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Product Description

Good Hawk and his bad brother, Voltan, vie for the power of a magical flying sword.

Amazon.com

Among its many dubious distinctions, Hawk the Slayer is the only sword-and-sorcery movie to feature Silly-String® as a medieval weapon! This splendidly wretched British fantasy also boasts such magical wonders as an automatic fast-action crossbow and an archer who shoots instantly replenished arrows in rapid succession, never missing his target! At the lowest ebb of his career, Jack Palance is gleefully hammy as Voltan, the disfigured (i.e., irredeemably evil) elder brother of Hawk (John Terry), who swears vengeance after Voltan kills their father, kidnaps a virginal abbess (Annette Crosbie), and threatens a nunnery for ransom. Add an ultracheesy '80s soundtrack (imagine Rick Wakeman playing roller disco) and some respectable British thespians (Patrick Magee, Roy Kinnear, Harry Andrews), and you've got a poor man's Willow with a dash of Krull, laughably awful and surprisingly entertaining. Fully aware of its own low-budget absurdity, Hawk the Slayer is a Bad Movie classic, guaranteed to satisfy connoisseurs of garbage. (Trivia note: Terry survived his titular heroics and was guest-starring on the popular TV series 24 when this DVD was released in late 2002.) --Jeff Shannon

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.66:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.93 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ HEN4084DVD
Director ‏ : ‎ Terry Marcel
Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 30 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ November 5, 2002
Actors ‏ : ‎ Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw, Ray Charleson, Peter O'Farrell
Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1)
Studio ‏ : ‎ Henstooth Video
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00006G8H4
Writers ‏ : ‎ Harry Robertson, Terry Marcel
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #109,853 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,301 in Fantasy DVDs
- #10,596 in Action & Adventure DVDs

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4.3 774 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

774 global ratings

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Ool the Uncanny

The greatest and yet worst movie ever created

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015

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This movie has everything. A vile hunchback selling muscle boy slaves. The asthmatic antics of a 61 year old Jack Palance, who looks older than his character's father, and thirty years older than his brother, Hawk. A 5'4" dwarf, a 6'6" giant, and a Vulcan/elf are Hawk's companions. There is an assault on a loaf of bread. There is a one handed man wielding a repeating crossbow. Special effects include silly string, rubber balls and forest creatures that look so amateurish even the worst children's show wouldn't use them. There is a duplicitous nun and a virtually limitless army of flunkies for Voltan the Dark One (Palance) to use as fodder. These men look like they were castoffs from early 80's English heavy metal bands. There is a weird disco tinged theme song with bird cries mixed in.

So when you mix all this in with a cheesy script and appalling acting, you get the masterpiece that is Hawk the Slayer. I first saw this movie as a young teen in the early 80's, and I must have watched this 20 times when I wasn't busy playing dungeons and dragons, listening to metal and not having girlfriends. For all of its flaws, and there are many, it is a great flick. Not funny when it's meant to be, and hysterical when it wasn't supposed to be. Now, I have introduced my three teenage daughters to the film and they loved it. Probably won't watch it 20 times as they are not social deviants like their father.

There have been great losses to human culture and art over the centuries. One can only dream of what was lost when the Great Library of Alexandria burned. Or when monasteries were pillaged in the dark ages. But no loss stings greater than the planned sequel to Hawk the Slayer never coming to fruition. Unfortunately Voltan the Dark One, Gort the Giant and several other cast members have passed in the last 35 years. So it probably won't happen. Sure, Beastmaster, Dragonslayer and Krull are from the same period and are good watches, but none match the greatest one and a half hour glory that is Hawk the Slayer

64 people found this helpful

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D. Bagwell

a cult classic

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2023

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for such a low budget.. this was an amazing movie

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Darren O'Connor

A good, even great, bad movie.

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2010

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Everyone can think of one of those movies that is "so bad it's good" and this movie is the king of that kind. It has very little plot, the cinematography, locations, production values, costumes, etc. can generously be described as "on a budget," the acting is mostly bloody awful (though in fairness, it might simply be that even the most gifted actors couldn't utter some of the lines of this film's dialogue believably), the special effects are about as cheesy as effects ever get, and the musical score is an unholy combination of orchestral music, meets spaghetti western, meets 1970s disco; all of which means this movie should be almost physically painful to watch, but somehow not only is it not, it's actually a blast, especially if you get together and watch it with a group of friends. John Terry turns in a rather wooden, but nonetheless decent performance (and his seriousness plays well against the other actors, who are clearly just having fun while collecting the paycheck) as the hero, who is pitted against his evil older brother, played by a Jack Palance 25 years his senior, who not only killed their on-screen father, and Hawk's betrothed, but has now kidnapped a group of nuns and is holding them for ransom (are there no depths to which he will not sink!). Hawk is aided by a blind witch who helps him assemble a band of comrades consisting of a one-handed man (who shoots a magic, self-cocking, repeating crossbow that has a rate of fire nearly that of a machine gun), a giant (who is just a really tall bald guy), a dwarf (who is really just a rather short guy with a bullwhip and gross eating habits), and an elf (whose acting is so phenomenally stiff and mechanical I suspect him of actually being a robot specially constructed for the film).

No need to spoil the, uh... plot, for any interested viewers who may read this. Suffice it to say that the movie really is every bit as bad as it sounds from reading this... and I almost guarantee you will enjoy it. How this manages to be the case, I can't explain. Other movies have bad plots, bad dialogue, bad acting, bad music, bad effects, etc., and are simply awful movies. One watches them and wishes one could get that two hours of one's life back. This movie is somehow different, and manages to be fun despite (and perhaps even because of) its numerous flaws.

7 people found this helpful

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Coastalcop

The seven Samurai, or the magnificent seven through the eyes of a 80's dork with a D&D fixation

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021

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Ok, lets get it out there now. The "special" effects arent that special, and the acting (aside from Jack Palance who absolutely chews his lines) is wooden enough to build a cabin from. However this is one of the most awesomest fantasy flicks of the 80's. Consider that it has an entire case of cheese wiz poured over it (silly string and super balls.... really) , but it is still a fun romp through memory lane. Watched it first as the aforementioned dork and again last night (as a more tempered dork) and still enjoyed it.

It never got the traction of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I could easily see it playing at the midnight matinee with folks throwing toast and lines at the screen.

After this one, watch Beastmaster, and Sword and the Sorcerer to complete the trifecta, but stay away from Red Sonja ;)

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Timo Juhala

Awesome

Reviewed in Germany on October 25, 2022

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I unironically enjoy this. Sure, the small budget is constantly apparent (especially in the FX department), and there's, like, only one real actor in it... but who cares, all that just makes it feel to me like a good, fun session of Dungeons & Dragons! It's no wonder the Knights of the Dinner Table love it so.

Oh, and have you seen a one-armed archer in any other movie..?

匿名希望

英語字幕です。日本語字幕はありません。

Reviewed in Japan on April 7, 2020

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古めかしい（格調高い？）物語調の表現が、新鮮で勉強になりました。
英語字幕です。日本語字幕はありません。

Barry Stokesが出ていると聞いて、みてみました。映画の出演作品が多いのは、ファンとしてはうれしいことですが、役どころは、ちょっと残念な感じ。でも、やられるまでの時間稼ぎ、才能が垣間見ることができます（ひいき目）？

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Timothy H. Corfield

Great Early Sword and Sorcery Movie on Shoestring Budget

Reviewed in Australia on September 5, 2019

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Great movie and even better on BluRay.

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on May 23, 2016

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Amazing!

Mark H.

At last a Blu-ray release for a classic film!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2015

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Probably the quickest order I've ever placed!

I first saw this film when I was around 10 or 11, probably late one night on the BBC, and have had a soft spot for it ever since. I bought the DVD some years ago, which was fine, but the Blu-ray really takes things up a notch. The picture quality is vastly superior: as with some other films that have undergone the Blu-ray treatment, I saw little details that I'd never noticed before. You can compare the difference in quality to the original version when you watch the excerpt from “Clapperboard” in the Extras section (see below) - it shows some clips of the film, all dark, reddish and grainy. The one pity is that the audio has stayed at 2.0 stereo and couldn't have gone to 5.1, but never mind, it still sounds decent.

The film has its faults, but I don’t feel they really affect the film itself too much. Okay, some of the special effects are a bit ropey, but it was 1980 and they probably had budgetary limitations (this wasn’t Hollywood) - and if you've already suspended your disbelief from the outset, it won't matter. The soundtrack is a mixture of electronic and symphonic; cheesy is a word that might spring to mind but, again, it's of its time and is very catchy, quite European-sounding I think.

As to the story itself, I won't say too much but it's your standard good v evil, sword ‘n’ sorcery adventure. The influence of Tolkien is evident (and acknowledged by the makers), but there are elements of other genres like spaghetti western, Japanese samurai etc. as well. Elves, giants, dwarves, magic, wizards, religion, LOTS of mist.....all the boxes are ticked, but the plot is still quite simple - in a film lasting around 1hr 45 mins there's only so much you can do. That being said, there are some great set-pieces and the action rarely lets up – the elf’s archery skills being particularly eye-catching. Interestingly, for a film with lots of fighting, there's little in the way of blood and gore.

The film is serious, but doesn’t take itself TOO seriously; amongst the death and destruction there are moments of humour, often arising out of situations involving the giant and/or the dwarf. All in all, the film is VERY entertaining.

Cast: the two male leads are perfect. Jack Palance was brought in partly because the makers loved him in the classic western "Shane" (one of the ultimate “baddie” roles). He has an absolute blast as the “Dark One”, Voltan. John Terry's performance as Hawk has been called "wooden" in some quarters, but I disagree - he's understated, a cool character and reluctant hero; and anyway, he didn't even have that many lines to speak. Plus, Palance was always going to upstage everyone! The cast is generally very strong, and there are several big names, some of whom might only speak a few lines (e.g. Roy Kinnear), but those scenes will still stay with you. It's one of those films where you'll find yourself thinking "where have I seen that actor before?". Warren Clarke, Annette Crosbie, Harry Edwards, Bernard Bresslaw, Morgan Sheppard…..the list goes on and the calibre is very high.

Extras: original trailer and old interview footage, some promo photos. The best is the edition of “Clapperboard” (a kids’ TV programme about cinema) which was presumably aired to promote the film in the UK. Chris Kelly interviews the lead cast, producer, director and master-at-arms. It’s interesting. There are also some unedited “rushes” of interviews (so the quality isn’t always good) and behind-the-scenes footage e.g. swordfight rehearsals. There’s quite a lot of insight into the inspiration for the story and the concepts behind the genre.

What comes across in the interviews is the great camaraderie and chemistry everyone had with each other. No divas or egos, they all seemed to be just pitching in together, and the project was clearly a labour of love for Terry Marcel, the writer/director. They all appeared to be having fun making the film (at one point, Jack Palance (a fascinating actor) says he’ll be sorry when the filming ends).

It’s probably obvious by now that I would recommend this film and certainly this edition. The 5 stars are merited for the entertainment, the good HD quality, and the fact that it’s been “Blu-rayed” after all this time. If you liked this film before, you will love it after seeing this new version; if you haven’t seen it before, you won’t regret buying it!

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Genre	Action & Adventure
Format	NTSC, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen
Contributor	Bernard Bresslaw, Annette Crosbie, Patricia Quinn, Cheryl Campbell, Jack Palance, John Terry, Peter O'Farrell, Harry Robertson, Harry Andrews, Ray Charleson, Shane Briant, Catriona MacColl, Terry Marcel, William Morgan Sheppard See more
Language	English
Number Of Discs	1