Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review: The Archer: Fugative from the Empire (USA, 1981)

A Harbinger451 Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review:

The Archer: Fugative from the Empire (USA, 1981)

AKA: The Archer and the Sorceress.
Content Rating: PG – for fantasy action/adventure violence.
Director: Nicholas J. Corea
Production Co: Mad Dog Productions & Universal Television.
Runtime: 1hr 36min.

The Archer: Fugative from the Empire is the first in an intended series of TV movies for NBC, the later instalments of which did not materialize. We are left with a pilot that ends on a now strange “to-be-continued” note that ultimately leads nowhere. It’s a bit of a shame, for this is a pretty decent attempt at a sword and sorcery tale, even though it admittedly suffers from the typical budgetary and technical limitations of such television productions made during the very early 80s.

It concerns the adventures of Toran (Lane Caudell), a young and dispossessed barbarian prince with a magic bow, who is on the run from The Dynasty, a cruel invading empire, after being framed in the assassination of his father by his duplicitous cousin Sandros (Marc Alaimo). He’s trying to find the great wizard Lazar-Sa who may be able to help him. While being tracked by the Dynasty’s supreme warlord Gar (Kabir Bedi) and his snake people minions, Toran picks up a pair of companions, a young sorceress called Estra (Belinda Bauer) and a roguish thief named Slant (Victor Campos).

Toran (Lane Caudell – right) and his father, Brakus (George Kennedy -left).

The plot is unavoidably half-baked due to the cancellation of any continuing instalments, and the characters and dialogue, though colourful, are rather hackneyed. The acting is hammy at best, though this movie does grant you the chance to enjoy the spectacle of George Kennedy done up as a braided, bleached-blonde barbarian king, Toran‘s father, at the beginning.

The props, sets and locations are all a bit hit and miss but generally acceptable, as is the cinematography. It’s all fairly standard 80s TV fair so the visual effects leave a lot to be desired, although the makeup, masks and costumes for the lizard-man snake people are quite good … its almost worth watching for them alone. The costumes are generally more hit than miss; some thought and creativity clearly went into them.

The Dynasty’s supreme warlord Gar (Kabir Bedi) with one of his snake people henchmen.

The worst thing about the whole show was probably the annoying electronic music. It is often touted as the first major film to have a one hundred per cent synthesized score (though Hawk The Slayer (1980) appears to have had one a year earlier). This jarring incidental soundtrack was very intrusive in a lot of places and seemed more suited to science fiction than sword and sorcery.

The snake people really are the best thing about this movie.

The series was probably never continued because of its initial lack-lustre reception when first broadcast in the USA. It should be considered somewhat ahead of its time, however. If it had come out just one year later, perhaps it would have benefited from the success of Excalibur (1981), Dragonslayer (1981) and Conan the Barbarian (1982) and the wider interest in swords and sorcery that these big-budget, big-screen movie successes spawned. The Archer was better received outside of the US and was even released theatrically in West Germany and France.

Slant (Victor Campos), Toran (Lane Caudell) and Estra (Belinda Bauer) are ready for action.

Any self-respecting fantasy fan should see this moderately entertaining film at least once; needless to say, though, true fantasy fanatics will be falling over themselves to add this to their permanent movie collection.

Technical Rating: 5/10
(From a Basic Score of 4.5 [Plot = 0.5; Characters = 0.5; Dialogue = 0.5; Acting = 0.5; Costumes & Styling = 1; Props & Sets = 0.5; Locations = 0.5; Cinematography = 0.5; Visual & Sound Effects = 0; Musical Score = 0]; plus a Genre Bonus of 0.5 for the snake people.)

The guardian of the shrine where Toran finds the sorceress Estra.

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

Buy The Archer: Fugative from the Empire (1981) in the UK

Buy The Archer: Fugative from the Empire (1981) in the US

Check out my list of notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

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Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review: Clash of the Titans (UK/USA, 1981)

A Harbinger451 Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review:

Clash of the Titans (UK/USA, 1981)

Tagline: An Epic Entertainment Spectacular! | Experience The Fantastic! | You will feel the power. Live the adventure. Experience the fantastic.
Content Rating: 12 – for moderate fantasy/adventure violence with some blood and gore, some mild horror and some mild nudity.
Director: Desmond Davis
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Runtime: 1hr 58min.

Clash of the Titans is old-school visual effects maestro Ray Harryhausen‘s last movie before retiring, and he returns to Greek Mythology for inspiration, Jason and the Argonauts (UK/USA, 1963) being his only other such outing. It’s certainly his biggest budgeted film ever, it cost an estimated $15,000,000 and he throws everything at it. Of all his movies, only Hammer Production’s One Million Years B.C. (1966) has come close to featuring as many stop-motion elements as this one. The stop-motion animation technique, that Harryhausen specialized in, was well past its sell-by date by the time this movie came out though. In comparison, the animatronics used in the contemporaneous movie Dragonslayer (UK/USA, 1981) were state-of-the-art. The stop-motion creatures of Clash were looking decidedly unsophisticated and even, dare I say, somewhat naff by this point.

Despite all that, the movie is still very entertaining in parts, and it did well at the box office, making $70,000,000. If you’re a fan of Harryhausen, adventure movies, mythology, or fantasy in general, there is still a lot to enjoy here.

The movie retells the story of Perseus (Harry Hamlin) and Andromeda (Judi Bowker), and features many of the Greek Olympian pantheon; including Zeus (Laurence Olivier), Hera (Claire Bloom), Thetis (Maggie Smith), Aphrodite (Ursula Andress), Poseidon (Jack Gwillim), Athena (Susan Fleetwood) and Hephaestus (Pat Roach).

Perseus consults with the Stygian Witches for some much needed advice.

Listed in the credits are The Mythologicals (as themselves). These are the stop-motion creations featured in the film; Bubo (a mechanical owl fashioned by Hephaestus), Charon (the ferryman across the River Styx), Dioskilos (a two-headed hell hound), Kraken (a sea monster), Medusa (the gorgon, a snake-haired horror), Pegasus (a winged, flying horse), giant Scorpions (born from Medusa’s spilt blood) and a giant Vulture. There is also Calibos, played by Neil McCarthy, who gets transformed into a deformed monstrous satyr-like creature by Zeus for committing several atrocities against the father of the gods, including the killing of his sacred flying horses (not including Pegasus).

A beautiful mortal, Danaë (Vida Taylor), is impregnated by Zeus and gives birth to Perseus. Her furious father, King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston), locks her and her newborn demigod son into a chest and casts them to the seas. Zeus kills the King in revenge and orders Poseidon to release the last of the Titans, the Kraken, to destroy Argos. The chest carrying Danaë and her son safely floats to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.

Perseus and his pals must overcome Dioskilos the hell hound before confronting the Gorgon.

Princess Andromeda, daughter of Queen Cassiopeia of Joppa (Siân Phillips), was betrothed to Calibos, the no-good son of sea-goddess Thetis before he was turned into a hideous creature by Zeus. Now she is cursed to only be able to marry a suitor who can answer a riddle set that day by the deformed and bitter Calibos, failure to answer the riddle correctly would result in the suitor’s execution. To revenge herself on Zeus, Thetis brings Perseus to Joppa, knowing he will fall for Andromeda and that he will attempt to answer one of her son’s riddles … and undoubtedly fail. With the aid of some gifts from the gods (including a helm of invisibility from Athena, a magical sword from Aphrodite, and a very shiny shield from Hera) and with some sneaking around, Perseus is able to learn the next day’s riddle in advance and correctly answers. This infuriates Thetis and her son.

At the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda in Thetis’ own temple in Joppa, Cassiopeia foolishly declares her daughter more beautiful than even Thetis herself. Knowing she cannot act against Perseus without angering Zeus, the angry sea-goddess demands Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken, or she’ll have the monstrous beast destroy the city instead. With the help of friends, poet Ammon (Burgess Meredith) and soldier Thallo (Tim Pigott-Smith), Perseus and Andromeda must find a way to defeat the Kraken. They seak out the Stygian Witches (the Graeae, or grey witches/sisters) for this purpose and are told that the only way is by using the head of the gorgon, Medusa. Whose gaze can turn any living thing, including the Kraken, into stone, but Medusa lives on an island in the River Styx, which is right at the edge of the Underworld.

Although rather loose with its interpretation of the mythology, Clash of the Titans certainly packs a lot into its dense, almost two-hour runtime. As well as being Ray Harryhausen’s final effort, this was also the last theatrical film for producer Charles H. Schneer and actor Donald Houston, as well as that of Flora Robson and Freda Jackson, who played two of the three Stygian Witches (Anna Manahan played the third).

Persues tries to not catch the eye of the baleful Medusa, that hideous Gorgon.

Clash of the Titans‘ screenwriter, Beverley Cross, was married to Maggie Smith, who played Thetis. He was also the screenwriter for Jason and the Argonauts. Jack Gwillim, who appeared here as Poseidon, had played the role of King Aeëtes in Jason and the Argonauts.

The Kraken is in fact a product of Norwegian mythology, not Greek. The name is synonymous in Norwegian and Swedish with a giant squid. According to Greek myth, the sea monster (not a Titan) that Andromeda was to be sacrificed to was called Cetus, which means whale. The only other “Titan” featured in Clash of the Titans was Medusa, but she was not considered a Titan in Greek Mythology. The Titans were not monsters necessarily; they were simply the twelve gods and goddesses who preceded the Olympians. In the original myth, Cassiopeia and Andromeda were Queen and Princess of Aethiopia, not Joppa. Though, a later variant does place the climactic events there. Perseus did not fly with the aid of a captured Pegasus (that was Bellerophon); Perseus had winged sandals loaned to him by the god Hermes. Of the other gifts, Zeus gave him the sword, Hades‘s gave the helm of invisibility, and Athena gave the polished shield.

Perseus will never be short of head from now on.

A CGI heavy 3D remake, Clash of the Titans (USA, 2010), was produced and followed by a sequel, Wrath of the Titans (USA, 2012). Both star Sam Worthington as Perseus, and both depict Hades as the main antagonist plotting against the demigod hero.

Technical Rating: 6.5/10
(From a Basic Score of 6 [Plot = 0.5; Characters = 0.5; Dialogue = 0.5; Acting = 0.5; Costumes & Styling = 0.5; Props & Sets = 0.5; Locations = 1; Cinematography = 1; Visual & Sound Effects = 0.5; Musical Score = 0.5]; minus a Quality Penalty of 0.5 for its rather plodding pace and overlong runtime; plus a Genre Bonus of 1 for depicting the Greek gods and for bringing so many mythological creatures to life, including Medusa and Pegasus, albeit in a stilted stop-motion form.)

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

The rousing finale would have been gobsmackingly awesome back in the 60s or even the early 70s, but in the 80s – not so much.

Buy Clash of the Titans (1981) in the UK

Buy Clash of the Titans (1963) in the US

Check out my list of notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

Subscribe to this blog to keep updated on all my articles, stories, reviews and publications – or follow me on Twitter HERE.

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Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review: Jason and the Argonauts (UK/USA, 1963)

A Harbinger451 Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review:

Jason and the Argonauts (UK/USA, 1963)

Tagline: Greatest Odyssey Of The Ages – for the first time on the screen | SEE! The Adventure That Stunned the World…And the Mighty Men Who Conquered It! | The epic story that was destined to stand as a colossus of adventure!
Content Rating: PG – for fantasy/adventure violence with some blood and some mild horror.
Director: Don Chaffey
Production Co: Morningside Productions & Columbia Pictures.
Runtime: 1hr 44min.

Special effects god Ray Harryhausen regarded this joint British/American production as his best film, rightly in my opinion. Filmed on location in and around Salerno in Italy with studio work carried out in the S. A. F. A. Studios in Rome and Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. It is a rather loose retelling of the myth regarding the Greek hero Jason, played by Todd Armstrong, and his quest to secure the fabled Golden Fleece from King Aeëtes of Colchis (Jack Gwillim).

Jason is the son of King Aristo of Thessaly. While Jason is an infant, his father is murdered by Pelias (Douglas Wilmer), who usurps the throne. Because of a prophecy that states that one of Aristo’s children will avenge the murder, the young Jason is spirited away by one of Aristo’s loyal soldiers for his protection. A daughter of Aristo seeks refuge at the temple of Hera but is slain by Pelias. This angers the goddess Hera (Honor Blackman), so she warns Pelias to beware of “a one-sandaled man” and becomes the protector of Jason.

As an adult, Jason saves Pelias from drowning in an “accident” orchestrated by Hera but does not realize that he has saved the man who killed his father. Jason loses a sandal during the rescue, so Pelias recognizes him as an enemy. Pelias encourages Jason to search for the Golden Fleece, which the young man can use to rally support against the usurper, knowing full well that the notoriously difficult endeavour will likely result in the hero’s death.

The Argonauts encounter the giant “living” statue Talos on the “Isle of Bronze”.

Jason has a ship, the Argo, built and piloted by Argus (Laurence Naismith), and heroes from all over Greece compete to be included in his crew of Argonauts. Including Hercules (Nigel Green), Hylas (John Cairney), Phalerus (Andrew Faulds), and the twins, Castor (Ferdinando Poggi) and Polydeuces/Pollux (John Crawford). Acastus (Gary Raymond) also manages to join the crew; unknown to Jason, he is the son of Pelias and is determined to sabotage the quest.

Jason and the Argonauts are variously aided by the goddess Hera, and the gods Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), Hermes (Michael Gwynn) and Triton (Bill Gudgeon). The heroes seek out the advice of blind Phineus (Patrick Troughton), who is tormented by harpies as punishment for misusing his gift of prophecy, on how to find Colchis. Medea (Nancy Kovack), a sorcerous priestess and the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, falls in love with Jason once he gets there and helps him attain his golden goal.

Phineus is tormented by harpies as punishment for misusing his gift of prophecy.

Although critically acclaimed, it barely made its $3,000,000 budget back at its initial release and was a box office disappointment, which just blows my mind. Perhaps it came too soon after the Steve Reeves film Hercules (Italy, 1958), which covered much of the same mythological ground. Jason and the Argonauts has since, of course, gone on to be considered an absolute cult classic with so many thrilling scenes now accepted as iconic in the history of fantasy cinema.

An early working title for this movie was Sinbad and the Age of Muses. It was originally envisioned as a follow-up to the very successful The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (USA, 1958) and would have had Sinbad join Jason on his voyage aboard the Argo (despite about 2000 years between their supposed lifetimes). The Sinbad angle was soon dropped, though. The working title became Jason and the Golden Fleece before being finalised.

The Argo, modelled after an ancient Greek Warship, was built over a fishing boat powered by three large Mercedes engines that cost roughly 10% of the film’s budget. The ship was later sold to 20th Century-Fox and used in their historical epic, Cleopatra (USA, 1963).

Triton helps the passage of the Argo and her crew through the Clashing Rocks.

This movie is replete with elements that are not entirely consistent with the actual myths, but that doesn’t really matter. Most of the changes make a more cogent, exciting and streamlined narrative or present a more visually arresting scenario. In the mythology, the giant bronze automaton, Talos, was encountered on the return journey after gaining the Golden Fleece, not before, and it guarded Crete, not the “Isle of Bronze”. Hylas wasn’t crushed by the defeated and falling Talos but was seduced and kidnapped by one or more water nymphs who fell in love with him as he drew water from a spring. As in the film, Hercules did leave the Argonauts because of the mysterious disappearance, determined to find out what happened to his beloved friend.

The harpies were not caught and caged but were simply chased away. Triton did not aid the Argo‘s passage through the Clashing Rocks; Athena gave the ship an extra push so it could speed between the cliffs before they closed.

The Golden Fleece was not guarded by a hydra, but by a dragon, and Jason did not slay it, Medea cast a sleep spell on it. It wasn’t skeletons that were sown from the dragon’s teeth, it was the Spartoi (sown men), and Jason did not fight them directly, he tricked them into fighting each other. Castor and Phalerus were not killed by the skeletons/Spartoi, they both survived the many adventures of the Argonauts.

Jason must deal with the Hydra before he can safely claim the Golden Fleece.

The TV mini-series Jason and the Argonauts (USA, 2000) is by far a more faithful adaptation of the myth, but it is nowhere near as entertaining as this movie. Despite the divergence from myth, or perhaps because of it, no self-respecting fantasy fan can afford to miss this classic 1963 fantasy film.

Technical Rating: 9/10
(From a Basic Score of 7.5 [Plot = 0.5; Characters = 0.5; Dialogue = 0.5; Acting = 0.5; Costumes & Styling = 0.5; Props & Sets = 1; Locations = 1; Cinematography = 1; Visual & Sound Effects = 1; Musical Score = 1]; plus a Genre Bonus of 1.5 for all the stupendous special effects (for the time), including the iconic scenes of the giant bronze statue Talos coming to life, of the harpies tormenting Phineus, Triton holding the Clashing Rocks apart, the Hydra guarding the Golden Fleece, and the battle with the skeletal warriors – all bringing Greek Mythology to life like never before.)

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

Jason and his mates fight off some animated skeletons. Possibly one of the most iconic scenes in fantasy movie history.

Buy Jason and the Argonauts (1963) in the UK

Buy Jason and the Argonauts (1963) in the US

Check out my list of notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

Subscribe to this blog to keep updated on all my articles, stories, reviews and publications – or follow me on Twitter HERE.

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Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review: Deathstalker (Argentina/USA, 1983)

A Harbinger451 Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review:

Deathstalker (Argentina/USA, 1983)

Tagline: The Might of the Sword… The Evil of the Sorcerer…
Content Rating: 15 – for nudity, sexuality, rape, bloody violence and drunkeness.
Director: James Sbardellati
Production Co: Aries Cinematográfica & Roger Corman’s New World Pictures.
Runtime: 1hr 20min.

It’s tempting to say this is just another dumb and trashy titty-palooza barbarian exploitation film produced by Roger Corman in the 80s, but that is kind of selling it short. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a cheap and tacky Conan wannabe that borders on the sleazy and nasty … but it has a certain flair for action and violence, and it doesn’t let its low budget limit its ambition.

The egotistical, amoral and intellectually challenged titular barbarian (Rick Hill) is possibly the most uncharismatic and unlikable “hero” I’ve ever encountered (to call him an antihero still wouldn’t come close), but it is kind of refreshing in a perverse sort of way. You don’t often get morally ambiguous protagonists that can give the villain of the piece a run for his money in the despicable douche-bag stakes.

The plot may seem a little random at first, but eventually, some sense materializes. A wandering barbarian chancer, dressed in bits of shammy-leather and sporting an unconvincing scratty blonde wig, is tasked by an old witch to retrieve a chalice, an amulet, and a sword. The chalice and amulet are held by the evil warlord/sorcerer Munkar (Bernard Erhard), while the sword has been hidden away by the old witch herself in a cave guarded by an ogre and an imp.

Deathstalker’s opening scene lets you know straight away what to expect. All of the males in this shot are killed in the first ten minutes by our hero. The female is at first rescued and then harassed by him too.

Deathstalker retrieves the sword first, defeating the ogre with help from the imp, who reveals himself to be the thief Salmaron, cursed by the witch. When the curse is lifted, Salmaron (now Augusto Larreta) agrees to accompany Deathstalker on his journey to Munkar’s castle. Along the way, they pick up two other wandering adventurers, a buff and charming Oghris (Richard Brooker) and a very scantily clad Kaira (Lana Clarkson).

It becomes clear that the best way into Munkar’s heavily guarded stronghold is to attend a tournament he is holding to find the best warrior in the land … a bit like Enter the Dragon (Hong Kong/USA, 1973) but way less well-staged and choreographed.

There’s a tangential sub-plot about a kidnapped Princess (ex-Playboy playmate and recording artist Barbi Benton) being held against her will by Munkar, that intersects with the main plot on occasion.

An imp offers Deathstalker (yes, that’s his name apparently) some advice regarding an ogre.

The best thing about Deathstalker the movie is that it packs as much as it can into its brief runtime, heads will roll and boobs will be exposed, and at least it tries to be funny. It doesn’t always succeed with the intentional laughs, though. There are way more guffaws to be had from the unintentional, for the ineptitude of almost every facet of this film is quite staggering.

So, if in the name of a few cheap laughs and giggles, you can stomach an amateurish, and rather rapey, Barbarian flick that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, then this mouldy hunk of cheese might just be the ripe gorgonzola your looking for.

Princess Barbi Benton is harassed by a hogman while Rick Hill, Lana Clarkson and a whole bunch of other barbarian types look on.

The commercial success of this film, with an estimated budget of $457,000 and Box office takings of $11,919,250, pathed the way for three sequels; Deathstalker II (Argentina/USA, 1987), Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (Mexico/USA, 1988), and Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans (USA, 1991). Rick Hill reprised his role in only the latter of these, a film that would liberally re-use stock footage from this, the first. Corman had already re-used stock footage from Deathstalker, along with some from Sorceress (Mexico/USA, 1982), in his utterly terrible children’s fantasy movie Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (Argentina/USA, 1985).

This first Deathstalker movie also launched the career of Lana Clarkson, who became a recognizable cult celebrity in the genre. Clarkson later worked with Roger Corman on the similarly themed Barbarian Queen (Argentina/USA, 1985) and Barbarian Queen II (Mexico/USA, 1992). This was also the first in a slew of films that Corman made in Argentina.

Munkar, evil warlord and sorcerer, toys with one of his victims.

Deathstalker and its first sequel took on the status of cult classics after the video versions became staples during the fledgling days of cable television and video rentals. Rentals and sales were definitely aided by the massive misrepresentation of actual content by the slick Boris Vallejo artwork used in the posters and covers for these movies. Believe me, any similarity between the characters in the Boris paintings used and the characters in the films concerned is entirely coincidental.

Recommended for aficionados of cult film, for slaves to sword and sorcery movies, and teenage boys everywhere.

Technical Rating: 4/10
(From a Basic Score of 3 [Plot = 0.5; Characters = 0.5; Dialogue = 0.5; Acting = 0; Costumes & Styling = 0; Props & Sets = 0; Locations = 0.5; Cinematography = 0.5; Visual & Sound Effects = 0; Musical Score = 0.5]; plus a Genre Bonus of 1 for the hog-headed brute, for the unrelenting action and pace, and for the shear (if misguided) ambition of the thing.)

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

Deathstalker gets a chance to take on the hulking hogman during the tournament.

Buy Deathstalker (1983) in the UK

Buy Deathstalker (1983) in the US

Check out my list of notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

Subscribe to this blog to keep updated on all my articles, stories, reviews and publications – or follow me on Twitter HERE.

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Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review: Hawk the Slayer (UK, 1980)

A Harbinger451 Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movie Review:

Hawk the Slayer (UK, 1980)

Tagline: Two brothers locked in deadly combat till the end of time!
Content Rating: PG – for mild fantasy action/adventure violence and some mild horror.
Director: Terry Marcel
Production Co: ITC Entertainment, Marcel/Robertson Productions Ltd & Chips Productions.
Runtime: 1hr 34min.

This movie is the very definition of a Sword and Sorcery cult classic. It’s a cheap but moderately effective “spaghetti-western” style fantasy film. Made by the British and with two Yank actors starring. One was a seasoned veteran, Jack Palance, and the other was just starting out, John Terry. The two writers, director Terry Marcel and producer Harry Robertson, were inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (Japan, 1961), Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dollars (Italy, 1964) and, of course, the sword and sorcery fiction of Robert E. Howard. I think also that this movie owes more than a passing nod to the Hammer horror-fantasy Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (UK, 1974). Which, directed by Brian Clemens, has the same “spaghetti-western” feel and droll humour, but with a higher budget and a much darker and more violent plot. Hawk the Slayer has plenty of action, but being aimed at a slightly younger audience, it has little blood to show for it. It is great fun though, and not a little weird.

I think the writers must also have been aware of the then recent boom in fantasy table-top roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons because the script runs a bit like someone wrote out their recent gaming sessions. It comes off as a series of random encounters undertaken to build an adventuring party and then strung together into a narrative. Although a small scale film, there are many allusions to a much wider and more complicated fictional world. It is constantly trying to establish that what you are experiencing is just a narrow snapshot of a much broader saga.

One of the many random encounters with delightfully strange and disparate characters.

The two stars are supposed to be brothers, but Jack Palance, playing Voltan the evil brother, was 60 and John Terry, playing Hawk the good brother, was 30 when the film was made. Ferdy Mayne, who briefly appears as their father, was 64. Voltan could easily have been made Hawk’s evil uncle. It wouldn’t change the plot at all, but it would have made much more sense than them being brothers.

The plot involves Voltan terrorizing the land and its populace on behalf of some all-powerful evil dark lord. When he kidnaps a (not Christian) Abbess (Annette Crosbie) for ransom, her underling nuns send Ranulf (W. Morgan Sheppard), a man they had nursed back to health after Voltan wiped out his village, to the High Abbot (Harry Andrews) for help. The Abbot sends Ranulf on to a chap called Hawk the Slayer, who wields a magic “Mind Sword”. Hawk assembles a team of old friends: Gort (Bernard Bresslaw), a dour giant with a mighty mallet; Crow (Ray Charleson), an elf of few words who wields a deadly bow; and Baldin (Peter O’Farrell), a wisecracking dwarf skilled with a whip. There’s an unnamed blind sorceress (Patricia Quinn) that aids him and a whole variety of odd and interesting characters that we bump into along the way as our hero journeys to deal with his wicked brother, Voltan.

Hawk assembles his party of adventurers and gets ready for action.

Hawk the Slayer was shot in Buckinghamshire over six weeks and with a budget of £600,000. It has more than adequate costumes, passable locations and a few (barely) decent sets. The shonky special effects are atrocious, and the disco style electronic score is often painful to hear. Palance knows he’s in a piece of schlock and over-acts mercilessly, while an equally aware Terry comes off as sullen and is as wooden as a board. It’s amazing that the rest of the cast, mostly well known UK character actors from 70s TV and movies, don’t crack up while delivering this hokey nonsense under such conditions, but, against the odds, they manage to keep straight-faced like the true professionals they are. Look out for Cheryl Campbell, Catriona MacColl, Shane Briant, Roy Kinnear, Patrick Magee, Graham Stark and Warren Clarke.

Just when the movie was scheduled for release in the United States, ITC, the film’s distribution company, went bust and so it never made it to theatres there. And despite an initial negative reception on its UK theatrical release it went on to a moderate, and long-lasting, success in the TV and Home Video markets all around the world, and ultimately achieved cult status despite the theatrical setbacks.

Voltan and his henchmen harass a couple of tavern patrons.

For fantasy fans of a certain age, like myself, it is hard to put aside a nostalgia-fueled love for this movie and look at it with critical eyes. It is undoubtedly a bad movie, but its charm and humour (intentional or not) win through … it literally is “so bad it’s good”. A “guilty pleasure” if ever there was one. Hawk the Slayer came out right at the start of the 1980s bonanza in swords and sorcery flicks, so it pre-empted the bigger budget hits like Dragonslayer (UK/USA,1981), Conan the Barbarian (USA, 1982) and The Sword and the Sorcerer (USA, 1982). Perhaps if it had come along just a little later, more would have been invested in it, and it might have made a bigger splash. Bernard Bresslaw, of “Carry On” fame and who had already appeared in the comedy fantasy Jabberwocky (UK, 1977) as The Landlord, would go on to play Rell the Cyclops in Krull (UK/USA, 1983), a similar role to his Gort the giant in this movie.

Many complain that Hawk the Slayer has the air of an episode in a series or a middle movie in a trilogy. I quite like that it suggests more than is there. Life went on in this film’s world before the movie ever started and life will go on long after it has finished. There has been plenty of talk regarding potential prequels and/or sequels over the years since its making, but none of it has come to much more than that so far.

What is it with bad-guys and red hot pokers … perverts, the lot of them.

This movie is not only one for swords and sorcery nerds though, it’s also for lovers of truly awful movies everywhere and kids of all ages, young and old. If you tick all three, you’ll be in heaven. I have to say, when I was putting together the images for this review, it became apparent that, despite its cheapness, a lot of the scenes were very carefully composed for visual impact, as if each was staged with a potential publicity shot in mind.

Technical Rating: 5/10
(From a Basic Score of 4.5 [Plot = 0.5; Characters = 1; Dialogue = 0.5; Acting = 0.5; Costumes & Styling = 0.5; Props & Sets = 0.5; Locations = 0.5; Cinematography = 0.5; Visual & Sound Effects = 0; Musical Score = 0]; minus a Quality Penalty of 0.5 for some bad editing; plus a Genre Bonus of 1 for Jack Palance hamming it up, and for featuring a very DnD fantasy RPG party of adventurers that includes a pointy eared elf, a somewhat diminutive dwarf and a not so giant … giant)

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

The oh-so mysterious dark lord makes one of his oh-so mysterious appearances.

Buy Hawk the Slayer (1980) in the UK

Buy Hawk the Slayer (1980) in the US

Check out my list of notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

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List of Notable Swords & Sorcery Fantasy Movies: the good & the bad, the best & the worst.

Notable Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movies: the good and the bad, the best and the worst.

As far as this list is concerned, the Sword and Sorcery film genre includes heroic, epic or dark fantasies taking place in a (mostly) pre-industrialised, historical or pseudo-historical setting. They must be tales of high adventure and (generally) feature magical, mythical or supernatural beasts, beings or occurrences. Films on this list may occasionally cross over into horror and, to a lesser extent, science fiction, but they will remain at heart a fantasy. I make no apologies for including some biblical movies that fit the criteria. I don’t care what anyone says; the Old Testament stories especially are just as much a fantasy as Greek, Roman, Norse or any other myth.

Jason and the Agronauts (1963). A classic old-school fantasy movie if ever there was one.

I won’t be including animated movies and those overly targeted at younger children because, well, I’m just not interested in them. I like my fantasy to be live-action and as “realistic”, visually and tonally, as possible. I want to see fantastic things that convince me of their reality or are at least convincing enough to allow for the suspension of disbelief within the confines or context of a movie.

Admittedly, that might be quite a stretch for many of these movies, especially considering the meagre resources available to most fantasy productions over the years. So, I’m very appreciative of the flicks that can, or at least try to, transcend the limitations of their available technology, time and budget to fashion as convincing a fantasy as they could muster. I can also appreciate the glorious failures in this regard and those that are “so bad they’re good” because they’ve gone so far beyond simple ineptitude and have accidentally strayed into outright farse … believe me, there will be plenty of those. Besides the theatrical releases, this list will include TV movies and those released directly to home-video or streaming services, as well as some select TV series.

I intend on reviewing every one of the films/shows listed below as and when I get to them. If all goes to plan, each entry on the list will ultimately link to a review post. Those titles prefixed by a * are the movies I have somehow missed (or forgotten) in my long life of viewing motion pictures and are essentially in my “to-be-watched” pile, so long as I can source a copy of them.

1981’s Excalibur was one of the big budget fantasy movie hits that heralded a boon for, and boom in, sword and sorcery flics during the 1980s.

List of notable Swords and Sorcery Fantasy Movies:

The Golem (Paul Wegener/Carl Boese, Weimar Republic, 1921)
* The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, USA, 1923) [First 50 mins only]
* Die Nibelungen (Fritz Lang, Weimar Republic, 1924)
* The Thief of Bagdad (Raoul Walsh, USA, 1924)
The Thief of Bagdad (Michael Powell/Ludwig Berger/Tim Whelan, UK, 1940)
* The Iron Crown (Alessandro Blasetti, Italy, 1941)
* Kashchey the Immortal (Aleksandr Rou, USSR, 1945)
Samson and Delilah (Cecil B. DeMille, USA, 1949)
* The Magic Sword (Vojislav Nanović, Yugoslavia, 1950)
Knights of the Round Table (Richard Thorpe, UK/USA, 1953)
* Prince Valiant (Henry Hathaway, USA, 1954)
Ulysses (Mario Camerini, Italy/France/USA, 1954)
Helen of Troy (Robert Wise, Italy/France/USA, 1956)
* Ilya Muromets (Aleksandr Ptushko, USSR, 1956)
The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, USA, 1956)
* Torawakamaru, the Koga Ninja (Tadashi Sawashima, Japan, 1957)
* Hercules (Pietro Francisci, Italy, 1958)
The Vikings (Richard Fleischer, USA, 1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Nathan H. Juran, USA, 1958)
* Hercules Unchained (Pietro Francisci, France/Italy, 1959)
* Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (Silvio Amadio, Italy, 1960)
* Hercules in the Haunted World (Mario Bava, Italy, 1961)
* The Thief of Baghdad (Arthur Lubin, Italy/France/USA, 1961)
* The Trojan Horse (Giorgio Ferroni, Italy/France/Yugoslavia, 1961)
* Duel of the Titans (Sergio Corbucci, Italy/France, 1961)
The Magic Sword (Bert I. Gordon, USA, 1962)
Jack the Giant Killer (Nathan H. Juran, USA, 1962)
* The Avenger (Giorgio Venturini, Italy/France/Yugoslavia, 1962)
Lancelot and Guinevere (Cornel Wilde, UK, 1963)
Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, UK/USA, 1963) REVIEWED
The Gorgon (Terence Fisher, UK, 1964)
* The Magic Serpent (Tetsuya Yamanouchi, Japan, 1966)
* Die Nibelungen (Harald Reinl, West Germany, 1966-67)
Viy (Konstantin Yershov/Georgi Kropachyov, USSR, 1967)
* Ruslan and Ludmila (Aleksandr Ptushko, USSR, 1972)
Gawain and the Green Knight (Stephen Weeks, UK, 1973)
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (Gordon Hessler, UK/USA, 1973)
Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (Brian Clemens, UK, 1974)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones, UK, 1975)
Jabberwocky (Terry Gilliam, UK, 1977)
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (Sam Wanamaker, UK/USA, 1977)
The Thief of Baghdad (Clive Donner, France/UK, 1978)
Saiyūki AKA Monkey (Wu Cheng’en, Japan, 1978-80) [TV Series]
Arabian Adventure (Kevin Connor, UK, 1979)
Hawk the Slayer (Terry Marcel, UK, 1980) REVIEWED
Encounters of the Spooky Kind (Sammo Hung, Hong Kong, 1980)
Excalibur (John Boorman, UK/USA, 1981)
The Archer: Fugative from the Empire (Nicholas J. Corea, USA, 1981) [TV Movie] REVIEWED
Clash of the Titans (Desmond Davis, UK/USA, 1981) REVIEWED
Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, UK, 1981)
Dragonslayer (Matthew Robbins, UK/USA, 1981)
Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, USA, 1982)
The Sword and the Sorcerer (Albert Pyun, USA, 1982)
Sorceress (Jack Hill, USA/Mexico, 1982)
* The Miracle Fighters (Yuen Woo-ping, Hong Kong, 1982)
The Beastmaster (Don Coscarelli, USA/West Germany, 1982)
* Gunan, King of the Barbarians (Franco Prosperi, Italy, 1982)
* Ator, The Fighting Eagle (Joe D’Amato, Italy, 1982)
* Sangraal: Sword of the Barbarians (Michele Massimo Tarantini, Italy, 1982)
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (Tsui Hark, Hong Kong, 1983)
* Thor the Conqueror (Tonino Ricci, Italy, 1983)
* The Throne of Fire (Franco Prosperi, Italy, 1983)
Krull (Peter Yates, UK/USA, 1983)
* Hundra (Matt Cimber, Italy/Spain/USA, 1983)
Deathstalker (James Sbardellati, Argentina/USA, 1983) REVIEWED
* Conquest (Lucio Fulci, Italy/Spain/Mexico, 1983)
* Hercules (Luigi Cozzi, Italy/USA, 1983)
* Hearts and Armour (Giacomo Battiato, Italy, 1983)
Conan the Destroyer (Richard Fleischer, USA, 1984)
The Warrior and the Sorceress (John C. Broderick, Argentina/USA, 1984)
* Ator 2: The Blade Master (Joe D’Amato, Italy, 1984)
Sword of the Valiant (Stephen Weeks, UK, 1984)
Robin of Sherwood (Richard Carpenter, UK, 1984-86) [TV Series]
* Barbarian Queen (Héctor Olivera, Argentina/USA, 1985)
Ladyhawke (Richard Donner, USA, 1985)
* Merlin and the Sword (Clive Donner, USA/Yugoslavia, 1985) [TV Movie]
* The Adventures of Hercules (Luigi Cozzi, Italy/USA, 1985)
Red Sonja (Richard Fleischer, Netherlands/USA, 1985)
Mr Vampire (Ricky Lau, Hong Kong, 1985)
Legend (Ridley Scott, USA, 1985)
Highlander (Russell Mulcahy, UK, 1986)
* Amazons (Alejandro Sessa, Argentina/USA, 1986)
* Ator 3: Iron Warrior (Alfonso Brescia, Italy, 1987)
* The Barbarians (Ruggero Deodato, Iraly/USA, 1987)
* Gor (Fritz Kiersch, South Africa/USA, 1987)
A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu-tung, Hong Kong, 1987)
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, USA, 1987)
* Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans (Jim Wynorski, Argentina/USA, 1987)
Willow (Ron Howard, USA, 1988)
* Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (Alfonso Corona, Mexico/USA, 1988)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, Germany/UK/USA, 1988)
* Sinbad of the Seven Seas (Enzo G. Castellari, Italy/USA, 1989)
* Outlaw of Gor (John Cardos, Canada/South Africa/USA, 1989)
Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (Ricky Lau, Hong Kong, 1990)
* Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans (Howard R. Cohen, USA, 1990)
A Chinese Ghost Story II (Ching Siu-tung, Hong Kong, 1990)
* Ator 4: Quest for the Mighty Sword (Joe D’Amato, Italy, 1990)
The Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (Sylvio Tabet, France/USA, 1991)
* Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back (Joe Finley, Mexico/USA, 1992) [Straight-to-Video]
New Mr Vampire (Billy Chan, Hong Kong, 1992)
Army of Darkness (Sam Raimi, USA, 1992)
* Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (Takao Okawara, Japan, 1994)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Christian Williams, New Zealand/USA, 1994-99) [TV Movies & Series]
Xena: Warrior Princess (New Zealand/USA, 1995-2002) [TV Series]
Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus (Gabrielle Beaumont, USA, 1996) [TV Movie]
* Dragonheart (Rob Cohen, Slovakia/UK/USA, 1996)
* The Adventures of Sinbad (Ed Naha, Canada, 1996-98) [TV Series]
The Odyssey (Andrei Konchalovsky, USA, 1997) [TV Mini-Series]
Kull the Conqueror (John Nicolella, Italy/USA, 1997)
* Prince Valiant (Anthony Hickox, Germany/Ireland/UK, 1997)
Conan the Adventurer (Germany/Mexico/USA, 1997-98) [TV Series]
Merlin (Steve Barron, UK/USA, 1998) [TV Mini-Series]
* The Storm Riders (Andrew Lau, Hong Kong, 1998)
The 13th Warrior (John McTiernan, USA, 1999)
Gormenghast (Andy Wilson, UK, 2000) [TV Mini-Series]
Arabian Nights (Germany/Turkey/Jordan/USA, 2000) [TV Mini-Series]
Jason and the Argonauts (Nick Willing, USA, 2000) [TV Mini-Series]
Dungeons & Dragons (Courtney Solomon, Czech Republic/USA, 2000)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Christophe Gans, France, 2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2001)
The Scorpion King (Chuck Russell, Belgium/Germany/USA, 2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2002)
Helen of Troy (John Kent Harrison, UK/USA, 2003) [TV Mini-Series]
* Barbarian (Chris Sivertson, USA, 2003) [Straight-to-Video]
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Gore Verbinski, USA, 2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2003)
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (Uli Edel, Germany, 2004) [TV Mini-Series]
Shaolin Vs. Evil Dead (Douglas Kung, Hong Kong, 2004)
Van Helsing (Stephen Sommers, Czech Republic/USA, 2004)
Troy (Wolfgang Petersen, Malta/UK/USA, 2004)
* Legend of Earthsea (Robert Lieberman, Canada/USA, 2004) [TV Mini-Series]
Beowulf & Grendel (Sturla Gunnarsson, Canada/Iceland, 2005)
Hercules (Roger Young, USA, 2005) [TV Mini-Series]
Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God (Gerry Lively, USA, 2005) [TV Movie]
The Brothers Grimm (Terry Gilliam, Czech Republic/UK/USA, 2005)
Minotaur (Jonathan English, France/Germany/Italy/Luxemburg/Spain/UK/USA, 2006)
* Merlin’s Apprentice (David Wu, Canada/USA, 2006) [TV Mini-Series]
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Gore Verbinski, USA, 2006)
* Dragon (Leigh Scott, USA, 2006) [Straight-to-Video]
Eragon (Stefen Fangmeier, UK/USA, 2006)
Wolfhound of the Grey Hound Clan (Nikolai Lebedev, Russia, 2006)
* Shaolin Vs. Evil Dead: Ultimate Power (Douglas Kung, Hong Kong, 2006)
300 (Zack Snyder, USA, 2007)
In the Name of the King (Uwe Boll, Canada/Germany/USA, 2007)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Gore Verbinski, USA, 2007)
10,000 BC (Roland Emmerich, USA, 2008)
* Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld (Terry Ingram, Canada/Romania/UK, 2008) [TV Movie]
* The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (Russell Mulcahy, USA, 2008) [Straight-to-Video]
The Forbidden Kingdom (Rob Minkoff, China/USA, 2008)
Outlander (Howard McCain, Czech Republic/France/Germany/USA, 2008)
I Sell the Dead (Glenn McQuaid, USA, 2008)
* Merlin and the War of the Dragons (Mark Atkins, UK/USA, 2008) [Straight-to-Video]
Knights Of Bloodsteel (Sam Egan, Canada/USA, 2009) [TV Mini-Series]
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Patrick Tatopoulos, USA, 2009)
* Goemon (Kazuaki Kiriya, Japan, 2009)
* Thor: Hammer of the Gods (Todor “Toshko” Chapkanov, USA, 2009) [TV Movie]
Dragonquest (Mark Atkins, USA, 2009) [Straight-to-Video]
* Merlin and the Book of Beasts (Warren P. Sonoda, Canada, 2009) [TV Movie]
Solomon Kane (M. J. Bassett, Czech Republic/France/UK, 2009)
* The Storm Warriors (Danny Pang/Oxide Pang, Hong Kong, 2009)
* Dragon Hunter (Stephen Shimek, USA, 2009) [Straight-to-Video]
* Legend of the Seeker (Stephen Tolkin/Kenneth Biller, New Zealand/USA, 2009-10) [TV Series]
Clash of the Titans (Louis Leterrier, Australia/USA, 2010)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Mike Newell, USA, 2010)
Dragon Age: Redemption (Peter Winther, USA, 2011) [Web Series]
Season of the Witch (Dominic Sena, USA, 2011)
Age of the Dragons (Ryan Little, USA, 2011) [Straight-to-Video]
Your Highness (David Gordon Green, USA, 2011)
* Sinbad and the Minotaur (Karl Zwicky, Australia, 2011)
* Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Rob Marshall, USA, 2011)
Conan the Barbarian (Marcus Nispel, USA, 2011)
* Paladin: Dawn of the Dragonslayer (Richard McWilliams, USA, 2011)
* Jabberwock (Steven R. Monroe, Canada/USA, 2011) [TV Movie]
* Dragon Crusaders (Mark Atkins, USA, 2011) [Straight-to-Video]
Immortals (Tarsem Singh, Canada/UK/USA, 2011)
* In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds (Uwe Boll, Canada/USA, 2011) [Straight-to-Video]
Game of Thrones (David Benioff/D.B. Weiss, UK/USA, 2011-19) [TV Series]
* The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (Roel Reine, USA, 2012) [Straight-to-Video]
Snow White and the Huntsman (Rupert Sanders, USA, 2012)
Wrath of the Titans (Jonathan Liebesman, Spain/USA, 2012)
Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book Of Vile Darkness (Gerry Lively, UK, 2012) [Straight-to-Video]
* Clash of Empires (Joseph J. Lawson, USA, 2012)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2012)
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Tommy Wirkola, Germany/USA, 2013)
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (Stephen Chow/Derek Kwok, China/Hong Kong, 2013)
Jack the Giant Slayer (Bryan Singer, USA, 2013)
Vikings (Michael Hirst, Canada/Ireland, 2013-20) [TV Series]
* Mythica 1: A Quest For Heroes (Anne K. Black, USA, 2013) [Straight-to-Video]
SAGA: Curse Of The Shadow (John Lyde, USA, 2013) [Straight-to-Video]
* Paladin: The Crown and the Dragon (Anne K. Black, USA, 2013) [Straight-to-Video]
Vikingdom (Yusry Abdul Halim, Malaysia, 2013)
* 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, USA, 2013)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2013)
The Legend of Hercules (Renny Harlin, USA, 2014)
Noah (Darren Aronofsky, USA, 2014)
Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (Shahin Sean Solimon, USA, 2014)
Viy: Forbidden Empire (Oleg Stepchenko, China/Czech Republic/Germany/Russia/Ukraine, 2014)
* In The Name of the King 3: The Last Mission (Uwe Boll, Canada/USA, 2014) [Straight-to-Video]
300: Rise of an Empire (Noam Murro, USA, 2014)
* Mythica 2: The Darkspore (Anne K. Black, USA, 2014) [Straight-to-Video]
Hercules (Brett Ratner, USA, 2014)
Seventh Son (Sergei Bodrov, USA, 2014)
Dracula Untold (Gary Shore, USA, 2014)
Northmen: A Viking Saga (Claudio Fäh, Germany/South Africa/Switzerland, 2014)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Peter Jackson, New Zealand/USA, 2014)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (Ridley Scott, UK/USA, 2014)
* Morning Star (Luca Boni/Marco Ristori, Italy, 2014) [Straight-to-Video]
* The Scorpion King 4: Quest For Power (Mike Elliott, USA, 2015) [Straight-to-Video]
* Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerers Curse (Colin Teague, USA, 2015) [Straight-to-Video]
* Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (Peter Pau/Zhao Tianyu, China/Hong Kong/USA, 2015)
Last Knights (Kazuaki Kiriya, Czech Republic/South Korea/UK, 2015)
* Arthur & Merlin (Marco van Belle, UK, 2015)
* Mythica 3: The Necromancer (A. Todd Smith, USA, 2015) [Straight-to-Video]
* Baahubali: The Beginning (S. S. Rajamouli, India, 2015)
* Beowolf: Return to the Shieldlands (James Dormer, UK, 2016) [TV Series]
Gods of Egypt (Alex Proyas, Australia/USA, 2016)
* Dudes & Dragons (Maclain Nelson/Stephen Shimek, USA, 2016) [Straight-to-Video]
* Mythica 4: The Iron Crown (John Lyde, USA, 2016) [Straight-to-Video]
The Huntsman: Winter’s War (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, USA, 2016)
Tale of Tales (Matteo Garrone, France/Italy/UK, 2016)
Warcraft (Duncan Jones, USA, 2016)
* Mythica 5: The Godslayer (John Lyde, USA, 2016) [Straight-to-Video]
* The Great Wall (Zhang Yimou, China/USA, 2016)
The Shannara Chronicles (Alfred Gough/Miles Millar, USA, 2016-18) [TV Series]
* Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (Tsui Hark, China, 2017)
* Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (S. S. Rajamouli, India, 2017)
* King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (Antony Smith, UK, 2017)
* King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (Guy Ritchie, Australia/UK/USA, 2017)
* Dragonheart 4: Battle For The Heartfire (Patrik Syversen, USA, 2017) [Straight-to-Video]
* Wu Kong (Derek Kwok, China, 2017)
* Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Joachim Rønning/Espen Sandberg, USA, 2017)
Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (Paul Urkijo Alijo, France/Spain, 2017)
* The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (Woo-Ping Yuen, China, 2017)
* Furious (Dzhanik Fayziev/Ivan Shurkhovetskiy, Russia, 2017)
Gogol (Egor Baranov, Russia, 2017-2019) [TV Movies/Series]
Britannia (Jez Butterworth/Tom Butterworth/James Richardson, UK/USA, 2017-) [TV Series]
Samson (Bruce Macdonald, South Africa/USA, 2018)
The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (Don Michael Paul, USA, 2018) [Straight-to-Video]
The Head Hunter (Jordan Downey, USA, 2018)
* The Bastard Sword (Eveshka Ghost, UK, 2018)
* Viking Destiny (David L.G. Hughes, Belgium/UK, 2018) [TV Movie]
Kingdom (South Korea, 2019-21) [Streaming TV Series]
Romulus v Remus: The First King (Matteo Rovere, Italy, 2019)
* Viy 2: Journey to China [aka Iron Mask] (Oleg Stepchenko, China/Russia, 2019)
* Jade Dynasty (Ching Siu-tung, China, 2019)
Draug (Klas Persson/Karin Engman, Sweden, 2019)
The Witcher (Poland/USA, 2019-) [Streaming TV Series]
* Heavenquest: A Pilgrims Progress (Matt Bilen, USA, 2020)
* Dragonheart 5: Vengeance (Ivan Silvestrini, Romania/USA, 2020) [Straight-to-Video]
* The Thousand Faces of Dunjia 2: Fantasy Magician (Hesheng Xiang/Qiuliang Xiang, China, 2020)
* Ancestral World (Enrico De Palo, USA, 2020) [Straight-to-Video]
* Arthur & Merlin: Knights Of Camelot (Giles Alderson, UK, 2020) [Straight-to-Video]
The Green Knight (David Lowery, USA, 2021)
* The Rangers: Bloodstone (David Nordquist, USA, 2021)
The Wheel of Time (Rafe Judkins, Ireland/USA, 2021) [Streaming TV Series]
The Northman (Robert Eggers, China/UK/USA, 2022)
* Dragon Knight (Lawrie Brewster, UK, 2022) [Straight-to-Video]
Willow (Jonathan Kasdan, USA, 2022-2023) [TV Series]

If you feel there are any swords and sorcery fantasy movies that I’ve missed, or you take issue with the ones I haven’t, then please leave a comment by replying to this post below and I will respond forthwith.

The first Lord of the Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), set the gold standard for fantasy movies in the new millennium.

Check out the technicalities of my Movie Rating System HERE.

The Horror of it All… enter HERE all those who delight in horror, death, the macabre, the occult, black humor, weird tales, dark fantasy – and all such nefarious pleasures.

Harbinger451.co.uk

Copyright © 2022 Harbinger451 – All Rights Reserved

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