Der Zauberbogen

I did enjoy this made for television movie far more than my rating indicates. My low rating is more for the fact many plot elements were introduced and only one resolved. If I remember the advertising at the time, this was supposed to be the first in a series of made for television movies, with each released at 3-12 month intervals. The movies would introduce characters giving their background. They would, across the series, slowly form a typical fantasy role playing adventuring group and save the day. It was essentially a pilot. This allowed the expectation many plot elements would be let unresolved but resolved in subsequent titles. The movie apparently was not as much of a draw as hoped and no further installments were ever made. If you enjoy fantasy AND enjoyed the movie Eragon you will probably enjoy this movie. Just do not expect to see a story with an ending.

I saw this movie many years ago in the 80's on TV and those snake men stuck with me. Their laugh/hissing and other mannerisms really brought them and the movie to life. Then, in the early 90's, I rented it some place and still found it to be an interesting, strange movie that seems more faithful to the look and feel of medieval fantasy than a lot of other movies at the time, or since! I could not care less about magic and whatnot in these movies but the snake men rock, no question about it. I recently won a copy on ebay and watched it. It still holds up. Yes it's dated, but it has an interesting sort of artsy feel to it. They made the most out of their budget on this one (think of the movie Laserblast), and the acting ranges from passable and good enough to pretty cool. The snake men STILL look great, as do plenty of other things in the movie, and for an 80's medieval fantasy flick it has an interesting, semi-complex story line that's not as cheesy as some far worse attempts at the time. A very dreamy like quality flows through the movie, with interesting camera affects here and there, including a sort reverse negative look (yet in color) if that's what it could be called. Another one of the things that helped this movie is that the cinematography is well done throughout, with some above average striking images here and there. No this is not Conan, or Dragonslayer filming quality, and it does have a made for TV feel to it (it was in fact a TV movie pilot for a series that did not happen). Even the electronic synthesizer score seems to get better as the movie goes along. The overall style of The Archer still is just enjoyable to watch. Indeed, in some places I far prefer it to the pacing of some recent flicks. They really try to immerse people here. This is very much a quest/adventure flick that seems greatly influenced by the rise of Dungeons and Dragons at the time. With the recent DVD release of so many other 80's medieval fantasy flicks (even Hawk the Slayer), I see no reason not to release The Archer to DVD. It was far more of a serious and well done attempt (by Universal Studios in 1981) at the medieval fantasy genre then many other medieval fantasy flicks were back then. Needs to be released on DVD!!

As with certain films of the filmed noir genre, there are unheralded fantasy films that also fall in to the category of "sleepers" i.e., very entertaining but not widely reviewed/seen. To name a few: Forbidden Planet, The Forbidden Street, I'll Never Forget You (Berkely Square), The Sword & the Sorcerer, Sinbad the Sailor, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad & the Eye of the Tiger, Demon Seed, Five Million Years to Earth, Omar Khayyam, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (now a classic), as well as The Dam Busters, (if you are not offended by the name of the dog) and the exceptional, Curse of the Demon.

These are but a few examples of some lesser credited "sleepers", yet they are thoroughly entertaining films. I would handily rate it **** out of ***** stars.

I remember seeing this film when it was first broadcast on tv. If memory serves, it was the first of what was supposed to be a series of specials, which would advance the story. Unfortunately, it didn't do well and became the only installment.

I thoroughly enjoyed it initially. It had a great villain and unique concepts. The acting was bad in certain cases (oh, George Kennedy, what were you doing?) but for the most part, it was watchable.

I later found it at a video store and rented it. I was less impressed the second time around, but still found it entertaining. It was vastly superior to most of the other attempts at sword & sorcery films from that era, with the exception of the first Conan.

It was a shame that the series didn't continue, as I always wondered what the intended conclusion was supposed to be. If you enjoy fantasy, give it a try.

Hi, Everyone, I worked as an extra in this TV movie. We worked in the hills near Magic Mountain on December, 3, 4, and 5 of 1980. It rained most of the time. We wore fur hides that kept our upper bodies warm enough. We had some campfires going most of the time.

On one of the days there was an invasion of some type of small winged insect that got into our food and probably can be seen in some of the scenes. The mud was very deep. We would wade into a muddy road area and made glopping sounds as we pulled our feet out.

Somehow it was some of the most fun days I have ever had in the movie business. The group of guys who worked on the show, cast, crew and extras were laughing a lot. Nick the director, was very nice and articulate. Warren, the A.D. was a pleasure to be with. I worked with him many times, including on Thorn Birds and Airwolf.

I watched the movie when they showed it on TV. I have not seen it since. I did enjoy it. I think it would stand up well today if it were re-released with some special notes about the making.

When we did our village (hill dweller types) scenes with George Kennedy, there were more different kinds of animals in one scene than I have ever observed working together in any other project. There were dogs, a bear, cougars, horses and some falcons and a chimp.

The horse was not at all pleased being near the bear and the cougars were not friendly except with their handlers.

Well worth watching.

Tom Willett (Yonhope)