The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
Tags: good versus evil

Plot synopsis:
The movie plays in the land of Malveel, an area inhabited by clans of nomadic people who battle against each other. This land is in danger of being conquered by the rising Draikianian empire mainly called The Dynasty. After a long time King Brakus, ruler of the falcon clan is able to gather and finally peacefully unite several antagonizing clans. He thereafter trys to win them over for the combat against their shared foe. However there is treachery in his own rows: His nephews Sandros and Riis contacted the Dynasty in their craving for power and so the Dynasty's supreme warlord Gar and his snake people command the two to get rid of Brakus. Meanwhile Brakus' son Toran has a clash with the beautiful sourceress Estra, whose mother was murdered by Brakus under the order of his mentor Lazar-Sa. At the end Estra is giving Toran a cryptical prophecy where she is promising him a hopeless search.
The story goes on with Brakus getting killed in that same night by Gar using Toran's dagger, which had been secretely stolen by Sandros before. While breathing his last, Brakus wrests a last promise from his son Toran: Searching for Lazar-Sa so the king's efforts weren't to no avail. Toran is found with the corpse of his father, so he is kept captive as his murderer. Toran's old mentor Mak, who is the wearer of a magic bow, frees Toran and together they both start the search for Lazar-Sa while being chased by Gar and his snake people who are determined to prevent a new alliance of the clans of Malveel under the leadership of the Falcons. To ensure that, Gar even kills Sandros and Riis. Drained by the escape and his age, Mak turns over the magic bow to his apprentice, dying in the process of the bow choosing his new wearer.
Toran is able to wound Gar at the confrontation and gets attention of the thug Slant who joins Toran without asking. Although Slant tries to steal the bow at first, he starts to really like Toran, and therefore helps him with his wisdom of the world. At the same time Estra starts her search for Lazar-Sa to kill him and avenge her mother. While on her way she crosses with Toran. In the city of Kamal the three meet a person who is impersonating Lazar-Sa and who is trying to chase the people out of that area. Toran, Estra and Slant are then asked by the city council to end the menace. Because they are searching for answers, the three agree and travel to a canyon where the sourcerer is hiding. After their departure Gar also finds his way to Kamal where he resumes his track of Toran.
In the canyon, the three meet Lazar-Sa. They realize very quickly that he is just a magical simulacrum controlled by an ex-slave from Kamal named Rega. He once met Lazar-Sa and got a magical stone and a gauntlet from him to take revenge for the humiliations he once suffered. Rega tells the three where Lazar-Sa was seen last but then kills himself cause his identity was revealed. Gar, who followed Toran, grabs the gauntlet and challenges Toran. During the battle Toran strikes the stone with an arrow and the stone becomes unstable and the might of the stone destroyes the canyon and Toran, Estra and Slant are happy to escape.
Thereupon Estra is parting with her former companions to follow her own path of finding Lazar-Sa. Toran and Slant are on their way back to Kamal, when a message from Lazar-Sa reaches them. Lazar-Sa is promising Toran to lead him to his higher purpose if he frees the sourcerer from his current prison: The Endworld. What Toran and Slant don't know is the fact that Gar also survived the catastrophe in the canyon and still hungers for Toran's death...

Review: The Archer: Fugitive from the empire.
When this movie appeared in 1981, I was a young boy filled with dreams of one day becoming a great warrior.
Silly as these dreams may seem now, at the time they helped fill what were otherwise boring afternoons in a time when we were all waiting for the 80's to fully materialize.
Looking back on this film now after twenty-five years, I still feel young and strong and full of magical powers every time I see it as it gave us the feel of otherworldly power and secrets that may have existed long ago, before movies like THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy put that idea into the minds of young and old alike.
The acting was weak and character development was pushed aside in favor of time constraints but all-in-all I liked the way the film made me feel.
And, after all, isn't that why we give up two hours of our precious time anyway?.
I was an Elk Man. Hi, Everyone, I worked as an extra in this TV movie.
We worked in the hills near Magic Mountain on December, 3, 4, and 5 of 1980.
It rained most of the time.
We wore fur hides that kept our upper bodies warm enough.
We had some campfires going most of the time.On one of the days there was an invasion of some type of small winged insect that got into our food and probably can be seen in some of the scenes.
The mud was very deep.
We would wade into a muddy road area and made glopping sounds as we pulled our feet out.Somehow it was some of the most fun days I have ever had in the movie business.
The group of guys who worked on the show, cast, crew and extras were laughing a lot.
Nick the director, was very nice and articulate.
Warren, the A.D. was a pleasure to be with.
I worked with him many times, including on Thorn Birds and Airwolf.I watched the movie when they showed it on TV.
I have not seen it since.
I did enjoy it.
I think it would stand up well today if it were re-released with some special notes about the making.When we did our village (hill dweller types) scenes with George Kennedy, there were more different kinds of animals in one scene than I have ever observed working together in any other project.
There were dogs, a bear, cougars, horses and some falcons and a chimp.The horse was not at all pleased being near the bear and the cougars were not friendly except with their handlers.Well worth watching.Tom Willett (Yonhope).
Interesting Fantasy Film.
I remember seeing this film when it was first broadcast on tv.
If memory serves, it was the first of what was supposed to be a series of specials, which would advance the story.
Unfortunately, it didn't do well and became the only installment.I thoroughly enjoyed it initially.
It had a great villain and unique concepts.
The acting was bad in certain cases (oh, George Kennedy, what were you doing?) but for the most part, it was watchable.I later found it at a video store and rented it.
I was less impressed the second time around, but still found it entertaining.
It was vastly superior to most of the other attempts at sword & sorcery films from that era, with the exception of the first Conan.It was a shame that the series didn't continue, as I always wondered what the intended conclusion was supposed to be.
If you enjoy fantasy, give it a try..
Snake men rock, release this to DVD!.
I saw this movie many years ago in the 80's on TV and those snake men stuck with me.
Their laugh/hissing and other mannerisms really brought them and the movie to life.
Then, in the early 90's, I rented it some place and still found it to be an interesting, strange movie that seems more faithful to the look and feel of medieval fantasy than a lot of other movies at the time, or since!
I could not care less about magic and whatnot in these movies but the snake men rock, no question about it.
I recently won a copy on ebay and watched it.
It still holds up.
Yes it's dated, but it has an interesting sort of artsy feel to it.
They made the most out of their budget on this one (think of the movie Laserblast), and the acting ranges from passable and good enough to pretty cool.
The snake men STILL look great, as do plenty of other things in the movie, and for an 80's medieval fantasy flick it has an interesting, semi-complex story line that's not as cheesy as some far worse attempts at the time.
A very dreamy like quality flows through the movie, with interesting camera affects here and there, including a sort reverse negative look (yet in color) if that's what it could be called.
Another one of the things that helped this movie is that the cinematography is well done throughout, with some above average striking images here and there.
No this is not Conan, or Dragonslayer filming quality, and it does have a made for TV feel to it (it was in fact a TV movie pilot for a series that did not happen).
Even the electronic synthesizer score seems to get better as the movie goes along.
The overall style of The Archer still is just enjoyable to watch.
Indeed, in some places I far prefer it to the pacing of some recent flicks.
They really try to immerse people here.
This is very much a quest/adventure flick that seems greatly influenced by the rise of Dungeons and Dragons at the time.
With the recent DVD release of so many other 80's medieval fantasy flicks (even Hawk the Slayer), I see no reason not to release The Archer to DVD.
It was far more of a serious and well done attempt (by Universal Studios in 1981) at the medieval fantasy genre then many other medieval fantasy flicks were back then.
Needs to be released on DVD!!.
Innovative, but ultimately average sword and sorcery fare.
This was apparently the pilot for a proposed TV series that, for better or worse, failed to materialise.Indeed it has that curiously distinctive eighties TV series feel to it, which in itself isn't necessarily such a bad thing, although some of the visual effects are sadly now very dated looking, such as whenever the hero (who you'll have to do a double take to make sure isn't in fact Rob Lowe!) scores a hit with his 'Heart Bow'.It has to be said that the actual film is rather pedestrian in its execution (which is probably partly why it never continued as a series) The characterisations are generally bland at best and the acting never approaches rising above average.The real problem here however, is that nothing particularly exciting actually occurs.
This is decidedly illogical for the idea of a pilot, in which the aim should surely be to initially grab the viewers attention with lots of action and eye candy and hope that they'll be hooked enough to yearn for more.Nonetheless, this movie must be commended for what was at the time, such a unique and innovative premise for a television series (bear in mind this actually predates Conan the Barbarian and the plethora of sword and sorcery films that followed it)Ironically, it was perhaps in part due to this last point that the series failed to get off the ground.....perhaps it was TOO ahead of it's time for it's own good..
Excellent Fantasy Film with unique premise, good action & villain..
As with certain films of the filmed noir genre, there are unheralded fantasy films that also fall in to the category of "sleepers" i.e., very entertaining but not widely reviewed/seen.
To name a few: Forbidden Planet, The Forbidden Street, I'll Never Forget You (Berkely Square), The Sword & the Sorcerer, Sinbad the Sailor, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad & the Eye of the Tiger, Demon Seed, Five Million Years to Earth, Omar Khayyam, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (now a classic), as well as The Dam Busters, (if you are not offended by the name of the dog) and the exceptional, Curse of the Demon.These are but a few examples of some lesser credited "sleepers", yet they are thoroughly entertaining films.
I would handily rate it **** out of ***** stars..
One of the best movies I've ever seen.
when I was a child.
Damn, it's a long time ago I've seen this movie.
It seems like an eternity, yet it was only six, seven, eight years ago, back when I was about 12.
Man, this movie, it just rocks in my memory.
I mean the fact that I saw it about 5 to 10 times and that I even remember seeing it now (about 8 years later) and being able to remember scenes and recognize photo's says it all.
I think it is a great film.
Underrated, not known to many folk but definitely a truly GREAT film.
Although I liked the Neverending story too back then and now I think it is bad.
But who cares I bet you it makes very good entertainment for kids.
Missing most of the story.
I did enjoy this made for television movie far more than my rating indicates.
My low rating is more for the fact many plot elements were introduced and only one resolved.
If I remember the advertising at the time, this was supposed to be the first in a series of made for television movies, with each released at 3-12 month intervals.
The movies would introduce characters giving their background.
They would, across the series, slowly form a typical fantasy role playing adventuring group and save the day.
It was essentially a pilot.
This allowed the expectation many plot elements would be let unresolved but resolved in subsequent titles.
The movie apparently was not as much of a draw as hoped and no further installments were ever made.
If you enjoy fantasy AND enjoyed the movie Eragon you will probably enjoy this movie.
Just do not expect to see a story with an ending..
Sword and sorcery miss.
This sword and sorcery flick is a mess.
Judging from the confused narrative and editing plus constant namedropping of characters we haven't been introduced to, I would guess that it's a failed TV-pilot or something that somebody squeezed together to feature length and released to an unsuspecting world.
If you have a high tolerance level for bad sword and sorcery flicks there's some fun to be had: there's some monsters, like the cool snake-men, magic, a lot of silly fantasy nonsense dialogue ("you must recover the runestone from Brakus the Destroyer in order to save the kingdom of Harmonia from the evil...
blah blah blah...") and some weird color filters that the creators use from now and then for no apparent reason.
Also, it should be noted that this film takes itself 100% serious, which makes the pretentious overacting from an aged George Kennedy in fake-beard and a silly wig all the funnier.
And everybody's favorite boy's-own hero Kabir "Sandokan" Bedi plays the hero's sidekick!
But all in all I think it's safe to say that this movie is only for real sword and sorcery nerds like me.
Hawk the Slayer come back, all is forgiven!.
The blue gauntlet?.
I was a 10 year old boy when I saw this on TV.
Odd how certain things stick in your mind.I still remember something about the evil guy--I believe he had a black beard?--and his magic item, as a sort of contrast to the Heartbow, was, if I recall, a sort of metal gauntlet thing with a blue gemstone in it.
I don't recall what its power was, but if he put it on, he had some sort of energy power.
I think the screen would turn blue and dark/light inverted, as when the Heartbow arrows "exploded".
A modern film reference to the blue gauntlet would be a good obscure reference.The great thing about the internet is you can ramble like this about things that don't matter in the slightest little bit...and it's okay..
The Movie Was A Forerunner For Later TV Shows.
Other watchers of Archer: Fugitive from the Empire comment harshly about its dated special effects, not being really focused overall, average acting, etc.
I believe they're lost to the Content and the Context of the movie's premise, target audience, and production values which made it a forerunner for later TV shows.1.
It's a Sword & Sorcery Fantasy movie - our young hero is a rebel to his father, he uses a super-powered bow, his sidekick is a thief, he has semi-sexual tension going on with a rival sorceress.2.
In the 1980's - the special effects, costumes, and makeup were very advanced.
The armor & weapons were sturdier than a lot of the other films at the time.
The snake-men makeup and their ability to rise suddenly from the ground was similar to the Terrians found in the later short-lived TV science fiction series, Earth 2.3.
Like other movies and TV shows, the quest is the main theme.
The hero, sidekick, and love-interest always have their quirks.
If it's too obvious, the watcher loses interest - if too vague, we become lost to the plot line.
This movie gave us several subplots: hero coming of age, prevent an invasion, rescue persecuted villagers & citizens, fight off the bad guy (who's so much like Darth Vader), and of course - search for your Mentor (who's like Obi-Wan Kenobi).4.
Archer intrigues the viewer not by today's measurements of story-arc, pilot episode allure, best computer/explosion/gore effects.
It makes the viewer wonder what amazing twist is going to happen in a subtle way apart from the obvious Fantasy movie stereotypes (just like Heroes did every week).
The target audience in the 1980's were mostly teenagers and college guys who were into Star Wars, Conan, etc.
Every critic I've read of seems to want a straight-forward action/adventure movie to play out like a Shakespeare drama with intensity.
I think Archer did its job of making me wish I could be the Hero as I sat in my seat enjoying my popcorn and soda!!5.
I have this movie in VHS video format - wish I could get it as a DVD.
Even after all these years, I watch it late at night and weekends just to see enjoy the adventure as a teenager in a grown-man's body!