Hawk the Slayer (1980)

With the aid of his companions, a man seeks to defeat his evil brother who has taken a nun hostage.

Director:

Terry Marcel

Writers:

Terry Marcel (original story and screenplay), Harry Robertson (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Palance	...	Voltan
John Terry	...	Hawk
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Gort, Giant
Ray Charleson	...	Crow, Elf
Peter O'Farrell	...	Baldin, Dwarf
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Ranulf (as Morgan Sheppard)
Patricia Quinn	...	Woman, Sorceress
Cheryl Campbell	...	Sister Monica
Annette Crosbie	...	Abbess
Catriona MacColl	...	Eliane
Shane Briant	...	Drogo
Harry Andrews	...	High Abbot
Christopher Benjamin	...	Fitzwalter
Roy Kinnear	...	Innkeeper
Patrick Magee	...	Priest

Storyline

Hawk, having suffered the ignominy of watching both his father and fiancée die at the hands of his brother, Voltan, sets out on a quest for companions to aid him in his fight to stop his brother's reign of evil and free the Abbess.

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Plot Keywords:

patricide | brother versus brother | nun | magical sword | brother brother relationship | 

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Taglines:

Two brothers locked in deadly combat till the end of time !

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Terry Marcel went on to direct two more sword and sorcery type movies, Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983) and Jane and the Lost City (1987).

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Quotes

Drogo: Now this must stay a secret between you and me. Not only will I bring back the head of this Hawk, but I'll have the gold as well. Then Voltan will see who is the lord of the dance.

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Connections

References Shichinin no samurai (1954)

User Reviews

So bad it's good

If you're the sort who likes to do a roll-your-own kind of MST3K movie night -- and let's be honest, it's *much* more fun to come up with your own wiseass comments anyway -- then this film is on your must-see list. There's so much wrong with it that I hardly know where to begin. It'll help to categorize.

-- The acting. Yoikes! There's some genuine skill involved in the portrayal of two or three of the characters, and there's some fun chemistry between Bernard Bresslaw as Gort the giant and Peter O'Farrell as Baldin the dwarf, but other than that this is all Golden Turkey material. John Terry in the title role could have been outacted by a dead cat, and Jack Palance as the villain is so over-the-top that he's ridiculous instead of menacing. (He's also supposed to be John Terry's brother despite being about 40 years too old to pull it off.) Everyone who tries to sound mysterious or wise comes off as stoned instead. Maybe they were.

-- The script. There's not so much a plot as a series of contrivances that serve as an excuse for the actors to deliver their lines and the fight scenes. I think they used up their studio's entire Plot Contrivance Quota for both 1979 *and* 1980, which must have been a real hardship because it would have left them unable to film any of the teenage sex comedies that were so popular back then.

-- The special effects. AAAAAGH! The Giant Executive Desk Toy that's supposed to be a magical teleporter! The cheesy glowing rocks! The hyperactive fog machines! The film loops! The... the... AIEEEEEEEEE! The horror!

Bottom line is if you take this film as seriously as it presents itself, you'll hate it. But for a rollicking fun evening of derisive mockery, you'll have trouble finding a better. Unless you go out and get an Ator movie or something.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1980 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hawk the Slayer

Filming Locations:

Black Park Lake, Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Marcel/Robertson Productions Limited, Chips Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1