If yo haven't seen it, one of the best of the genre was Ladyhawke from 1985 starring Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick. Absolutely loved that film in my late teens and still holds up well today
I loved that film, although I feel like the soundtrack was a bit cheezy.. imagine what it could have been like if it had the same music director as Excalibur or Conan?
@@darkangel15221 No Matthew Broderick's character was not annoying. Matthew Broderick is annoying and it rubs off on any character he plays. There were only two bad things in the movie "Glory". The Confederacy and Matthew Broderick.
Yes, folks, that’s Helen Mirren. I was 13 when I fist saw her play Morgana and have been in love with gothy pagan chicks ever since. In one scene with Merlin she actually f*cking hisses at him. Classic.
Excalibur is not a historical document. It is an operatic style retelling of the tales of the romantic era (19th century). Realize that, and the full plates etc wont bother you anymore, well not much.
It actual is a variation of this historical quote, but the last part removed for obvious reasons. “The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.” --Genghis Khan.
Yes, and he plays an amazing antagonist - a genuinely creepy cult leader - when he beheads Conan’s mother that gutted me as a little kid as I thought no man would just straight up murder a woman who was so dignified and so very beautiful but daaayyyyuuuum. Poor little Conan watching his mother fall away - Valeria was my absolute heroine growing up - her showing up once post mortem to help Conan, while dressed in shining armor like a Valkyrie, moved me to tears…also loved the divine Andromeda in Clash of the Titans. That ending with the head of Medusa retaining its very powerful dark magic is just amazing…
i would say he is more of an evil priest, that uses swords, and is able to polymorph himself into a snake... his charisma to charm people is off the scale and a wizard would be more reclusive in a tower and not really have many followers
Thulsa Doom is actually a demi-god who is(was) over 200 yrs old at the time of his beheading. The beheading to this day is often removed from network TV.
I have a deep need to say that Conan wasn't originally a comic book character. Robert E. Howard's short stories were featured in Weird Tales magazine which was a pulp magazine for sci-fi nerds in the 20s & 30s, and was just a collection of short stories with a few illustrations. The first Conan panel-to-panel comic as we know them now was published in Mexico in 1952, 20 years after his first story was published in Weird Tales. It was an adaptation of "Queen of the Black Coast," and was featured in a pocket-sized anthology magazine. The first Marvel run of Conan comics didn't come until 1970, almost 50 years after that first short story. Then of course Dark horse was putting them out from 2003-2018, and in that time we got the so-so Jason Mamao flick heavily based on that run, and it's....a movie.
You tell 'em. My first exposure to Conan was in the novels by L. Sprague something-or-other, NOT THE Marvel comics.... though I did read those too. ...probably even have a few of 'em hanging around here somewhere. 🙄
@@guarddog318 I gotta say, as a kid I was more into Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter of Mars, Carson of Venus, Moon Trilogy) that Howards Conan books. Howards books, to me, were not that well written. But hey, people obviously liked them!
A couple things about Conan...Yes, the Conan stories were a collection of short stories by Robert E. Howard, and then later written by L. Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter. But it was also a comic book, later on. I have only owned 2 comic books in my life - my mother bought them both in the 70's when I was 9-10 years old. One was Dracula, and the other was Conan. So, yes, the short stories came first, but there was also a comic book later on. I am not aware of any Marvel Comics of Conan, unless the one I owned from the 70's was Marvel. The other thing about Conan -- Arnold did not portray the real Conan - Conan would never have begged on his knees (you killed my mother, you killed my father...) to Thulsa Doom. In the books, although a barbarian, Conan was highly intelligent, could speak many languages and even read and write a few. He would never surrender, never kneel, and never bow to a king. When he was captured (many times), it was from being over-powered, hit from behind, or sorcery. He would fight to the death or until he couldn't stand anymore. The new Conan (Jason Momoa) was a better portrayal of his character than Arnold's. Robert E. Howard died when he was 30 years old (1936), and had a lot of unpublished manuscripts of Conan stories, and that's where L. Sprague Decamp and Lin Carter came in, finished the stories, and had them published. I own the entire set of paperbacks as well as the compiled hardback collections of short stories. There has been a dozen or so writers since, trying to continue writing the stories, but none of them capture the true Conan like Howard, Decamp, and Carter. Yes, I would call myself a super-fan...lol.
@@juniorjames7076 - I read all of those as well, but since nobody got around to making movies about 'em 'til after the millennium, I didn't mention them. Besides, Tarzan was by far a more popular character than John or Carson.
Excalibur is my favorite of the Arthurian films but second is definitely the 1998 mini series "Merlin" with Sam Neill playing the part of the legendary Wizard. If you haven't seen it yet check it out! It's so good , vastly underrated and overlooked
@@michaelgreen1128 She was excellent . I've had a crush on her from the moment I first saw her in The Jungle Book (1994). Interesting that Sam Neill was also in that
@@davyboy9397 - Yep! With you 100% on that!! Only watched the Red Baron becase she was in that too!! This has prompted me to dig out Merlin for another watch - haven't seen it in ages!!!
I remember when Excalibur and Conan came out. Both of these movies were incredible then, and still today. I have watched both in the last year or so, and they have aged very well. Not campy or dated at all, just as amazing and engaging as they were then. Speaks a lot to the writing, cinematography, and directors on the films.
I LOVED “Excalibur”! Best dialogue of any “King Arthur” film, ever. “How did you become King?” “The Lady of the Lake gave me Excalibur”. “Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Extreme executive authority derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!”
I loved Hawk the Slayer. The ridiculous action sequences with the repeating crossbow and the Elf shooting 30 arrows a second was beyond cheesy but I still loved it.
I actually recommend Circle Of Iron (1978) if u guys REALLY want to see the real predecessor of theses 80’s sword and sorcery fad. NOW! The budget is far more limited than Hawk The Slayer and it’s more of a martial arts fantasy adventure than a sword and sorcery film, but it has all the cliches and style of the 80’s fantasy fad! 🗡️🔥
@@matthewgordon3281 I was 10 years old in 1980. I got to see all these films in the theater, aside from Black Angel and Excalibur, with my friends. My dad would take us. Great fun. I think we saw Conan three times. 😂👍
@@lostinpa-dadenduro7555- I've been trying to remember the name of that movie for decades. I think I watched it on WGN or TBS one weekend, geeky me liked it, but football-concussed me hadn't been able to remember the name of it until now.
Two of my favorite "S&S" movies are definitely Excalibur and DragonSlayer. DragonSlayer still, to this day, has the greatest on-screen dragon ever made. Vermithrax Pejorative has no equal, and is the quintessential dragon that is copied, but never duplicated, ever since.
John Boorman's "Excalibur" is the Greatest film of all time! Nicol Williams IS the best version of 'Merlin' ever seen on screen! "Hawk the Slayer" is a pretty good 2nd place! 🤔
Actually, he IS a comic book character, he's not JUST a comic book character. Introduced by Robert Howard, he appeared in 'pulp magazines' which, to me, seem suspiciously like comics. In any case, Conan did appear in comic books eventually, thus he is, among other things, a comic book character.
I absolutely love Excalibur. I'm not a huge movie fan (music is my thing) but if a film does get to me it's got to be good. The story, acting, and the sets are perfect to me.
Remember the movie "Sword and the Sorcerer"? With Richard Lynch, Richard Moll (Bull Shannon), and Lee Horsley? It's one of my favorites and I tried to find it to buy it -- $39.99 for the DVD on Amazon???? Why?
Don't blame me for Dragonslayer's dismal BO, I saw it in the theater and loved it. Also, The Sword and the Sorcerer, with the amazing scenery known as Kathleen Beller... Oh, yeah, and that triple-bladed sword.
Yeah! That freaking cool triple bladed sword that is barely in the movie! I also don’t remember the sorcerer being in the movie that much either, unless you count his human identity. 🤷🏻
I saw some of them. Conan is just classic. Beastmaster - I loved it too. Excalibur - I found it a bit strange (it is always strange to me when people wear armor 24/7 without any valid purpose), but, hey, there is nothing Helen Mirren can't save.
Well, I've seen every movie listed so far, at the theater when the came out. Does that make me an old fart? PS. I never played D&D. Was always too busy drawing and painting.
Conan the Barbarian is still one of my favorite movies. Excalibur was very interesting. Seemed like a lot drugs involved in that one. Krull has great cinematography. The acting was uninspired though.
Back in those halcyon Red Box D&D days, Hawk the Slayer was required viewing on scratchy VHS pre game. It's like the Royal Shakespeare Company went to the woods to LARP, and as an after thought brought along a film crew and a dry ice machine.
'Excalibur' and 'Conan the Barbarian.' HBO had both of those movies on, multiple times a month in early 80's. I got 2 dollars a month for the arcades, so HBO absorbed all my time in the summers. Same thing every time, when I see Nigel Terry. How he look so young, as young, squire aged Arthur. Then evolve into this sage, warrior, King, with the greying hair and different sound to his voice. That one of the best 'transformations' I ever seen. Armor was as cool to see as it was to see the armor in 'Gladiator,' a few decades ago. It was just visually awesome for 'fantasy' sword sorcery people.
Excalibur was originally going to be Lord of the Rings. "Boorman's Excalibur began development as an unproduced adaptation of The Lord of the Rings..."
Contrary to popular belief there was suppose to be a sequel to "Hawk The Slayer" it was going to be called "Hawk The Destroyer". Oddly enough in 2015, there was a kick starter campaign to finance another sequel called "Hawk The Hunter". Sadly it didn't get off the ground either. Director Terry Marcel has also got plans to create a TV series called "Hawk The Destroyer". However the adventures of "Hawk The Slayer" doesn't end here. It actually found new life as a set of comic books which were a direct sequel to the movie. I personally think the movie was brilliant and the story behind it was very simple to understand. OK I will admit that the special effects were a bit cheesy at best. (but you do need to consider that it was the 80s after all) But the main thing which got my attention was the soundtrack and music to that movie, it made you feel that you were at a disco and not watching a sword and sorcery movie. But it was still very easy to listen to.
My friends and I never expected Casablanca-level acting or Star Wars-level special effects from Hawk The Slayer, but what we got was fun and entertainment. It was very much like someone had recorded one of our D&D sessions, and had the seat-of-your pants excitement.
My Top 25 Favorite Sword and Sorcery Films (followed by 15 Honorable Mentions) are: #01. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) #02. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) #03. Conan the Barbarian (1982) #04. Excalibur (1981) #05. Willow (1988) #06. Dragonslayer (1982) #07. Legend (1985 - Extended Director's Cut) #08. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) #09. Clash of the Titans (1981) #10. Red Sonja (1985) #11. Highlander (1986) #12. The Dark Crystal (1982) #13. Big Trouble in Little China (1986) #14. Heavy Metal (1981 - Animated Film) #15. Conan the Destroyer (1984) #16. She (1965) #17. Arabian Adventure (1979) #18. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) #19. Labyrinth (1986) #20. Krull (1983) #21. Wizards (1977 - Animated Film) #22. Highlander 2 (1991 - Extended Director's Cut) #23. The Vengeance of She (1968) #24. Hercules in the Haunted World (1964) #25. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Bonus: 15 Honorable Mentions are: #26. The Hobbit (1977 - TV Movie) #27. The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) #28. The Beastmaster (1982) #29. Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1985) #30. Hercules (1983) #31. Fire and Ice (1983 - Animated Film) #32. The Lord of the Rings (1978 - Animated Film) #33. Jabberwocky (1977) #34. Gawain and the Green Knight (1973 Version) #35. Jack, The Giant Killer (1962) #36. The Magic Sword (1962) #37. Hearts and Armour (1983) #38. Return of the King (1980 - Animated TV Movie) #39. Ladyhawke (1985) #40. Hercules Against the Moon Men (1965) Granted, most of the best came from the 1980's, but many of the worst came from the 1980's, too. These others I mentioned are worthy as well. I know this video focused on the 1980's, but check out these others if anyone reading this is not aware of them! PS: Regarding this debate over what IS a Sword and Sorcery film, and what is NOT a Sword and Sorcery film... My opinion?... Well, if the film has swords... and it also has sorcery ... Then it is a Sword and Sorcery film...Pretty simple, really!
Hawk the Slayer is a classic. Yes, it feels cheap, the music is at times surreal (70's disco electronic pipe music) and the acting maybe not the best but the film is so much fun. It is basically The Magnificent Seven but with only six. It was fun when when I watched it as a child and equally fun to watch it now.
I actually recommend Circle Of Iron (1978) to you guys. NOW! The budget is far more limited than Hawk The Slayer and it’s more of a martial arts fantasy adventure than a sword and sorcery film, but it has all the cliches and style that inspired the 80’s cheesy fantasy fad! 🗡️🧀
Too bad the SFX of the 80s weren’t on par with the storytelling. But I still prefer the old school effects compared with the 90s hideous CGI. The early 2000s were a perfect storm when good CGI (while still using a lot of make up and real sets) and good writing coexisted. Look at the LotR trilogy for proof. Modern movies have the SFX to recreate any phantasy world but the writing became abysmal, with modern dialog and politics shoehorned in.
Nothing fills me with joy - as a retired college professor who specialized in medieval and Renaissance literature - like the sight of my fellow nerds rolling ye old 20 sided die and guarding their character sheet circa 1979…sigh. Cue “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks…
7:04 a comic book character? Conan is a literary character created by Robert E. Howard, the man who INVENTED the sword and sorcery genre. The comics came later.
"Sword and Sorcery" movies boomed in the eighties, because they could be made cheap. Many of them were made in Mexico and Italy. Using no name actors and locations out in the desert (where it's free to film).
The most hilarious scene was when the sorcerer was killing the bad guy and then the good guy appear telling the sorcerer: “I have no quarrel with you… out of my way” sorcerer: “Kromwel is mine!” The good guy: “Now we have a quarrel!” 🤣
Funny hearing somebody else noticed and awaited the Sequel to "The Sword and the Sorcerer"... Saw it at the movie premiere and stayed for the credits since some movies has a post credit scene, and there it was - the promise of a sequel! Waited almost 30yrs for the sequel of this beloved movie and to my surprise it eventually pooped up, a sequel and also the worst movie I have ever seen. It was even worse than "Octaman"... oh gosh I seen way waaaaaay to many movies as a fanatic cineast, but few reaches the level of garbage the sequel impresses with. The original movie actually had quite a few scenes burned firmly etched in to memory, really touched some higher levels occationally. Something I hoped back then a higher budget and lessons learned would lift the sequel to higher heights.
CtheD I firmly believe was written as a D&D module due to the popularity of the game and the obvious genre connections. If you're familiar with D&D of the era I'm sure you get it. I agree, I love it although its def not as good as the Barbarian.
Conan The Destroyer actually had input from some of the Comic Book Writers who worked on the Marvel Version, So It felt more like an Actual Conan Adventure.
For a long time, "Best Visual Effects," was essentially the Oscar's, "Best Fantasy/Sci Fi Movie," since Fantasy/Sci Fi Movies were too lowly to ever be considered for actual Best Picture.
Now, I'm going to have to search for " The Sword & The Sorcerer and Tales From An Ancient Empire". Hopefully, it's on DVD on Amazon or some other film sites. If my memory is correct, the actor that played "Talon," the hero, was the same guy who played Remington Steele on 📺
Tales From An Ancient Empire is Nowhere Near as Good as the Sword & The Sorcerer. I Would Definitely Skip That One. And Remington Steel was Pierce Brosnan, Not Lee Horsley, You're probably thinking of Matt Houston.
Glad to see The Sword & the Sorcerer covered here. That movie saturated cable TV back in the day and, despite it's flaws and slow pacing, is fondly remembered by us nerds. :D
You should have included Fire & Ice, Which features Beautiful Character Designs and Great Animation, All Based on the Fantasy Artwork of the Legendary Frank Frazetta.
Never knew the TBS and HBO trivia about The Beastmaster was so widespread. We used to guess what movie was being shown on TBS before we turned it on. We would always say The Beastmaster.
I for one never once heard that in the 80s. But then my town didn’t get cable until about 1986. I suspect it’s a term the maker of this video and his friends used.
Sometime in the late 2000s, I saw Dragonslayer on tv aged around 10 or so. I remember the movie deeply impressed me but it was also very depressing and frigthening. All the backstabbing and human moral failure was not child-friendly :-) What´s funny is that I did not realise that this was an old movie, I actually thought for a time that the main actor was Dom Monagham who played Merry in Lord of the Rings xD
Don’t forget Circle Of Iron (1978) for it’s style and cliches that inspired the cheesy fantasy fad from the 80’s. Also, let us not forget about The Barbarians, and Fire And Ice. 🗡️🔥
Not only that! That movie was supposed to be released in 1977, but it had to be delayed because Harryhausen was working with Simbad And The Eyes Of The Tiger. The production was resumed in 1979 and it ended in 1980, then Harryhausen had to work with the stop motion animation, and finally the movie was released in 1981. 😬
Star Wars was a S&S film set in space..... the farm boy falls in love with a princess.... meets a disgrace knight,finds out he has a legacy, meets up with the charming rogue..... rescued the princess and saves the kingdom....at least that's what it originally was
You are right! But if you truly want to see the real predecessor of this cheesy 80’s sword and sorcery fad, check out Circle Of Iron (1978). It’s actually a martial arts fantasy adventure, but it has all the cliches and style of the 80’s S&S cheesy fad. I considered that movie more of a predecessor than Hawk The Slayer or Conan The Barbarian. It’s about a Barbarian fist warrior in his quest for strength. Along the way, he meets magic blind men, gypsy women, and fights ape-people, native wizards, and face evil spirits. 🤩
I watched all of these as an 80s kid. Beastmaster was terrible but I loved fantasy and Tonya Roberts in minimal clothing was not to be missed. The Sword and The Sorcerer was so bad it was good. I watched it many times. It was pretty funny. Conan ad Excalibur are great films. I used to know pretty much the whole dialog from Excalibur, I watched it so much. Sandahl Bergman in Conan was the most beautiful women in the fantasy films. I loved to watch these movies on HBO over and over. The 80s were a good time to be a kid.
I actually recommend Circle Of Iron (1978) to you. NOW! The budget is far more limited than the films you mentioned and it’s more of a martial arts fantasy adventure than a sword and sorcery film, but it has all the cliches and style that inspired the cheesy fantasy fad from the 80’s 🗡️🔥
The only dungeons and dragons I knew back then was the excellent cartoon. Love, Excalibur, one of my all time favorites . I remember, Hawk the Slayer, with, Jack Palance, as the bad guy, go on then. Some many fantastic movies. Beast Master, Sword and the Sorcerer, Dragon Slayer, Hawk. All boss!
I feel a need to point out that Conan The Barbarian did have an evil Sorcerer. Thulsa Doom was it. In the original books he was a heavy Magic using evil wizard and in the film he could turn into a snake, use a magical hypnotism, and turn snakes into arrows. This wasn't because he was a snake. He was a wizard that focused on snakes for their mythical and actual powers.
This genre has to make a strong comeback. Of course, it HAS to be done RIGHT this time (I'm looking at you King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword). Fantasy movies like these are so underrated. They have a following and would make decent box office but again, it has to be done right. Fantasy and "sword and sandal" movies are usually a good romp.
@@sirellyn God, I hear more endless whining about "wokeness" than actually seeing any wokeness itself. It's like the nation has been taken over by limp-wristed, crybaby pussies.
Lana Clarkson embodied her Role as Barbarian Queen …. Contrary to what Phil Spector Gaslighted Her, she was against the casting couch and despised that aspect of Hollywood. The reason why she had gone to his place, was to discuss getting the show we had filmed a TV Pilot Lana Unleashed… not…Lana was not there for s3x. RIPower Lana Clarkson
Man oh man, just going over these movies sure brings back tons of memories as a kid. Remember watching these a multitude of times throughout the 80’s on cable where eventually with VHS tapes, we would record off of & pause when a commercial came on. Miss those days……..
