The Hunger (TV Series) The Swords (1997) User Reviews

love pierces deep

[movieman_kev · 6/10 · 13 October 2009]

Tony Scott (Man on Fire, True Romance) directs this inaugural episode of the Showtime anthology series based on his own movie of the same name. James Chandler's (Balthazar Getty) trip to a fetish club while in London leads to an infatuation with Musidora, a girl who can survive being penetrated with swords (nope no symbolism there). Terence Stamp serves as the host (before David Bowie took over later in the series)

Granted, far from the most auspicious episode to start the series on. The plot is a bit thin and more then a tad trite. But under the direction of the very accomplished Scott at least it looks good and is reasonably well acted so i'll overlook the flaws of the episode (of which there are a few). On a side-note Tony seemed to have cribbed from himself using a bit of the soundtrack for the episode again on True Romance, namely Hans Zimmer's 'You're so Cool'.

My Grade: C+

Eye Candy: Amanda Ryan gets topless

No edge to these swords

[zeppo-2 · 2/10 · 21 August 2006]

As the old saying goes: "Pretenious...moi?" Which can be aptly described here, full of sound and fury but signifying absolutely nothing. A triumph of style over substance.

A jaded young man sees a night-club involving a beautiful woman been stabbed with swords with no harm done. They have an affair, break up and then the act goes horribly wrong. Along for the ride, are two stereotyped gay men, a loathsome professional cockney as the girl's manager/pimp and lots of naked flesh and sex.

What does it all mean? Penatrative sex is the same as the sword thrust? Love hurts and kills? Or just getting involved with a cockney is asking for trouble? Who knows? Who cares?

The people involved seem to think they are doing important 'acting work' as they chew the scenery and emote. But it's just wallpaper over the cracks of a poor story. If you want some soft core porn with a slight plot, this is the one for you. But not if you wanted an interesting horror type tale. The old 'Twilight Zones' may be a bit dated and in black & white but are still far superior to stuff like this. Sex sells but it doesn't always hold the interest.

The Spell

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 1 August 2021]

While in London, the wealthy America James Chandler (Balthazar Getty) meets two local youth and they go to a gay night-club. A man (Joe Duttine) invites James to leave the place and see the show of his protegée Musidora (Amanda Ryan). The performer has her belly penetrated by swords without bleeding and impresses the audience. On the next day, the man offers a private show of Musidora for James in his hotel room and they have one night stand. They continue to meet each other and a few days later, Musidora discloses to James that she is under a spell to protect her, but she can never fall in love for anybody. But soon she falls in love for James. What may happen to Musidora?

"The Swords" is an intriguing tale directed by Tony Scott. The mysterious character Musidora is mysterious and extremely gorgeous and makes worthwhile watching this short. The four-disc DVD Box released recently in Brazil by DarkFlix distributor has an error in the Menu, indicating the tales of Disc 4 (instead of Disc 1). My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "As Espadas" ("The Swords")