Journey into the realm of VHS tapes and midnight showings where brawny barbarians rescue nubile virgins from evil wizards, giant snakes, and armies of the undead!
Although originating in the era of the pulp magazines, sword and sorcery fiction enjoyed a cinematic boom in the 1980s; a decade that gave us Conan the Barbarian and The Beastmaster as well as more low-budget offerings like the Roger Corman-produced Deathstalker series and the Italian entries like Conquest and the Ator saga.
Some of these movies are fondly remembered as cult classics today but many were released directly to VHS and lurked on the shelves of video rental stores before vanishing into obscurity. While some have long since lost their lustre, there are plenty of diamonds in the rough to be found. This book takes a comprehensive look at over 40 sword and sorcery movies from the 1980s, from the towering titans to the bargain basement sleaze-fests, unearthing them from their tombs and dusting them off so that they may shine once more.
Author(s): P.J. Thorndyke
Year: 2020
FORWARD BY THE AUTHOR
INTRODUCTION
INFLUENCES
THE BARBARIAN TIDE
Hawk the Slayer (1980)
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Fire and Ice (1983)
Hundra (1983)
Golok Setan (The Devil’s Sword) (1984)
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Red Sonja (1985)
The Barbarians (1987)
INFLUENCE FROM BEYOND THE STARS
Flash Gordon (1980)
Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983)
Il Mondo di Yor (Yor, the Hunter from the Future) (1983)
Highlander (1986)
Masters of the Universe (1987)
Gor (1987)
Outlaw of Gor (1989)
ROGER CORMAN TAKES A STAB
Sorceress (1982)
Deathstalker (1983)
The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985)
Barbarian Queen (1985)
Amazons (1986)
Stormquest (1987)
Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans (1987)
Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988)
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989)
Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back (1990)
Deathstalker IV: Match of Titans (1991)
SPAGHETTI SWORD AND SORCERY – THE ITALIAN CONNECTION
Gunan il guerriero (Gunan, King of the Barbarians) (1982)
Ator l’invincible (Ator, the Fighting Eagle) (1982)
Sangraal, la spada di fuoco (Sword of the Barbarians) (1982)
Hercules (1983)
I sette magnifici gladiatori (The Seven Magnificent Gladiators) (1983)
Thor il conquistatore (Thor the Conqueror) (1983)
Il trono di fuoco (Throne of Fire) (1983)
Conquest (1983)
Ator 2: L'invincibile Orion (The Blade Master) (1984)
Le avventure dell'incredibile Ercole (The Adventures of Hercules) (1985)
Ator il guerriero di ferro (Iron Warrior) (1987)
Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989)
Il signore di Akili (Quest for the Mighty Sword) (1990)
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX I - TIMELINE
REFERENCES
