Rating: 
Summary: found it
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out 20 odd years ago. I recorded It, and it came out pretty bad but I still watched it.Lost track of it and really forgot about it. Messing around on amazon I found it and bought it. It kinda reminds me of the twin towers movie ,with the characters a little ,only with early 80's special effects(bad). Still for what they had to work with, a very good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: 7th Grade Revisited in Medevil Action
Review: I was eleven going on twelve in the 7th grade when I caught this movie on Showtime. My sister, who was eight, fell immediately in love with Hawk played by John Terry. No man had ever looked so good in leather. Because of our crush, we fell hook, line, and sinker for the cliched drama and action and comedy relief. But now as a mature 34 year old, I still find Hawk very handsome but I also enjoy the action, music, and goofiness this movie offers. It's just good clean enterntainment about the age old good vs evil plot. If you like sorcery, medevil movies, cheesy special effects, and chorographed fight scenes with swords--this movie is for you!
Rating:
Summary: I remember this being Great
Review: Now after reading a few reviews, I must say that 20 years ago.... (Wow I am getting old) I was a young teenager that loved fantasy and Sci-Fi movies. Obviously, they did not have the biggest of budgets and after sharing this film with a few friendsÕ years ago, the soundtrack did [bad], but other than that, it was wonderful. I could picture myself in the title role with my special sword fighting off the evil forces. That is what kids do at that age and I still feel that way when I see these types of films. Don't ever grow up to the point that you can't remember the time of innocence.
Rating:
Summary: Elfs and more Elfs? Oh Yes!
Review: Ok first of all this film is old and the acting is quite wooden at times but it has a great bunch of charaters that wouldn't be out of place in the Lord of the Rings. It also has the best Elf character in any movie of its kind. Retro, cool and very similar to the old Clint Eastwood Cowboy movies of yesterday. The sound track is also retro. If wizards and warriors is your thing then this movie is well worth a look. If this movie had been made for today using blue screen special effects it would well deserve a 5 star rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Low-budget fantasy at it's best!
Review: Ok, this is no "Lord of the Rings." This movie often has contrived dialogue, cheezy special effects, and some of the most horrific acting this side of an MST3K Marathon, but if you're a die-hard fantasy fan (or D&D role-player) you will love this movie. This flick has everything a D&D'er is looking for ... Has any other review mentioned that this was never released theatrically, but was only a made-for-TV movie for the BBC? ... set aside your preconceived notions of what fantasy films SHOULD be... ignore the cheeziness and bad '80's techno music and just sit back and have fun. Remember, even Olivier did "Clash of the Titans!"
Rating:
Summary: Great nostalgia value
Review: Simple good vs evil, with all the traditional sword & sorcery fantasy characters. The dwarf is brilliant! No swearing, nudity or blood anywhere.
Rating:
Summary: I still remember this 20 years later, OMG!
Review: So one fateful Christmas Eve, it was not a family movie about Rudolph that my family watched. No! We found Hawk the Slayer playing and couldn't keep our eyes off it! Now 20 years later, I'm snapping the DVD up because this is still a great movie. I have never seen a more over the top villain performance than the one of Voltan (Jack Palance). And all the ensemble British actors added their own memorable moments to this movie. I mean, have you ever called someone, "bag of dirt??" And the dwarf's story of Turkels? What about the whispering wizard woman and the gathering of the heroes portion? And when Voltan grieves for his son ("Drogoooooooooooooooooo!"). The one handed man and his machine gun crossbow. Oh and the battles with all the quick lightning firing by the robotic talking elf and one handed man (these are hilarious! You literally see 20 - 30 guys die over the sound of arrows whizzing in about 5 seconds). Oh yes, and when Voltan threatens Hawk outside the church with his angry hate speech. There are so many hilarious moments, they should all add together to make a truly awful film. I mean the soundtrack is a strange disco + moody ditty thing, yet I can hum it 20 years later. Somehow this movie transcends an obvious fate of oblivion. It has a character all its own and it really really fun to watch. Try and watch it with friends. You will love this movie, just don't laugh too loud so you can't hear what's happening next....
Rating:
Summary: I don't care what you say!!!
Review: Sure, it's difficult to watch now, but this movie was pivotal in my formative years, having fuelled my love for fantasy as a pre-adoloscent in the early 80s. I will forever champion it in a slagging match, and can't fully understand why some have turned on it as they've matured.
In its time it was GOD, and one can plainly see the inspiration it had on the modern Lord of the Rings films, at least on Legolas' character. Crow, the elf in this film, and his rapid-fire bow work was quite an original concept regardless of how badly it was portrayed. Nowhere in LOTR does Tolkien refer to any of the fast paced archery skills as represented in the LOTR films, so somebody clearly took the quick-shooting elf concept from Hawk. As cheesy as it is here, it is still cool to watch, even though his robotic Vulcan-like performance is dreadful.
For trivia buffs, Annette Crosbie, who plays the Abbess in Hawk, also gave the voice to Galadriel in the 1978 Bakshi animated Lord of the Rings.
Don't misunderstand: I am certainly not comparing Hawk to Peter Jackson's LOTR films. NOTHING compares to those. All I'm saying is that I'm sure this film has given some inspiration to other fantasy filmmakers, with its unquestionably original take on certain concepts.
Many of the actors here are plainly better than the script allows them to be, but Jack Palance is ridiculous as Hawk's older brother (he looks as old as their father), and his casting was completely ludicrous. Also, the film could do without the dwarf, and his demise is proof of that. It was chiefly directed at the Dungeons & Dragons audience, and probably succeeded in winning them over
Ultimately, as with Jackson's LOTR saga, the elf steals the show with his poorly editted dexterous bow work, which is always interesting to watch.
I for one will never call Hawk a "bad" movie. Dungeons & Dragons is a "Bad" movie, and has the dubious distinction of being the first video I ever rented which I simply had to turn off halfway through due to attention deficit (the paint drying on the walls was MUCH more entertaining).
For its time it ruled, and I will always have a soft spot for it. Hawk the Slayer has a certain charm, in its attempt to take itself seriously, which cannot be denied. My rating is primarily based on sentiment rather than the film's place in history, but there's nothing wrong with that. I like it...
Rating: 
Summary: Like Lord of the Rings, if Roger Corman directed...
Review: The early 80's saw a rash of sword and sorcery/fantasy films, Dragonslayer (1981), Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Beastmaster (1982), The Sword and The Sorcerer (1982), Krull (1983) primarily, in my humble opinion, to cash in on the popularity of the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, which had been around since the mid 70's (has it been that long?) As with any genre, there are sparkling gems, diamonds in the rough, and finally the bottom of the barrel, which is where Hawk the Slayer (1981) rests, hiding in obscurity...until now (seems many have fond memories of this film, so I doubt I'm going to many any friends with my review).
Co-written and directed by Terry Marcel, who's got a few other credits to his name, but the one that stands out for me was his credit as a second unit director for the abysmal Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Hawk the Slayer stars Jack `Believe it...or not!' Palance and John Terry (Full Metal Jacket, The Living Daylights) as `two brothers locked in deadly combat until the end of time!' or so it says on the front of the case. Also appearing is Bernard Bresslaw (he was the Cyclops in Krull), Ray Charleson (Hopscotch), William Morgan Sheppard (The Duellists), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), and Roy Kinnear (Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo). There are a few more I could list, but they'd probably appreciate it if I didn't...
As the film begins, we see Voltan (Palance) threatening an old man for some sort of treasure (turns out the old man is Voltan's father, played by Ferdy Mayne, who was in his mid 60's at the time of this film, while Palance was in his early 60's...how is that supposed to work? And the characters played by Palance and Terry are supposed to be brothers? There's like a 30 year age difference...my head is beginning to hurt...) Anyway, old timing dude doesn't give up whatever secret Voltan's looking for, and suffers dire consequences because Voltan is so very evil. Just before his passing, the old man does share the secret with his other son, Hawk, played by John Terry. What's the secret? Something involving a mystical weapon called the Mind Sword, which Hawk now controls. Apparently Hawk can control its' movements and it sometimes glows with a sickly green light, but that seems to be about it. I suspect there's probably more to it, but the audience is never really let in on it...nice story telling there...so now Voltan is terrorizing the countryside with his meager band of henchmen, kidnaps a holy woman from a local abbey, and holds her for ransom. The remaining sisters enlist an injured fighter to contact Hawk for help, to which Hawk, through the aid of a witchy woman, gathers a motley band of fighters including, a dwarf, an elf, and a giant in order to rescue the holy woman and defend the abbey against the onslaught of Voltan and his army. Oh yeah, Hawk and Voltan have an old grudge, one involving a woman and an injury Voltan incurred, a nasty facial burn, one that forces him to wear a fancy colander on his head to hide his scars.
I wanted to like this film, but there was too much working against it for that to happen. First of all, it was funny watching Palance chewing up the scenery, but after awhile I felt embarrassed for him, but honestly, throughout the 70's and early 80's, Palance was notorious for `phoning' it in, rather, not putting much into his roles, apparently happy to pick up a check. Terry`s Hawk is probably the most awkward, wooden character in the film, completely devoid of any life or emotion. The other actors were alright, but they all suffered with one of the lamest scripts I've heard in a long time (the dialog is completely awful throughout Nun: If you had given them the gold we would have peace, Elf: The peace...of the dead.). The directing ain't so hot either...poor and clunky transition shots, ridiculously pointless slow motion shots, lame flashbacks...the list goes on...and the music...ugh! Late 70's/early 80's synthesized disco music wouldn't have been my first choice, as it hardly sets the mood. Also, putting fake, pointy ears on someone doesn't make them an elf. And just because someone is short, doesn't mean they're a dwarf. The battle scenes were pitifully short, as the elf, who could shoot arrows quickly, along with the one-handed warrior armed with a crossbow that operated like a machine gun made quick work of most of the enemies, leaving very little for the fighters who didn't have ranged weapons. I suppose that's for the best, as the few up close fight scenes were not choreographed very well. And the weapons...they looked real, but lack authenticity of the time, appearing more like those weapons purchased from the backs of magazines...very ornate and pretty, but hardly functional. The special effects are not terrible (except maybe the silly string and glowing ping pong balls), and I thought the matte paintings were nice, even if they looked completely phoney. The plot...oh man...it veers all over the place, creating a sense of many random events tied together by the loosest of threads.
The picture on this DVD looks surprisingly good, even though there's some soft graininess, especially in the beginning. I suspect that's nothing to do with aging, but more so the original picture itself. The audio is much better than I would have thought, as the dialog comes through clear and crisp (which may not be for the best, given the actual dialog, but whatever...) There are a couple of special features, one being a trailer and the other a photo gallery of stills from the movie (what's the point?) The price on this DVD a bit steep, but then I think the true fans won't min, as they're happy to see a re-release this film to DVD, especially given its' relative obscurity.
Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Buy it for the Elf
Review: This is one of the cheesiest, corniest, cliche'-ridden B-movies out there. I loved it. :) A piece of my childhood come back to life. And for a B-movie, it avoided some of the typical earmarks of a Cheesefest: No nudity, no chicks in chainmail, and no rubbersuit monsters. I know what you're thinking, "How can a B-movie be worth it's cheese without those?!?". Well, it worked in Hawk the Slayer.
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