The Barbarians (1987 film)

Lore & Background

The film is set in a heroic fantasy world. The Ragnicks, a tribe of peaceful travelling entertainers, are attacked by the evil tyrant Kadar, who takes their queen Canary hostage. Canary hides her magic ruby, the lucky jewel of the Ragnicks. Two young twins from the tribe, Kutchek and Gore, bite off two of Kadar's fingers. In retaliation, Kadar has them taken prisoner but agrees to spare their lives if Canary becomes his bride. The twins are separated and work as slaves for several years, growing up as amazingly strong adults. Kadar sets them to fight each other to the death in the arena, but they recognize each other and escape. They find their old tribemates and a girl named Ismene, a thief imprisoned by the Ragnicks. The brothers plan to seek revenge on Kadar. Ismene leads them to a trading post for weapons, but they leave empty-handed after the dealer Jacko challenges them to arm wrestling and proves a bad loser. They sneak into the palace harem, where they find Canary imprisoned. Canary insists they recover the ruby from the Forbidden Land, guarded by a dragon. Their presence is discovered by China, Kadar's court sorceress, who tortures Canary for information and departs to the Forbidden Land, but is devoured by the dragon. The twins and Ismene travel to a secret tomb to recover magical weapons, then slay the dragon and recover the ruby from its guts. They entrust the gem to Ismene to return to the Ragnicks. Kadar arrives with Canary, and Canary calls upon the ruby's magic to make Kadar kill her and call the brothers back. The brothers battle Kadar, who tries to shoot them with a crossbow but fails to pull the trigger with his missing fingers, and is killed when they throw their swords through his chest. With Canary dead, the ruby turns to stone, but is restored. The Ragnicks choose a new queen by inserting the ruby into candidates' belly buttons. Ismene tries, the ruby sticks, and she reveals herself as Kara, an old tribemate. The Ragnicks resume their life of travelling and entertainment.

Reader's Guide

The Barbarians is a 1987 sword and sorcery film directed by Ruggero Deodato, co-produced by Cannon Films and Cannon Italia SrL. It is notable for starring the Barbarian Brothers, Peter and David Paul, who were nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star. The film was budgeted at $2.5 million and shot in Rome and the Abruzzo Mountains. It grossed $800,000 in the United States. Reception was mixed: a contemporary review by Michael Wilmington in the Los Angeles Times noted the film's 'moronic' dialogue and the brothers' constant bellowing, but praised the 'ersatz sumptuousness' of the production. Donald C Willis described it as 'routine sword-and-sorcery action' with 'dumb fun.' Matthew Hartman of High-Def Digest called it 'one of the biggest and arguably one of the best Cannon Group films of the 80s,' praising the costuming and sets. The film was released on DVD by Shout! Factory in 2013 and on remastered Blu-ray in December 2020 with commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

Did You Know?

• Peter and David Paul were nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star for this film.
• The film was originally to be directed by Slobodan Šijan, but he was replaced by Ruggero Deodato.
• The dragon in the Forbidden Land devours the sorceress China and her entourage.
• The ruby is used to choose a new queen by inserting it into candidates' belly buttons.

Production & Making

The Barbarians emerged from a transatlantic collaboration between Cannon Films and its Italian counterpart, Cannon Italia SrL, operating on a production budget of $2.5 million. The project's early development saw screenwriter James R. Silke completing his script by late 1985, at which point Serbian filmmaker Slobodan Šijan was attached to direct and began scouting potential shooting locations. However, by mid-1986, industry trade publications reported that Šijan had been replaced by Italian director Ruggero Deodato, a change that would ultimately shape the film's visual identity. Principal photography commenced on August 4, 1986, in Rome, before the crew relocated to the rugged terrain of the Abruzzo Mountains later that same month. The entire shoot wrapped by October 1986, meaning the production occupied roughly two months of active filming. This compact schedule, combined with the modest budget, made the film's polished visual presentation all the more remarkable to critics who would later note its surprising production values.

Plot & Narrative

The story unfolds in a heroic fantasy realm where the Ragnicks, a tribe of nomadic entertainers, face catastrophe when the tyrant Kadar raids their camp and seizes their queen, Canary. She manages to conceal the tribe's sacred magic ruby before her capture, and two young twins, Kutchek and Gore, retaliate by biting off two of Kadar's fingers. The tyrant imprisons the boys and, years later, forces them to duel in a masked arena. When Gore accidentally removes Kutchek's helmet, the brothers recognize one another and flee. They reunite with their suffering tribe and a thief named Ismene, then attempt to arm themselves at a trading post before sneaking into Kadar's harem. Canary demands they retrieve the ruby from the Forbidden Land, guarded by a dragon. After the court sorceress China is devoured by the beast, the twins slay the dragon themselves and extract the gem. In the climactic confrontation, Kadar's missing fingers prevent him from firing his crossbow, and the brothers drive their swords through his chest. The ruby's magic briefly petrifies before restoring, and Ismene is revealed as Kara, a former tribemate, becoming the Ragnicks' new queen.

Cast & Performance

The film's central pairing consists of the Barbarian Brothers, Peter Paul and David Paul, who portray the twin protagonists Kutchek and Gore. Their physical presence anchors the action sequences, though their performances drew mixed critical attention. Richard Lynch delivers the villainous tyrant Kadar, while Eva LaRue plays the dual role of Ismene and her true identity, Kara. Virginia Bryant appears as the captive queen Canary, and Sheeba Alahani portrays the court sorceress China. The supporting ensemble includes Raffaella Baracchi as Allura, Franco Pistoni as Ibar, Michael Berryman as the Dirtmaster, and George Eastman as the weapons dealer Jacko. Despite the film's modest critical reception, the Paul brothers' work earned them a nomination for Worst New Star at the 8th Golden Raspberry Awards, a nod that paradoxically highlighted their visibility in the sword-and-sorcery genre of the late 1980s. The casting choices reflect Cannon's strategy of pairing recognizable action talent with established character actors to lend credibility to the fantasy premise.

Reception & Legacy

The Barbarians received a modest theatrical run, opening on 89 screens in the United States on May 15, 1987, and collecting $238,842 over its opening weekend before finishing with a domestic total of $800,000. Its initial US screening had occurred earlier that year on March 20, with Italy following on April 24. Critically, the film drew a memorable assessment from Los Angeles Times critic Michael Wilmington, who observed that it rarely looked so visually impressive while sounding so foolish, singling out the Paul brothers' constant bellowing and the screenplay's dialogue. Yet Wilmington also praised Deodato's ability to make a budget production gleam with a Road Warrior-inspired visual flair. Donald C Willis, writing in his reference volume, called it a standard entry in the sword-and-sorcery action genre with an unapologetically casual, unpretentious feel. The film found renewed life on home video: Shout! Factory issued a 2013 DVD pairing it with The Norseman, and a remastered Blu-ray followed in December 2020, featuring a commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

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