The titular sword is indeed an inventive piece of fantasy-scenery, as it's a gigantic and three-bladed weapon that fires off daggers to kill the carrier's enemies from a distance. The sorcerer, however, is just a little bit of a disappointment since he Xusia only appears briefly in the film. The power mad Prince Cromwell summons this evil sorcerer to help him conquer the mighty kingdom of Ehdian, yet just before Cromwell takes over the throne, he destroys Xusia again. Talon, the youngest son of the present king of Ehdian, is the only royal heir to survive the bloodbath. Eleven years later he returns as a true warrior hero to lead the oppressed people of Ehdian in their revolt against the tyrant Cromwell. "The Sword and the Sorcerer" was Albert Pyun's debut as a director, and he immediately delivered a vivid and energetic fantasy tale! 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. The battle scenes are terrific, the decors are often breathtaking and the script contains a surprising amount of humorist situations. When Talon is captured and sentenced to death by crucifixion, his troops and friends (who until then spend their days inside a luxury brothel), decide to come to the rescue, yet in the next shot they're all imprisoned themselves. The film is quite violent and full of grisly images, most notably during one of the last swashbuckling scenes at the wedding banquet, where people's faces are cut in two and heads are crushed with large pieces of meat. Lee Horsley is an adequate hero, but the show is obviously stolen by the bad characters here! Richard Moll is excellent (and well-disguised) in his brief role as sorcerer Xusia and Richard Lynch is sensationally mean as the bastard Cromwell. His greed is so enormous that he invites all the rulers of nationhood kingdom at his wedding, only with the intention to kill them and take over their leadership. What a prick! And when he develops his little beard, he looks even more sardonic! The early 1980's were the absolute best years for fantasy-cinema. Nowadays, the genre reverts too much to computer animated graphics, like in, say, "The Lord of the Rings".
Review of The Sword and the Sorcerer
