Customer Reviews

Magic Sword [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The Magic Sword might seem a bit childish and hokey but it's actually quite a bit of fun fantasy. It has some scarry moments for the youngest and could cause nightmares for the more impressionable but with all the incredible advances in special effects the kiddies are exposed to these days they will probably laugh at this, but I loved it !! It was released in 1962 and was reviewed by Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine the same year. It was directed by Bert I. Gordon and stars Gary Lockwood (2001 A Space Odyssey '68), Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me '77, Moonraker '74. Eeagh! '62), Anne Helm (Follow That Dream '61), Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of Robin Hood, etc. etc. etc...) and Maila (Vampira) Nurmi. This is probably the best thing Bert I. Gordon ever did. Bert directed Begining of the End and Earth vs the Spider. Later in his career he did Food of the Gods and Empire of the Ants.

Basil kidnaps our princess to feed to the dragon. The king is promising half the kingdom and the girl's hand in marriage, and now you should know where Terry Gilliam went with this promise in Jabberwocky '77. We've got 7 deadly curses and all the actors are obviously having quite a bit of fun along the way.

In 2003 Alpha released a DVD of this but the quality was ABYSMAL. This new release is reportedly in widescreen and one can hope that with the proper attention now we will get the quality the DVD medium offers if handled correctly.

OK, now it's been released and I was pleasantly surprised to see a very good quality DVD. It's widescreen and the clarity is pretty darn good for as old as this movie is. There's alot of rich color, maybe too much but it 's not as saturated as say, The Quiet Man which was way too thick in color saturation. Now I recommend this higher than originally anticipated and give it 4 stars. There's no extras to speak of but I think it's worth the price just to get a good copy of this. The MGM release is the only one to get. Enjoy.

"The Magic Sword" is one of B-movie producer/director Bert I. Gordon's best known films. Granted, it's no masterpiece, but it is enjoyable on it's own terms. The plot, very loosely based on the 'St. George And The Dragon' legend, has a princess (Anne Helm) kidnapped by evil sorcerer Lodac (Basil Rathbone) and hunted by lovesick George (Gary Lockwood). Aided by his foster mother Sybil (Estelle Winwood) a good witch, George vows to save the princess and destroy Lodac. Although this plot has been done to death, it's the acting by the splendid Rathbone and Winwood which keeps this film consistently entertaining. Add some modest, but impressive special effects, and you have a very entertaining minor adventure for the family. Beware: this public domain film is available on several cut-rate DVDs, but only the newly released one from MGM/UA home video is worth the price. They have a beautiful print of the film (it was originally released by United Artists) which contains a fun theatrical trailer. This is the one to get! [phillindholm]

I am so glad I found this video. I've been trying to find out the title to this movie for a long time and when I found out that they still sell the video, I jumped on it right away.

I first saw this movie when I was a kid. I've always remembered the knights that came back to life to help the hero and I always found that fascinating. It's a kid's film and if your kid isn't too spoiled by the high-tech special effects of today, then I think they will like this movie.

2 or 3 years ago I purchased the magic sword on DVD. It was the Alpha video version. This MGM version is so much better then the Alpha version. The picture is clear, the sound is crisp (thank you MGM). Also this is the full version (120 minutes). The alpha version cut out a 3 minute segment where 2 dwarfs sneak into the princess's cell and try to grope her.

The special effects are dated (the movie did come out in 1962), but the story and characters are great. This is a really great "good VS evil" film. A true underated classic. Great for the whole family (kids and adults).

If you saw this film when it first came out, like I did, you'll be delighted that it's available. If you didn't and you are expecting something from the "digital era" you may be very disappointed. This is a kids film. I love this film for the escape. Are there ruff edges? Sure. I am a fan of Gary Lockwood (2001:a space odyssey)and it is fun to see him back then. Basil Rathbone can never do any wrong. Ann Helm? What's not to love? So...enjoy it for what it is and you'll love it. The 1963 version of "The Thief of Bagdad" with Steve Reeves is the same kind of escape. If you want to get a bit "heady" about these films, they are about struggle. I can always place myself somewhere in there (they both have 7 stages of strife) and it can actually help me figure out things at times. Don't ever let your "kid" grow up!

Evil sorcerer Lodac (Basil Rathbone) takes his revenge on the King by abducting Princess Helene (Anne Helm) to feed her to a dragon in a week. Ambitious courtier Sir Branton (Liam Sullivan) proposes to go alone to rescue her. The obscure, but noble, protagonist, Sir George (Gary Lockwood), uses the gifts of his good-witch foster mother, Sibyl (Estelle Winwood), to re-animate six knights to go after the Princess, his vision-love. Lodac guards his castle with seven curses, including the double-headed dragon. The movie plays out straightforwardly to the expected conclusion using the technology of the early 1960's. It's all good fun.

The first time I saw the movie was from a $1 bargain bin version from "Treasure Box Collection," a good value, especially since it was bundled with a second film, "King Arthur: The Young Warlord". I enjoyed their "The Magic Sword" but wanted it with a better quality picture. The MGM version has an excellent picture and sound.

The MGM version has an additional four-minute scene about 30 minutes into the film, in which a harassed Princess Helene breaks free of her prison cell and meets Little People kept in cages for eating. Lodac returns her to her cell. The Little People show up later to release George from his bindings in the dungeon and are otherwise not explained.

The one and only annoyance of the MGM version compared to the "Treasure Box Collection" version is that MGM's has a different aspect ratio and sizing. The MGM version is wider, but cuts off portions of the scene that appear at the bottom (or maybe top as well) of the TBC version. While the letterbox aspect ratio is standard, why don't they show the entire movie however the aspect ratio falls out? For me the difference was most noticable in George's dungeon scenes. This quibble does not mean that the MGM version is not the one to choose.

There are no extras.

This film, intended for kids, was a movie house favorite back in the 1960's. A handsome young man in love with the princess of his land takes on the quest to save her after she is kidnapped by an evil magician. There is some wonderful stuff here. A witch mother with a two headed servant, a special sword, armor and steed intended for Sir George when he reached manhood and a group of famous knights as companions for the quest who are from all over Europe. There is also some great campish humor in this film, especially when the "French" knight is drawn away by a pretty damsel singing in french and when he attempts to kiss her she turns into a horrible one eyed-monster, and upon being saved by Sir George he states: "I should have realized that such a beautiful woman would not be up so early in the morning!" The film also features silly ogres who throw logs like nine pins but get dizzy and fall over from watching a horse run in circles, the usual servant/sinister midgets who seem to terrify people by just standing around holding up their clenched hands and laughing mockingly,vaporous pools of death that knights on horseback seem to automatically lose their balance and fall into to die, caves full of ghostly witches that only the faith of an Irishman can confront and a genuinely good Dragon full of fire breathing fury at the end that is killed by our hero as he is about to feed on our princess. Classic stuff, darkly filmed in spots but deserves to be recognized as perhaps one of the earliest "questing" movies that a lot of fantasy minded gamers and movie makers were to benefit from some 35 years later.

This movie was directed by Bert I. Gordon...a legend in "B" movies and the man who brought us such films as Earth Vs. the Spider, Picture Mommy Dead, and "War of the Colossal Beast" Knowing that, how could anyone resonably expect anything more than the low-budget fare that Mr. Gordon had always provided?

In this low budget, Saturday movie matinee type film, The evil sorcerer Lodac (Basil Rathbone) captures Princess Helene and whisks her off to his castle. Young Knight Sir George (Gary Lockwood), and aided by a magic sword, sets off with his six knights to save her. However, he must travel with Sir Franton, who also has romantic aspirations for the Princess. Together the knights must face Lodac's seven curses and liberate the Princess.

To me this is one of those movies like "Captain Sinbad" with Guy Williams that just enchanted me as a young boy. It isn't quality film-making and doesn't pretend to be. I'm sure the films that so entrall my kids today will be looked on as hokey and cheap 30 years from now as well and that's ok because it was a film squarely aimed at kids.

Rathbone is, of course, a shell of his former self and it's a bit sad to see him in this, one of his final films, especially recalling how dashing he was back in the 30's and 40's. There's no one else in the cast remotely worth noting. The special effects were cheap but hey, it's still a fun movie to watch if you KNOW what you are going to see. No Doubt most viewers seeing it for the first time are going to be pretty negative about "The Magic Sword", but I still liked it.

Ah yes, i first saw the magic sword when i was a kid, and even
then it struck me as quite a adventure of the sword/fantasy kind.
With knights, dragons, witches and so much more, this movie became a jewel. Now that its available on video, its still produces tingling effects as after all these years its still
quite entertaining and still produces that smile at the end.
Enjoy.

I agree with the first fellow's review. Don't expect today's technology to be intertwined in this classic. It is a fabuluos movie on the path of "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The seven adventures of Sinbad". The aspect of the heros "magical knights" and their demise due to the various pitfalls between the orgin and the destination is wonderful, only to give the viewer a delightful surprise about those rascals at the end. Given it's time period when it was made, no doubt it is truely a piece an adventurer would want to have in his or her collection.