With fantasy epics all the rage at the moment, it's the perfect time to go releasing such magic-laced swashbuckling adventures as "The Sword and the Sorcerer" (although note the 18 rating, parents - the female stars seem somewhat shy of clothes in this one!). It's long been unavailable on video (and was one of the few films released on the UK on the defunct V2000 format), so, is this the ideal DVD to replace your old tape copy?
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture Some of the process shots in this look unbearably awful, being both soft to disguise the naff effects, and riddled with grain to boot. Otherwise the film looks OK, but this is not a title to watch on a projector. That said, it looks better than the old video release, so things are getting better!
Sound There's a choice of a stereo or surround mix on this DVD. We'd recommend the stereo version. It may be a little flat, but the surround option has a slight 'biscuit tin' ring to it.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Two trailers and a TV spot is your bag here. We'd have liked to see an interview with the ever-busy director Albert Pyun. "The Sword and the Sorcerer" remains his biggest hit to date, although both "Cyborg" with Van Damme and "Nemesis" with Olivier Grunier were huge video hits. We'd also like to know what happened to "Master of the Universe II", which he was due to direct in the 80s, and why the cast of Charlie Sheen and Chuck Norris for his latest flick, "Ticker", has been replaced with the far less fun Steven Seagal. We say boo to that!
Incidentally, if you own a Rank Video copy of this film, hang onto it - it runs three minutes longer than this new release, which is the same cut previously issued by Warner Bros.
Region: 2
Chapters: 18
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (stereo) and 2.0 (surround)
Technical Features: Scene selection, and animated menus.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.