The Sword and the Sorceror (1982) – Film Review

Director: Albert Pyun
Cast: Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Richard Moll
Certifictate: 15

By Roger Crow

The autumn of 1982 was dominated by Conan the Barbarian, for fantasy fans at least. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star-making turn as Robert E Howard’s mythic warrior was a megabucks epic from John Milius which opened the floodgates for countless cheaper barbarian movies. Writer/director Albert Pyun had been trying to get his own blood-soaked fantasy epic off the ground for years, and there’s a good bet that he finally got the chance thanks to the Conan movie’s green light.

I first saw The Sword and the Sorceror a week after Blade Runner at my local fleapit, and for a 14-year-old revelling in the freedom of all that a AA certificate brought, it was a hit-and-miss treat. This was obviously not on a par with Ridley Scott’s life-changing classic, and these days probably wouldn’t get a big screen release, but in ‘82, anything was possible.

We open with one of the most violent scenes in any fantasy epic of that year: the eponymous sorceror plucking a witch’s heart from her chest. (I’m pretty sure that scene gave Spielberg a green light to emulate the moment in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom a couple of years later).

“Swashbuckling mix”

Anyway, our hero is Talon, a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with one of the coolest weapons in fantasy cinema: a three-bladed sword which fires its blades, ideal for extra close shaves.

Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer, and is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess and slay the warlock, or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem?

Well, no prizes for guessing the outcome, though more than 40 years on, it’s hard not to have a soft spot for the swashbuckling mix of fantasy and horror.

Lee Horsley (who later starred as TV’s cowboy crimebuster Matt Houston), Kathleen Beller (Dynasty, and future Mrs Thomas Dolby), much-missed Brit Simon MacCorkindale (Manimal) and Richard Moll (House) head the cast, and look out for Richard Lynch, who propped up countless TV shows, including Starsky & Hutch, Buck Rogers and more.

“Creative clout”

There’s a feast of special features on this good looking new 4K UHD version, including a director’s commentary with Pyun, who died relatively recently, but more interesting is a 24-minute online interview with Kathleen Beller, in which she reflects on working with a body double; the problems with nudity, and agreeing on what and what not to show. The fact the producers tried to get her body double to show more than she was willing to is a reminder of how predatory 1980s Hollywood could be.

As a side note, Kathleen also loved working with a giant snake, as she had some of her own; was amazed by what accent she used, and reveals that director Pyun was out of his depth, so one of the assistant directors had more creative clout than the billed director. She’s also amazed that the film is not as bad as she remembered, which is nice.

Oh, and despite the modest budget and the fact Beller overheard many contributors on the phone to their agents asking whether they could get out of their contractual obligations, those that did work on the movie were super skilled and efficient.

It’s refreshing to hear a warts-and-all contribution from a cast member instead of someone towing the party line and telling the audience what the studio wants them to hear.

And though made for a fraction of the OG Conan’s budget, what’s interesting is this B, or rather C movie, probably made more money based on production budget-to-box office return ratio. Ms Beller was supposed to have a share of it, but apparently never saw a dime.

And here’s a random bit of trivia: when I caught the bus back home after that first screening in 1982, the ticket was the same time, to the second, as my previous week’s jaunt to see Blade Runner. Was sorcery at work? No, just a super efficient bus service, and an amazing coincidence.