ok...Time Bandits remake looks pretty good, but I am still worried as MP was the gold standard for humorous films. Thanks for sharing a couple of films I have never heard of , and we all called the Sword and the Sorcerer, the Rocket Propelled Sword...back in the day, but I do remember seeing it in the theater
I can't disagree with that gold standard. Not sure anything has ever come close to Monty Python and the Holy Grail for purposeful fantasy humour. I was watching Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights a few weeks back. I didn't like that movie at all when it came out, and though I can appreciate the humor more now (due mostly to reminiscing about the cultural references and seeing the actors so young!), it is no MP.
"Rocket Propelled Sword" is a good name for it! Especially the way it blew Talon's hair back and made him squint every time he "launched" it! 🚀🗡
I'm sad to say I've never heard about this movie! It's such a shame because 1982's Conan the Barbarian is one of my favourite movies. I'll have to track this down and watch this, by Crom (or by whoever the god is in this movie)!
I had a few of those plastic toys as a kid, but had no idea they were connected to the movie until I was an adult (even though I was a fan of the movie!).
This post has perfect timing - I've been doing a bit of a sword and sorcery nostalgia trip this summer, watching The Sword and the Sorcerer, Conquest, Deathstalker (1 and 2), The Dungeonmaster, and Hawk the Slayer. I love seeing the coloring books and other pop cultural artefacts from this era, thanks.
Awesome, thanks for sharing that, David! It's funny you mention "Conquest" - that movie came up in my research for this article and I don't think I ever watched it. I even have a tab open in my browser to remind me to watch it as soon as I can! If I may add at least one more movie to your summer viewing list . . . The Beastmaster!
In no way is The Sword and the Sorcerer a kids movie so for them to bring out colouring books and a toy range was the work of deranged genius 😁
Saying that, I must have watched it for the first time on video when I was about 12 or 13, which was probably still far too young but the cover just looked so damn cool and there were so few fantasy movies about that you had to watch whatever you could. I would say it was between this and Hawk the Slayer for my favourite. Albeit this had a much bigger budget and wasn’t quite so British!
Never knew they made a sequel so I’ll need to check it out.
lol - thanks, Dan! I too, haven't watched the Sorbo Sequel yet. I'll most likely watch "The Slave and the Sorcerer" first, though!
I've had this vague idea in my head for quite some time now to take a day off from work and do a S&S marathon of sorts. Watching Hawk the Slayer, Krull, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer, Excalibur (and maybe a couple others of the less extreme salaciousness variety) back-to-back to see which have stood the test of time the best.
Rewatched Krull, Hawk and S&S and a wee bit of Excalibur and Conan. I forgot how po faced the latter two were and I spent most of Excalibur shouting “ There’s Gabriel Byrne and there’s Helen Mirren” 😁
Excellent newsletter article! I recently rewatched Excalibur and even though I knew Byrne and Neeson were in it, I still was shocked at how young they were at the time! And Helen Mirren - wow, she was gorgeous - I had the same reaction as you- "I can't believe Helen Mirren was in this and I never realized it!" Something about her gleaming metalic breastplate had stayed stuck in my subconscious for decades, however. 😁
Wow, that's amazing that Sword and the Sorcerer got a colouring book. Such a crazy concept. I wonder if there is a Warrior and the Sorceress colouring book out there.
As for a Time Bandits remake, it feels sacriligeous. It was perfect the first time round.
ok...Time Bandits remake looks pretty good, but I am still worried as MP was the gold standard for humorous films. Thanks for sharing a couple of films I have never heard of , and we all called the Sword and the Sorcerer, the Rocket Propelled Sword...back in the day, but I do remember seeing it in the theater
I can't disagree with that gold standard. Not sure anything has ever come close to Monty Python and the Holy Grail for purposeful fantasy humour. I was watching Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights a few weeks back. I didn't like that movie at all when it came out, and though I can appreciate the humor more now (due mostly to reminiscing about the cultural references and seeing the actors so young!), it is no MP.
"Rocket Propelled Sword" is a good name for it! Especially the way it blew Talon's hair back and made him squint every time he "launched" it! 🚀🗡
I'm sad to say I've never heard about this movie! It's such a shame because 1982's Conan the Barbarian is one of my favourite movies. I'll have to track this down and watch this, by Crom (or by whoever the god is in this movie)!
LOL - enjoy, Croaker! I know Amazon was streaming it for free last summer, so you may want to start there.
I had a few of those plastic toys as a kid, but had no idea they were connected to the movie until I was an adult (even though I was a fan of the movie!).
This post has perfect timing - I've been doing a bit of a sword and sorcery nostalgia trip this summer, watching The Sword and the Sorcerer, Conquest, Deathstalker (1 and 2), The Dungeonmaster, and Hawk the Slayer. I love seeing the coloring books and other pop cultural artefacts from this era, thanks.
Awesome, thanks for sharing that, David! It's funny you mention "Conquest" - that movie came up in my research for this article and I don't think I ever watched it. I even have a tab open in my browser to remind me to watch it as soon as I can! If I may add at least one more movie to your summer viewing list . . . The Beastmaster!
That’s absolutely fantastic J.Q. 😆
In no way is The Sword and the Sorcerer a kids movie so for them to bring out colouring books and a toy range was the work of deranged genius 😁
Saying that, I must have watched it for the first time on video when I was about 12 or 13, which was probably still far too young but the cover just looked so damn cool and there were so few fantasy movies about that you had to watch whatever you could. I would say it was between this and Hawk the Slayer for my favourite. Albeit this had a much bigger budget and wasn’t quite so British!
Never knew they made a sequel so I’ll need to check it out.
Another great memory. Thanks J.Q. 👍🏼
lol - thanks, Dan! I too, haven't watched the Sorbo Sequel yet. I'll most likely watch "The Slave and the Sorcerer" first, though!
I've had this vague idea in my head for quite some time now to take a day off from work and do a S&S marathon of sorts. Watching Hawk the Slayer, Krull, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer, Excalibur (and maybe a couple others of the less extreme salaciousness variety) back-to-back to see which have stood the test of time the best.
Well, I did actually write an article about all these movies back when I first joined Substack :-
https://open.substack.com/pub/danielodonnell/p/heart-faith-and-steel?r=2bfxud&utm_medium=ios
Rewatched Krull, Hawk and S&S and a wee bit of Excalibur and Conan. I forgot how po faced the latter two were and I spent most of Excalibur shouting “ There’s Gabriel Byrne and there’s Helen Mirren” 😁
Great soundtrack though 👍🏼
Excellent newsletter article! I recently rewatched Excalibur and even though I knew Byrne and Neeson were in it, I still was shocked at how young they were at the time! And Helen Mirren - wow, she was gorgeous - I had the same reaction as you- "I can't believe Helen Mirren was in this and I never realized it!" Something about her gleaming metalic breastplate had stayed stuck in my subconscious for decades, however. 😁
Yeah. I was always a fan of that too 😁
Matt Houston was a fantasy action hero?! Wow! 😆
I never watched that show, but it's funny to look at it now with his mustachioed headshot!
Wow, that's amazing that Sword and the Sorcerer got a colouring book. Such a crazy concept. I wonder if there is a Warrior and the Sorceress colouring book out there.
As for a Time Bandits remake, it feels sacriligeous. It was perfect the first time round.
I can smell those pages through the screen! Good stuff