Cormans World - Cult Laboratories

80s Rewind: Deathstalker

6th March 2012

Roger Corman's reputation in more conventional cinematic circles rests on his uncanny ability to nurture future film making talent both in front of and behind the camera. Thus it becomes far easier to say “I admire Corman because he gave Scorsese a break at the start of his career” than it is to come out of the Grindhouse closet and say you love Deathstalker, a Conan-era budget epic of the swords ‘n’ sandals variety and the first in this weeks look at Corman's 80s shlock machine.

Although he had one more directing job ahead of him on Frankenstein Unbound, Corman was by now a producer and executive producer on the films he was involved with. Providing Argentinian director James Sbardellati - whose CV before Deathstalker included assistant directing duties on Beastmaster - supplied a profitable line in nudity, violence and fantasy hokum, then any shortcoming in the movie could be worked around.

Deathstalker is an early 80s checklist of fantasy movie tropes and it's sits nicely alongside other low budget barbarian flicks of the era, such as the aforementioned Beastmaster and Italian cheapies like Fulci's Conquest or Ator The Fighting Eagle.

From WIKIPEDIA: "The warrior Deathstalker is sent by a witch on a quest to find a chalice, an amulet, and a sword, two of which are held by the wicked sorcerer Munkar. Deathstalker finds the sword almost immediately, which has been hidden by the witch in a cave. Sword in hand, Deathstalker sets out to Munkar's castle.

On his journey, Deathstalker learns of a tournament from Oghris (Richard Brooker), a charming warrior in midriff-baring armor. Munkar has invited warriors to participate in contests until a winner is determined, thereby inheriting Munkar's kingdom. Along the way to the tournament, the pair meet Kaira, a female warrior (Lana Clarkson) who wears only a G-string and a cloak, who joins them on their journey.

Arriving at Munkar's castle, Deathstalker and the other tournament participants are invited to get drunk and rape Munkar's harem slaves, including Princess Codille (Barbi Benton). Deathstalker rescues Princess Codille, briefly, but Munkar takes her back.

The tournament continues for several days, while Deathstalker searches for the other two artifacts at night. Eventually, nearly all of the other contestants have killed each other, and Deathstalker faces Munkar and defeats him."

Enjoy the trailer. Look out for the pig-faced creatures that look like Return of the Jedi style Gamorrean Guards:

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The remarkable story of Hollywood’s most prolific and influential writer-director-producer, the legendary Roger Corman, is the subject of director Alex Stapleton’s affectionate, witty and hugely entertaining documentary, Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel, which charts the Oscar winning filmmaker’s career from his early days working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox to the set of one of his most recently produced “creature features”, “Dinoshark”.

Essential viewing for every cineaste, Corman’s World is “a delightful tribute” (Variety) to a true Hollywood great and one that proves to be thrilling, fun, informative and frequently touching (witness a rare and genuinely emotional scene featuring Jack Nicholson that, alone, makes this an unmissable documentary).

Leaving no doubt as to Corman’s seminal influence on modern-day cinema, the film features enlightening interviews with an incredible cavalcade of Hollywood icons, luminaries and A-listers (many of whom began their own careers working under Corman), including Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Joe Dante, Quentin Tarantino, John Sayles, Jonathan Demme, Eli Roth, Peter Fonda, Peter Bogdanovich, William Shatner and countless others.

Combining archival footage with contemporary clips and interviews, Corman’s World chronicles how one man created an empire, cultivating undiscovered talent and pushing the boundaries of what independent filmmakers could achieve when working outside the studio system. From Corman’s original genre-defining works such as “The Fast And The Furious”, “The Little Shop Of Horrors” and his classic film adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories, to his distribution of the art house films of Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini and Truffaut and his continuing work as one of the world’s leading independent film producers, Stapleton’s superb documentary recounts a career that has spanned an astonishing six decades.

Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (cert. tbc) will be a Picturehouse Culture Shock Presentation on Tuesday 21st February and will be available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray from 26th March 2012.

Cinema venues: FACT (Liverpool), Cameo Picturehouse (Edinburgh), Duke Of Yorks (Brighton), Belmont Picturehouse (Aberdeen), Hackney Picturehouse (London), Ritzy Picturehouse (London), Clapham Picturehouse (London), Greenwich Picturehouse (London), Stratford East Picturehouse (London), Regal (Henley-on-Thames), Stratford Upon Avon Picturehouse, Abbeygate Picturehouse (Bury), Exeter Picturehouse, The Little Theatre (Bath), Phoenix Picturehouse (Oxford), City Screen Picturehouse (York), Cinema City (Norwich), Harbour Lights Picturehouse (Southampton), Hyde Park (Leeds), Electric Cinema (Birmingham)..