In the early eighties, Arnold Schwarzenegger had become a star through his role in Conan the Barbarian. Following a critically maligned but successful sequel, Conan the Destroyer, Schwarzenegger sought to move into more contemporary roles. His contract with producer Dino De Laurentis was ending, but the legendary mogul wanted to use Schwarzenegger’s star power to launch another adaption of Robert E. Howard’s work – Red Sonja. The resulting film was a star vehicle for Brigitte Nielsen, who some saw as a potential female action icon, and Schwarzenegger, due to his contract with De Laurentis, had no choice but to appear in a critical supporting role (for which he would be top-billed) opposite Nielsen, who played the titular character.
Directed by Richard Fleischer, who had also directed Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, with its $6.9 million gross, ranks as the least successful film Schwarzenegger made during his heyday, with even his wife,...
Directed by Richard Fleischer, who had also directed Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja, with its $6.9 million gross, ranks as the least successful film Schwarzenegger made during his heyday, with even his wife,...
- 10/1/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Albert Pyun’s 1982 fantasy adventure The Sword and the Sorcerer may not be the most fondly remembered epic of its era, but it was wildly successful. In the early 1980s, the sword and soccer genre experienced a revival, with Hollywood anticipating that Conan the Barbarian, Universal’s mega-budget adaptation of the Robert E. Howard pulp novels would be the next Star Wars. It didn’t quite happen, but before it even reached theaters, dozens of low-budget Conan riffs were in the works. One that hit theaters first was 1982’s The Sword and the Sorcerer, which grossed a spectacular (for the era) $39.1 million, actually outgrossing Conan in North America by 1 million dollars (at a fraction of the budget).
In this episode of Fantasizing About Fantasy Films, which is written and narrated by Jessica Dwyer and edited by Bill Mazzola, we dig into the making of the late Albert Pyun classic. Were...
In this episode of Fantasizing About Fantasy Films, which is written and narrated by Jessica Dwyer and edited by Bill Mazzola, we dig into the making of the late Albert Pyun classic. Were...
- 3/2/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
1981’s Clash of the Titans signals the end of an era. In the fifties, sixties and even part of the seventies, stop-motion maestro Ray Harryhausen was the guy you went to if you wanted to do a fantasy epic. His stop-motion animation brought so many fantasy adventures to life, such as Jason and the Argonauts, Mysterious Island and the various Sinbad movies. He was easily one of the people responsible for truly bringing magic into the movies, but the game started to change in the seventies, especially once Star Wars was released. By the time other fantasy epics like Conan the Barbarian were being planned, Harryhausen was at work on what would be his most ambitious movie to date, Clash of the Titans.
Telling the myth of Perseus, Harryhausen would face some of the most significant logistical challenges of his career, as he’d have to use his effects to portray Medusa,...
Telling the myth of Perseus, Harryhausen would face some of the most significant logistical challenges of his career, as he’d have to use his effects to portray Medusa,...
- 1/10/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
1993’s Cliffhanger came along at an essential time for Sylvester Stallone. In 1990, Rocky V notably underperformed at the box office, while his foray into comedy with Oscar and Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot was disastrous. Clearly, he needed the right comeback movie. Luckily, Sly was on the right track, with him signing a deal to make a high-concept action flick for Carolco Pictures, the reigning kings of 80s and 90s action movies called Cliffhanger. In it, he would play a mountain climber named Gabe Walker, who blames himself after a rescue gone wrong. While mounting another rescue attempt, Walker runs afoul of a group of deadly robbers who’ve stolen millions in unmarked currency via an air-to-air transfer.
Sporting an outstanding supporting cast that includes John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner and Leon, Cliffhanger was a huge hit and revitalized Sly’s career. It also elevated director Renny Harlin to the A-list,...
Sporting an outstanding supporting cast that includes John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner and Leon, Cliffhanger was a huge hit and revitalized Sly’s career. It also elevated director Renny Harlin to the A-list,...
- 12/13/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career got a big boost with the release of his first comedy, Twins. An unexpected smash hit, it opened up his career to a whole new audience, and for a while, he was able to alternate comedies with action movies, resulting in a large cross-over audience that made a lot of his films megahits. Sylvester Stallone likely wanted to try the same thing himself, with him signing on to do two back-to-back comedies in 1991 and 1992, John Landis’ Oscar and Stop or My Mom Will Shoot. Both films were flops (although Oscar is quite good), and Sly would often dismiss his foray into comedy in the years following.
In this episode of Sylvester Stallone Revisited, we dive into this perhaps ill-advised but understandable foray and examine a previous brush with comedy, 1984’s Rhinestone. That movie cast Sly as a New York taxi driver who’s turned into...
In this episode of Sylvester Stallone Revisited, we dive into this perhaps ill-advised but understandable foray and examine a previous brush with comedy, 1984’s Rhinestone. That movie cast Sly as a New York taxi driver who’s turned into...
- 11/3/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
While the sword and sorcery genre dominated genre cinema in the first half of the eighties, thanks to the influence of Conan the Barbarian, one film predates this trend. That movie is – Hawk the Slayer! If you’re based in the UK, you might be saying to yourself, “oh man, Hawk the Slayer rules,” or maybe, “Hawk the Slayer sucks.” But, if you’re outside English, you’re probably thinking, Wtf is Hawk the Slayer?
This is a big-budget UK attempt at a blockbuster that arguably owes more to the influence of Star Wars (mainly its box office) than anything else. It was meant to start a blockbuster film saga, but underwhelming box office and withering reviews meant this was a one-off. The brainchild of writer-director Terry Marcel, the film stars John Terry (later famous as Jack’s dad on Lost and a one time Felix Leiter in The Living Daylights...
This is a big-budget UK attempt at a blockbuster that arguably owes more to the influence of Star Wars (mainly its box office) than anything else. It was meant to start a blockbuster film saga, but underwhelming box office and withering reviews meant this was a one-off. The brainchild of writer-director Terry Marcel, the film stars John Terry (later famous as Jack’s dad on Lost and a one time Felix Leiter in The Living Daylights...
- 10/13/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
With Prey a runaway hit on Disney’s Hulu streaming service, people are quick to call it the greatest Predator sequel ever. But wait just a second folks – has everyone forgotten about 1990’s Predator 2 starring Danny Glover? Easily the least seen movie in the Predator franchise, this guns-blazing sequel married the urban action genre to the sci-fi/horror vibe of the first movie, and the result is a kick-ass movie that too few action fans have seen. It didn’t set the box office on fire, but it’s at least as good as Prey and should be celebrated as a truly great Predator movie. We’ll tell you why in this episode of The Best Movie You Never Saw!
For one thing – the movie has a kick-ass hero. Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan is more of an everyman than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch. Not the hulking military man,...
For one thing – the movie has a kick-ass hero. Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan is more of an everyman than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch. Not the hulking military man,...
- 8/15/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
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