Gunan - König der Barbaren

When twins survive the Ungat horde raid on Solmen and are brought up the Kuniats, as adults they compete to become Zukahn, an invincible warrior prophesied to free the land from Ungats. However, when things go awry Gunan takes on the formidable enemy himself.

The Invincible Barbarian or Gunan il guerriero is one of the first Italian Conan the Barbarian cash-ins. Director Francesco Prosper's outing suffers from all the shortfalls that many of the Italian low budget film at the time, ungainly sound design, camera work, editing and staging. Prosper's overuse of slow motion and other speeds really hampers the film further, along with the countless long and medium shots. That said, there is a handful of memorable visuals, including a beach filled with a tribe of Amazon women and a spacious fire lit cave.

Written by Piero Regnoli there plenty of slashing and sword action, however, it's plodding Roberto Pregadio's heavy handed music does inject energy into the picture. The real locations offer atmosphere and grit. The craftsmanship on the production, from the sets to weapons and costumes are well produced.

Lead Pietro Torrisi looks the part as Zukahn / Gunan, in fact uncannily he looks just like He-Man if he walked out of a frame of drawn celluloid. Top billed Malisa Longo's Marga who gets more dialogue than you can shake a stick at. Emilio Messina's Nuriak is menacing enough. Sabrina Siani as Lenni who steals the third act. Siani is undressed as the script dictates but she has screen presence. Uncomfortable rape scene aside, Siani injects some much needed life into the proceedings but is sadly underused with no real action scenes, aside from a torture device escape.

Ultimately, it not as watchable as Ator, the Fighting Eagle is a (1982), both Torrisi and Siani presence isn't enough to cement this a must see (but don't fret they both get another stab at the swords and sandals sub-genre in The Throne of Fire, Il trono di fuoco (1983)).

I have to concur with silqui69 on this one. The Invincible Barbarian is a film of epic proportions. When The main barbarian , writer, cinematographer boldly and states " And there must be another worm of the Zulpher nesting there". I almost dropped my happy smoke in pure jubilation. I mean really is no one here noticing the high quality of construction - barbarian work boot that was specially modified and designed by the costume - catering department? The placement of the faux fur on those boots just screams " I work hard and play hard, and by god I swing a mean weapon as well". Don't take me lightly my friend. I may have detected a 10 penny nail in one of the boots but that in no way detracts from the quality and craftsmanship of the costume designer. I have never been so thoroughly entertained and shutter to think there will be another movie of this entertainment value gracing the big screen again Kudos invincible barbarian kudos!!!

I think somebody bought a video camera and decided to make a barbarian movie. Some of the "swords" look like tin foil cut into a sword shapes. The acting is, well, let's not discuss that . . . The fights are ridiculous, they don't even pretend that the swords are really cutting people. However, this movie's heart is in the right place. Whoever made it set out to make a movie about a big guy avenging his people (I think that's what was going on) and they did. No pretense, no self-importance, no pretending that this is anything special. It was made and, I bet, the people who made it were proud of themselves for the effort they put forth. Watch for the guy who looks exactly like Adam Carolla.

Gunan (Peter McCoy) and his brother (Giovanni Cianfriglia) are raised by a tribe of amazons. It is prophesied that one day, Gunan shall free the land from the evil warlord Nuriak (Emil Messina), however the first time Gunan meets his enemy, he wastes so much time talking to Nuriak that the bad guy can summon help. This never would have happened to Arnie. Anyway, while Gunan recovers from this failure, he falls in love with stunning blonde Lenna (Sabrina Siani). When Lenna becomes a captive of Nuriak, a second attempt to fulfill the prophecy is due... and this time, Gunan is really angry.

Difficult to vote for this one, as it is on one hand one of the poorest productions in the genre I've ever seen, on the other hand it is so funny sometimes! Gunan's enemies die without a drip of blood when he hits them slowly with the flat side of his sword. And then there is one extra eye-candy star for Sabrina Siani. "Gunan" director Franco Prosperi was producer of her previous movie "Mondo Cannibal" which looks like a masterpiece compared to this mess, though.

This movie had me perplexed at first. You'd think the script was written by a 9 year-old boy in the 70's. The writer, who was 61 years old at the time, managed to re-create a generic fantasy that was at least partly shared by every heterosexual preadolescent male nearing adolescence (6-9 year-olds) on Earth.

Don't you remember playing with your buddies and you did a jump? That jump meant something. That jump told everyone that you meant business and you were a terrible force to reckon with. That's why Gunan is always running and jumping and every single jump is in slow motion with epic music playing. That's how boys play make-believe. Actually, that's also how kittens and puppies play make-believe as well.

Do you remember how you imagined things on some nights? You were forced to touch the beautiful girl, or she was forced to touch you. You may have struggled and resisted, but you were so glad it happened. How long is the scene where Gunan and the girl holding hands and walking? It felt like 10 straight minutes. No dialog, just dreamy music while the two walked through a meadow holding hands and smiling. That was practically porn when you were 7 and you know it.

Watch it one more time, and try to remember... I can't remember ever seeing a movie that came so close to mirroring how we played make-believe as young boys. It's a shame that people missed the genius of it.