From the 1970's to 1990's, the Italians managed to crank out a low budget copy of practically every successful American film (barring Ghostbusters I think as comedy and big budget effects were beyond their capabilities). Here we get the Italian exploitation version of EXCALIBUR with lots of beautiful people in glistening armor mashing weapons into each other. While competently directed and acted, the pacing feels much more sluggish than usual owing to some drab fall filming locations, noticeable lack of extras or population to the universe, droning Casio keyboard music, claustrophobic cinematography, and (worst of all) a thoroughly non-compelling story!
Most baffling of all to me is the decision to cast the Moors as anything but North Africans and Middle Easterners. As we get, Bobby Rhodes is the only Moorish mercenary who looks anything like one. Ronn Moss maybe works if we squint hard enough, but blonde bombshell Tanya Roberts as a Moor? Really? Was the casting department really that colorblind? Likely they just cast whichever bankable names they could find and hoped that us as the audience would be too stupid to know who the Moors were.
As with the John Boorman classic, this film exists somewhere between the historic and fantasy worlds. There's an odd sorceress who fades into nothingness, an animated suit of armor, and a pervy magician who renders himself invisible LORD OF THE RINGS-style, but no dragons or creatures who would have required make-up and money. Oh and what's with all the rape scenes? Poor Barbara De Rossi and Tanya Roberts seem to get pounced upon by every male they encounter, which may be a more accurate depiction of the lawless medieval European countryside than we've gotten in other films. It does give this otherwise lightweight and juvenile fable a strangely grim atmosphere, probably because the filmmakers either just didn't take the idea of sexual assault too seriously, or just wanted some breasts on screen.
Compared to other Italian exploitation films from the same time, this one seems to try to pass itself off the most like a serious drama or art film, but they ain't fooling anyone. Scratch the surface and it's every bit the same B-movie as something like ENDGAME (which also featured Al Cliver, Bobby Rhodes, Al Yamanouchi, and a Dell'Acqua brother), only with its money spent on horses rather than motorcycles.
Most baffling of all to me is the decision to cast the Moors as anything but North Africans and Middle Easterners. As we get, Bobby Rhodes is the only Moorish mercenary who looks anything like one. Ronn Moss maybe works if we squint hard enough, but blonde bombshell Tanya Roberts as a Moor? Really? Was the casting department really that colorblind? Likely they just cast whichever bankable names they could find and hoped that us as the audience would be too stupid to know who the Moors were.
As with the John Boorman classic, this film exists somewhere between the historic and fantasy worlds. There's an odd sorceress who fades into nothingness, an animated suit of armor, and a pervy magician who renders himself invisible LORD OF THE RINGS-style, but no dragons or creatures who would have required make-up and money. Oh and what's with all the rape scenes? Poor Barbara De Rossi and Tanya Roberts seem to get pounced upon by every male they encounter, which may be a more accurate depiction of the lawless medieval European countryside than we've gotten in other films. It does give this otherwise lightweight and juvenile fable a strangely grim atmosphere, probably because the filmmakers either just didn't take the idea of sexual assault too seriously, or just wanted some breasts on screen.
Compared to other Italian exploitation films from the same time, this one seems to try to pass itself off the most like a serious drama or art film, but they ain't fooling anyone. Scratch the surface and it's every bit the same B-movie as something like ENDGAME (which also featured Al Cliver, Bobby Rhodes, Al Yamanouchi, and a Dell'Acqua brother), only with its money spent on horses rather than motorcycles.