Director: Albert Pyun
Writers: Tom Karnowski (screenplay), John V. Stuckmeyer (screenplay)
A mercenary with a three-bladed sword rediscovers his royal heritage dangerous future when he is recruited to help a princess foil the designs of a brutal tyrant and a powerful sorcerer in conquering a land.
This is one of those 80's "sword and sorcery" flicks that seeks to capitalize on the success of Conan the.... Wait?... You mean this actually came out BEFORE Conan? Well, yes, according to IMDB, this was actually released one month before Conan the Barbarian.
I know this movie has a nice cult following, but... I wish this would have done better in the theater. I really enjoyed this movie. If this had been as popular as Conan, we would have gotten even more wonderful cheesy fantasy flix in the 80s.
The film is alot of fun. It is nicely paced with only a few slower parts. The plot is actually kind of complex with alot going on. Not only do you have your main hero looking for revenge for the death of his parents, but you have two villains battling it out, a kingdom in turmoil, and a king trying to regain his crown. To be honest, there were some parts that confused me, but it didn't take away from the fun of the movie.
Lee Horsley is excellent here. Lee was not a mega-star in the 80's, but he did well for himself. He's best known for the TV show Matt Houston (1982) I believe. I was only 10 when that show started, so it really wasn't my thing. The rest of the cast is pretty good. Kathleen Beller is freaking beautiful and I so wish we could have seen "more" of her in this movie. Richard Lynch is always fun as the villain.
The film looks nice and the sets and costumes are very well done. There's not alot of "special effects" in this movie, which I believe is a good thing. The make-up effects look pretty damn good too.
The action scenes are great with not alot of blood and gore. I wouldn't consider this family friendly, however as there is nudity (not alot), and the story could be considered too dark for the younger crowd.
Over all, I think this is a great film. It ends with a hint at a sequel which didn't come until 30 years later. I'll discuss Abelar: Tales of an Ancient Empire next.
Verdict: Very recommended
The Cast
Lee Horsley ... Talon
Kathleen Beller ... Alana
Anthony De Longis ... Rodrigo
Simon MacCorkindale ... Mikah
Richard Lynch ... Cromwell
Richard Moll ... Xusia
Joe Regalbuto ... Darius
Earl Maynard ... Captain Morgan
Reb Brown ... Phillip
Anna Bjorn ... Elizabeth
Erik Cord ... Eric
George Maharis ... Machelli
Robert Tessier ... Verdugo
Christopher Cary ... King Richard
Edgy Lee ... Acolyte
Buckley Norris ... Bartender
Emily Yancy ... Ban Urlu
Greg Finley ... Rumbolt
Hubie Kerns Jr. ... Renquo
James Jarnigan ... Young Talon
Jeff Corey ... Craccus
John Davis Chandler ... Guard 1
JoJo D'Amore ... Drunk
Michael Hoit ... Red Dragon Archer 1
Nina Van Pallandt ... Malia
Patrick O'Moore ... Devereux
Peter Breck ... King Leonidas
Michael Evans ... King Ludwig
Russ Marin ... Mogullen
Simmy Bow ... The Cardinal
Steve Davis ... Thogan
Suzy Mandel ... Uncredited
Tammi Furness ... Myra
The resurrection of Xusia is a direct rip-off of the resurrection of Xaltotun at the beginning of 'Hour of the Dragon' ('Conan the Conqueror') with the addition of the tearing off of the heart which takes place later in Howard's novel. And it's quite well made -the screaming sculpts are a nice touch- so one of the best 'Conan' scenes on screen is NOT in a Conan movie.
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