The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
November 18, 2022 3:02 PM - Subscribe

A mercenary with a three-bladed sword rediscovers his royal heritage when he is recruited to help a princess foil a brutal tyrant and a powerful sorcerer's plans to conquer the land.

Starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll.

Directed by Albert Pyun.

67% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto, and freevee. JustWatch listing.
posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I have never forgotten those glowing finger nails, nor that three-bladed sword that could shoot it's side-blades and made lots of sparks.
posted by zengargoyle at 4:02 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]


Even as a teen, I wondered how the Triblade would actually work, but… to be fair, I still think about it. Also, I think this was a movie where the hero cut off the villain’s head and the villain just gew a new one, which is a good trick.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:02 PM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]


Obligatory (but not particularly relevant) reference that is required when multi-bladed items are mentioned.
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:54 PM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]


Still photos from this movie gave a young me a bit of a crush on Kathleen Beller, but it was rated R so I never saw it. Friends who did were dismissive. I kind of forgot about her and the movie until last year when I gave it a shot.

No part of of this is good. It's not the worst movie I've seen but the best parts kind of rise to at most a competent banality. The dialogue isn't good, the action is mediocre, the plot is on par with what we were coming up with in D&D as 12 year olds (which we were), and I didn't get the sense anyone one was having much fun. The distinctive gimmick--the triblade--makes no sense and isn't filmed particularly compellingly either. I'm mystified by the fresh rating; maybe they are grading on a curve because as bad as this is it might still make the top 5 sword-and-sorcery flicks of the period.

I'm grateful for the post, as I saw the FPP about Albert Pyun and I wasn't going to complain about this movie there; a career trying to entertain people with B-movies is a better use of time on the planet than a lot of manage.
posted by mark k at 11:19 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]


Give me a double feature of this and Beastmaster and … I’ll not ask for wine? I don’t know, but it would be a hell of a good time.

(Kathleen Beller, by the way, is Mrs. Thomas Dolby.)
posted by Naberius at 8:49 PM on November 20, 2022


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