He says he found it in a Mormon gift shop, of all places. I must possess one of my own. Is it just me, or could that be THE poster for the Old School Renaissance?
We also played a few games of Chez Geek, a first for me. I'm proud to say that I won my very first game in about three turns with a cagey combination of Playing RPGs and RPG Nookie.
As for the movie, having only seen the "best clips in three minutes" video on YouTube, I was surprised by how much I legitimately enjoyed it. I mean, don't get me wrong--the movie is firmly in the "so bad its good" category, with wooden acting (especially from the hilariously robotic Elf), bizarre dialogue ("I am no messenger, but I will give you a message...a message...of death!) and truly atrocious special effects (super bouncy balls and silly string feature prominently). But the set dressing and costuming was actually fairly decent in a Ren Faire sort of way, and the whole movie evoked the sort of Dragon Warriors-ish fantastic realism that I find so appealing in 80s fantasy. Definitely a recommended viewing experience.
I couldn't be doing with Hawk the Slayer until I tumbled to the realisation that it's actually a western dressed up as a fantasy film.
ReplyDeleteThat said, witnessing Jack Palance chewing the scenery while wearing a bucket on his head is a cult movie rite of passage.
Such a classic, it tries to do such much with so little that it is surprising that it works at all. I deeply love Hawk the Slayer for its honest attempt to bring fantasy to the screen. There is so much potential and heart in the movie that I cannot help but love it.
ReplyDeleteChris: Yeah, I picked up on that too! At one point I was like, "Are they having an Old-West-style showdown?"
ReplyDeleteAnd my friend said, "Yeah, but with bows!"
This movie was a late night staple when I was a kid. Really, they would show it about every 3 or 4 months after the ten o'clock news went off. I loved it! Jack Palance was the man!
ReplyDeleteHawk is the best. When Showtime first came out I think they showed it 20 times a week and I watched it as many times as I could. It was the first movie I remember that fit into the games we were trying to play. The problem that it created is everyone wanted to be Crow and shoot 6 arrows a seconds, or Ranulf's repeating crossbow. Bows a blazing. But the best part was the interaction between Gort and Baldwin. All fear the mullet!
ReplyDeleteI do not know how many jaunts throug hthe woods with my friends, waving sticks around were inspired by this movie.
ReplyDeleteLow budget but every bit as good a fantasy movie as any other. A real adventuring party. Some actually quite fun characterizations and Jack Palance is a Darth Vader helmet.
How many of your characters had a repeating crossbow after seeing this? How many elves named Crow did you encounter?
-Eli