The Sword of the Barbarians

Lore & Background

The film follows Sangraal, whose realm is destroyed by the evil warlord Nantuk. Sangraal and his people flee and are accepted into a village after defending it from Nantuk's troops. The warlord, who has assumed kingship, angers the Goddess of Fire and Death, who demands Sangraal's sacrifice. Nantuk's men destroy the village, crucify Sangraal, and kill his wife. Freed by Ati and the archer Li Wo Twan, Sangraal seeks the wizard Rudak, who tells him to let go of his wife and seek a shrine containing a magical crossbow. After Li Wo Twan is killed and Ati captured, Sangraal confronts Nantuk, impales him on his own dagger, and kills the Goddess with the crossbow.

Reader's Guide

The Sword of the Barbarians is a representative example of the Italian sword-and-sorcery cycle of the early 1980s, a genre that often reused costumes, sets, and footage across productions. The village raid scene from this film was reused a year later in another Italian film, The Throne of Fire (1983). The film's cast includes Pietro Torrisi (credited as Peter McCoy) and Sabrina Siani, with Mario Novelli as Nantuk. Its release in Italy on 27 November 1982 and in the United States on 4 November 1983, with slightly different running times, reflects common distribution practices for low-budget Italian genre films of the period.

Did You Know?

• The village raid scene was reused in the 1983 Italian film The Throne of Fire.
• Pietro Torrisi is credited as Peter McCoy in the film.