Rating: 
Summary: The Magic Sword
Review: If you saw this film when it first came out, like I did, you'll be delighted that it's available. If you didn't and you are expecting something from the "digital era" you may be very disappointed. This is a kids film. I love this film for the escape. Are there ruff edges? Sure. I am a fan of Gary Lockwood (2001:a space odyssey)and it is fun to see him back then. Basil Rathbone can never do any wrong. Ann Helm? What's not to love? So...enjoy it for what it is and you'll love it. The 1963 version of "The Thief of Bagdad" with Steve Reeves is the same kind of escape. If you what to get a bit "heady" about these films, they are about struggle. I can always place myself somewhere in there (they both have 7 stages of strife) and it can actually help me figure out things at times. Don't ever let your "kid" grow up!
Rating: 
Summary: A very depressed Basil Rathbone fan
Review: The back of the box says (at least the one I saw) "a family adventure in the tradition of the Princess Bride". Aside from the fact that this little gem was made in 1961 and TPB was made in 1987 (it's a little hard to be in the tradition of something that didn't EXIST yet), do not be fooled, this movie is nothing like TPB.I really like Basil Rathbone and I really tried to like this movie but, no go. The special FX were bad when it was made and the colors are washed out. You can tell this is an early 60s movie. The heroine is an idiot, the hero is a sleaze, his mother is a twit and your shocked that the three of them actually manage to defeat the evil villain. Other complaints? The convenient "everyone is not really dead!" thing. The culteral stereotypes that I personally find offensive: The Frenchman is a ladies man, the Irishman is lucky and so forth. And why is it that every time a hero is captured, the villains feel compelled to take off his shirt and chain him up? Whatever, I could have done without that myself. Too scary for kids, too dimwitted for adults, I recomend this for people who don't care about poor production values, low budgets, poor acting and amatuerish scripting. Hecklers and MST3K fans and wannabes will perhaps enjoy the chance to stretch their mocking muscles. ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: The FIRST Dungeons and Dragons adventure!
Review: This film, intended for kids, was a movie house favorite back in the 1960's. A handsome young man in love with the princess of his land takes on the quest to save her after she is kidnapped by an evil magician. There is some wonderful stuff here. A witch mother with a two headed servant, a special sword, armor and steed intended for Sir George when he reached manhood and a group of famous knights as companions for the quest who are from all over Europe. There is also some great campish humor in this film, especially when the "French" knight is drawn away by a pretty damsel singing in french and when he attempts to kiss her she turns into a horrible one eyed-monster, and upon being saved by Sir George he states: "I should have realized that such a beautiful woman would not be up so early in the morning!" The film also features silly ogres who throw logs like nine pins but get dizzy and fall over from watching a horse run in circles, the usual servant/sinister midgets who seem to terrify people by just standing around holding up their clenched hands and laughing mockingly,vaporous pools of death that knights on horseback seem to automatically lose their balance and fall into to die, caves full of ghostly witches that only the faith of an Irishman can confront and a genuinely good Dragon full of fire breathing fury at the end that is killed by our hero as he is about to feed on our princess. Classic stuff, darkly filmed in spots but deserves to be recognized as perhaps one of the earliest "questing" movies that a lot of fantasy minded gamers and movie makers were to benefit from some 35 years later.
Rating:
Summary: SWORDS AND SORCERY
Review: When watching a movie like "The Magic Sword", you have to smile at the camp and amateurism that often frequents a film like this. Bert I. Gordon did his first color movie with this one, and for the time it was made, the special effects are above average for this time. The dragon is hilarious; as are the conehead ripoffs. But, Estelle Winwood, what a wonderfully zany actress she was, and she steals the movie whenever she's on. Gary Lockwood, undeniably a hunk, is not the world's greatest actor here, although he went on to gain respect in the t.v. series, "The Lieutenant" and the movie, "2001." Anne Helm looks lovely but no more range than a Barbie Doll. Basil Rathbone is effectively hammy in his role as Lodac the evil sorcerer. One question though: they were supposed to encounter seven curses, I missed one somewhere?
Cheesy but enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: SWORDS AND SORCERY
Review: When watching a movie like "The Magic Sword", you have to smile at the camp and amateurism that often frequents a film like this. Bert I. Gordon did his first color movie with this one, and for the time it was made, the special effects are above average for this time. The dragon is hilarious; as are the conehead ripoffs. But, Estelle Winwood, what a wonderfully zany actress she was, and she steals the movie whenever she's on. Gary Lockwood, undeniably a hunk, is not the world's greatest actor here, although he went on to gain respect in the t.v. series, "The Lieutenant" and the movie, "2001." Anne Helm looks lovely but no more range than a Barbie Doll. Basil Rathbone is effectively hammy in his role as Lodac the evil sorcerer. One question though: they were supposed to encounter seven curses, I missed one somewhere?
Cheesy but enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: SWORDS AND SORCERY
Review: When watching a movie like "The Magic Sword", you have to smile at the camp and amateurism that often frequents a film like this. Bert I. Gordon did his first color movie with this one, and for the time it was made, the special effects are above average for this time. The dragon is hilarious; as are the conehead ripoffs. But, Estelle Winwood, what a wonderfully zany actress she was, and she steals the movie whenever she's on. Gary Lockwood, undeniably a hunk, is not the world's greatest actor here, although he went on to gain respect in the t.v. series, "The Lieutenant" and the movie, "2001." Anne Helm looks lovely but no more range than a Barbie Doll. Basil Rathbone is effectively hammy in his role as Lodac the evil sorcerer. One question though: they were supposed to encounter seven curses, I missed one somewhere?
Cheesy but enjoyable.
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