Blu-ray Review: Albert Pyun’s THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER – Entertaining ‘80s Fantasy
Lord of the B-movie, Albert Pyun’s The Sword and the Sorcerer is a delightfully cheesy slice of 1980s sword and sorcery cinema that embraces its low-budget roots with gusto. This 1982 fantasy romp delivers exactly what genre fans want – muscular heroes, evil villains, and plenty of sword-swinging action.
Lee Horsley is Talon, a mercenary out for vengeance against the evil King Cromwell (Richard Lynch) – a man who murdered his family and took control of his kingdom. Armed a trusty triple-bladed sword that can shoot its blades like missiles (!!) and his love of Kathleen Beller’s Princess Alana, Talon sets out to right wrongs as he fights his way through a horde of faceless henchmen.
The cast of The Sword and the Sorcerer fully commits to the material, with Lynch chewing the scenery as the villainous Cromwell and Horsley bringing a roguish charm to Talon – think Han Solo meets Indiana Jones by way of Conan. No one was ever going to win any awards for this flick, but they make the material work with the right dedication to the tone.
B-movie maestro, Pyun’s directorial debut has an energy that gallops along, covering up lot holes and budget limitations. The action sequences are surprisingly well-staged, with some impressively gory kills that will satisfy fans of practical effects (the opening tomb sequence is a particular standout). While the story is convoluted and often nonsensical, it moves at such a brisk pace that viewers will likely be too entertained to care.
The Sword and the Sorcerer may lack the polish of contemporaries like Conan the Barbarian (which it beat to screens by a matter of weeks) but it makes up for it with sheer enthusiasm and a willingness to embrace its B-movie hokum. It’s a perfect example of the kind of unapologetically fun fantasy fare that dominated video store shelves throughout the 1980s.
For fans of the sword and sorcery genre or those with a fondness for brawny ’80s action, The Sword and the Sorcerer is a must-see. It’s far from high art (or Conan The Barbarian), but it delivers low-budget charm and now over 40 years on, it remains one of the most entertaining entries in Albert Pyun’s monumentally eclectic filmography.
Special Features
101 Films unleashes The Sword and the Sorcerer on blu-ray with a powerful amount of extras,
The late Albert Pyun is present and correct throughout in interviews and commentaries which cover the film’s fraught production in detail. Across the multiple docs and featurettes is plenty of input from co-star Kathleen Beller, co-writer/co-producer John Stuckmeyer, editor Marshall Harvey, makeup effects artist Allan Apone and effects gurus the Chiodo brothers.
The set also includes a dedication to stuntman Jack Tyree – who died when a stunt in the film (which remains in the final product) went wrong.
This is an excellent package that gives a lot of love to this 1980s fantasy adventure!
