The Warrior and the Sorceress

• Directed by John C. Broderick
• September 7, 1984 (US)
• Based on a story by John C. Broderick and William Stout and the 1961 film Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa (uncredited)
  

A lone swordsman crosses a barren wasteland and comes on a town where two rival factions are at war for control of the settlement’s only source of water.

There was the potential in The Warrior and the Sorceress for a very good movie. Not great but very good. Yet being a Roger Corman production as well as being low budget along with being made in the time it was made they went for lowbrow and boobs with emphasis on the boobs. Reportedly that nudity was in part because director John C. Broderick was obsessed with the body of actress María Socas who played Naja the Sorceress who is the titular sorceress. Yet this is not softcore porn of any variety. She and other characters would be having serious conversations and often that woman might not have a shirt on for no reason.

This is another one of those low budget films that at its core has an adequate story and didn’t need the excess of boobies. I am not against nudity when appropriate, but if that’s your go to thing then you’re going to drown out any quality you may actually have and there is actually some quality here.

Our hero Kain the Warrior (David Carradine) is a lone warrior traveling the wastes who may be the last of his order and his order answers to sorceresses like Naja. Kain seems a little disillusioned with the world and his vows yet it appears he holds to his group’s undefined beliefs. I have yet to watch Yojimbo so maybe watching that might illuminate Kain’s motivations here. I really have no idea why he might have decided to get involved in an ongoing conflict over a well.

Why exactly can’t one of the baddies overcome the other? Why did nobody ever send for help? How do these people stay so well fed with no water? The only regular visitors were reptilian slavers meaning there were settlements elsewhere for them to get slaves from so why did nobody leave? They never really get past some of these things. Talk to a local or three to give the viewer an idea.

The music for example is good and appears to lift some James Horner tones from previous Roger Corman offerings. And unlike instances where his work was reused later it actually works here when inserted. The action and even specifically the sword fight choreography is good. Not exciting or edge of your seat but good and entertaining.

When it comes right down to it The Warrior and the Sorceress is a good movie undone by a lot of bare breasts. But it also happens to be an okay sword and sorcery film. It might appeal to you based on action alone.