Hawk the Slayer
Tags: flashback

Plot synopsis:
The wicked Voltan kills his own father when the latter refuses to turn over the magic of the "last elven mindstone". Before the old man dies, he bequeaths a great sword with a pommel shaped like a human hand to his other son, Hawk. The hand comes to life and grasps the mindstone. The sword is now imbued with magical powers and can respond to Hawk's mental commands. Hawk then vows to avenge his father by killing Voltan.
Voltan's evil touches the whole countryside. Some time later, a man named Ranulf arrives at a remote convent. Ranulf tells the nuns that he survived Voltan's attack on his people, which resulted in the brutal deaths of women and children. Ranulf was seriously injured in the attack. The nuns nurse him back to health, but his hand cannot be saved. Voltan appears at the convent and kidnaps the Abbess, demanding a large sum of gold as a ransom. After Voltan and his henchmen leave with the Abbess,the nuns tell Ranulf to seek the High Abbot at the Fortress of Canterbury. The High Abbot sends Ranulf with a token to find Hawk.
Hawk discovers Ranulf with the help of a local sorceress, a woman whom he defended from an accusation of witchcraft. Ranulf has been captured by brigands, but Hawk rescues him. Ranulf convinces Hawk to rescue the Abbess. After a long and dangerous journey, Hawk locates his old friends: Gort, a dour giant who wields a mighty mallet; Crow, an elf of few words who wields a deadly bow; and Baldin, a wisecracking dwarf, skilled with a whip. The five men arrive at the convent, protecting the nuns and devising a way to lure Voltan into a trap. They use their combined skills to steal gold from a slave trader with which to pay the ransom.
Hawk doubts that Voltan will free the Abbess after the ransom is paid. He explains that Voltan treacherously murdered Hawk's wife, Eliane. Hawk and his friends decide to rescue the Abbess, but they fail. Hawk kills Voltan's son Drogo, who had previously assaulted the convent. Enraged, Voltan confronts the heroes in a final battle at the convent. A rogue nun helps Voltan capture the heroes; Voltan repays her by murdering her. With the help of the sorceress, the heroes escape, but the dwarf is mortally wounded.
In the subsequent battle, Hawk exacts his revenge on Voltan and the Abbess is rescued. An evil entity decides that Voltan will be restored to life to carry out further evil. Heeding the sorceress' advice, Hawk and Gort travel south to continue their battle against evil.

Review: Such classic moments as 'a bit falls off the set really obviously' and 'the baddies lair is a skanky old tent', and of course the cheesy sound effect/soundtrack make this a great movie, especially when drunk.
To assist this, the Hawk the Slayer Unofficial Drinking Game is as follows: Drink when: Anyone says 'Hawk'; Anyone says 'Voltan'; Every time they show a picture for the backdrop instead of a real set; Every time they use the ridiculous electronic sound effect (first used at the start with the sword); Every time someone dies (can be limited to 3 drinks for a fight scene as its hard to keep count); Every time the crazy disco soundtrack starts up; Every time there are poor special effects; Every time there is a cheesy flashback Every time the top of the set is visible.Enjoy!.
And here's one for trivia buffs, one fight scene in this movie is actually quoted in a fight choreography book as being a good example of how to film sword combat!!!!Worth 8/10 just for being so damned entertaining!.
The highlights: the cool rapid fire bow effects, the uzi crossbow (needs to be seen to believed), everything with Crow, the glowing elfstone sword, the hilarious disco music that swelled up whenever Hawk rides through the forest (its like Vangelis meets KC and the Sunshine Band, not kidding) and the interaction of Hawk and his friends.
The lowlights: the bad acting, the crappy editing, the obvious painted matte of the abbott's castle, the slow sword fights, and the whiny nun who is way too trusting of Voltan and not of Hawk.
I don't know how I can still like this movie with all it's terrible special effects, but I always get a kick out of watching it.
There are so many great lines in this movie like "Draw your dagger out one more inch and you are a dead man, be you my son or not..." The music is the best thing about this movie - so surreal it's cheesy yet cool enough to work.
What better music to go with a sword and sorcery movie than modern (at the time) synthesizer sounds.The actors are all soooo wooden I kept losing them amongst the trees.
It was supposedly burnt, which is where the damage came from, but it won't heal naturally?Anyway, this film has all the bad things that make a classic B-movie and is well worth a look.
This film is so bad it's funny, well actually it's pee-ya-pants roflmao stuff :DIt's a fantasy movie, swords and magic, hero on quest to defeat evil baddie, hero joins up with dwarfs, elves etc.
I also wish I could replace my old VHS copy for a new crisp DVD.If you like pure and unadulterated fantasy, watch this film it is a cult classic'..
In fact its a cheap, badly acted, stupid movie with rubbish effects that must have been written, directed and edited by a 5 year old.Jack Palance has some kind of eye patch and tries to make up for the wooden acting of everyone else by overacting to a degree that even the most over the top panto performer would be embarrassed by.
The very first thing that hits you when you watch this is the incredibly innovative and catchy film score that plays throughout  it really is one of the most memorable scores I think I have ever heard!The film itself however has attracted some decidedly derisory comments from critics who have keenly pointed out many flaws ranging from poor acting to less than convincing special effects.From these criticisms I can hardly realistically defend the moviehowever.the cerebellums of the aforementioned critics must be seriously jaded as they are overtly missing the intrinsic point with the movie.it is just so much bloody fun!!!!!!!In compendious terminology this film represents pure B-Movie heaven!!!!!!So what if the acting is shall we say, somewhat less than stellar by a few of the key cast members  it only adds to the charm factor!
The comedy fantasy names, the dry ice, the tree-lined, side-of-the-motorway set, the disco soundtrack, Jack Pallance looking like nothing so much as John Wayne holding his mighty weapon.
Despite the fact that that some of the special effects are terrible (though creative), Hawk the Slayer is much better than a lot of bigger-budget or similar budget Fantasy movies that came out of the 80's like Krull, Sword and Sorcery, The Warrior and the Sorceress, The Blademaster, etc.
He's got a fair few films in his collection, more good than bad, but invariably we end up watching Hawk the Slayer at least one time in three.
Hawk the Slayer is well plotted and well acted (though our lead is a bit wooden), however the special effects are terrible.
For all that, this is one of my favorite fantasy movies of all time and I recommend it to all who like a good adventure story..
On his way to his battle with Voltan, Hawk meets with a small, varied group of warriors to help him in his quest.This film takes us back to a dark time, a time of evil and madness; a time where great changes were occurring as the 1970's turned into the 1980's.
The limits of the budget are obvious but not even that excuses the use of party silly string as a weapon and various other poor effect choices.Overall then this is best summed up by the old cliché "so bad it is good" although that actually isn't really true in this case for the majority of viewers.
Cursed with a totally unsuitable music score, and a wooden leading actor in the shape of John Terry, the film is a largely forgettable fantasy flick in which the negatives far outweigh the positives.Hawk (Terry) is a good, noble warrior who roams the land righting wrongs.
Hawk assembles a team of fighters, including a giant, a dwarf and an elvish archer, to help him to rescue the abbess and rid the land of Voltan once and for all.This is a real cheap affair, with pitiful make up and special effects, and some moments which come across as unintentionally hilarious.
in its day, Hawk the Slayer was considered not half bad as far as cinema fantasy films went.
It briefly made the rounds of late night television in the mid-80's here in the U.S., and then I didn't see it until I recently bought the DVD.I admit I'm a "sword and sorcery" fan, and am usually rather forgiving when I watch one of these movies.But "Hawk--the Slayer" is in a class of bad all its own.First--the dumbest dialogue ever.
I need the music sound track for this movie but I don't know where to look for it, Can anyone help?The sets are awful, the acting abysmal.John Terry looks petulant.
Just the mentioning the rubber lizard in the forest scene can send peels of laughter through all who have enjoyed this wonderful piece of work.Jack Palance had to have done this movie as a favor for someone and all the better for us that this stinker/gem was created.There is a reason this flick is a cult classic.
(It's very reminiscent of "Jeff Waynes' Musical Version of The War of the Worlds").Like many B(ad)-films, "Hawk the Slayer" contains several elements that warrant a cult classic, in my humble opinion.
Its themes/subplots (triumph of good over evil; companionship over adversity) are classic, valid, and successfully executed.Even the lack of a hefty budget (it was a TV movie) aids the film's style (setting, costumes, etc.) in that it helps the audience suspend belief regarding the time period, the location, and the fictional qualities utilized.
It is because it suffers from almost every cinematic angel it becomes entertaining to watch.Kids will love it and adults will laugh at the semi-serious attempt in making a fantasy film with elves, dwarfs, giants (or rather the very large man from the carry on films) and a witch whose special powers include fire balls that look remarkably like ping pong balls painted in luminous colours..
But either way, I just love the film.Its definitely a cult classic fantasy movie and I feel that it is one that stands the test of time.
Maybe not effects wise which have moved on a lot but with the story.Some amazingly big names star from the likes of Jack Pallance and the late Bernard Bresslaw, who was sadly type cast to far more comedy roles.A well written script provides some good laughs as well.With todays action driven formula for movies, newer viewers would find this somewhat lacking as the emphasis is defiantly on a believable story - Which borrows more than a little from Tolkien (Just listen to a few names that are mentioned and you will understand what I mean...) but this should not put anyone off giving this film the once over.Could this be another title ripe for a remake for a new generation...
Now take Hawk The Slayer as we have two Americans in the lead roles.Number one is Jack Palance a very well known actor who has played bad guys in numerous movies and number two is John Terry who apparently had a small part in an episode of Soap and Lou Grant before this film.All Jack Palance did was shout his way through ninety minutes of this movie and well John Terry who makes the phrase wooden acting an Oscar winning performance.Now the film...People who go on about the special effects don't realise that British films are made on a shoestring budget as we don't have the money and we don't have deep pocket producers like the American movies have so the £50 spend on the special effects weren't really that bad...lol.The story is quite simple and in my eyes a film is good if i don't half way through start thinking about what i am going to do later or the following day or whatever and i don't with Hawk The Slayer i just watch the film..
The costumes are decent, the interaction between Gort and Baldin is enjoyable, there are some entertaining moments(though perhaps not intentionally) like Voltan grovelling amidst a red background and a hilarious near-sacrifice and Bernard Bresslaw is enormous fun as Gort.But Hawk the Slayer is one of those films, despite having some entertainment and having its heart in the place, where the cons far outweigh the pros.
Someone wrote online, 'If the 'Carry On...' team ever made a serious 'sword and sorcery' film then it would be this.Therefore, the only people who will ever get anything out of this film will be those who can appreciate those 'so bad they're good' films, or people (like me) who watched it as a child and still have nostalgic feelings towards it (for the record, me and my friends 'played' Hawk the Slayer in the playground in junior school).I will start by listing (at least some) of this movie's bad points (mainly because it – technically – doesn't have any good ones).
By repeatedly using fast-paced editing shots on someone firing a bow and arrow or crossbow, you get an almost 'machine gun-like' effect (the bad guys don't stand a chance!).It's fair to say that Hawk the Slayer is the best of the worst films ever made.
This has got to be one of the worst 1980's sword and sorcery flicks i can think of.From the very start of the film,the music,storyline,acting,so called special effects are useless.
Watch Conan The Barbarian instead.All i can say is that Jack Palance must have been hardup at the time.This film was most likely made for about £50,000.Bernard Bresslaw went on to star in 1983 Krull.John Terry was forgotten in time.Harry Andrews a fine actor,went on to star in 1988 Jack the Ripper.This film must be a comedy as it is that bad Enough said.
Look, I played 'Dungeons & Dragons' for years, so I'm already inclined to like sword-&-sorcery films to begin with; but the fact is that 9 out of 10 of them totally suck (the live-action "Lord of the Rings" would be one of the few exceptions that comes to mind).
Well, first there's the fact that, like too many leading men in this kind of movie, John Terry looks like a complete puss and is in no way convincing as hero (watch for the hysterical, Leone-esque close-ups of his eyes that precede some of the fight scenes - he looks like he's squinting during a routine eye exam).
Hawk the Slayer starts as the evil disfigured Voltan (Jack Palance) orders his father (Ferdy Mayne) to tell him the secret of his magical powers, he refuses & Voltan sticks him with his sword before his brother the all round good egg Hawk (John Terry) turns up & their father actually gives him the secret of his power the Elven Mindstone.
Unable to pay the other Nun's send a one handed guy named Ranulf (William Gordon Sheppard) to find Hawk & convince him to help their cause & save Abbess...This English production was co-written & directed by Terry Marcel & is one of those so bad it's good type sword & sorcery fantasy adventure films.
While watching Hawk the Slayer which is set almost entirely within some very English looking woods featuring fights between men with bows & arrows, swords & crossbows & they ride around on horseback I couldn't help but sit there thinking that I was watching a fantasy version of Robin Hood!
The film looks really cheap with the final fight containing what looks like glow in the dark tennis balls to stand in for magical orbs, the special effects are OK but not that great & there's no monsters in it either.
John Terry makes for one of the most blandest of fantasy film hero's ever & for all English football fans it's not the same John Terry who is the current England & Chelsea defender!Hawk the Slayer is a silly, often unintentionally hilarious fantasy adventure that at least isn't boring & if your in the right frame of mind it will provide 90 odd minutes of light hearted fun, it ain't brilliant but it ain't too bad..
Well intentioned sword and sorcery adventure has a few things going for it but there are far too many shortcomings to overcome.Our hero Hawk (John Terry) has inherited the "Mind Sword" from his father after he is murdered by his other son the evil Voltan (Jack Palance).
Couple that with the metal Darth Vader like helmet and the witch who cures him looking like Palpatine and it's so Star Wars it's unreal.They stole the lighted spinning hoops from Superman, and Bernard Bresslaw basically will go on to play an almost identical role in the movie Krull 3 years later.This film is a fantasy romp, slavers, bad men, nuns who betray hero's.
Then there's the "Seven Samurai"/"Lord of the Rings" questing party thing, some cute nuns, lots of eating roast legs of various meats, a dwarf befriending before tragically dying, a magic sword and a generally happy though quite depressing end where everything's sort of okay but that doesn't save Hawk's old girlfriend who was murdered by Jack Palance even before the damn movie started!
With that being said it's not ALL bad and I've certainly seen much worse.On the matter of casting the film stars the little-known American actor John Terry in the title role of Hawk (The Slayer), who possess a mighty magical sword which enables him to slay his enemies with the utmost ease.
Compare this to "Willow" which was filmed some eight years later, in some of the very same regions, Hawk simply looks terrible and utterly dated.It's strong-points are few, relegated to a mere handful of exciting action scenes (especially the ones with the rapid-fire arrows whizzing through the air), aforementioned crazy characters (most especially Jack Palance as Voltan) but basically it's strongest points are scored on account of it's sheer goofiness - like many of the bad movies I review.
That's one of the great things about Hawk The Slayer, the voice of Jack Palance, it was a true one-of-a-kind voice and it simply sounds incredibly intense throughout the majority of his scenes, purely venomous and bristling with menace and utter hostility; it's easily one of the best voices I've ever heard in any movie.
"Hawk the Slayer" its a nice fantasy\sword and sorcery movie from the begin of the 80's, its a low budget production, but very well done, and well directed by Terry Marcel.Terry Marcel embraces all the "Lord of the Rings" ingredients; the warrior(John Terry play the role of Hawk), the thief, the elf, the giant, the witch,the evil warlord, etc, etc...the old story of the good vs evil, and the importance of friendship, honor and justice against the evil warlord Voltan (Jack Palance)and the powers of darkness..Its a film for fantasy\sword and sorcery fans, its a peculiar movie, with nice actors, nice ambiance, footages and a bizarre epic\comic electronic soundtrack..
Like the best of the worst, Hawk works as a film because it takes its self serious as an entry and therefore provides us with sporadic moments of borderline genius comedy and entertaining themes and ideas, a good old (totally hackneyed, but 'avant-garde', this ain't..) fashioned good vs.evil plot with some wonky special effects and plenty of scrapping (fair enough, there's a few bit, even if some of it's ludicrous or lost in-fog-translation).
Tooling himself up with the "mind-sword" and recruiting a motley band of warriors: a giant, a dwarf, a one-armed man with a machine-crossbow and an elf with the fastest bow in the land; Hawk leads the battle against Voltan to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones......This is one of those movies that you have heard about and know that it has a cult following, but have never had the opportunity to get to see.
The evil guy Voltan looks as old as his supposed father, but must be 30 years ahead of his brother Hawk.