4K UHD Review: The Sword and the Sorcerer (Collector’s Edition)

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In 1982, fantasy was in full force. High school was a prime place to find kids who owned the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook and the Monster Manual. There were at least two kids in each home room with a set of polyhedral dice tucked away in their pockets along with a condom that they bought at a truck stop bathroom when dad wasn’t looking. People didn’t play D&D at school for fear that the jocks would bump the table and set pieces flying. Any campaigns were done in family rooms on the weekends away from the disbelievers and close to mom’s snacks. Movies that reflected the worlds found in D&D were popular. High schoolers wanted to see the characters, creatures and weapons on the big screen. When The Sword and the Sorcerer arrived in the spring of 1982, the low budget indie film did serious box office business. There were probably quite a few Dungeon Masters in the audience looking for inspiration for their next big game. The Sword and the Sorcerer is now getting upgraded to 4K UHD so you see the fantastical world more clearly.

King Titus Cromwell has uncovered a secret weapon in his land war. He is able to revive the deceased scorcher Xusia of Delos (Night Court‘s Richard Moll). The happy to be back Xusia uses his black magic to defeat nearby King Richard. The battle is a wipe out with Richar’d son Talon fleeing the devastation. A decade later Talon (Matt Houton‘s Lee Horsley) with revenge on his mind. Although is plans get complicated when he’s hired by Alana (Dynasty‘s Kathleen Beller) to rescue her brother from Cromwell’s castle. He was going there already so it’s not that far fetched of an offer. Plus she promises a night with her if he rescues the brother. Things don’t go too well for Talon and he finds himself the centerpiece for a lavish event at Cromwell’s castle. Will he get his revenge or is he going to be the dish served cold?

Director Albert Pyun and his crew pulled off a remarkable film. They made a film that looks as good as Excalibur or Conan the Barbarian at a fraction of the cost. There’s a lot of cool weapons including a sword that fires off extra blades. We also get to see the goonsome greatness of Robert Tessier as a torture expert in the dungeon. The bald and bawdy Tessier popped up everywhere in the ’70s and ’80s. Lee Horsley looks find as the dashing Talon even when he’s getting beaten up in the harem room. There’s a lot of half-naked fighting with people swinging swords all over the screen. This was the perfect movie for a bunch of high school D&D freaks. Probably a few kids borrowed the storyline for the next time they hosted their fantasy pals. The only thing The Sword and the Sorcerer: Collector’s Edition is missing is the rattle of polyhedral dice.

The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD scan of the original negative brings out the gritty nature of the sets. The production design crew did a fine job of making the sets look nasty. The audio is DTS-HD MA Stereo. There’s a note about what had to be done to the original soundtrack, but things sound fine. The movie is subtitled.

Blu-ray with all the bonus features.

Audio Commentary with Director Albert Pyun is included on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray versions of the film. Albert talks about what it takes to make the film. The big moment is when he fights back the tears when talking about getting the film booked at his favorite theaters in Hawaii. This let him know that his dream of being a filmmaker had worked.

Tales Of The Ancient Empire (33:06) chats with Director Albert Pyun. He talks about how he was making short films on 16mm in Hawaii. He had to go to Los Angeles to truly make a feature film.

A Princess’ Tale (24:08) catches up with Actress Kathleen Beller. She talks about how at that time she was getting jobs and working before the fame of being on Dynasty. She wanted to do the film because she liked Excalibur. She liked that her character didn’t have to cry.

Mightier Than The Sword (19:51) talks with Co-Writer/Co-Producer John Stuckmeyer. He worked with Sid and Marty Krofft’s Saturday morning shows before landing this gig by meeting Albert.

Master Of The Blade (13:53) slices it up with Editor Marshall Harvey, He landed his first editing gig doing a disco film. Producer Brandon Chase was having him cut trailers on the side including Alligator. Chase brought him onto this project.

 The Specialist And The Effects (12:10) gets deep with Special Makeup Effects Artist Allan Apone. This job came early in his company’s career. He thought he was doing just the filler stuff and not the principle prosthetics.

Brothers In Arms (10:23) interviews with Special Effects Artists The Chiodo Brothers – Charles, Edward And Stephen, They were hired to do the living heads. They can’t remember how much they got paid.

Dedicated To Jack Tyree, Stuntman (11:50) The Cast and Crew Remember Stuntman Jack Tyree. Tyree died while making an 80 foot jump and missing the bag. Tyree wanted to do the jump at a higher level than the production originally wanted. Stunts are dangerous. Everybody tells what they saw when the stunt went tragically wrong.

Trailers From Hell (3:30) is hosted by Editor Marshall Harvey. He was the editor on the film. He mentions that Oliver Reed was supposed to do the narration, but showed up at the recording session drunk.

Theatrical Trailers (6:25) includes the Red Band Trailer.

TV Spot (0:26) opens with the words “Dungeons and Dragons.” They knew their audience.

Still Gallery (9:02) has a montage of posters, video boxes, advertisements, publicity photos, lobby cards, newspaper ads, VHS tapes, the video game, novelizations and the box office returns.

Scream Factory presents The Sword and the Sorcerer. Directed by Albert Pyun. Screenplay by Albert Pyun, Tom Karnowski & John V. Stuckmeyer. Starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll, Anthony De Longis, Robert Tessier, Christopher Cary, Nina Van Pallandt, Anna Bjorn, Christina Nigra and Jeff Corey. Running Time: 99 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: March 15, 2022.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.