script creaks more than the plot, but reigned in from the curse of camp by director Albert Pyun the actors deliver their lines with a straight face and leave the the audience to find the comedy themselves. Almost a dictionary definition of "ahead of its time", the film is a blueprint for the success of Sam Raimi's Hercules and Xena, right down to the use of Australian bit players. Effects like the demon sorceror's tomb might be managed better technically today, but no more atmospherically, and the closing sword battle is a triumph. The performances are eccentric and electric, and you could not wish for a more motley crew of cut-throats and sidekicks. Richard Lynch eats the scenery with unalloyed zeal, and quite simply more of Lee Horsley as Talon would have made the movie world a better place.