The Sword and the Sorcerer, 1982.
Directed by Albert Pyun.
Starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll, and Nina van Pallandt.
SYNOPSIS:
A mercenary with a three-bladed sword is recruited to help a princess foil the designs of a brutal tyrant and a powerful sorcerer in conquering a land.
You know a movie might have something when the opening scene involves Richard Lynch forcing a witch to resurrect an evil sorcerer to help him take over the kingdom. In this case, Lynch plays King Titus Cromwell, who already reigns over his own kingdom but as Cromwell is played by Richard Lynch then you know he is a wrong ‘un, and as these things normally go, one kingdom is never enough, hence he requires the black magic assistance of Xusia of Delos (Richard Moll) in order to take down those whom he sees as his enemies.
However, Cromwell doesn’t play ball with the evil sorcerer either, double-crossing Xusia and chasing him off a cliff after stabbing him with a sword. Cromwell then takes on rival King Richard, who entrusts his young son Talon with his three-bladed sword, and after Richard and his wife are murdered by Cromwell, Talon vows revenge.
Which happens several years later when a now-grown-up Talon (Lee Horsley) comes looking for Cromwell, as does Xusia, but Cromwell is busy taking on a rebellion led by Prince Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale) who, as the son of King Richard’s closest adviser, believes he is the rightful heir to the throne. As you can probably guess, hilarity ensures as all the fighting forces meet to claim what they believe to be theirs.
Well, not a lot of hilarity really, as despite the strong start with Richard Lynch being mean to everyone he shares the screen with, once all the of the main players are introduced The Sword and the Sorcerer becomes a bit of a mess, mainly because there are too many faces on the screen and it is never really quite clear who is who and what they want, Richard Lynch notwithstanding as he is always the villain and just wants to kill people.
For example, Talon is set up as the big hero – after all, he has long hair, huge shoulder pads and the women cannot resist him – but he comes across as goofy most of the time, which would be fine if this were a Deathstalker movie, but the script never gives us that balance of serious action and comedy relief. Likewise, Simon MacCorkindale as Mikah feels like he has stepped out of a Blackadder skit, yet his role doesn’t really require much humour. Not that he is funny, but MacCorkindale’s delivery is too broad and unintentionally silly to be taken as anything other than a pantomime performance. Contrast that with Richard Lynch’s steely-eyed turn – apparently, Lynch took the role because he thought the movie had Academy Awards potential. He was also on drugs at the time, which explains why he probably thought that – and the clash of styles just does not coerce the over-stuffed script into anything other than a confusing time at the movies.
However, there are some positives as this is a 1980s sword-and-sorcery (the clue is in the title) movie, and that comes with a series of criteria that must be met, namely exciting action (even if the three-bladed sword does look a bit naff), blood and gore, boobs, monsters, evil kings and some crazy lighting. The Sword and the Sorcerer does meet all the criteria, and as part of that movement of fantasy movies from the early ‘80s it does fit, but without the epic feel of Conan the Barbarian or even the streamlined B-movie antics of the Deathstalker movies, which would at least make it more entertaining. It does look the part; in fact, this is probably a better-looking movie than many of its contemporaries, and the 4K upgrade certainly gives it a boost when it comes to colours and clarity, but there are at least two – maybe three – full movie plots going on here at the same time, and none of them are as interesting as the potential for a Xusia spin-off, as the monstrous sorcerer is definitely the best character here.
Whatever the strengths and weaknesses of the movie, 101 Films have gone to town with its presentation, with this limited edition set three-disc including the movie on 4K UHD and two Blu-rays. Extras include several cast and crew interviews that lift the lid on the production, plus you get art cards, a poster featuring the fantastic original artwork and a booklet featuring essays on the movie. But, as a movie, is The Sword and the Sorcerer worth such a glossy upgrade? Debateable, but at least the box set will look nice on your shelf.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Chris Ward
