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Amazon.com Among its many dubious distinctions, Hawk the Slayer is the onlysword-and-sorcery movie to feature Silly-String® as a medieval weapon! Thissplendidly wretched British fantasy also boasts such magical wonders as anautomatic fast-action crossbow and an archer who shoots instantly replenishedarrows in rapid succession, never missing his target! At the lowest ebb of hiscareer, Jack Palance is gleefully hammy as Voltan, the disfigured (i.e.,irredeemably evil) elder brother of Hawk (John Terry), who swears vengeanceafter Voltan kills their father, kidnaps a virginal abbess (Annette Crosbie),and threatens a nunnery for ransom. Add an ultracheesy '80s soundtrack (imagineRick Wakeman playing roller disco) and some respectable British thespians(Patrick Magee, Roy Kinnear, Harry Andrews), and you've got a poor man'sWillow with a dash of Krull, laughably awful and surprisinglyentertaining. Fully aware of its own low-budget absurdity, Hawk theSlayer is a Bad Movie classic, guaranteed to satisfy connoisseurs ofgarbage. (Trivia note: Terry survived his titular heroics and was guest-starringon the popular TV series 24 when this DVD was released in late 2002.)--Jeff Shannon ... Read more Reviews (20) 
I don't care what you say!!!
Sure, it's difficult to watch now, but this movie was pivotal in my formative years, having fuelled my love for fantasy as a pre-adoloscent in the early 80s. I will forever champion it in a slagging match, and can't fully understand why some have turned on it as they've matured.
In its time it was GOD, and one can plainly see the inspiration it had on the modern Lord of the Rings films, at least on Legolas' character. Crow, the elf in this film, and his rapid-fire bow work was quite an original concept regardless of how badly it was portrayed. Nowhere in LOTR does Tolkien refer to any of the fast paced archery skills as represented in the LOTR films, so somebody clearly took the quick-shooting elf concept from Hawk. As cheesy as it is here, it is still cool to watch, even though his robotic Vulcan-like performance is dreadful.
For trivia buffs, Annette Crosbie, who plays the Abbess in Hawk, also gave the voice to Galadriel in the 1978 Bakshi animated Lord of the Rings.
Don't misunderstand: I am certainly not comparing Hawk to Peter Jackson's LOTR films. NOTHING compares to those. All I'm saying is that I'm sure this film has given some inspiration to other fantasy filmmakers, with its unquestionably original take on certain concepts.
Many of the actors here are plainly better than the script allows them to be, but Jack Palance is ridiculous as Hawk's older brother (he looks as old as their father), and his casting was completely ludicrous. Also, the film could do without the dwarf, and his demise is proof of that. It was chiefly directed at the Dungeons & Dragons audience, and probably succeeded in winning them over
Ultimately, as with Jackson's LOTR saga, the elf steals the show with his poorly editted dexterous bow work, which is always interesting to watch.
I for one will never call Hawk a "bad" movie. Dungeons & Dragons is a "Bad" movie, and has the dubious distinction of being the first video I ever rented which I simply had to turn off halfway through due to attention deficit (the paint drying on the walls was MUCH more entertaining).
For its time it ruled, and I will always have a soft spot for it. Hawk the Slayer has a certain charm, in its attempt to take itself seriously, which cannot be denied. My rating is primarily based on sentiment rather than the film's place in history, but there's nothing wrong with that. I like it...
Ok lets tell the truth about this film.
I saw Hawk the Slayer about 20 years ago and although I was only 9 at that time I still remember the movie well today.
It was a made for T.V. movie Based on a group of D&D type heros who band together With Hawk to battle his evil one-eyed Brother(Jack Palance) who by the way is in constant pain from a eye wound.- Now as a kid I loved the scenes of the elf character (who looked more like a Valcan from Startrek) jumping over stones and launching from his bow 100+ arrows in rapid succession and the Old man with a rapid fire repeater crossbow doing the same, But as a adult I see the repition of the same scenes spliced in to help cut filming cost. And the great sword fight scenes I now see as slow and clumsy. I will by this DVD however and I know I will love it, Why? Because its a good story and will bring back memories for me and my Wife. But I fear my Sons (9 and 11) will find it corny compared to Lord of the Rings and will not watch it more then once. So I give it 4 stars from me, but I'm pritty sure my kids would give it only 2.
A DnD lovers
Dungones and dragons lovers should love this movie. Even though its older and nothing like Lord of the rings. The way they portray the people and the different races in this movie is the way G. Gygax would have you play his races in the DnD game(my opinion). It has its somewhat corny but funny interactions with the characters. As well as the ever present good vs. evil. The actors play there characters well. And Jack Palance's voice in his character fits it perfectly. Could not have gotten a better person for the part.
Elfs and more Elfs? Oh Yes!
Ok first of all this film is old and the acting is quite wooden at times but it has a great bunch of charaters that wouldn't be out of place in the Lord of the Rings. It also has the best Elf character in any movie of its kind. Retro, cool and very similar to the old Clint Eastwood Cowboy movies of yesterday. The sound track is also retro. If wizards and warriors is your thing then this movie is well worth a look. If this movie had been made for today using blue screen special effects it would well deserve a 5 star rating.
I still remember this 20 years later, OMG!
So one fateful Christmas Eve, it was not a family movie about Rudolph that my family watched. No! We found Hawk the Slayer playing and couldn't keep our eyes off it! Now 20 years later, I'm snapping the DVD up because this is still a great movie. I have never seen a more over the top villain performance than the one of Voltan (Jack Palance). And all the ensemble British actors added their own memorable moments to this movie. I mean, have you ever called someone, "bag of dirt??" And the dwarf's story of Turkels? What about the whispering wizard woman and the gathering of the heroes portion? And when Voltan grieves for his son ("Drogoooooooooooooooooo!"). The one handed man and his machine gun crossbow. Oh and the battles with all the quick lightning firing by the robotic talking elf and one handed man (these are hilarious! You literally see 20 - 30 guys die over the sound of arrows whizzing in about 5 seconds). Oh yes, and when Voltan threatens Hawk outside the church with his angry hate speech. There are so many hilarious moments, they should all add together to make a truly awful film. I mean the soundtrack is a strange disco + moody ditty thing, yet I can hum it 20 years later.
Somehow this movie transcends an obvious fate of oblivion. It has a character all its own and it really really fun to watch. Try and watch it with friends. You will love this movie, just don't laugh too loud so you can't hear what's happening next....
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This movie shouldn't have been made...