Ator l'invincibile (1982)

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writer:

Joe D'Amato (written by)

Release Date:

March 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Adventure

Tagline:

A magical power was destined to fight at his side.

Plot:

During the childhood of manhood: while some peoples just have discovered the fire, others already use technology...

Plot Keywords:

Warrior | Giant Spider | Sword And Sorcery | Barbarian | Cult Favorite

Cast

Miles O'Keeffe	...	Ator
Sabrina Siani	...	Roon
Ritza Brown	...	Sunya
Edmund Purdom	...	Griba
Dakar	...	High Priest of the Spider (as Dakkar)
Laura Gemser	...	Indun
Alessandra Vazzoler	...	Woman in the tavern (as Chandra Vazzoler)
Nello Pazzafini	...	Bardak (as Nat Williams)
Jean Lopez	...	Nordya
Olivia Goods	...	Queen

Also Known As:

Ator
Ator the Invincible (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Ator, l'aquila battante (Italy) (alternative title)
Ator, the Fighting Eagle (USA)

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:18 (video premiere) | USA:PG | Iceland:16

Company:

Filmirage

Quotes:

Ator: I love you.
Sunya: And I love you.
Ator: Why can't we marry?
Sunya: Ator, we are brother and sister.
Ator: I'll talk with our father.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Quest for the Mighty Sword (1990)

Fully worth the four dollars I paid for it

Unlike most badly-produced hack-and-slash romps through the wilderness in leather and Lycra, this film has the distinction of being two things that most movies of its ilk aren't:

1) Pro-incest

2) A fantastic drinking game

Regarding the first point, did it ever occur to anyone else that the authors of the script could have simply made Ator fall in love with somebody else from the village and avoided the issue of, you know, Ator marrying his SISTER? If you haven't seen the movie, a bit of explanation is in order: Ator has been adopted by a family in order to disguise his regal bloodline, and somehow manages to fall in love with his adoptee sister as he grows from a baby into a Fabio-esque stud (complete with a forcefully hairsprayed mane of golden curls). He gets by the whole "incest" thing on a technicality, but doesn't one think that he'd probably have discounted his sister as a potential mate at age five? The whole thing smacks of subliminal messaging on the part of the writers of the script to me. "Look! Ator marries his sister," they're saying. "Write your congressman, and send him a copy of Ator: The Fighting Eagle!" Note that the writing team are a male/female pair...

As for the drinking game, it's really simple: Take a sip every time you see Ator's bear cub, and a shot every time the bear does something to assist Ator. If you adhere strictly to these rules, you will not finish this film before you die of alcohol poisoning. This bear cub does far, far more than either Ator or Roon throughout the course of the movie. And he's so loveable! I started cheering for the bear - and the bear alone - half an hour into the film.

Like the title says, if you can get this movie for four bucks, I highly recommend that you pick it up. It's not unbelievably horrible, like "Reborn From Hell: Samurai Armageddon" is, but it's a docile, friendly sort of awful. And really, what else could one ask for?