Hawk the Slayer

Hawk the Slayer
UK quad poster
Directed byTerry Marcel[1]
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Terry Marcel
  • Harry Robertson
Produced byHarry Robertson
Starring
CinematographyPaul Beeson
Edited byEric Boyd-Perkins
Music byHarry Robertson
Production
companies
  • Chips Productions
  • Marcel/Robertson Productions Limited
Distributed byITC Entertainment
Release date
  • 21 December 1980 (1980-12-21)
Running time
94 minutes[2]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£600,000[3]

Hawk the Slayer is a 1980 sword and sorcery adventure film directed by Terry Marcel, and starring John Terry and Jack Palance.[1] The story follows two warring brothers who fight to gain control of a magical sword. A brave warrior, the titular Hawk, assembles a small force of fighters to help him rid the land of a powerful and devious enemy.

Marcel had been working with Harry Robertson when they realized that they both were fans of the sword and sorcery genre. Marcel has stated that it was not intended to include magic at all, and was supposed to be a historical film. In the course of writing the script, he then introduced the magical mind stone, changing the overall nature.

The film had an initial negative reception but has since developed a cult following.[4] Sequels were planned, but never produced.

  1. ^ a b Hal Erickson (2009). "Hawk the Slayer". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009.
  2. ^ "HAWK THE SLAYER (A)". British Board of Film Classification. 18 July 1980. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ Curits, Nick. "Hawk the Slayer is back – and he's brought his mindsword". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Terry Marcel | HAWK THE SLAYER". 24 August 2015.