The Ator Series, although not officially named The Ator Series, began in 1982 and was composed of the films Ator: The Fighting Eagle; The Blade Master; Iron Warrior; and Quest For The Mighty Sword. On his own, Matt watches all four films and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, and the series as a whole.

Ator: The Fighting Eagle was written and directed by Joe D’Amato, working under the pseudonym David Hills; and starred Miles O’Keeffe in the title role. The film was made specifically to capitalize on the success of the recently-released Conan The Barbarian, and was followed by a sequel, The Blade Master, to capitalize on the release of Conan The Destroyer.

When Iron Warrior came around, Joe D’Amato ceded control to Alfonso Brescia, working as Al Bradley, who briefly turned the series into avant-garde art-house psychedelia. D’Amato jumped back in, feet first, to round out the series with Quest For The Mighty Sword, the final – and least coherent – film of them all.

While the series is far from high art, nowhere close to necessary viewing, and often not even entertaining, I still recommend tracking the films down if you’re a sword-and-sorcery fan. They make for an interesting total viewing experience. The series can be tricky to get a hold of. Ator: The Fighting Eagle is widely available on DVD. At the moment, the remaining films seem to only exist as imports or as rare VHS copies. However, they can sometimes be found on YouTube, in between copyright strikes.

Agree with my thoughts on The Ator Series? Disagree? Let us know in this episode’s comments, or you can find us on Facebook or Twitter, @reelfantasycast.

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