The John Norman "Gor" series gets a thoroughly shoddy screen treatment with this hopeless Italian entry in the sword 'n' sorcery genre. Norman's novels blended magic and fantasy with elements of erotica, and the early entries in the series were quite highly regarded (though later ones received increasingly negative reviews). There is none of the sexual stuff in this film version and anyone expecting to be titillated will be sorely disappointed. In fact, anyone expecting to be entertained will be disappointed too – this is one of those films that bears few, if any, redeeming qualities.
A nerdy American college professor, Tarl Cabot (Urbano Barberini), is involved in a car crash, but his body is catapulted by magic to another planet. This other planet, named Gor, is terrorised by ruthless tyrant Sarm (Oliver Reed), who spends most of his time leading his army from village to village enslaving the people and stealing their homestones. Tarl arrives just in time to witness an attack on yet another community. He accidentally gets caught up in the fight and kills one of Sarm's soldiers – who happens to be Sarm's son. The people hail Tarl as a champion, a warrior from another dimension sent to overthrow Sarm. It soon becomes apparent that this timid scholar is far from a hero, and he has to be trained in combat ready for his quest. Tarl and a small group of companions – among them accomplished swordswoman Talena (Rebecaa Ferratti) – set off across the desert to Sarm's realm to end his reign of fear once and for all.
Where to begin with what is wrong with "Gor"? Finding fault is almost too easy – it's like tripping a handicapped kid. The performances range from the vacant (Barberini and Ferratti) to the downright bizarre (is there a scene in the whole film during which Reed appears to be fully sober?) The dialogue is utterly trite, the narrative is so episodic it becomes boringly predictable, and there is a distinct lack of conviction in the fight sequences. If Norman's novels contained any intelligent ideas, they are nowhere to be found here. The only thing saving "Gor" from a 1-out-of-10 rating is that it is at least ripe for unintentional hilarity. The joke turns a little sour when Jack Palance turns up in the final five minutes to set up a sequel – what has the population of the world done to deserve another dose of this moronic garbage?
A nerdy American college professor, Tarl Cabot (Urbano Barberini), is involved in a car crash, but his body is catapulted by magic to another planet. This other planet, named Gor, is terrorised by ruthless tyrant Sarm (Oliver Reed), who spends most of his time leading his army from village to village enslaving the people and stealing their homestones. Tarl arrives just in time to witness an attack on yet another community. He accidentally gets caught up in the fight and kills one of Sarm's soldiers – who happens to be Sarm's son. The people hail Tarl as a champion, a warrior from another dimension sent to overthrow Sarm. It soon becomes apparent that this timid scholar is far from a hero, and he has to be trained in combat ready for his quest. Tarl and a small group of companions – among them accomplished swordswoman Talena (Rebecaa Ferratti) – set off across the desert to Sarm's realm to end his reign of fear once and for all.
Where to begin with what is wrong with "Gor"? Finding fault is almost too easy – it's like tripping a handicapped kid. The performances range from the vacant (Barberini and Ferratti) to the downright bizarre (is there a scene in the whole film during which Reed appears to be fully sober?) The dialogue is utterly trite, the narrative is so episodic it becomes boringly predictable, and there is a distinct lack of conviction in the fight sequences. If Norman's novels contained any intelligent ideas, they are nowhere to be found here. The only thing saving "Gor" from a 1-out-of-10 rating is that it is at least ripe for unintentional hilarity. The joke turns a little sour when Jack Palance turns up in the final five minutes to set up a sequel – what has the population of the world done to deserve another dose of this moronic garbage?