Was it a dream or was it a memory? I have this vague recall of being a child and seeing the video cover art for The Sword And The Sorcerer (1982), one of those beautiful painted medieval fantasy posters that carry over the lurid charge of thick paperback novels and comic-books, muscular men with gleaming swords, scantily-clad women, snakes, kings and goblin demons. I also have vivid images of scenes from the climax, maybe, the gleaming crown of the evil king Cromwell (Richard Lynch, wonderfully villainous) and the gloopy make-up effects of the goblin sorcerer Xusia (Richard Moll). Or am I confusing it with all the other fantasy movies made in the wake of Excalibur and Conan The Barbarian’s box office success? With the passing of cult director Albert Pyun near the end of 2022, I was continuing to explore his back catalogue and finally watched his first film, this film, in full. While it never reaches the foggy, brutal delirium of Lucio Fulci’s Conquest, The Sword And The Sorcerer still has great lighting, old-school effects and pulpy style, worthy of its baroque poster. The story itself is a bit confusing and either over-written or under-written, as a kingdom falls thanks to Cromwell reviving the sorcerer Xusia from his grave, only to double-cross him, when he finally claims the throne of Richard. Much like Conan and all these other movies, the boy Talon escapes to avenge his felled mother and father, and grows up to be a sleazy, roguish warrior (Lee Horsely). As an adult, Talon has a troop of loyal soldiers who disappear for a bit of the movie as he agrees to work for Princess Alana (Kathleen Beller); he agrees to rescue Alana’s brother, the true heir, Mikah (Simon MacCorkindale) in exchange for one night together with her. There’s courtroom intrigue, double crosses, prison breaks and crucifixions, all shot through with the derring-do of Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The Sword And The Sorcerer feels like a movie you would catch on TV in the wee morning hours, the twilight time of forgotten movies; aside from Richard Lynch, the only actor I recognised was Frank from Murphy Brown (Joe Regalbuto). In between mountainous location footage and palatial sets, there are striking flame-lit scenes in cavernous dungeons and smoke-machined swamps. I loved the arty shot of our hero Talon jumping in the air to grab his three-blade sword, cast in dark shadows against a backdrop of demonically red lighting, a hero shot that is the stuff that dreams are made of… And yes, there is a three-blade sword that fires like a gun. And I was already loving the climax before they added purple sparks to the hero and villain jousting. It’s adolescent fantasy time, a surprise hit at the box office back in the day, yet nearly forgotten aside from 1980s-era fantasy-heads. Available in glorious remastered versions – you can stream it on Tubi in Australia. Recommended.