Cinema and Sorcery: the Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Film Authors: Arnold T
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Sample file Sample file Sample file BY ARNOLD T. BLUMBERG & SCOTT ALAN WOODARD Cinema and Sorcery: The Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Film Authors: Arnold T. Blumberg and Scott A. Woodard Editor: Jessica Kristine Publisher: Chris Pramas Graphic Design: Hal Mangold Cover Art: Ozan Art & Christophe Swal Green Ronin Staff: Joseph D. Carriker, Steve Kenson, Jon Leitheusser, Nicole Lindroos, Hal Mangold, Jack Norris, Chris Pramas, Donna Prior, Evan Sass, Marc Schmalz, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Barry Wilson Cinema and Sorcery: The Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Film is published by Green Ronin Publishing, LLC. Cinema and Sorcery: The Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Film © 2016 by Arnold T. Blumberg and Scott A. Woodard. All rights reserved. Any discussion of trademarked, service marked, or copyrighted material or entities in this book should not be construed as a challenge to their legal owners. The owners of these trademarks, service marks, and copyrights haveSample not authorized or file endorsed this book. Reproduction of material from within this book for any purposes, by photographic, digital, or other methods of electronic storage and retrieval, is prohibited. Green Ronin Publishing 3815 South Othello Street Suite 100, #304 Seattle, WA 98118 Visit us online at greenronin.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Stock number GRR4003, May 2016. ISBN: 978-1-934547-71-7 Printed in the United States. DEDICATION During the writing of this book, a surprising number of key people involved in many of the films covered here left this plane of existence for realms unknown. We’d like to dedicate this guide to all the fantastic fantasy filmmakers, actors, and other individuals without whom these journeys to lands of wonder and adventure would never have happened. We don’t think any of the other people listed here would blame us, however, if we dedicate this book primarily to one man: someone who shaped our childhoods and the childhoods of millions of others (including, no doubt, many of our readers), a genius who gave life to inanimate objects and not only crafted movies and memories that would last well beyond him but also taught us about the pure beauty and power of imagination. Farewell, Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), the guiding force behind many of the films covered in this book. Even if he himself is abandoned or forgotten, his work will never fade. Never. It will stand untilSample the end of time. file Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the following for their encouragement and contributions to this book: First and foremost, our “third author,” Rochelle Blumberg. Without her, this book would not exist. She put together the main list of titles with which we started, kept it updated throughout the project, researched countless movies whenever we had annoying questions (“It has swords, but is there magic in it?” or “There’s tons of magic, but does anyone ever use a sword?”), and wrote the majority of the blurbs for the titles in the index. Green Ronin and Chris Pramas, for agreeing to take on this project. We’re grateful for the chance to pontificate on one of our favorite genres. The filmmakers and other creators who provided personal insight into some of the films: Michael J. Bassett, Andrew Belling, Greg Costikyan, Luigi Cozzi, Bert I. Gordon, Albert Pyun, William Stout, John Terlesky, Chris Walas, Jim Wynorski, and many more. Keith Topping, one of the Samplepioneers of a format file for delving into the rich history of genre film and television in guides like these; David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, the men behind Telos Publishing, the publishers of Arnold’s Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For (co-authored with Andrew Hershberger) and long-time support- ers of Arnold’s publishing efforts in a variety of capacities; Andy Hershberger; and Marvin A. Blumberg. Scott wishes to thank TaMara for tolerating the many months of obsessive sword- and-sorcery movie-watching and all the subsequent late nights (and ungodly early mornings) at the computer. As promised to you, we included The Dark Crystal Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................................... V Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... Vi Introduction: Taking Up The Sword ................................................................................. Ix The Movies ........................................................................................................................... Xiii The Thief Of Bagdad ...........................................................................................................1 The 7Th Voyage Of Sinbad ..................................................................................................9 The Magic Sword ...............................................................................................................16 Jason And The Argonauts .................................................................................................23 The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad .........................................................................................30 Monty Python And The Holy Grail ..............................................................................36 Wizards ................................................................................................................................45 Star Wars ............................................................................................................................52 Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger ...................................................................................62 Hawk The Slayer ................................................................................................................69 Excalibur .............................................................................................................................77 Clash Of The Titans ..........................................................................................................Sample file 85 Dragonslayer ......................................................................................................................93 The Sword And The Sorcerer ........................................................................................100 Conan The Barbarian ......................................................................................................109 The Beastmaster ..............................................................................................................122 The Last Unicorn .............................................................................................................130 The Dark Crystal .............................................................................................................137 Ator, The Fighting Eagle ...............................................................................................146 Krull ..................................................................................................................................152 Hercules ............................................................................................................................159 Conquest ............................................................................................................................166 The Neverending Story...................................................................................................171 The Warrior And The Sorceress ...................................................................................177 Red Sonja ...........................................................................................................................183 viii • CINEMA AND SORCERY The Black Cauldron ........................................................................................................190 Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom ......................................................................................198 Highlander .......................................................................................................................204 Legend ................................................................................................................................211 Labyrinth ..........................................................................................................................220 Big Trouble In Little China ..........................................................................................229 The Barbarians .................................................................................................................237 The Princess Bride ...........................................................................................................243 Deathstalker II ................................................................................................................252 Willow ...............................................................................................................................259 Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back ..........................................................267 Army Of Darkness ...........................................................................................................272 Dragonheart ....................................................................................................................279 Dungeons & Dragons ......................................................................................................286