Few remember that the very first feature-length film CABIRIA was actually a Sword and Sandal "Peplum" film featuring strong man Machiste. How sad for the long and proud Italian tradition to fizzle out with this ho-hum fantasy tale featuring two of the more grating stars of the 1980's.
Fortunately the Barbarian Brothers (who of course were born to star in this film) get backed up by a talented supporting cast of American and Italian performers including Deodato veterans Michael Berryman and Richard Lynch, George Eastman shockingly sporting his actual voice, and a few recognizable Italian stunt actors including Benito Stefanelli, Angelo Ragusa, Nello Pazzafini, and Giovanni Cianfriglia (some of who had been acting in Peplums since the Steve Reeves era of the early 1960's, which arguably kick-started the Italian genre film explosion in the first place). Also Pino Donaggio provides a soaring period score to bring some epic life into the opening wagon chase.
Unfortunately, while this nice-looking film features a few moments of hilarity and oddly gory moments, it fails to keep its high energy going after the first act. Nothing really happens in the last half of the film and it unfortunately fails to deliver a rousing action climax or satisfying setpiece involving the elaborate animatronic dragon they built for the film. THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER made much better use of a villainous Lynch foolishly antagonizing musclemen in a fantasy setting and fed us a much more gripping narrative. Deodato, much like Lucio Fulci, handles some particular scenes extraordinarily well, but the overall experience of watching the film becomes listless due to too many cliches and an extremely predictable story with all the spectacle and action weighted toward the beginning.
Do yourself a favor and purchase the soundtrack though. It's truly one of the best of the genre!
Fortunately the Barbarian Brothers (who of course were born to star in this film) get backed up by a talented supporting cast of American and Italian performers including Deodato veterans Michael Berryman and Richard Lynch, George Eastman shockingly sporting his actual voice, and a few recognizable Italian stunt actors including Benito Stefanelli, Angelo Ragusa, Nello Pazzafini, and Giovanni Cianfriglia (some of who had been acting in Peplums since the Steve Reeves era of the early 1960's, which arguably kick-started the Italian genre film explosion in the first place). Also Pino Donaggio provides a soaring period score to bring some epic life into the opening wagon chase.
Unfortunately, while this nice-looking film features a few moments of hilarity and oddly gory moments, it fails to keep its high energy going after the first act. Nothing really happens in the last half of the film and it unfortunately fails to deliver a rousing action climax or satisfying setpiece involving the elaborate animatronic dragon they built for the film. THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER made much better use of a villainous Lynch foolishly antagonizing musclemen in a fantasy setting and fed us a much more gripping narrative. Deodato, much like Lucio Fulci, handles some particular scenes extraordinarily well, but the overall experience of watching the film becomes listless due to too many cliches and an extremely predictable story with all the spectacle and action weighted toward the beginning.
Do yourself a favor and purchase the soundtrack though. It's truly one of the best of the genre!