I recall in the 80's the greatest wave was sword n sorcery flicks which lasted into the early 90s. Ofcourse this wasn't new as they've been huge since the beginning up to the 60s but the 80's it seems everything revolved around it, video games, movies, everyone wanted the dungeons and dragons type sword wielding dragon slaying hero, did Conan the Barbarian usher in this era? Or was it the board game Dungeons and Dragons? Anyway these are some of the many films done during the 80's-early 90's about sword and sorcery:
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Red Sonja (1985)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991)
Beastmaster III (1996)
Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982)
Cave Dwellers (Ator II;1984)
Iron Warrior (Ator III; 1987)
Quest for the Mighty Sword (Ator IV; 1990)
Deathstalker (1983)
Deathstalker II (1987)
Deathstalker 3: The Warriors from Hell (1989)
Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans (1990)
Willow (1988)
Legend (1985)
Quest for the Delta Knights (1993)
The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985)
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989)
Conquest (1983)
Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders (1995)
Gor (1988)
Outlaw [of Gor] (Gor II; 1989)
Army of Darkness (1993)
Charlie Goose
07-21-05, 05:43 AM
You forgot the one that fits perfectly with your subject title, The Sword and the Sorcerer. That was the best one I've seen, and I'm still waiting for the sequel they promised at the end.
The Infidel
07-21-05, 05:47 AM
Wasn't really any actual sword and sorcery involved, but there's the made-for-TV movie Mazes and Monsters.
funkyryno
07-21-05, 06:31 AM
Wasn't really any actual sword and sorcery involved, but there's the made-for-TV movie Mazes and Monsters.
I hated that one when I was a kid. My mom wouldn't let me play D&D for a few years because of that steaming piece of poo movie.
Golgo15
07-21-05, 07:05 AM
You forgot the He-Man cartoon and the ultra-fantastic Masters of the Universe movie.
Josh-da-man
07-21-05, 07:16 AM
You forgot "Dragonslayer."
"Barbarian Queen" (with that woman Phil Spector allegedly murderd)
"The Sword and the Sorcerer"
Also, there was the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon on Saturday morning TV.
And in the early 80s, there was a TV series called "Wizards and Warriors." (A lot of these with _____ and ______ seemed to be riffing on the D&D games, no?)
Geofferson
07-21-05, 10:07 AM
You forgot the one that fits perfectly with your subject title, The Sword and the Sorcerer. That was the best one I've seen, and I'm still waiting for the sequel they promised at the end.
Yup, great movie!
Geofferson
07-21-05, 10:10 AM
There was also a little-known movie from the early 80s, that I've been in search of forever...
this movie has one of the best dragons ive ever seen. and we have a little senator palpatine action here.
rennervision
07-21-05, 11:00 AM
You forgot "Dragonslayer."
"Barbarian Queen" (with that woman Phil Spector allegedly murderd)
"The Sword and the Sorcerer"
Yes. Thanks to HBO and Cinemax, there were many teenage fantasies over Lana Clarkson. Hopefully this isn't one time where a rich and famous - and obvious - murder suspect is acquitted!
gcbrowni
07-21-05, 11:16 AM
Hawk the Slayer!
Joe Molotov
07-21-05, 11:37 AM
I'm a big fan of 80's Sword and Sorcery movies. Outside a few like Conan and The Sword and the Sorcerer, they're mostly pretty bad, but I even love the bad ones. Here's a list I made one time of all the 80's (and a few early 90's that seemed like they were 80's) S&S movies that I believe is pretty much complete.
Amazons
Ator, Blade Master
Ator, The Fighting Eagle
Ator, The Iron Warrior
Barbarian Master (Sword of the Barbarian, Sangral)
The Barbarians
Barbarian Queen
Barbarian Queen II
Beastmaster
Beastmaster 2
Beastmaster III
Clash of the Titans
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Destroyer
Eyes of the Serpent
La Conquista (Conquest)
Deathstalker
Deathstalker II
Deathstalker III
Deathstalker IV
Dragonslayer
Excalibur
Fire and Ice
Hawk the Slayer
Invincible Barbarian
Krull
Ladyhawke
Legend
Quest for the Mighty Sword
Quest of the Delta Knights
Red Sonja
Sorceress
The Sword and the Sorcerer
Throne of Fire
The Warrior and the Sorceress
Time Barbarians
Willow
Wizards of the Demon Sword
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2
HoosierPapa
07-21-05, 11:50 AM
Beastmaster, Clash of the Titans, and Conan rocked, and are my favorites.
Can't get enough of those rascal ferrets! Or black tigers. Or big blind dudes wielding a staff. Man, Beastmaster was one of the best movies ever. I can watch that thing anytime anyday.
Clash of the Titans probably had the best acting of the three, and the best storyline. Funny thing happened a few months ago. A few friends of mine were in Baltimore at a Warhammer tourney. We shared a hotel room to cut costs. One of our friends snuck off into the bathroom to make a deposit... He came out and my other friend asked him if he had "released the Kraken". The stench soon confirmed that it indeed was released... :horsepoo:
Conan was by far the most popular, but I thought it was much slower than the other two. As a kid, it bugged me, but now I appreciate it more.
Numanoid
07-21-05, 12:22 PM
Excalibur rules them all.
devilshalo
07-21-05, 01:03 PM
If I had a glave, I could fuck some people up big time! :rock2:
duff beer
07-21-05, 01:58 PM
You forgot the one that fits perfectly with your subject title, The Sword and the Sorcerer. That was the best one I've seen, and I'm still waiting for the sequel they promised at the end.
doh that's the one i missed, i compiled the list from some sword n sorcery sites and knew i forgot that one...
The Infidel
07-21-05, 02:11 PM
Can't get enough of those rascal ferrets! Or black tigers. Or big blind dudes wielding a staff. Man, Beastmaster was one of the best movies ever. I can watch that thing anytime anyday.
I've watched this movie more times than I care to count myself, but I don't seem to recall a "big blind dude wielding a staff". I recall the Beastmaster's birth father being blinded, and John Amos' character wielding a staff, but not a combo of the two.
The Infidel
07-21-05, 10:06 PM
BTW...wouldn't Highlander fit in this category? The swordplay is definitely there, but the sorcery, well...it's a kind of magic.
duff beer
07-21-05, 10:39 PM
Yeah the emphasis is right along with that 80's sword wielding medieval knight thing.
The Infidel
07-21-05, 11:17 PM
I'm really surprised nobody mentioned it.
Draven
07-22-05, 10:51 AM
Beastmaster and Krull were two big favorites for me growing up. As mentioned, the Glaive kicked ass.
Dr. DVD
07-22-05, 12:36 PM
Loved these movies on HBO! While a lot of them were crappy, the ones that stood out did so very well. One thing I have to give those movies credit for was that several of them didn't mind coming out with the R rating do showcase some violence and/or topless sorceresses/damsels. I remember Tanya Roberts showing her melons in Beastmaster, and that was PG!
I also remember Yor, and at the beginning it had a pseudo-cool theme song for him. :D
dhmac
07-22-05, 10:08 PM
did Conan the Barbarian usher in this era?
Actually, if it was a movie that ushered in this genre in the '80s, I think the movie would be Excalibur that kicked it off in 1981, over a year before Conan was released.
And, for the most part, the better movies of this genre all came early:
Excalibur - U.S. release: April 1981
Dragonslayer - U.S. release: June 1981
The Sword and the Sorcerer - U.S. release: April 1982
Conan the Barbarian - U.S. release: May 1982
The Beastmaster - U.S. release: August 1982
It's the movies from later years that are the crappier ones and eventually killed the whole thing off.
calhoun07
07-22-05, 11:18 PM
Also, there was the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon on Saturday morning TV.
And in the early 80s, there was a TV series called "Wizards and Warriors." (A lot of these with _____ and ______ seemed to be riffing on the D&D games, no?)
Both great series, better than some of the aforementioned movies! I really think that Wizards and Warriors would have lasted longer had it premiered ten years later. It really seemed like it was made for fans of shows like Hercules (the Kevin Sorboro series) but I guess it was just ahead of it's time. I would love to be buying season sets of that on DVD right now. Hell, I'd just love to buy the entire short lived series on DVD right now!!!
And Dungeons and Dragons...one of the few SatAm cartoons that me and my sister could agree on watching! Good stuff!
calhoun07
07-22-05, 11:20 PM
There was also a little-known movie from the early 80s, that I've been in search of forever...
Well I'm going to watch Clash of the Titans tonight for the first time. It has been sitting on my shelves for too long. :D
duff beer
07-23-05, 12:51 AM
Clash of the Titans is a rare Sword n Sandal from 1981 more in tune to the Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts.
Rockmjd23
07-23-05, 02:41 PM
It might have been said already, but don't forget about Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984) :thumbsup:
Dungeonmaster (1985)
Hearts and Armor (1983)
Hercules (1983)
Masters of the Universe (1987) yeah its a stretch :lol:
Josh-da-man
07-26-05, 10:23 AM
Huh. Never realized how many of these movies there were in the 80s.
Offhand, I'd say it's because of Star Wars and better special effects.
duff beer
07-30-05, 06:48 PM
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire (1981)
BuddyRevell
07-30-05, 07:18 PM
Love Sword and the Sorcerer, but Conan is my fav.
DeathStalker 2 is fuggin hilarious. The director knows he's gonna have fun making this movie and it shows in a good way. Meaning this movie doesn't take itself seriously. John Terlesky (DeathStalker) is so damn funny and Monique Grabrielle.....so hot....want to touch the hiney.
Joe Molotov
07-30-05, 08:16 PM
DeathStalker 2 is fuggin hilarious. The director knows he's gonna have fun making this movie and it shows in a good way. Meaning this movie doesn't take itself seriously. John Terlesky (DeathStalker) is so damn funny and Monique Grabrielle.....so hot....want to touch the hiney.
Have you listened to the commentary on the DVD? It's great! It's got Jim Wynorski, John Terlesky, Toni Naples and they basically just joke around about how goofy it all is. According to Jim, the original script called for it to be another generic Conan ripoff like the first one, but he threw all that out and decided to have some fun with it instead. Good call there, because DS2 is infinitely more enjoyable than the original.
William Fuld
07-30-05, 08:36 PM
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire (1981)
You've seen this?
BuddyRevell
07-30-05, 08:43 PM
Sure did. My roommate and I were renting nothing but 80's Sword and Sorcery flicks for two weeks straight. We both agreed we found a gem when we watched DeathStalker II, we were laughing our asses off.
After that we became big Wynorski fans and went as far as renting Munchie. LoL. I have all DeathStalkers on DVD (except for III), that one sucks though and isn't even available.
I remember seeing those damn DeathStalker covers at every video store growing up, and it wasn't until a year ago where I finally watched them all. Glad I did, because it doesn't happen very often where a movie (part deux) totally catches you off guard and becomes a classic. (to me anyways).
Buy: