Hawk the Slayer

[Mycanid]

Just last week I came across a copy of Hawk the Slayer at a friend's I was visiting. The local video store had it in stock. I watched it again and ... well, it was so bad I loved it once again. I first saw it back in 1981 or so. It's been re-released on DVD by Hen's Teeth Productions (or something similiar).

Anybody else remember this awful and enjoyable campy fantasy flick? I especially remember liking Crow the elf back in the day....

Here is a ... err ... review of it too!

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/hawkslayer/

 

[the_myth]

Just last week I came across a copy of Hawk the Slayer at a friend's I was visiting. The local video store had it in stock. I watched it again and ... well, it was so bad I loved it once again. I first saw it back in 1981 or so. It's been re-released on DVD by Hen's Teeth Productions (or something similiar).

Anybody else remember this awful and enjoyable campy fantasy flick? I especially remember liking Crow the elf back in the day....

Here is a ... err ... review of it too!

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/hawkslayer/

easily one of my top 10 favorite movies. Perfect example of cinematic D&D play.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hawk the Slayer is a bad movie.

Very, very bad.

Unfortunately that does not prevent me from liking it - Hawk the Slayer is a fun bad movie!

The Auld Grump, and fun bad movies are some of the best...

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Yep, what The Auld Grump said.

 

[Jamdin]

Hawk The Slayer is my #1 fantasy movie

 

[Soel]

Haha! The heroes sit around and wait for an very boring battle with the sub-bad guy, killing him and all his minions so quick that I almost missed it!

Then later, against the BBEG himself, Jack Palance, they fall apart so easily, getting killed, and or being rendered helpless (although the giant guy just sort of stands there,) while Hawk, our hero, (very reminiscent of Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter, who also does next to nothing himself in his own movie,) unclimactically fights Palance. The "highpoint" of this final battle was the "sword-come back to my hand!" bit. That the handle of the sword was a big fist, was just icing on the laugh cake.

For a more serious (well, only a little,) sword & sorcery flick, try Sword and the Sorcerer, with Lee Horsley (Matt Houston, which, if you know what the hell I'm referring to, then, well we're both sad sacks.) It is similar to the above, but no elves or giants, and it plays fairly well still today.

For something even more hilarious than Hawk, try out Yor, Hunter From the Future, and or Dungeonmaster both of which will make you drop your breakfast!

 

[dvvega]

Hawk Slayer is a great movie ... very Sword and Sandals.

Sword and the Sorcerer was a better production but it still had the same bad feel with a Sword that shoots blades out of the hilt.

But to be honest ... my early forays into writing my own modules devolved into Hawk the Slayer style plots that were so obvious from the start that the players enjoyed being rail roaded. Of course we were all around 10 years of age back then.

Nowadays when I watch Hawk the Slayer I remember my past youth fondly and smile. In fact I really like some of the corny liners in the movie and almost can remember the full text of the movie.

The opening text ... this is a story of good versus evil ... and of a wondrous sword wielded by a mighty hero ... yadda yadda ... it made me get chills of excitement.

One Liners:

Stupid Thug: "The time to play games is over" (Promptly gets killed by Hawk).

Stupid Giant: Holy Food?
Dwarf: Holy Food ... it has a taste some might find unpleasant.
(dwarf convinces giant that he should taste test it)
Giant: Well? Well?
Dwarf: (eating big chunks of chicken) Can't be sure.

and it goes on.

I did like the representation of the machine gun elf ... something you could get in 2ed with the Archery gear out of the Complete Book of Elves, and obviously 3.Xed allows it.

The machine gun style crossbow was something I couldn't believe but then there's a repeating crossbow in D&D so who knows.

 

[Mycanid]

Yessir - Crow was absolutely cool. No doubts about it. Although, as the linked review so eloquently and accurately pointed out, when he spoke he reminded the reviewer of a dimwitted Vulcan.

Crow blew my youthful mind away so much I fashioned one of my very first pc's after him - a fighter/magic user (this was 1eAdnd, of course) named Crow Pathfinder. With him I went through the old Dragon magazine adventure Citadel by the Sea (anyone remember THAT one?) and barely escaped the wrath of a vengeful God with my laugh ... had to jump out of a second story window and landed in a thorny rose bush that tore out one of his eyes.

Sigh. Those were the days, eh?

But the movie is bad. In fact, awful. But ya gotta love it....

 

[Plane Sailing]

I never thought the movie was a bad movie, and still don't. To my mind it was one of the best sword and sorcery films of it's genre, kicking Conan whimpering to the kerb like a little girl.

It was *such* a good match for the kind of D&D (and especially Runequest) that we were playing in those days, and had a great atmosphere.

If only more modern S&S films had half the heart and imagination that Hawk the Slayer had!

 

[Quasqueton]

Funny. I was told I was being offensive and rude when I said HtS was a bad movie, a few months ago. Even had a moderator chastise me for it, even though I said nothing as detailed or negative as is said in this thread.

This just supports my belief that who says something on this board has more weight than what they say.

And I'll point out, again, that Crow, the elf, wears penny loafers. (Check the scene where he is wounded, after the big, final battle -- you can see his footwear clearly.)

Quasqueton