I Paladini - storia d'armi e d'amori (1983)

Director:

Giacomo Battiato

Writers:

Giacomo Battiato (story)
Sergio Donati (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 September 1983 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Action | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Middle Ages . . . A time of magic and mystery . . . of heroes and villains . . . of love and death . . . of hearts and armour [USA Theatrical]

Plot:

Bradamante, a woman wearing an invincible suit of armor, is travelling the countryside at the time of the Crusades...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Moors | Armor | Knight | Christian

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Zeudi Araya Cristaldi	...	Marfisa (as Zeudi Araya)
Barbara De Rossi	...	Bradamante
Rick Edwards	...	Orlando (Rolando)
Ronn Moss	...	Ruggero
Maurizio Nichetti	...	Atlante
Tanya Roberts	...	Angelica (Isabella)
Giovanni Visentin	...	Ganelon (Gano)
Tony Vogel	...	Ferraù
Leigh McCloskey	...	Rinaldo
Lina Sastri	...	La Maga
Lucien Bruchon	...	Aquilante
Al Cliver	...	Selvaggio (as Pierluigi Conti)
Massimo De Rossi	...	L'Eremita
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Samurai
Bobby Rhodes	...	Mercenary

Also Known As:

Hearts and Armour (UK) (video title) (USA)
Cuori in armatura (Italy)

Runtime:

Germany:100 min | USA:98 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | UK:18 | Australia:M | Norway:15 (video premiere) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Company:

Vides Cinematografica

Yeah, it's cheesy, but a fun B-movie.

Most likely this film was thrown together to ride the coat tails of John Boorman's "Excalibur." There's much in the way of imitation or homage paid to Boorman in terms of feel, and of course the knights.

The problems with this film are various. One of the things that leaps out is the mediocre cinematography. Again, there's a whole hearted attempt to "pay homage" to Boorman, but the long shots are either misplaced or not set far enough away. There're some interesting scenes of bleak forests and wastelands, again like Boorman's work, but the shots are ill conceived with little in the way of thoughtful composition. I'll also add that there's an excessive number of slow motion shots.

The story was a little difficult to follow, and the fact that the Moors in the film are depicted as caucasian (men with 1980's shoulder length feathered hair no less) doesn't help either visual or story aspect. And therein lies a tale because the acting is below average, hammy, boring and otherwise nearly talentless. Slow motion can only cover up so many sins. Sub par talent isn't one of them.

One of the real drawbacks is a lack of cast. By that I mean warm bodys or extras. There're precious few people inhabiting this world, and it seems as though all the fighting is done by a little over half dozen folks (the main characters). There's money in the budget to build a Moor encampment, but no money hire the extras to bring it to life.

Still, for all it's flaws, and even though I laughed out loud at a number of the more rediculous parts (mostly the actors), I could appreciate it for what it is (that, and my buddy loaned me his copy, and I'd hate to tell him I disliked a film he really likes :)). It's a B-movie striving for an A. But striving for an A on money that's little more than a shoestring budget.

Some nudity, a good amount of violence, the film was meant for an adult crowd, but if you took away the bare breasts and blood you'd have a film fit for kids. As it is it's designed for adult consumption, but unless you're a fan of the knight genre (by that I mean you really go overboard for all medieval themed films) I wouldn't reccomend it.

Fun but flawed. Don't bother unless you need some sword play on your TV screen.