Undoubtedly, 1980’s audiences were hungry for cinematic Fantasy.
A great deal of this fascination is owed to the emergence and general box office success of Star Wars (1977). Writer/director George Lucas brought whole new worlds to life by pushing an evolution of special effects that hadn’t quite been seen before; and the fact that such creatures and places and objects could be placed believably up on the silver screen prompted like-minded storytellers to open their own respective floodgates. Granted, this trend forced studios and independent filmmakers to commit to bigger and bolder budgets; and yet moviegoers back in the day seemed happy to part with a bit of their spending cash in exchange for being transported to galaxies and historical eras far, far away all for a healthy bit of escapism.
It really wasn’t until the respectable success of 1982’s Conan The Barbarian that authentic ‘Sword and Sorcery’ Fantasy took hold in our collective consciousness. Written (in part) and directed by John Milius, the film brought the much-beloved warrior drawn from the pages of author Robert E. Howard’s stories to life in bloody yet sexy fashion, giving a younger athlete-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger his first real breakout role in cinemas. Like Star Wars spurred interest in Space Fantasy, Conan did likewise with its little corner of the theatrical universe, meaning that – yes – big and little imitators followed in its wake over the next several years.
One property that I believe Fantasy fans had high hopes for was the theatrical adaptations from the Gor universe. Originally written by John Norman (aka John Lange), the world of Gor combined elements of several Earth cultures in crafting the people of the distant planet, one where – ahem – a bit of sexism and misogyny were more than a bit of the norm. As the saying goes, “men were men, and women were women,” and there wasn’t room in this tiny little rest top of the galaxy for anything other than sex and violence with a bit of commerce – mostly involving sex and violence – in the process. It was a sweaty, sensual, and swinging enterprise; and even Wikipedia.org reports that amongst its most ardent fans the books inspired their own – ahem – unique subculture. Rest assured, all of it relied on dominance and submission, so to each their own.
The first film – Gor – arrived in 1987; and a second – Outlaw Of Gor (aka Gor II) (aka Outlaw) – followed in 1988/1989 (the release citations are a bit unclear). While I watched them both on home video back in the day – and, frankly, I don’t remember thinking all that much of them – I wanted to revisit them separately for the site.
A great deal of this fascination is owed to the emergence and general box office success of Star Wars (1977). Writer/director George Lucas brought whole new worlds to life by pushing an evolution of special effects that hadn’t quite been seen before; and the fact that such creatures and places and objects could be placed believably up on the silver screen prompted like-minded storytellers to open their own respective floodgates. Granted, this trend forced studios and independent filmmakers to commit to bigger and bolder budgets; and yet moviegoers back in the day seemed happy to part with a bit of their spending cash in exchange for being transported to galaxies and historical eras far, far away all for a healthy bit of escapism.
It really wasn’t until the respectable success of 1982’s Conan The Barbarian that authentic ‘Sword and Sorcery’ Fantasy took hold in our collective consciousness. Written (in part) and directed by John Milius, the film brought the much-beloved warrior drawn from the pages of author Robert E. Howard’s stories to life in bloody yet sexy fashion, giving a younger athlete-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger his first real breakout role in cinemas. Like Star Wars spurred interest in Space Fantasy, Conan did likewise with its little corner of the theatrical universe, meaning that – yes – big and little imitators followed in its wake over the next several years.
One property that I believe Fantasy fans had high hopes for was the theatrical adaptations from the Gor universe. Originally written by John Norman (aka John Lange), the world of Gor combined elements of several Earth cultures in crafting the people of the distant planet, one where – ahem – a bit of sexism and misogyny were more than a bit of the norm. As the saying goes, “men were men, and women were women,” and there wasn’t room in this tiny little rest top of the galaxy for anything other than sex and violence with a bit of commerce – mostly involving sex and violence – in the process. It was a sweaty, sensual, and swinging enterprise; and even Wikipedia.org reports that amongst its most ardent fans the books inspired their own – ahem – unique subculture. Rest assured, all of it relied on dominance and submission, so to each their own.
The first film – Gor – arrived in 1987; and a second – Outlaw Of Gor (aka Gor II) (aka Outlaw) – followed in 1988/1989 (the release citations are a bit unclear). While I watched them both on home video back in the day – and, frankly, I don’t remember thinking all that much of them – I wanted to revisit them separately for the site.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“An Earthman returns to the planet Gor, and fights against tyranny.”
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of role play in one’s life, and – on some level – I kinda/sorta sense that all of the greater Gor mythology – of which Outlaw certainly qualifies – might gently feed into that sentiment. How else does one conceive of taking a somewhat average Earth male, teleport him to the other side of the Milky Way, dress him in loincloths, shack him up with a beauty queen, and make him a hero? Although there’s a healthy dose of sexism added to the mix – the kind of which likely couldn’t be done in today’s sensitive climate – Outlaw Of Gor still functions on that simple plane of existence, never coloring outside the lines even faintly.
In this entirely unnecessary sequel to Gor (1987), Tarl Cabot (played by Urbano Barberini) is catapulted via a magic ring back to an existence where swords, sorcery, and swagger are the norm. This time, he inadvertently brings along a fellow professor and obnoxious drinking buddy – Watney Smith (Russel Savadier) – to give him a kinda/sorta sidekick (but one with duplicitous intent, it would seem) who can take part in some political shenanigans amongst the royal elite. It would seem that King Marlenus (Larry Taylor) has taken a bride – Lara (Donna Denton) – but the lady has her eyes on seizing the throne for no stated purpose other than … well … it’s what she wants, I guess.
So, thankfully, Outlaw at least tries to evolve a bit from that blatantly sexist foundation of the Norman novels: these women – including Cabot’s lovely Talena (Playboy’s Playmate Of The Month June 1986 Rebecca Ferratti) – aren’t exactly going ‘quietly into submission.’ Sure, they probably wanna play between the sheets when its called for in the script credited to Harry Alan Towers and Rick Marx; but a small handful of them are ready, willing, and able to engage in some nasty fisticuffs in the combat arena when the time comes, too. Yes, the fight choreography is a fit laughable, but – hey – kudos for stepping up to the plate and taking a shot, am I right?
As happens in stories of this type, Marlenus is killed; and – you guessed it – circumstances conspire so that Cabot is framed for the murder, putting him at odds with the good people of Gor and requiring that he take it on the lam. However, once Queen Lara realizes that perhaps ruling her kingdom would be easier with that hunky professor at her side instead of risking his being turned into a martyr, she dispatches the hunter Ost (Tullio Moneta) to brave the wastelands and bring him back alive.
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“An Earthman returns to the planet Gor, and fights against tyranny.”
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of role play in one’s life, and – on some level – I kinda/sorta sense that all of the greater Gor mythology – of which Outlaw certainly qualifies – might gently feed into that sentiment. How else does one conceive of taking a somewhat average Earth male, teleport him to the other side of the Milky Way, dress him in loincloths, shack him up with a beauty queen, and make him a hero? Although there’s a healthy dose of sexism added to the mix – the kind of which likely couldn’t be done in today’s sensitive climate – Outlaw Of Gor still functions on that simple plane of existence, never coloring outside the lines even faintly.
In this entirely unnecessary sequel to Gor (1987), Tarl Cabot (played by Urbano Barberini) is catapulted via a magic ring back to an existence where swords, sorcery, and swagger are the norm. This time, he inadvertently brings along a fellow professor and obnoxious drinking buddy – Watney Smith (Russel Savadier) – to give him a kinda/sorta sidekick (but one with duplicitous intent, it would seem) who can take part in some political shenanigans amongst the royal elite. It would seem that King Marlenus (Larry Taylor) has taken a bride – Lara (Donna Denton) – but the lady has her eyes on seizing the throne for no stated purpose other than … well … it’s what she wants, I guess.
So, thankfully, Outlaw at least tries to evolve a bit from that blatantly sexist foundation of the Norman novels: these women – including Cabot’s lovely Talena (Playboy’s Playmate Of The Month June 1986 Rebecca Ferratti) – aren’t exactly going ‘quietly into submission.’ Sure, they probably wanna play between the sheets when its called for in the script credited to Harry Alan Towers and Rick Marx; but a small handful of them are ready, willing, and able to engage in some nasty fisticuffs in the combat arena when the time comes, too. Yes, the fight choreography is a fit laughable, but – hey – kudos for stepping up to the plate and taking a shot, am I right?
As happens in stories of this type, Marlenus is killed; and – you guessed it – circumstances conspire so that Cabot is framed for the murder, putting him at odds with the good people of Gor and requiring that he take it on the lam. However, once Queen Lara realizes that perhaps ruling her kingdom would be easier with that hunky professor at her side instead of risking his being turned into a martyr, she dispatches the hunter Ost (Tullio Moneta) to brave the wastelands and bring him back alive.
About the best one might say about a project as lazily assembled as Outlaw is that – minimally – it has a structure familiar enough to endear fans of such schlock. Furthermore, building such a bare bones adventure around ‘a tale as old as time’ – the politics of royals, easily identifiable good guys and bad guys, etc. – won’t tax the brainpower of the uninitiated who might stumble across such fare and stick with it longer than a few minutes. Sadly, what’s ultimately delivered flows like it had no authentic script: scenes work like they were merely thrown together with perhaps a bit of dialogue agreed upon in advance. When even a Hollywood heavyweight like the late, great Jack Palance – who plays the palace priest and spiritual advisor Xenos – seems like he’s phoning it in, we’ve charted a course for dubious returns at best.
Gor wasn’t the fantastical destination methinks audiences expected when they showed up hoping to be secreted far away from the troubles of Earth. It’s trite. It’s corny. It’s forgettable. Universal Television kinda/sorta did far more with this type of storytelling in the 1990’s when they delivered the fabulous but still sometimes campy Hercules: The Legendary Journeys to TV syndication, but such innovation was still a few years off. Even by 1980’s questionable standards, Gor limped to its finish line in this second feature; and I highly suspect no one misses it.
Outlaw Of Gor (1988) was produced by Breton Film Productions and Cannon International. A quick Google.com search confirms that the film is presently available for streaming via a variety of web platforms. As for the technical specifications? Erm … well, while I’m no trained video expert, I’m still finding this a bit tough because, frankly, the flick is so lazily assembled on damn near every level it’s hard to find anything substantive to say. Let’s just agree that it all came together and exists, but director John ‘Bud’ Cardos didn’t exactly bring his A-Game to the procedure. It’s all too cut-and-paste to truly resonate. Lastly, if you’re looking for Special Features? Alas, as I watched this one via streaming, there were no Special Features under consideration.
Not Really Recommended.
Folks! C’mon! Really! Despite striving to always have something fresh and/or positive to say about damn near everything, Outlaw Of Gor truly taxed me to the limits. Even though I enjoy a bit of throwback to the even the occasional ‘sword and sandals’ picture – of which this arguably qualifies since there’s so little true Fantasy – there’s just so little here to hang one’s hat on in any regard. While there might be a bauble here and there that shows someone in production design put in a bit of extra effort, the end result is far too plain to be taken as anything other than a disappointment. Clearly, this was conceived cheaply and like on-the-fly; and it shows at every opportunity. Sad. Predictable and sad.
In the interest of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I’m beholden to no one for this review of Outlaw Of Gor (aka Gor II) (1988) as I viewed it in its entirety via my very own subscription to MGM+.
-- EZ
Gor wasn’t the fantastical destination methinks audiences expected when they showed up hoping to be secreted far away from the troubles of Earth. It’s trite. It’s corny. It’s forgettable. Universal Television kinda/sorta did far more with this type of storytelling in the 1990’s when they delivered the fabulous but still sometimes campy Hercules: The Legendary Journeys to TV syndication, but such innovation was still a few years off. Even by 1980’s questionable standards, Gor limped to its finish line in this second feature; and I highly suspect no one misses it.
Outlaw Of Gor (1988) was produced by Breton Film Productions and Cannon International. A quick Google.com search confirms that the film is presently available for streaming via a variety of web platforms. As for the technical specifications? Erm … well, while I’m no trained video expert, I’m still finding this a bit tough because, frankly, the flick is so lazily assembled on damn near every level it’s hard to find anything substantive to say. Let’s just agree that it all came together and exists, but director John ‘Bud’ Cardos didn’t exactly bring his A-Game to the procedure. It’s all too cut-and-paste to truly resonate. Lastly, if you’re looking for Special Features? Alas, as I watched this one via streaming, there were no Special Features under consideration.
Not Really Recommended.
Folks! C’mon! Really! Despite striving to always have something fresh and/or positive to say about damn near everything, Outlaw Of Gor truly taxed me to the limits. Even though I enjoy a bit of throwback to the even the occasional ‘sword and sandals’ picture – of which this arguably qualifies since there’s so little true Fantasy – there’s just so little here to hang one’s hat on in any regard. While there might be a bauble here and there that shows someone in production design put in a bit of extra effort, the end result is far too plain to be taken as anything other than a disappointment. Clearly, this was conceived cheaply and like on-the-fly; and it shows at every opportunity. Sad. Predictable and sad.
In the interest of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I’m beholden to no one for this review of Outlaw Of Gor (aka Gor II) (1988) as I viewed it in its entirety via my very own subscription to MGM+.
-- EZ
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