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The Sword and the Sorcerer, 1982
The wicked Titus (Richard Lynch) and his right hand man Machelli (George Maharis) raise an evil sorcerer named Xusia (Richard Moll) so that Titus can conquer nearby kingdoms. Successfully toppling his neighbors, Titus makes two enemies when he betrays Xusia and kills the family of young Prince Talon (Lee Horsley). Talon later returns as an adult, grudgingly getting involved in a rebellion to overthrow Titus led by Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) and her brother Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale).
Despite some appealing moments of chaotic imagination, this one ultimately lands on the wrong side of dumb.
There were quite a few moments in this movie that made me want to love it. The evil sorcerer, Xusia, walking around dressed in a way that’s supposed to be medieval but instead looks like someone’s grandmother on her way down to the shops. An action sequence where suddenly the background goes a vivid red and the characters become dark figures against the striking background. A would-be rapist gets pushed face first into a wall to a sound effect that can only be written as DOINK!
Yes, this movie had all the elements of feel good, stupid fun. Unfortunately, those elements are more than outweighed by the exploitative tone and lackluster plot.
When conversations around fantasy and D&D subcultures get around to why women are pushed out of those spaces---or have been in the past---the content of this movie is like Exhibit A for why. There’s obviously the use of anonymous female bodies as set dressing (including one long pan of a random, unnamed woman’s naked body for absolutely no reason aside from, hey, have a look at this naked body). It seems that everywhere you turn in this mystical kingdom, five topless women are probably waiting behind almost every door! But beyond the objectification, there’s the film’s approval of some really unsavory behavior on the part of the main character. After saving Alana from being raped, it takes Talon about 5 minutes before he finds a way to force her into agreeing to have sex with him. If someone agrees to have sex with you so that their family won’t be killed, that’s not really consent. But the character doesn’t see to care about this distinction, and neither does the film. (Don’t worry, when the main character does “complete the contract” with Alane, he very subtly lets his whole crew know so that they can literally clap for him.)
The frustrating part here isn’t just the main character being a sexual predator---he gropes and kisses a lot of women in this film without permission, but it’s a fantasy movie, so they all love it!--it’s the way that this whole arc of treating Alana as a sexual prize renders her character really flat. This is tragic because I found Beller to be the most interesting and charismatic actor in this whole movie, and something like 90% of her scenes just involve being threatened with rape and looking scared and/or defiant.
In fact, there are a lot of missed opportunities for character development or fun subplots. There are a few scenes where we see how unhinged and paranoid Titus has become worrying about Xusia returning for revenge. He rants about how the sorcerer can disguise himself as anyone, and so he must stay vigilant and keep an eye out for someone with a “look of a snake” in their face. More of insane Titus, please!
But the worst offense here is how thoroughly underwhelming Talon is as a main character and how limp the whole rebellion subplot is. These people are . . . not good at rebelling. For most of the film, everything they try lands them in the dungeon. Then they escape. Then they end up back in the dungeon. If there was more visual flair on display, the plot wouldn’t have mattered so much. But instead we get seemingly endless conversations that go in circles. The last action sequence do spice things up a bit, but when you get to the ultimate resolution the main feeling is, “okay, sure.”
You’re too good for these guys, Alana. You’re too good for all of them!
The Sword and the Sorcerer, 1982
The wicked Titus (Richard Lynch) and his right hand man Machelli (George Maharis) raise an evil sorcerer named Xusia (Richard Moll) so that Titus can conquer nearby kingdoms. Successfully toppling his neighbors, Titus makes two enemies when he betrays Xusia and kills the family of young Prince Talon (Lee Horsley). Talon later returns as an adult, grudgingly getting involved in a rebellion to overthrow Titus led by Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) and her brother Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale).
Despite some appealing moments of chaotic imagination, this one ultimately lands on the wrong side of dumb.
There were quite a few moments in this movie that made me want to love it. The evil sorcerer, Xusia, walking around dressed in a way that’s supposed to be medieval but instead looks like someone’s grandmother on her way down to the shops. An action sequence where suddenly the background goes a vivid red and the characters become dark figures against the striking background. A would-be rapist gets pushed face first into a wall to a sound effect that can only be written as DOINK!
Yes, this movie had all the elements of feel good, stupid fun. Unfortunately, those elements are more than outweighed by the exploitative tone and lackluster plot.
When conversations around fantasy and D&D subcultures get around to why women are pushed out of those spaces---or have been in the past---the content of this movie is like Exhibit A for why. There’s obviously the use of anonymous female bodies as set dressing (including one long pan of a random, unnamed woman’s naked body for absolutely no reason aside from, hey, have a look at this naked body). It seems that everywhere you turn in this mystical kingdom, five topless women are probably waiting behind almost every door! But beyond the objectification, there’s the film’s approval of some really unsavory behavior on the part of the main character. After saving Alana from being raped, it takes Talon about 5 minutes before he finds a way to force her into agreeing to have sex with him. If someone agrees to have sex with you so that their family won’t be killed, that’s not really consent. But the character doesn’t see to care about this distinction, and neither does the film. (Don’t worry, when the main character does “complete the contract” with Alane, he very subtly lets his whole crew know so that they can literally clap for him.)
The frustrating part here isn’t just the main character being a sexual predator---he gropes and kisses a lot of women in this film without permission, but it’s a fantasy movie, so they all love it!--it’s the way that this whole arc of treating Alana as a sexual prize renders her character really flat. This is tragic because I found Beller to be the most interesting and charismatic actor in this whole movie, and something like 90% of her scenes just involve being threatened with rape and looking scared and/or defiant.
In fact, there are a lot of missed opportunities for character development or fun subplots. There are a few scenes where we see how unhinged and paranoid Titus has become worrying about Xusia returning for revenge. He rants about how the sorcerer can disguise himself as anyone, and so he must stay vigilant and keep an eye out for someone with a “look of a snake” in their face. More of insane Titus, please!
But the worst offense here is how thoroughly underwhelming Talon is as a main character and how limp the whole rebellion subplot is. These people are . . . not good at rebelling. For most of the film, everything they try lands them in the dungeon. Then they escape. Then they end up back in the dungeon. If there was more visual flair on display, the plot wouldn’t have mattered so much. But instead we get seemingly endless conversations that go in circles. The last action sequence do spice things up a bit, but when you get to the ultimate resolution the main feeling is, “okay, sure.”
You’re too good for these guys, Alana. You’re too good for all of them!