Sword and Sorcery Collection (Roger Corman's Cult Classics)

These are some of my favorite B movies of all time - real guilty pleasures! Nothing beats a low budget barbarian film to lift the spirits! These films have never looked better. However, my favorite of the 4 films, Deathstalker II, appears in a cut version here. This Deathstalker II version has its pros and cons. The Deathstalker II version in this set is the "Director's approved cut of the film" which is different in many ways from the previous DVD version which was released by New Concorde. The "director's cut" visually looks much better than the previous release. The image is widescreen and looks properly framed. The image is brighter and the colors look great. The previous DVD release often looked dark and murky. The film now looks magnificent! However, the "director's cut" has a shorter running time than the previous release. Two scenes have been deleted entirely and there are numerous cuts to other scenes and dialogue. The back of the new Shout Factory case gives the film a running time of 85 minutes - my DVD player has the film's running time as 77 minutes. The previous New Concorde release box gave a running time of 85 minutes, but the film actually ran 88 minutes. Accordingly, this new release is 11 minutes shorter than the previous release! I did a side by side comparison with 2 TV's and the cuts can be listed as follows (the time marker given is that of the new Shout Factory release): 11:00 - some dialogue between Deathstalker and Reena is missing 12:45 - some dialogue between Deathstalker and Reena is missing 16:45 - some dialogue between Sultana and Jarek is missing 17:44 - an entire scene between Sultana and Evie is cut 18:00 - some dialogue between Deathstalker and Reena is missing 18:45 - At the meeting between Chin and Sultana in the tavern the stock footage from Deathstalker I has been removed 32:35 - Stock footage from Deathstalker I has been removed and the following scene between Edie and the dwarf has been shortened by a few seconds 48:00 - Some footage of the celebration after Deathstalker's defeat of Queen Kong has been deleted 49:00 - Some dialogue between Deathsalker and the Queen of the Amazons has been deleted 51:49 - Some dialogue between Sultana and Reena has been deleted 55:45 - Establishing shots outside of castle (stock footage) has been deleted 58:25 - an entire scene with Reena and the Amazon Queen getting a massage is deleted 59:00 - Some dialogue between Deathstalker and Sultana has been deleted 1:07:00 - Some stock footage of fighting (taken from Roger Corman's Amazons movie is deleted) 1:08:45 - Some stock footage of fighting (taken from Roger Corman's Amazons movie is deleted) 1:12:18 - Shots of cheering crowds and a triumphant Deathstalker and Reena with their arms raised looking at the crowds have been deleted Due to the above cuts, the director's commentary track has also been edited down to match the footage. The above cuts make the film seem tighter, faster paced and more serious. However, some of the dialogue which was cut was funny and absurd (whether intentional or not) and was a big part of the film's charm. I also miss the two scenes which were entirely deleted from the new release. Of the two cuts, I prefer the previous version on the New Concorde DVD. Regardless of the above, the film is still great and a lot of fun. I highly recommend this dvd set to any fans of barbarian action films!

Are these movies good? No. Are these movies bad? No. This DVD set gets 5 stars from me. A great piece of physical media! Your ideas about good and bad when it comes to cinema do not apply here. If you've developed a taste for cheese, camp, or whatever you want to call this stuff, these movies are your bread and butter. Fun times! There are even moments where I'm having so much fun watching these things, that I start to wonder what the word good really means. This DVD set (2 discs with 2 movies per) is very nice. The image quality is good enough for this sort of material, and from time to time I was even impressed with how good it looks. I'm not convinced that Blu-ray is always the way to go for stuff like this. if you know what I mean then you'll be perfectly satisfied with this set.

When it comes to schlocky, low budget "Conan the Barbarian" knock-offs none has a worse reputation than the "Deathstalker" tetralogy. Despite the entire series being completely inept and the lowest common denominator when it comes to filmmaking, it still has a small legion of cult fans... me included. These are just campy delights with unlikeable barbaric anti-heroes, buxom heroines that bare it all and shoddy effects. Basically the series is a B-movie fanatics dream come true. Included in this quadruple feature, released though Shout Factory's wonderful 'Roger Corman Cult Classics' line, are the first two entries into the series. Both were previously released on DVD in Full Screen versions from the now defunct company New Concorde. These OOP releases were going for tons of money from secondary sellers and now we fans can get these films in this wonderful bargain set which contains both films in brand new anamorphic widescreen transfers! Thankfully the hilarious and insightful audio commentary for "Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans" (seriously one of the most entertaining commentaries I have ever heard) from the previous DVD release is included. To top it off a brand new audio commentary is included for the first "Deathstalker" film! About a year ago Shout Factory released a double feature of "Barbarian Queen" and "The Warrior and the Sorceress" that was exclusively sold on their website, no doubt because they thought there wasn't a big enough fan base to warrant a wide release. As a bonus they throw this disc in with the first two "Deathstalker" films. Both are only anamorphic widescreen transfers and are far better than the previous out-of-print New Concorde releases. This is a highly enjoyable collection of delightfully awful and campy sword & sorcery flicks but I had to deduct the release to a four star rating for one mistake. The mistake is that Shout Factory should have released two volumes of quadruple sword & sorcery features with the first containing all four "Deathstalker" films. Seriously why didn't they put all four "Deathstalker" films into one collection? Yes parts 3 & 4 are by far the worst but it would have been great to have all four in one collection (Part III has never even been given an official DVD release in America). The second volume should have contained "Barbarian Queen I & II", "The Warrior and the Sorceress" and "Amazons". This makes me worry that "Deathstalker III & IV", "Barbarian Queen II" and "Amazons" won't get another DVD release but I can keep my fingers crossed.... hopefully this set sells well to prove to Shout Factory that there are fans of these silly S&S films. For people who want to complete their "Deathstalker" and "Barbarian Queen" franchises, you can still purchase the old out-of-print New Concorde releases of " Deathstalker 4 " and " Barbarian Queen 2 - The Empress Strikes Back ". " Deathstalker 3 The Warriors From Hell " was given a NTSC/Region 0 release in the Philippines and can be bought as a pricy import.

Excellent

is Deathwalker II! It's a lot of fun! The others are all fair and all are basically to show of the "talents" of the young ladies in them! I found the set well worth the price! RP

The DVDs are in a very good condition. The movie quality is superb. The movies themselfs..It's up to everyone self to judge. I enjoyed them. Difficulties: To try to watch on a computer can be hard, because Windows 10 standard software doesn't support the menu option. But in the end VLC did it with some tinkering. The product was sent faster than expected, Thanks for that. Packaging could be better to ensure safe arrival. I stress this, because one of the discs were flipped out of the holder and was loose. Might have been scratched, but wasn't. Lucky me. My household demands Deathstalker 3 and 4 now. Expand your product line!

The item came really fast, in perfect condition.Everything is as described. The story is great - real exploitation WIP classic,picture quality is perfect.100 % entertainment - 4 good movies.The SHOUT FACTORY edition is GREAT.The price is cheap so, don't hesitate - BUY IT NOW!

Great collection ! Deathstalker I and II : New anamorphic widescreen transfer ( 1.78:1 ) Barbarian Queen and The Warrior and the sorceress original presentation ( 4:3 ) Deathstalker I, the movie is just awesome, better than Conan ! Deathstalker II, the music and the scores are fantastic. You should buy this collection just for Deathstalker I and II. The warrior and the sorceress...just watch it for David Carradine and Barbarian Queen we have already seen better ! Super collection ! Deathstalker I et II : Nouveau transfert panoramique ( 1.78:1) Barbarian Queen et The warrior and the sorceress présentation original ( 4:3 ) Deathstalker I, le film est juste merveilleux, meilleur que Conan le barbare ! Deathstalker II, la musique et le thème sont fantastiques. Vous devriez acheter cette collection seulement pour les Deathstalker. Écoutez The warrior and the sorceress pour '' l'acting '' de David Carradine et Barbarian Queen....on a déjà vu mieux ! Les films sont seulement offerts en Anglais

ヒロイックファンタジーを読みふけった昔を思い出しました。

ゆるいソードアクションと、 程よいお色気、怪しい魔術士など B級映画の楽しさが詰まった作品！ 2枚組で4作品が楽しめます。