Sword and Sorcery part 2

We’re back and we’re ransacking forbidden ruins, crumbling temples, and the shelves of this abandoned video store in search of a sword and sorcery film worth watching. Our quest has has been a perilous one. So often, what appears to be a gem reveals a heart as rotten as any sorcerer’s. The 1980s were truly a dark age. Maybe we’ll have more luck with these ancient scrolls inscribed with RPGs of high adventure… Main Topic: Sword and Sorcery in Films and Gaming This episode is the conclusion our exploration of sword and sorcery. In our first instalment, we looked into the origins of the genre in the pulps. This time, we’re delving into films and games, seeing how they compare to their source material. While the 1980s were a boom time for sword and sorcery films, were any of them actually any good? We pick apart a few of the more notable films of the time, offering our usual range of conflicting opinions. In the second half of the episode, we do much the same with games. There have been any number of sword and sorcery RPGs published over the past 50 years, but which ones are worth looking into? And how do different games approach the genre, focusing more on swords, sorcery, or that atmosphere of sensual dreaminess that pervades some of the stranger tales? Links Things we mention in this episode include: * The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)* Ray Harryhausen* Jack the Giant Killer (1962)* La Belle et la Bête (1946)* Day of the Dead (1985)* Hawk the Slayer (1980)* The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)* The Grognard Files podcast* Rifftrax* Heavy Metal (1981)* Heavy Metal magazine* Métal hurlant* Den by Richard Corben* Arzach by Moebius (inspiration for Taarna) * Fire and Ice (1983)* Ralph Bakshi* The Lord of the Rings (1978)* Fritz the Cat (1972)* Tolkien Experience Podcast* Frank Frazetta* Boris Vallejo* Roy Thomas* Gerry Conway* The Savage Sword of Conan*