Sorceress Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Sorceress Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 14, 2014

The late 1970s and early 1980s were a fruitful period for sword and sorcery films. With the popularity of “Dungeons & Dragons” and the success of “Conan the Barbarian,” producers raced to put out product that featured men covered in baby oil swinging broadswords, backed by gnarly creatures and magical events. 1982’s “Sorceress” was born from such monetary frenzy, with producer Roger Corman hoping to add his own spin on the fantasy subgenre, only his take wouldn’t feature a bodybuilder, but female twins. Playmates to be exact, with Leigh and Lynette Harris taking on the starring roles in this limited but highly amusing romp, bringing thespian determination and a lack of clothing to the party while director Jack Hill (working under the pseudonym “Brian Stuart”) struggles to maintain his sense of humor as Corman imposes his famous frugality and desire for exploitable screen elements on the unconventional helmer.

A malevolent wizard capable of limited life regeneration, Traigon (Roberto Ballesteros) requires the sacrifice of his firstborn child to achieve ultimate power. Unfortunately, he has twins, Mara (Lynette Harris) and Mira (Leigh Harris), complicating the situation. Sacrificing herself to save her daughters, Mara and Mira’s mother sends her girls off to be raised without knowledge of their special powers, gifted to them by a kindly sorcerer. Now adults, the duo are pulled into a fight when their identities are discovered by Traigon’s henchman, Khrakannon (Tony Stevens). Aided by Viking Valdar (Bruno Rey), faun Pando (David Milbern), and barbarian Erlick (Bob Nelson), Mara and Mira set out on a mission of vengeance, out to kill Traigon before he has a chance to drain the twins of their enchantment.

The identical twins are the gimmick of “Sorceress,” two acting novices more known for their bodies than their on-camera abilities. The Harris Sisters hardly embarrass themselves as the warrior duo, managing emotional needs and physicality with passable professionalism, while nudity requirements are fulfilled without hesitation. Hill’s vision for Mira and Mara is one of visceral connection, with twins experiencing each other’s feelings when separated, which understandably leads to a scene of shared sexual pleasure, with one sibling engaged in intercourse with Erlick, with the other writhing around on the ground miles away, unsettling protector Valdar and hornball beast Pando. “Sorceress” pulls its punch to a certain degree by promoting Erlick to hero status in the finale, yet Mara and Mira aren’t scripted as inept pushovers easily toppled by evil. They’re more rough and tumble, raised with a focal point of bloodshed and without an awareness of gender.

The production keeps the movie trucking along (Hill would eventually disown the theatrical cut due to disputes with Corman), with actors in iffy wigs and make-up racing across the countryside. The characters encounter a slew of trouble from Traigon’s forces and Erlick’s dishonest ways, battling out of scrapes with pleasing repetition, allowing satisfactory stunt work to take over, watching the heroes punch, bat, and slice their way to safety. It’s far from high octane direction, but “Sorceress” has spirit, while magical elements add flavor to the material, though clarification on many of the Godly details (most inspired by Greek mythology) presented here is missing, making certain passages of the screenplay a flurry of nonsense words meant to pass for fantasy fixings. Character names alone require intense concentration, as “Sorceress” has little interest in stopping to clarify anything it introduces.

While it’s a fun movie, trying its damndest to compete with “Conan”-style escapades without a sizable budget, “Sorceress” can’t completely outrun its limitations. First of all, there’s no sorceress character in the movie, making the title a bit perplexing. Ballesteros is a strange choice for a villain, looking more like a roadie for Santana than an evil entity out to acquire divine powers. Make-up achievements are lackluster, making a creature such as Pando look terrifying when he’s supposed to be a curious being. And the conclusion of “Sorceress” rides off the rails, somehow working to an outer space showdown between a flying lion and a disembodied head. Corman gets grabby in his mission to keep attention on the screen, with time better spent on production polish and an ending that doesn’t feature a flying lion (the disembodied head stays).

Sorceress Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is apparently sourced from Wynorski's own materials, offering fans a slightly longer cut of the picture. The image leans toward a darker appearance, with some mild solidification issues, but most of the viewing experience is fresh and open for inspection. A few scratches and speckles are present, but detail is strong, surveying the costumed and costume-free with satisfactory textures, also identifying make-up efforts with precision. Skintones are flush and welcoming, while colors are healthy, with varied hues on fabrics and visual effects, making bursts of blue and green magic all the more visually direct. Grain is handled professionally, delivering a filmic event that's pleasing to the eye.

Sorceress Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't built for nuance, with a severe focus on sound effects. Loud and cluttered, the action sequences sound like they're taking place on a microphone, not under one, offering huge body blows and sword clangs. Dialogue is mostly dubbed (with inherent sync issues), leaving performances broad and voices crisp, with minimal hiss to cloud the listening experience. The levels are a little off a times, but it's a simple track that successfully brings out the feature's moods and physical achievements.

Sorceress Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (6:48, HD) with Roger Corman explores the genesis of "Sorceress" in short, flavorful anecdotes, touching on a few of the production's trouble spots, including Hill's inability to match the shooting schedule and the producer's initial use of "market research" to find a proper title for the film. Keeping to Corman's on-camera personality, little venom is shared despite a picture that endured a difficult post-production process before it hit screens.

• Interview (15:39, HD) with special effects artist John Carl Buechler wades through the creative invention required to bring a sword and sorcery fantasy to life with a tiny Corman budget. Eager to please at the time, Buechler not only created make-up effects and masks, but was also called on to sweeten the third act, in charge of generating additional creatures to use in the trailer (receiving an early stab at directing), with all of his ideas ending up in the finished film.

• Interview (9:55, HD) with writer Jim Wynorski is the most "Rashomon"-esque conversation of the group, with the subject sharing a different take on how "Sorceress" came together, taking credit for tone and jokes Buechler swears were Hill's ideas. Wynorski is open about the movie's woes, offering a short description of Hill's original two hour cut, packed with references to his cult religion interests, and he describes the scripting process, which involved a solid week of hard labor. The discrepancies are fascinating, and Wynorski is engaging.

• Interview (8:37, HD) with editorial department employee Clark Henderson provides more of a tangential perspective to the "Sorceress" production experience, supporting the story that Hill and Corman weren't speaking to each other after principal photography, and that Hill's "artistic" vision for the exploitation picture wasn't very strong.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:26, HD) is included.

Sorceress Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Visiting forbidden forests, an underworld populated with undead warriors, and offering the sight of an ape-man tossing fruit bombs filled with laughing gas, and "Sorceress" gets far on oddity and adventure. It's an amusing picture that's breezy and bizarre, working diligently to become something substantial despite a minuscule budget, while the sight of twin Playmates doing their best to keep butch is almost worth the retail price alone.