I'll admit right up front that 'Sword And The Sorceror' is NOT a good film or a classic one. It sets its sights too low for that. "S&S" just wants to be a good, cheesy, energetic adventure with lotsa Swords and Sorcery and even more "T&A". And in that sense, it is very successful.

The lead, Lee Horslee, plays "Talon" with a wry awareness of the utterly derivative and crappy nature of the material, and he throws all subtlety to the winds and just goes for it. He smirks and swaggers and wades his way through a poor man's version of a Robert E. Howard epic, and looks as if he is having a lot of fun doing so. In fact, everyone here seems to be having a pretty good time, acting and Oscar Nominations be damned. And I think that is what makes the film pretty watchable even today.

Several little touches help distinguish this film from your average 'hero avenges his family and wins the throne' movie. First of all is that infamous three bladed sword, of course. Second of all, "Talon" proves to be so doggoned tough that he manages to pull his hands off the stakes after he's been crucified. Geez, even Conan couldn't do that in HIS crucifixion scene!

And thirdly, there's a wonderful moment when Talon's friend and sidekick makes a rousing speech to the rest of a motley crew urging them to come with him and attack the castle to rescue Talon. The actor (Joe Regalbuto,who went on to be in "Raw Deal" and "Murphy Brown") holds out the heft of a sheathed long sword. It's obvious that the script (or his improvisation) called for the rest of the gang to put their hands on the sword in a gesture of solidarity (kind of like an Eroll Flynn movie). But no one does that. They all just sit there and look at him. Poor Joe is left hanging, holding out the sword all by himself, for nearly 40 seconds. He looks like a total dork. It's an obvious miscue or misfire of some sort....BUT THE DIRECTOR KEPT THE TAKE!!! That's wonderful! My friends and I reran this scene at least twice more, laughing our selves silly at the sheer awkwardness of it.

Since then, Albert Pyun has made a couple of decent films, several mediocre ones, and some real stinkers, but this little gem buys him a lot of good will as far as I'm concerned. Watch with an open mind, a tankard of ale in your hand, and a wench in a leather bikini at your feet, and you'll have a good time.

If you had asked me in 1982, I would have probably told you that The Sword and the Sorcerer was one of the greatest achievements in motion picture history. I loved it! Everything about it was just so cool. Re-watching it this many years later, I still enjoyed the movie, but not as much as I once did.

First off, this has to be one of the better fantasy movies made in an attempt to cash in on the success of Conan. It actually has a budget, mostly good acting, reasonably entertaining special effects, and some nice tension and atmosphere. So many of the Conan cash-ins were made with little or no budget - and it usually showed. Some were fun, but they looked cheap. The acting here is a step above the normal early 80s fantasy movie. I always enjoy Richard Lynch and his Cromwell is perfectly nasty. Another big plus for The Sword and the Sorcerer is the character Xusia. His resurrection and later return are two of the film's highlights. Nicely done and creepy to boot.

But as I said, I didn't find the movie quite as enjoyable as I once did. My main problem is Lee Horsley as Talon. He's a decent enough actor, but here, he seems horribly miscast. He's just not right for the role. And then there's that sword. I loved it 1982, but now I see how ridiculous it looks. A real sword like that one would weigh a ton and be unusable. Very unwieldy looking thing.

Still, it's definitely a fun movie and worth at least a 6/10 if you like early 80s fantasy movies.

At the end during the credits there is basically something that says there is going to be a sequel, but there never was one. Kind of surprising they didn't considering this made 39 million back in 1982 which was a good take to say the least for that time. Considering it was rated R and didn't have anyone really big in it...the only person I recognize in the cast is Richard Moll. In the end though they didn't, which is too bad. This one is a good, bloody, fantasy film. The story isn't the best, but it has good action and sword fights, though the director really likes to show scenes where swords break like glass. As a kid I had trouble following the plot though as it was a bit hard to distinguish the good and bad guys, but later when I saw it, it was easier though I still say it could use a better plot.