When it came to physical media release, there were in fact two different prints of the film; the main one available was a PG release that was a version edited for television, whereas the original cinema release was rated R (18 or X at that time in the UK) and contained more violence and some nudity. It’s the uncut print that 101 Films has finally released, something missing from the DVD market here and only otherwise available as a German import.
The plot for the film ticks all the main elements of every good fantasy and barbarian film. King Titus Cromwell and his men land on an island to persuade Xusia, a well known black magic sorcerer, to aid him in the defeat of the army of King Richard whose land is the wealthiest in the world. This Xusia does, but is betrayed by Cromwell as soon as there is victory over Richard. Fearing the end is nigh, Richard instructs his son Talon (played by Lee Horsley) to avenge his death, giving him a three-bladed sword.
Eleven years later, Talon returns to his homeland to seek revenge on Cromwell, just at the same time that there is a rebellion stirring against the king. Of course, on his return Talon, gets involved with a princess and also the plot to overthrow Cromwell — which at one point gets our hero crucified (oddly, the same thing happens to Conan on the “tree of woe” in Milius’s film). I won’t reveal any spoilers here about the end of the film, but lets say there is plenty of bloodletting and magic during the various ups and downs, and follows very much Joseph Campbell’s take on the hero’s journey.
101 Films’ wonderful 4K UHD brings out all the fantastic lurid colours that the film possesses and gives a crystal-clear image to all of Pyun’s incredible set pieces. Joseph Mangine’s photography looks sublime and you can see that every dollar the film took to make is up there on screen.
Although it lacks the breadth of visuals that Milius would be able to utilise on a much larger budget, it still holds up a lot better than the many Roger Corman and Italian barbarian knock-off films that would be made in the wake of Conan. As far as I’m aware, the film never had a UK theatrical release (I could be wrong here and if it did it would have probably been the PG version); I certainly know the first time I saw it was on VHS and don’t remember it being shown at my local Odeon or ABC cinemas.
101 Films’ three-disc set comes with a plethora of extras, including interviews with the film’s star Kathleen Beller, who plays Princess Alana, an in-depth and amusing interview with director and writer Albert Pyun, an interview with co-writer and co-producer John Stuckmeyer and an interview with make-up and special effects supervisor Allan Apone, among many others. These all give a deep dive into the film’s production, its struggles to get on screen and the legacy and afterlife of the movie that has now endured for forty-two years.There’s also a booklet of essays, one called “Cromwell’s Madhouse: The Sword And The Sorcerer Revisited” by a friend of mine, Mat Colegate, the only other person I know of who can quote lines from the various Deathstalker movies. The set also comes with lavish new artwork and a poster for the original theatrical release plus four postcards.
I think it’s wonderful that these films are now being given the treatment that they have always deserved, and 101 have certainly pulled out all the stops for this release. Lets hope that they might invest in giving us some special editions of some of the other barbarian film classics, especially as many have never had an official blu-ray / DVD release here in the UK.With a lavish book that has recently been produced about these films, the interest has certainly grown over the years to make these movies as influential as the giallo films that now seem to get released in various expanded editions. By Crom, we need more releases like this 101 Films version.
-Gary Parsons-
