The Magic Bow - DVD

Film: Just when he has managed to bring his enemies to the table and make peace between the tribes, the Malveelinan Brakus (George Kennedy) is murdered. Toran (Lane Caudell), his rightful heir to the throne, becomes the prime suspect in an ambush and must flee, while the conniving Gar (Kabir Bedi) seeks power over the entire region. But with the help of his loyal teacher, who gives him a powerful magic bow, and the beautiful sorceress Ezra (Belinda Bauer), Toran plans to bring Brakus' true killer to justice and take the fight to Gar and his henchmen. But this plan proves to be more dangerous than expected.

In the wake of the great fantasy boom of the early 80s, Nicholas Corea (The Incredible Hulk) sent Toran and his magic arc into the race, hoping to have created a successful fantasy series that would last as long as possible. But alas, that success remained only a dream and the project never made it past the pilot. Slightly recut, The Magic Bow was unceremoniously turned into a (more or less) self-contained adventure film that has also achieved a certain cult following over the years.

With its nasty synthesizer soundtrack, rather unintentionally hilarious dialogue, and almost touching color effects, The Magic Bow is pure fantasy trash. And lead actor Lane Caudell stumbles through the story in a wooden and awkward way. Therefore, the film can't really be called really good. However, that doesn't mean that the TV production doesn't know how to entertain. If you like charming-trashy Sword and Sorcery works from the 80s and enjoy old-fashioned effects, you'll get your money's worth here. Sure, the whole thing doesn't feel like a self-contained story, but like the jumpstart of a much bigger adventure - just as it was planned. But since the story is quite straightforward anyway and the dramaturgy comes across as unsurprising, this doesn't really come as a negative.

It's also worth mentioning that the film is presented here in the American TV cut version, which lacks a scene from the German version (but is included in the bonus material), but has a longer ending that is presented on the DVD in the original English audio with German subtitles. It becomes much clearer here that The Magic Bow was actually intended to be the pilot for a series.

Image + Sound: The image clearly shows the age of the source material. There are numerous smudges and blurs, and the coloring looks a bit faded as well. The sound is also mixed rather dull and front-heavy, with the English soundtrack sounding a little more harmonious, but also quieter.

Extras: A cut scene from the German version, the original theatrical trailer, as well as an image gallery make up the fairly concise bonus material.

Conclusion: The Magic Arc is a rather simplistic TV production, which should have been the starting shot for a series. As the film has achieved something of a cult following due to numerous TV airings, the DVD release is sure to delight many fans of 80s fantasy entertainment. The DVD transfer is technically rather weak, the bonus material manageable. Nevertheless: who wants to indulge in TV nostalgia again and is fond of the genre, will be thoroughly entertained here!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp