Quest for the Mighty Sword

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For the third Ator film to be produced, see Iron Warrior. For other films also known as Troll 3, see Troll 3.
Quest for the Mighty Sword
Ator 4 poster.jpg
British home video cover
Directed byJoe D'Amato
Screenplay byJoe D'Amato[1]
Produced byCarlo Maria Cordio[1]
Starring
CinematographyJoe D'Amato[1]
Edited byKathleen Stratton[1]
Music byCarlo Maria Cordio[1]
Production
company
Filmirage[2]
Release date
  • 29 August 1990 (1990-08-29) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes (United States)[3]
CountryItaly[1]

Quest for the Mighty Sword (also known as Ator III: The Hobgoblin, The Hobgoblin, or Troll 3) is a 1990 Italian fantasy adventure film directed by Joe D'Amato. It is the fourth and final film in the Ator film series.[2]

Plot[]

Once upon a time, a god gave a mighty sword to the king of Aquiles to bring justice to his people. Now he wants it back – but the king gives his life rather than give up the sword. Goddess Dehamira, who spoke for him, is stripped of all her privileges and held in a circle of fire until a human arrives who's strong enough to free her. When prince Ator becomes 18, he gets the sword from the mean sorcerer gnome Grindl to free Dehamira and his people. On his journey, he has to fight against dragons and other fantastic figures.

Cast[]

  • Eric Allan Kramer as The Son of Ator (as Eric Allen Kramer)
  • Margaret Lenzey as Dehamira / DeJanira
  • Dina Morrone as Sunn
  • Marisa Mell as Nephele
  • Laura Gemser as Grimilde
  • Donald O'Brien as Gunther (as Donal O'Brien)
  • Chris Murphy as Skiold
  • Don Semeraro as Thorn-Grindel Hagen

Production[]

Actress Marisa Mell returned to the screen in this film after a five years absence.[4] The film re-used some of the goblin masks from Troll 2.[5]
The movie bears more than passing similarities to the german mythical Nibelung Saga, more specifically the Wagner operas made from the myth. Ator is the equivalent of Siegfried, raised and abused by Grindl (Mime), who gets the magic sword (Notung), and frees the sleeping warrior maiden Dehamira (Brünhilde) from a circle of fire. The last act of the movie with the evil king and his pet gnome/troll is similar to Twilight of the Gods, with the characters Gunther and Hagen even retaining their names from the opera, as well as Gunther's sister Grimhilde - though unlike the opera, Quest for the Mighty Sword does not end with Ator's death.

Release[]

In the United States, Quest for the Mighty Sword was released direct-to-video on August 29, 1990.[1][6]

The film was also released as Ator III: The Hobgoblin, The Hobgoblin, and in Germany as Troll 3 (German release title)[5][7] D'Amato personally referred to the film as The Lord of Akili in a 1996 interview.[8]

Reception[]

John Stanley called the film "[a]nother pathetic entry in the Italian-produced Ator series".[9] Keith Bailey gave it a rating of one out of five stars, categorising it as "so bad it's good", with reservations due to some "dull moments". He wrote that the film's hero "manages to avoid spaghetti sauce lava when not fighting Siamese-twin robots and mucus-covered Godzilla clones in a quest that really doesn't seem to have any specific goal" and thus grants that "there are some hilariously bad sequences that will please fans of the abysmal".[10]

References[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 202.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 203.
  3. ^ Staff, Bowker Editorial (2001). Bowker's Complete Video Directory 2001. Bowker. ISBN 9780835244220. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. ^ Schneider, André (2013). Die Feuerblume: Über Marisa Mell und ihre Filme (in German). Books on Demand. p. 195. ISBN 9783732275151. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Collis, Clark (May 8, 2010). "The 'Troll' trilogy: Is this really the 'Best Worst' movie franchise of all time?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Armstrong, Richard B.; Armstrong, Mary Willems (2015). Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series. McFarland. ISBN 9781476612300. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  7. ^ Rushing 2016, p. 187.
  8. ^ Palmerini & Mistretta 1996, p. 80.
  9. ^ Stanley, John (2000). Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide. Berkley Boulevard Books. p. 422. ISBN 9780425175170. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  10. ^ Bailey, Keith. "Quest for the Mighty Sword – review | cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 March 2019.

Sources[]

  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
  • Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). Spaghetti Nightmares. Fantasma Books. ISBN 0963498274.
  • Rushing, Robert A. (2016). Descended from Hercules: Biopolitics and the Muscled Male Body on Screen. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253022585.

External links[]

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