The Sword and the Sorcerer

Plot synopsis:
The film opens as King Cromwell (Richard Lynch) and his men land ashore of Tomb Island in search of Xusia of Delos (Richard Moll), a long-dead sorcerer who may be the key to overthrowing his rival King Richard, whose land of Ehdan is the richest in the world. Using one of Xusia's worshipers to awaken him, Cromwell convinces Xusia to join his cause. With the sorcerer's black magic at his command, Cromwell easily lays waste to Richard's formidable army.
Eventually, Cromwell becomes eager to be rid of Xusia. Fearing that the sorcerer could very well turn against him, he attempts to kill Xusia by stabbing him in the chest and chasing him off a cliff. With only one army left to defend the city, King Richard prepares to lead the charge against Cromwell in a last-ditch effort to save Ehdan. He orders his family to evacuate to the river, and entrusts his youngest son Talon with his triple-bladed projectile sword, instructing the boy to avenge his death should it occur.
When Richard fails to return home afterwards, Talon goes to find him. While searching the corpse-littered battlefield, he comes across Mogullen (Russ Marin), his father's closest adviser. Gravely wounded, the old soldier confirms that the battle is lost. At that moment, Talon spies his father in the distance, just seconds before his execution.
Enraged, Talon starts off to claim his revenge, but Mogullen holds him fast. Knowing that Cromwell will be heading to the river in search of the queen, he implores the boy to save the rest of his family. Talon desperately races to the river on horseback, but is too late to prevent his mother's death at Cromwell's hands. With Cromwell's men in pursuit of him, Talon has no choice but to flee. After narrowly surviving an ambush, the boy manages to evade capture and disappear from the kingdom.
Eleven years later, Prince Talon (Lee Horsley), now a seasoned warrior, leads a small group of mercenaries back into his homeland, seeking to fulfill the promise he made long ago. Meanwhile, in his subterranean lair, the sinister Xusia—still very much alive—vows to repay Cromwell for his treachery.
In the city of Ehdan, a rebellion has begun under Prince Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale), son of King Richard's closest advisor, who many believe to be the rightful heir to the throne. After confirming the final plans with Machelli (George Maharis), Cromwell's war chancellor (who is secretly a double agent), Mikah relays the news to his sister Alana (Kathleen Beller), but Cromwell suddenly bursts into their hideout and a battle ensues. Although Mikah is captured, Alana flees through the city streets, but eventually finds herself cornered by Cromwell's men. She is then rescued by Talon, who easily dispatches her assailants.
At a nearby tavern, Alana learns of her brother's imprisonment and asks Talon to rescue him, along with a faction of rebels who have been recently trapped by Cromwell's forces. Unable to bribe the lustful mercenary with gold, Alana reluctantly offers herself to him for one night. Satisfied, Talon departs on his mission, but Cromwell's men arrive shortly thereafter and capture Alana as well.
Successful in freeing the rebels, Talon infiltrates the castle through the sewers and is able to rescue Mikah, but is subsequently detected and captured by Cromwell. After forcing Alana into marriage, Cromwell invites the four neighboring kings to their wedding feast, where he intends to assassinate them with Talon crucified in the dining hall. Before the plot can be carried out, however, Talon summons the strength to pull himself free of the crucifix, just seconds before the rebels, led by Mikah, storm into the dining hall and overpower Cromwell's soldiers.
Cromwell attempts to flee the castle with Alana in tow, but Talon intercepts them. In the resulting skirmish, Machelli takes custody of Alana and brings her to the catacombs beneath the castle, where he reveals his true identity as Xusia. Although Cromwell tries to intercede, he is no match for the sorcerer, but Talon is able to resist Xusia's power long enough to strike him down with his projectile sword. He then engages Cromwell in combat, finally vanquishing the evil king. Afterwards, Talon saves Alana from a giant constrictor snake, but Xusia suddenly rises again, prompting Talon to finish off the sorcerer with a blade concealed in his gauntlet.
In the end, Talon yields the crown of Ehdan to Mikah, and Alana honors her commitment to spend one night with her brother's savior. As Talon and the mercenaries prepare to leave Ehdan, they are approached by Rodrigo (a member of Mikah's rebellion) who asks to join them. Talon agrees, and the group sets off for another adventure.

Tags: cult

Review:
The main reason this movie was even made was that they wanted it to be in theaters at around the same time as the film "Conan the Barbarian" in 1982.
(And Lee Horsley even resembles Errol throughout this film, which I was fortunate enough to see theatrically at time of release.)There are terrific villains galore, rip-roaring adventure, great castles and dungeons, complicated skullduggery, and comeuppance aplenty, all done with delicate humor.This is great screen entertainment with a '40s-'50s look to it, and that's a compliment.
The fast-moving story relies much more on quality writing, acting and expert direction rather than copping out with the sort of elaborate special-effects that producers/directors of such films seem to lean on so heavily now, nearly two decades later.I think it's a classic, and a model, of its type.Highly recommended to all except small children..
Richard Lynch eats the scenery with unalloyed zeal, and quite simply more of Lee Horsley as Talon would have made the movie world a better place..
Lee Horsley (Easily the most likable barbarian warrior) stars as Talon a mercenary hired to save the brother of a rebel princess, the reward of course is one night with that said rebel princess and so armed with a spring loaded sword which shoots out (Also looks heavy as hell) Talon takes on Titus(Richard Lynch) the man who killed his father much sword and sorcery action takes place.
So even though Pyun did direct the movie this is still a must see and I think it is perfect for anyone who likes the Sword and Sorcery genre.
Overall, The Sword And The Sorcerer is a fun, action packed fantasy film that does not take itself too seriously.
One of the first fantasy adventure flicks to cash in on the success of Schwarzeneggar's Conan, The Sword and the Sorcerer has stuck in my mind over the past 30 years thanks to its relatively high level of gore and female nudity.
Lame fight scenes, a confusing meandering plot, half-assed humour, characters with really dumb names, wooden acting, and terrible direction: they're all here in abundance.Let's concentrate on the positives then...Pop this one into the player and you'll be greeted by a surprisingly good opening scene in which ancient sorcerer Xusia, resurrected to help villain Cromwell (Richard Lynch) in his quest for world domination, demonstrates his power by using magic to tear the heart from a witch.
Boo hissss!Years pass, the story gets awfully convoluted and characters come and go, but at least we get some scantily clad wenches to help take our minds off the sloppiness of the script, best of all being buxom, doe-eyed beauty Alana (Kathleen Beller), who along with her brother Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale) is plotting a rebellion against Cromwell.
This one was a very well done fantasy adventure.Lee Horsley plays Talon deprived of his rightful place as king by evil usurper Richard Lynch who employs the black arts of sorcery to conquer the kingdom run by Horsley's father.
Talon who is a child at the time flees, but grows up to be an adventurer medieval soldier of fortune with one nasty triple sword that actually fires two of its blades like a spring, the better to take care of more than one adversary.In the meantime brother and sister Simon MacCorkindale and Kathleen Beller are having Richard Lynch now threaten their domain.
The story isn't deep, but that's a good thing it's not trying to be complicated just a typical fantasy revenge story that we've seen many times.It had a low budget but they used it well, it really looks like great effort was put into creating the fantasy world.
Like one scene where there were multiple evil solders and he touches all of them because logically he's never be able to cut all of them down on time.Cromwell is a good villain, he mensing and he's a power mongering butt head you love to dislike.
Really can make you nervous from his ability to rip hearts out with his magic but mainly that voice and how he delivers his lines.The action is very good and well choreographed, from swords shooting out at evil solders, to a big battle and final fight.
The score is also very good it's memorable, it has an epic adventurous swashbuckling tone.And of course the main highlight of the film is the triple bladed sword, which to me is one of my favorite fictional weapons.
Another problem I have was this film didn't become a franchise it was setting itself out to be and I'm not exactly sure why, it would of been cool seeing Talon fight against demons, dragons, and other creatures with that sword, but it didn't happen which is a lost opportunity and shame.Overall, "The Sword and the Sourcerer" is a fun fantasy film, so give this film a swing.Rating: 3 stars.
The prince Talon (Lee Horsley) and his silly three bladed sword, that can shoot blades as a projectiles.Now, all things considered, this is a silly movie.
not that I'm gonna give it 10 stars or anything, but it was surprisingly enjoyable, as far, that I liked it better than Red Sonja and that dreadful Conan The Barbarian sequel, Conan The Destroyer.Acting is pretty horrendous in this film, just as the plot.
It should have at least been mildly entertaining, but very little, if any, of this movie was entertaining or memorable.The Sword and the Sorcerer is a cult classic about a warrior prince named Talon, who sets out to bring down the evil king, Titus Cromwell, who killed his parents and stole his kingdom.
The funny thing is, you actually want to, but this movie gives you nothing to like about them.As the title suggests, there is a sword and a sorcerer in the movie.
It's an entertaining fight, but really doesn't redeem the movie.A weak plot, no good special effects and a lot of underdeveloped characters, I think this movie was still in post-production when it was released.
But I'll be damned, it's one of the best pieces of cheese out there and I hope we will get a blu-ray release any time soon.I highly recommend this for every fan of cheesy movies or fantasy flicks..
Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good fantasy-action movie all things considered.
They have never had to wait a generation to see a sequel to anything.Enjoy the Sword & the Sorcerer,& remember all sequels to good films don't come out the day after part 1 is on DVD!.
That having been said this film is so corny while still a good action adventure-fantasy that it becomes a guilty pleasure.
I'll never forget it though, Richard Moll as the demon covered in blood, our hero escaping from the bad guys after being crucified on that wheel only to kick butt with a 3 bladed sword that looks like it weighs about 100 pounds.
And the crucifixion scene, with the hero ripping his nailed hands free from the wood, comes right out of Howard's "A Witch Shall Be Born." I just wish 1982's *other* big sword-and-sorcery movie, _Conan the Barbarian_, had been half as faithful to the source material it was *supposed* to be adapting, and half as much fun as this delightful, low-budget, low-tech rip-off..
In his review of this film, Leslie Halliwell hoped that it would put an end to the then-popular "sword & sorcery" cycle; while he partly got it right because the proposed sequel proudly promised during the end credits which was to have been called "Tales Of The Ancient Empire" never materialized, I have to disagree with him because, not only am I a fan of those kind of movies, but THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER is actually one of its more tolerable examples.
Incidentally, this is one of those films I recall being released theatrically back in my childhood days but which I eventually missed out on; ironically, one of my earliest movie-going memories is a previous film from the same genre, CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981).THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER was the directorial debut of Albert Pyun who, over the years, seems to have garnered an unenviable reputation as a Grade Z hack but which, at least from the evidence on display here, seems unjustified; in fact, the film is quite an entertaining ride while it's on and the bloodthirsty action highlights are not only competently staged but even rousing on occasion.
Several of the lead actors featured in the cast were popular TV personalities of the time and I recall seeing them as their long-term personas in my childhood days, namely: Lee Horsely (MATT HOUSTON [1982]), Katherine Beller (DYNASTY [1982-84]), Simon MacCorkindale (MANIMAL [1983]) and Joe Regalbuto (STREET HAWK [1985]); also appearing in the film are George Maharis (as the deceitful Sorcerer of the title), Richard Lynch (as the villain of the piece), Nina Van Pallandt (as Horsely's mother who is dispatched by Lynch early on), Jeff Corey (as a sympathetic but ill-fated inn-keeper) and, unrecognizably, Peter Breck, Jay Robinson and Corinne Calvet!
Maharis and Lynch come off best as, respectively, the reptilian Machelli (at least in human form - another actor, Richard Moll, was under the icky Sorcerer make-up at the beginning and final stages of the film) and the vicious usurper Titus Cromwell (surely a more original surname could have been dreamt up for the character, no?); on the other hand, the younger actors try hard but are defeated by the confusing script brimming with peripheral characters and warring factions.
While "Conan the Barbarian" is one of the genuinely greatest fantasy movies ever made - and has one of the greatest film scores ever composed - aside from that silly sword "The Sword and the Sorcerer" is actually a FAR better Conan movie than either of the official Conan movies.
and, of course, Talon is far more like the "real" Conan of Cimmeria, as written by Howard, than the musclebound putz played by Ahnuld ever was.It's exciting, it's fun, it's funNY - both intentionally and otherwise - and it's some of the most unashamedly genuine Sword & Sorcery ever put to screen, straight from the pulp magazines of the '30s to the big screen of the '80s.
In retrospect, the movie is "campy" - it is a cheap, cheesy b-rated flick but something about it is fairly good.I recommend this film only to those who are deep into role-playing, D&D, fantasy and magic...
As the best of all the bad fantasy films produced in the early 80's, The Sword and the Sorcerer was a mild hit at the box office.
I've watched this film countless times over the years, and its effect on me is every bit as strong as an adult, as it was when I was a boy.While not the highest-budgeted fantasy ever made, this movie deserves extra praise for its atmosphere.
While Conan was a great film on its own, it just didn't entertain me as much as this one did.While it's definitely not for realists (as if there is such a thing when it comes to fantasy!), those who can manage to suspend their disbelief long enough to be drawn into this magical world should find themselves greatly entertained.
It was and is not about big men playing with magic swords and every place filled with busty females (always naked), but still these rip offs are so much guilty pleasures that I think I can sit the film for the second time in near future before selling my DVD away.The atmosphere is occasionally, especially at the end in the cave, pretty nice as the ground is covered with mysterious mist and fog.
The three bladed sword is pretty interesting and seems to work fine, too.Albert Pyun has made alarmingly many bad films (check out Cyborg (1989) starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and The Sword and the Sorcerer isn't an exception.
He assists "Prince" Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale) and his cute sister (Kathleen Beller) to overthrow the evil king (Richard Lynch) and his former evil sorcerer (Richard Moll)."The Sword and the Sorcerer" debuted two weeks before "Conan the Barbarian" in the spring of 1982 and it's just a second-rate S&S adventure by comparison.
"The Sword and the Sorcerer" is decidedly bush league.The end credits claim that the sequel is "coming soon." Actually, it didn't surface until 28 years later under the title "Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire" (2010).The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes and was shot in Southern Cal (Griffith Park, Los Angeles; Culver City; and Riverside).GRADE: C/C-.
I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a great fantasy/sword/sorcery type movie..
Ugh. There are so many bad things about this movie, I don't have the time to list all of them: Incoherent plots (there were several at once), poor acting, boring storyline, and unappealing actors are but a few of the problems with this film.
If you want to see a really bad, slapstick, Viking movie go rent Eric the Viking (it's really good to heckle).Even watching The Sword and the Sorcerer with some drunk friends didn't help it (I wasn't drunk, but even my drunk friends thought it was terrible).
And, as I watched this, it dawned on me the very reason that I had forgotten it.The Sword and the Sorcerer tells the story of Talon (Lee Horsley), who has been given a lame three bladed sword, and he has to go on some kind of quest to save a princess or some such thing.
The acting is at times "flat", but the special effects and the overall production are quite good for a film made 25 years ago.
Good for "Cheesy Movie Nights" everywhere.What did surprise me though is that at the end of the film in the credits they say "Watch Talon's next adventure in 'Tales of the Ancient Empire' comming soon." I've never heard of it.
This movie was part of my childhood (although it has an '18' certificate) and I loved it from the moment I saw it...Combining the age-old story of good versus evil, a swash-buckling hero, great gore and some foxy ladies this is a must see for any fan of the genre.
If you're interested in some pretty highly entertaining schlock with some actual acting, and sans the real bilge many sword and sorcery movies trowel out, grab this one, slide it in the machine, might be good on a double bill with "Conan the Barbarian.".
If you like the genre (old-style fantasy topped off w/ a bit of comedy) then I can't recommend this enough.Contrived plot, ham-acting by pretty much everyone but Lee Horsey, so-so special effects--yet the film suceeds in spite (or perhaps because) of these things.
The plot is pretty basic and really rather inconsequential: evil Cromwell takes over the peaceful kingdom of Ehdan with the help of monstrous undead sorcerer Xusia, killing the king and his family but missing young Talon, he of the three-bladed sword, who will eventually grow into strapping he-man Lee Horsley and come back for revenge, along the way saving gorgeous Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller) and her brother Micah, who believes himself to be the rightful heir in the absence of Talon.
How can anybody take the triple-sword (which fires two of its blades like crossbow bolts) seriously, or do anything but laugh when Talon is crucified on a big wooden X at a wedding celebration but pulls the spikes out of his hands (mostly in slow-mo of course) and then goes on to start chopping up the bad guys as if nothing happened?
The film is clearly inspired by the success of Arnie's "Conan the Barbarian", but it contains enough original story elements and exciting special effects to be called a highlight of the fantasy-sub genre itself.
I really don't know how this one has stayed off my radar for 35 years.Anyway, in that Conan tradition boy sees mother killed by big bad and comes back for revenge with a very silly sword with three blades like some sort of disposable shaving razor.
That, and the fact that the budget stretches (for a change) to some half-decent special effects, especially involving the demon sorcerer, whose gruesome birthing scene at the film's opening is one of the highlights.I think that it's mainly Albert Pyun's influence that stops this being a genre classic; the direction just feels so slapdash and bored that it's impossible to enjoy things 100%.
TV's Matt Houston - Lee Horsley (who bears an uncanny likeness to Errol Flynn) stars in this entertaining tale of swords and sorcery as the dashing hero Prince Talon who's out to avenge the death of his parents at the hands of the evil King Cromwell (played by perennial B-movie 'baddie' Richard Lynch)Basically this is a fun albeit somewhat muddled feeling movie and one that in addition, curiously can't seem to decide as to it's intended target audience.
I found this movie to be very entertaining although the***SPOILER*** sword with two ejectable blades was kind of hokey ;P ***END SPOILER***This movie has a lot of action and the way the movie is pulled off just makes it fun to watch.
The special effects are also pretty cheesy, particularly the aforementioned sword and especially in a corny transformation scene toward the end of the film where a character literally pulls apart his human skin to reveal a demonic creature.
The only thing to come clean out of this dreck is a lively musical score by David Whittaker as well as Moll and MacCordinkale's performances, but otherwise, the movie as a whole is little more than standard junk for undemanding fans of this kind of trashy fantasy.When it's all over, just before the credits roll, there is a comment made that the hero will have further adventures in an upcoming film called "Tales of the Ancient Empire." Successful as THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER was financially, it's not really all that surprising that audiences were never treated(?) to such a sequel.