Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Touches You

Fresh and Exciting

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Hawk the Slayer is a basic story, revenge, magic, swords, assorted villains and one hero sort of the magnificent seven (if you include the sorceress). The acting with a few notable exceptions is wooden, the fight scenes are strained and the resolution unclear. But it works. Maybe it's the nostalgia factor, I was 6 when this was released. Maybe it's Jack Palance chewing the scenery for all he's worth. Maybe it's the amalgamation of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and the Magnificent Seven. It doesn't really matter. Hawk the Slayer has enough action, enough characters and enough raw concept to still make me smile and reach for the remote whenever it's on television. There have been rumors of sequels in planning for years which shows that the idea works and with some slick production and solid direction could easily fit into the sword and sorcery revival with the Hobbit, a new Conan and more. It does still stand up against the low budget fantasy DVD releases that you see at the supermarket each week and that is not bad for a TV movie over 30 years old. Ultimately it is a great piece of nostalgia, a movie where everyone is clearly committed to the cause and still a lot of fun.

Hawk,, after seeing both his father and bride die at the hands of his malevolent brother, Voltan, sets out for revenge and the chance to live up to his title. Tooling himself up with the "mind-sword" and recruiting a motley band of warriors: a giant, a dwarf, a one-armed man with a machine-crossbow and an elf with the fastest bow in the land; Hawk leads the battle against Voltan to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones......This is one of those movies that you have heard about and know that it has a cult following, but have never had the opportunity to get to see. On the rare occasion when it popped up on TV (the horror channel of all places) I had no choice but to put it on my planner and watch it.It's a daft movie for sure, but it has some really funny moments, and some of the casting is pretty genius, such as Bernard Bresslaw as the Giant. If the movie were made today, it would be compared to LOTR as the main characters are so alike, but back then it had similarities to A New Hope, so it was called a rip off to that movie.Palance steals the show right from under everyone's feet, his spouting of lines is beyond camp, and these sort of performances were rife in the early eighties.The rest of the cast are forgettable, just full of people that you would have seen in British sitcoms throughout the nineties, and people wearing silly ears and firing hilariously edited arrows.Not for everyone that's for sure, but if you like movies like Krull, Deathstalker, or just general films of people walking through woods, this is for you.

I am shocked that this was released in 1981... But either way, I just love the film.Its definitely a cult classic fantasy movie and I feel that it is one that stands the test of time. Maybe not effects wise which have moved on a lot but with the story.Some amazingly big names star from the likes of Jack Pallance and the late Bernard Bresslaw, who was sadly type cast to far more comedy roles.A well written script provides some good laughs as well.With todays action driven formula for movies, newer viewers would find this somewhat lacking as the emphasis is defiantly on a believable story - Which borrows more than a little from Tolkien (Just listen to a few names that are mentioned and you will understand what I mean...) but this should not put anyone off giving this film the once over.Could this be another title ripe for a remake for a new generation... Indeed it should be - But I feel that too many of our current talents may try too hard to make it an all action movie and lose sight of the plot.James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Ron HowardA not so guilty pleasure... Come on kids! have a look and see how times have moved on... And for a while, Enjoy a really good story!

Hawk The Slayer is one of those movies that looks better through the rose tinted glow of nostalgia than it really is. In fact its a cheap, badly acted, stupid movie with rubbish effects that must have been written, directed and edited by a 5 year old.Jack Palance has some kind of eye patch and tries to make up for the wooden acting of everyone else by overacting to a degree that even the most over the top panto performer would be embarrassed by. Bernard Breslaw plays the giant without any kind of fx to make him look taller, clobbering the baddies with his plastic hammer like a kind of sword and sorcery Timmy Mallett. Wacaday!Most of the cast and the director never did any thing else memorable.Awful movie with a ridiculous soundtrack.