Customer Reviews

Warrior & the Sorceress [VHS]

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

 

 

First there was Yojimbo, then came Fistful of Dollars, and finally The Warrior and the Sorceress! The damsel in distress, the two warring factions in town, the old man befriending the hero, and the hero playing the two sides against each other for greedy profit; you know the story. However, W&S takes us much further...

There are the many unanswered questions teasing (or mocking!?!) the viewer within this classic retold:
1)who/what are those two hysterically laughing mutant dudes? Are they merely a whimsical afterthought to the plot to give the kids some cartoonish mayhem or a Fellini-esque effort to disorient the audience even further in this already baffling world? By the way, what happens to those guys? I think they just disappeared about halfway through the movie. But that's okay, they were really annoying.
2)Why is no one in the movie aware the Sorceress is NOT WEARING CLOTHES? These are some very loutish fellows, but there is an embarrasing lack of leering going on. It's like one of those dreams where you begin to realize something isn't quite right about being naked in public, except in this movie that point is never reached. I mean, by the end, she's even going into battle like that. I'm sure that put the fear into the other team.
3) What is that rat-like reptile? He "speaks" but no one seems concerned that his lips or whatever don't move! On the other hand, he doesn't look like he has much of a brainpan but he's giving advice to one of the head honchos. Maybe that's why they are in such a crappy situation. A failed life is really all about making bad decisions.
4)How does Luke Askew's cheiftan character ALWAYS have exact change? Every time David Carradine comes up with an off-the-wall amount for some lame favor, Askew has it ready in a bag right in front of him?! Now there, my fellow filmbuffs, is where my suspension of disbelief was yanked hard off its disbelief-place!
It was OBVIOUS Mr. Askew was reading ahead in the script and KNOWING what sum Mr. Carradine would require. If only the Kung Fu master had improvised and ad-libbed something like, "That'll cost you 400 takarats and 25 cents!" Ahh, the look on Mr. Askew's face would have been worth the buck ninety-nine I got this tape for at the clearance rack. But I digress.
5)Finally, what the heck is it with the four-boobed lady? Obviously this special effect is where the budget went, because it was quite realistic. Disgusting, but realistic. This quadra-mammary dance sequence IS the most memorable scene. Strangely, it has never been included in those ubiquitous film montages they do at the Academy Awards. One wonders if she is one of a tribe, and if so, what do its men have four of?

In summary, one can't ignore the director's homage to Samurai films of old. The Warrior and the Princess is a worthy addition to the "not very good sword and sorcery in the eighties" movies and at a crisp 78 minutes, requires virtually no fast-forwarding.

The Warrior and the Sorceress managed to adapt the story from Korosawa's YOJIMBO to fair effect, giving this movie's plot far more originality and coherence than most of New Concorde's Sword and Sorcery efforts from the '80's. The villains are more intelligent than most of their ilk, but it is the hero who proves to be the one-eyed man in the Kingdom of the Blind, as he proceeds to prod the badguys to self-destruction. Of course we have the full run of scantily clad ladies cavorting about (this is to be expected), as well as the obligatory epic battle at the end (which is par for the course), but hey this is a B-Movie Sword & Sorcery epic, you need these things in it.

The special effects were kept to a minimum, almost to the point of non-existance, with most of the effort expended on sets and costumes for the lizardmen. The props were (admittedly) rudimentary with only one or two outstanding examples of swords.

The acting was ... patchy, I believe is the best word. It might be that under another director the actors would have delivered a more consistent performance. The fight choreography and stunt work, well let's say you can tell they are trying not to hurt each other, but on the other hand Maria Socas was a definite pleasure to ogle, and her acting about on a par with her cohorts.

All in all, for what it was and what they had to work with, this is definitely a cut above the rest.

My final rating: OK (Wow, OK, Eh, Sigh, Blech, Ach Ptooey).

First of all, I have never seen the film Yojimbo to which many other reviewers alude to as being the "inspiration" for the plot of The Warrior and the Sorceress, so I cannot comment if it is indeed a rip-off, though it probably is. I will say that as far as cheesy sword and sorcery films go, this one is pretty good. Mind you I'm comparing it to others of similar budget and "quality" such as Barbarian Queen or Ator the Fighting Eagle not to Conan the Barbarian or Beastmaster.
The main attraction here is the T & A content, of which there is plenty.(...) This is worth the price of the DVD alone. Also there is assorted nudity throughout the film in case one looses interest in the bare bones plot regarding a struggle over a water well by two evil warlords.
David Carradine plays Kaine or The Dark One, as he is called by almost everyone, who wanders into town and is entangled in the struggle for the water well. He switches sides often, depending on who pays the most gold and is as treacherous as he is cunning and greedy.
There are plenty of groan inducing moments, mainly one in which Carradinde fights a tentacled monster who is plainly all rubber and also a lizard creature who is little more than a sock puppet. In general The Warrior and the Sorceress delivers what it promises, a fun, light story with plenty of naked babes and sword fight scenes.

You'd have to call this "Yojimbo" meets "Kung Fu." Essentially a sword-and-sorcery remake of "Yojimbo/A Fistfull of Dollars" starring David Carradine, TWATS is remarkable faithful to its source material considering how many goofy in-jokes and hokey special effects it contains (the grizzled wandering swordsman played by Carradine is named Cain, for example). You probably need to be drunk or (heaven forbid) high to fully appreciate this film; but it has its moments of goofy fun, and its a must for completests who need to have every remake of "Yojimbo."

OK, there is enough cheese in this film to fill the Rose Bowl, but it's GOOD cheese.

Relax, suspend disbelief, and enjoy the four-breasted dancing girl, the fights, and some over-the-top evil overlords.

This film is not rated, and if given the task to do so, I would rate it STUPID! The plot is non-existent. The dialog is STUPID! The action is STUPID! The entire scene of the drowning nude with the pubic beard is entirely irrelevant. It is degrading to Mr. Carradine's acting abilities to have played the lead in such a piece of trash. He was probably hired because his name/fame would draw attention to the film. If you are looking for something equal to Kung Fu, this is NOT it. Save your money. Breasts and pubic hair do NOT constitute a movie! I had the dvd less than two hours and have already dropped it at a thrift shop. This film is a piece of worthless junk.

Dave Carradine, despite the budget of
some of his A-, or B movies, if you will,
is one of my favorite actors. He can play
anything from millionaire buckskit, Jerry
Spence-type lawyers in Out Of The Wilderness
to these type roles. Remember, during this
period, Ahnuld Schwarzenegger was 'tearin'
it up with movies like Conan (Barbarian &
Destroyer) and Red Sonja (really, that one
sucked pretty bad...), so along came the
Roger Corman, American Independent to make
this midievil type Warrior movie in Peru
(where he would film 'Crime Zone (***) in
'88). Swashbuckling Carradine got into a
bar fight (in his autobiography he said
EVERYBODY THERE WANTED TO FIGHT HIM! Too
many Kung Fu (***.5) flashbacks?!). Since
he broke his right (lead) hand, he had to
film this movie fighting left-handed! The
fight scenes were compliated and spliced
into the 1989 A.I. film 'Wizards of the
Lost Kingdom II (***)', with Bobby Jacoby
and Mel Welles. This was a better movie
than the 1985 original, with Bo Svenson,
'Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (**)'. In
'89's W.O.T.L.K.II, Carradine reprises
his 'Dark One'/Kaine' role from this film.
Others notable things in Carradine / Ameri-
can Indy films in this period; In an almost
sequel to his '88 film 'Warlords (***)', in
'91 he did another film with Luke Askew cal-
led 'Dune Warriors (*)', which is pretty bad.
Oh, I would be less than a man if I didn't
mention that lovely spanish actress, Maria
Socas played the entire movie, here, topless.
Needless to say, 'Warrior and the Sorceress'
was a video rental hit. - R.A.S

I normally love all this 'Sword and Sorcery' stuff, but was sadly let down by this dire film - for starters where was the sorcery, or `The Mighty Wizardry' as the review on the back of the cover calls it??? Not one spell, incantation, curse, enchantment or lightning bolt in sight throughout the entire movie. All there is to mention is a sword that can chop through an anvil (the one and only time you see this done is when it's made towards the end of the film).

The storyline, dialogue, acting, fight choreography and the sets are all terrible filled with a cast of characters that are instantly forgettable - you kind of wish at the end of the film that a huge fireball would come and engulf them all. It would certainly add to the enjoyment.

All in all, at a short 81 minutes this film felt too long to endure it all the way through, so do yourself a favour and don't bother.

This movie is more boring than painful, but it is bad just the same. I bought it after reading the divergence of opinions here and found it to be mostly boring and mostly bad, with occasional points of light. Well, two points of light anyway. The first point of light: David Carradine plays a character named 'Kain', which is an obvious in-joke from his "Kung Fu" days when he played a character named 'Caine'. I don't know why this amused me so much, but I found that pretty funny for some reason. The second (and larger) point of light is Luke Askew as 'Zeg' in what is clearly the best performance in the movie. Askew is actually a very good actor, although he appeared in this and three other movies with David Carradine (including "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues") and even once on "Knight Rider"! He is, of course, better known for his excellent characterizations in "Cool Hand Luke" and "Easy Rider". Here he is a beacon of light. His performance isn't one of the best in his career, but it certainly beats the other performances seen here.

Frankly, I am a fan of all genres of B-grade films, but the mystical films are not one of my favorite subsets of cheese. This one basically pits Kain, the 'Dark One', against everyone. He is a mercenary for hire to the highest bidder (although the trailer says it is the ultimate fight between good and evil): Carradine spends most of the film switching allegiances based on pecuniary considerations. It is tough to keep up with which side he's on at times, but in the end, inspired by the sorceress he sides with the peasant revolt and helps kill off the pig-faced slavers. Thematically, the film centers on the value of water as a natural resource and Kain's bank account. The movie has comically named characters like 'Bludge', 'Zeg', 'Burgo', 'Blather', 'Gabble' and 'Hubcap'. (I'm not sure about that last one; it is hard to understand some of the names.) Kain's power ultimately comes from the magic 'Sword of Ura' which the sorceress makes for him. It is so mighty it can cut through rocks! Zeg launches an all out war to get it, with the help of the fat guy and his talking pangolin (or is it a Komodo Dragon?) puppet (which speaks, though his lips don't move). Eventually Kane, sorry, I mean Kain takes on just about the whole planet and wins water for the oppressed masses.

This movie has both its share of good and bad. The swordplay is actually very good, particularly in the final scene. The big black clouds that herald Kain's entrance onto the battlefield and the incredibly stupid giant land squid (with teeth!) are leaders in the bad column. Also modestly in the bad column is leading lady Maria Socas (better known for her work in Argentinean cinema with such credits as "Sobredosis", "El Color Escondido", and the 2002 release "Sin Intervalado") who has serious hair issues (though to cut her some slack, this movie was made in 1984) and is really not a very good actress, and is frankly not quite attractive enough to walk around in her given costume (if you can call it that.) She isn't terrible, but mostly looks disinterested.

This movie isn't particularly good, but it isn't wretched either. It is too long, though, at 81 minutes. If it were an hour long it would be a much more entertaining production. Features of the DVD include trailers from this and many similar movies (actually the narration in the trailer made some sense of plot points which were confusing) as well as biographies/filmographies of the four central characters.

Two stars. It won't ruin your life or cause you to seek therapy, but there are many better (and many funnier) B movies out there.

This has to be one of the very, very worst movies I have ever had the misfortune to own, let alone watch. Granted, there are plenty of topless young ladies running around (and Ms. Socas is certainly bewitching enough as she romps around in the almost-altogether), but despite the allure of pointless nudity, what we have here is a no-holds barred gobblerfest.

While it is true that "Fistfull of Dollars" was a remake of the Kurosawa classic "Yojimbo", "Dollars" was a legitemate film in its own right. "Warrior and the Sorceress" is just a knockoff copy of both films, set for some reason on another planet.

David Carradine plays Kain, a "dark warrior" who is a stand-in for Clint Eastwood with a sword. The name Kain, of course, is the same name as perhaps Carradine's most famous character, from the classic "Kung Fu" television series. Obviously, the producers were trying to capitalize on Carradine's fame as much as possible, just as the producers of another copycat movie "Double Double-Oh-Seven" gave "star" Neil Connery (younger brother of the more famous actor), the character name of... Connery!

Other than being healthily in her prime (as you can tell when she's topless), Socas is forgettable. Carradine is obviously mugging his way through the horrible dialogue (probably hoping the movie would never be seen outside of its native Argentina).

Probably the only other somewhat recognizable actor is Anthony De Longis, who plays a Captain of the Guard. De Longis coreographed the fights in this and many other (more legit) films, and if you recognize the voice, you might just put it together with one of his best-known parts; the Kazon leader Cullah on "Star Trek: Voyager".

As for extras, there are some trailers for some other topless swordfight "films", like "Barbarian Queen" and "Amazons". No reason to buy this one unless you have some friends really good at MSTY-ing a bad movie... and I mean REALLY good at it! Otherwise this gobblerfest will be a real bore, topless ladies notwithstanding.