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Hawk the Slayer

Hawk the Slayer

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: At Last!! The great movie no one ever heard of.
Review: "Hawk the Slayer" is one of those great movies that seemed to have slipped between the cracks of public interest. When I watched this movie way back in 1982, I knew this movie was special. Here you had all the elements of a great hero myth,
the forces of good against evil, a truly memorable villian (Jack
Palance doing an inspired turn as "Voltan" the arch nemesis of
Hawk, and his brother.), a band of heroes, and a quest.
For a long time this movie languished in obscurity, and was only available to watch in the form of very hard to find VHS tapes.
For all those fortunate people who even knew about this movie,
and begged for it to come out on DVD, here you go.
Buy the DVD, tell your friends about it, and let the world know how good this movie is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: A dreadful script, terrible dialogue, awful directing, bad acting, lots of Ham, silly special effects, overused locations, no plot whatsoever - I can't think of anything bad to say about this film. With the exception of John Terry (here playing the hero as a large plank of wood) no-one is taking this nonsense remotely seriously - as well they shouldn't. Being pros however, they serve the (cough) script well with some superb ham acting. There are umpteen British character actors you've seen before, all of whom give it the works- delivering dreadful lines and non sequiturs with the just the right amount of strait-laced portentiousness. Jack Palance's Voltan is equally entertaining, wheezing and overegging his way through every scene, assaulting nuns, villagers and loaves of bread. In fact, the whole film is merely a race against time to prevent him carrying out his initial threat of slicing every leavened or unleavened loaf in 'the land'.

An excellent way to hang the brain out to dry for a while, while you drink beer and laugh until you choke.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not your average fantasy film...
Review: A minor point - it wasn't made for TV - I saw it at the cinema in the UK when it came out in 1981. It was bad then - I'm sure that it's bad now! But it is quality badness! Shame it only seems to be on Region 1, it doesn't seem to be available in the UK...

I've given it 4 stars, but I haven't seen the DVD, so I'm going on what I remember of the film from a long time ago (and the fact that I have to give it some rating to submit this!), so take it with a pinch of zombie poison.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In the tone of this film I present you...my review!
Review: Before the Lord of the Rings... Before Star Wars... Before Conan the Barbarian... there was... Hawk the Slayer!!!

The finest film of the 80's has returned to us in near-pristine form on this soon-to-be-released DVD. Count yourselves lucky young whippersnappers, you may now enjoy one of the most spectacular fantasy films of all time in your very own home. If you liked Beastmaster (the first one) or Clash of the Titans (another masterpiece) then you will love, I say LOVE, Hawk the Slayer!!!

(Incidentally Hawk also has a small role in Full Metal Jacket as Joker's CO in the news outfit in the 'Nam. Jack Palance does not appear, AFAIK)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Honestly...
Review: Director Courtney Solomon once proudly proclaimed that his in-the-works fantasy film would be the polar opposite of a little-known fantasy flick called "Hawk the Slayer." This is more than a little amusing, given that a few months later his film, "Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie", hit theaters and critics, laymen, and even avid D&D fans found it hard to stomach. Using "Hawk the Slayer" as a demonstration, Solomon said, "This is exactly the kind of fantasy movie I don't want to make." The strange thing is, he pretty much made the modern equivalent. Both movies are enjoyably bad fantasy fare that cannot be taken very seriously despite their attempts at earnestness, and therefore demand to be watched by more open-minded fantasy fanatics with an eccentric taste for the absurd.

"Hawk the Slayer" tells the tale of... well, Hawk, who isn't much of a slayer, when it comes right down to it. Hawk is instead a noble prince with a magical sword seeking vengeance upon his eldest brother, who in turn couldn't help but be evil since he was named Voltan. I presume this is why Voltan kills his own father, for giving him such a ridiculous name. At any rate, this patricide sparks Hawk's fury (as if Voltan's slaying of his beloved weren't enough), and the prince sets out to rid the land of his brother, and amass a band of companions along the way. Much of the film centers around the compilation of Hawk's adventuring band, and each and every one of them is in deep trouble just as Hawk happens upon them - wouldn't you know it? Hawk, A giant (who must be short for his race), an elf (who looks the part but speaks like a cyborg parody), a dwarf, an aging knight (with only one arm and a crossbow that must reload itself in mid-battle), and a blind sorceress are all that stand between Voltan and the so-called Devil's Agents from conquering the world. This is rather funny since Voltan comes off as a less-than-powerful nuisance and nothing more. Still, it's hard not to admire an effort that comes from 1980 and works with presumably limited coffers. These things must be taken into consideration - although the dreaded puppet-monster from the Forest of Were is still unforgivable. If you don't have the means to actually create a believable monster, don't bother trying... That should be Rule #1 when making a low-budget fantasy movie, but it happens a lot.

In the end, "Hawk the Slayer" is bad, let's be honest. However, if you like fantasy AND you appreciate bad movies, "Hawk the Slayer" should easily fit the bill. The acting is generally horrendous (Jack Palance and Hawk himself are the biggest offenders - but boy are they funny!), the storyline is trite and predictable, and the film's reach is far beyond its means... but, hey, at least it's not "Deathstalker," right?

[Kudos to Hen's Tooth video for releasing this on DVD]

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A DnD lovers
Review: Dungones and dragons lovers should love this movie. Even though its older and nothing like Lord of the rings. The way they portray the people and the different races in this movie is the way G. Gygax would have you play his races in the DnD game(my opinion). It has its somewhat corny but funny interactions with the characters. As well as the ever present good vs. evil. The actors play there characters well. And Jack Palance's voice in his character fits it perfectly. Could not have gotten a better person for the part.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Buy it for the Elf
Review: Fans of LOTR's Legolas will definitely get a kick out of this, with the swift-shooting elf. Special effects-wise it's about a step up from...say....Land of the Lost. But it's so effective, with the rapid fire crossbow, the aforementioned elf, and the mind-controlled sword--which really doesn't get alot of action, even though it's supposed to be one of the main attractions. Cool soundtrack, as well. Definitely a personal favorite, regardless of the lack of mind-blowing digital [stuff] and CGI.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ok lets tell the truth about this film.
Review: I saw Hawk the Slayer about 20 years ago and although I was only 9 at that time I still remember the movie well today.
It was a made for T.V. movie Based on a group of D&D type heros who band together With Hawk to battle his evil one-eyed Brother(Jack Palance) who by the way is in constant pain from a eye wound.- Now as a kid I loved the scenes of the elf character (who looked more like a Valcan from Startrek) jumping over stones and launching from his bow 100+ arrows in rapid succession and the Old man with a rapid fire repeater crossbow doing the same, But as a adult I see the repition of the same scenes spliced in to help cut filming cost. And the great sword fight scenes I now see as slow and clumsy. I will by this DVD however and I know I will love it, Why? Because its a good story and will bring back memories for me and my Wife. But I fear my Sons (9 and 11) will find it corny compared to Lord of the Rings and will not watch it more then once. So I give it 4 stars from me, but I'm pritty sure my kids would give it only 2.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's not another cheesy fantasy about Good & Evil
Review: I saw Hawk the Slayer when it was released on to the cable channels 22 years ago. The film hasn't lost anything after all this time.You can't go wrong with this film if you love fantasy. The film was on a slightly lower budget than some films, but to me this only adds to the films personality.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Bad Movie
Review: I saw it when i was 12, loved it. Was a big Fantasy movie fan. Conan, Sword and Sorcerer. Anyways here is a quote from a friend in the early 90's " I have this VHS of this really cheezy fantasy flik, I forget what it is called but it is good, but the acting and plot are generally horrible, but you got to like it when you watch it." 2 seconds after said VHS is in player, I shout with glee, Hawk the Slayer, excellent!! Friend is surprised I have seen it. Needless to say it is a bit of a cult type film, my friend from Florida emailed me a month ago and said "Didn't know if you heard, Hawk the Slayer is being released on DVD." So that is why I am here. It is a must purchase for me, even if it is a bad movie. It is a "GREAT BAD MOVIE".


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