While movies like The Sword and the Sorcerer aren’t really my thing (that includes Excalibur), but it was at least an enjoyable little flick with respectable make-up and production designs.
The Sword and the Sorcerer
(1982)
Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy
Shout Factory | R – 99 min. – $39.98 | March 15, 2022
Date Published: 03/24/2022 | Author: The Movieman
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Talon (LEE HORSLEY) is a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with his lethal three-bladed sword. But when Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer, he is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess (KATHLEE BELLER) and slay the warlock, or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem?
Quick Hit Review: The Sword and the Sorcerer is a film that I’ve heard of but one I never bothered to watch mainly because these action-adventure-fantasy films, including Excalibur and even Conan the Barbarian never has been my cup of tea. Seeing this one finally and at least can say the production design was impressive for the budget and some of the special effects were also pretty good for the time period. However that’s pretty much the extent of the praise, though I can say it never really bored me and kept my attention till the end.
Where the film really falters is with the lead. While the supporting players were unremarkable but fine nonetheless, from a superficial level Kathleen Beller was cute and had her moments, Lee Horsley in the main role really had zero charisma to carry the film; one can imagine how David Hasslehoff, who was originally cast before being dismissed for being too scrawny, would’ve fared. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 5/5 |
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This two-disc “Collector’s Edition” released by Shout Factory comes in a standard HD slim case with a matted slip cover. The inside cover artwork is reversible. Audio Commentary — Co-Writer/Director Albert Pyun provides this new track giving some scene-specific trivia such as locations, as well as a broader view of the production. Available on both 4K and Blu-ray discs. Interviews:
All told there’s 112 minutes worth of footage here each participant recounting their time working on the film, providing tid-bits on the production and their roles. Dedicated to Jack Tyree (11:50) is a featurette for the stuntman to died during production when he missed an airbag during an 80ft jump. Trailers from Hell (3:30) — Editor Marshall Harvey on The Sword and the Sorcerer playing against the trailer. Last up are two Theatrical Trailers (6:25), a TV Spot (0:26) and a Still Gallery with over 100 posters and production stills. |
VIDEO – 4¾/5, AUDIO – 4¼/5 |
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Shout Factory unleashes The Sword and the Sorcerer onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray where it’s presented in the original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio. While some shots do present some very heavy noise, mainly some of the nighttime skies, the picture here looks pretty darn good. Detail is sharp on both close-ups and the more distant people and objects while colors are generally muted. Black levels are decent but, and this isn’t a knock on the transfer, but some shots were so dimly lit it was hard to discern some of the action (and maybe with the low budget, this was done on purpose). The difference between the 2160p 4K and 1080p Blu-ray is slight but still discernible with the former being a bit sharper with maybe some aid by the HDR10. Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs come with a DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track. Nothing outstanding but still decent sounding lossless track with dialogue coming across with relatively good clarity and there is some okay depth for the sword-fights and action sequences. There is some noticeable hissing which was explained in a text from Shout Factory before the movie as the original soundtrack was lost but since I don’t have this movie in any other format, I can presume this is as good as this will ever sound. |
OVERALL — 4½/5 |
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While movies like The Sword and the Sorcerer aren’t really my thing (that includes Excalibur), but it was at least an enjoyable little flick with respectable make-up and production designs. This 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack does come with great amount of extras to go along with the wonderful video and audio transfers. |
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