One of the many Heroic Fantasy films produced by Roger Corman to capitalize on the popularity of fantasy films at the time and the second to be filmed in Argentina like most of Corman's other fantasy films from The '80s, The Warrior And The Sorceress is widely regarded as one of the best examples of the genre and a Cult Classic. The reason for this is partly because the story is a Sword and Sorcery take on Yojimbo and partly because it features David Carradine playing a warrior for hire named Kain.
The movie is set in a distant galaxy on the desert planet of Ura, which has two suns. It is here that two rival warlords, Zeg The Tyrant and Bal Caz, constantly fight against each other in a battle over a village's only wellspring. A mercenary warrior named Kain comes into town and announces that his skills are for hire to the highest bidder. Naja, a beautiful sorceress that has been taken captive by Zeg, convinces Kain to forgo this plan in favor of saving her and liberating the well on behalf of the villagers. Kain eventually plays both warlords against each other, taking advantage of the ongoing feud while seeking to weaken and defeat both villains.
Stock Footage from this movie was later used in Wizards of the Lost Kingdom 2, in which David Carradine played a warrior known only as The Dark One.
This film provides examples of:
- Advertised Extra: The four-breasted dancer is prominently shown on the poster instead of the titular sorceress, but she only appears in a single, albeit memorable, scene before Kain kills her.
- After the End: Implied by some of the dialogue, specifically when the old priest asks Kain when the rest of his relief column is coming, and Kain says he's alone.Kain: The world we knew is dead, prelate.
- Batman Gambit: As in Yojimbo, the hero wins by playing two villains against each other while tricking them into thinking he is on their side.
- Beware My Stinger Tail: The four-breasted dancer assassin has a venomous sting that, from the angle shown, either comes out of her bellybutton or out of her vagina.
- But Now I Must Go: After Zeg and Bal's defeat, Kain takes his rewards and leaves the village.
- Covers Always Lie: Largely averted, for once. The only thing in the cover poster not seen in the movie is David Carradine in that particular outfit.
- Drop Dead Gorgeous:
- A naked slave is thrown into a Drowning Pit and slowly dies as several men watch.
- A four-breasted topless dancer seduces Kain and subdues him with a venomous sting, but he strangles her to death at the same time and falls unconscious over her chest.
- Fan Disservice: The naked slavegirl who is thrown into a glass case full of water and rubs up against the glass as she drowns.
- Fanservice: Multiple examples.
- The titular sorceress spends the entire movie topless.
- A four-breasted exotic dancer attempts to assassinate Kain and is strangled to death in a manner meant to symbolize sexual intercourse.
- Ms. Fanservice: David Carradine remarks in page 542 of his autobiography Endless Highway that director John C. Broderick was "obsessed by the body of the actress who played the priestess" and had her be topless throughout the entire film despite such a thing limiting its possible audience due to censorship. Besides Naja, every other female character went around topless as well.
- Multi Boobage: The four-breasted dancing girl hired by Zeg to capture Kain.
- Playing Both Sides: What Kain plans to do to win control of the well.
