Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
Director: Albert Pyun
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Having raised (and disposed of) an ancient sorcerer to capture a kingdom, medieval tyrant Cromwell (Lynch) naturally finds himself plagued by revolts. Director Pyun apparently trained under Kurosawa, and one might have expected some of the Master’s empathy with myth and legend to have rubbed off; but there’s only a clumsy amalgam of sci-fi special effects and old-style blood and thunder, with a mind-numbing thickie of a hero and a scrawny underage heroine. There are compensations, though: the real baddie, born-again sorcerer Xusia (Moll), makes a splendidly bad-tempered villain, and there are nice cameos from a bald-headed torturer, a Rastafarian pirate, and a sex-mad python; and editor Marshall Harvey stitches the messy pieces together with considerable panache.Author: RMy
Cast & crew
Director: Albert Pyun
Producer: Brandon Chase, Marianne Chase
Cast: Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll, Barry Chase, Nina Van Pallandt, Jeff Corey full cast
Duration: 99 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now