Ator, The Fighting Eagle - Ator, The Fighting Eagle(Blu Ray) [Dark Force/ Code Red - 2020]Ator, The Fighting Eagle was Joe D’Amato’s early 80’s stab at the sword & sorcery genre. It found the king of cheapie euro exploitation trying to mimic Conan The Barbarian, but of course on less than a shoestring budget- we get muscularly-yet-scrawny hero, shaky sets, bad wigs, little or no special effects, and parkland as wildness. Here from Dark Force & Code Red is a recent region free Blu Ray release of this cheap, cheesy, yet charming enough euro-fantasy romp. Ator, The Fighting Eagle( aka Ator l'invincibile) appeared in 1982- it was one of six films D’Amato(as David Hills) helmed that year. The directing is competent enough, the acting is hammy-but never downright bad, and the whole plot rolls along well enough- though as you’d expect it’s decidedly clichéd in its tropes.
The plot follows Ator (Miles O’Keeffe) as he goes on a quest to get his step-sister/wife(!) back from the evil High Priest Of Spiders- the bold headed & bearded Dakar who constantly caresses tarantulas. Along the way, he comes across a tribe of women who are looking for men to breed with, a witch temptress, a shadow fighter, and a mirror shield. He brings along with him a decidedly cute baby bear sidekick & bleached blond female warrior.
There are no real big set pieces or monsters- other than a extremely ropy looking giant spider, which spurts what looks like beer when it’s stabbed. What we do get is lots of blood-less & often bumbling sword fights, cheesy & jaw-dropping dialogue regarding marring his sister, cheap badly painted sets & dressing up shop costumes, and lots of general 1980’s fantasy campness. O’Keeffe never looks threatening or dangerous- coming across more like the singer in a hair metal band with his feathered locks, high cheekbones, and muscularly-yet-scrawny frame. Yet through it all there’s cheesy charm and a pacy enough plot that keeps you held. In line with similar films this is very much PG territory- so no real gore or sleaze- very tame by D’Amato standards.
The Blu Ray just features the film, and sadly no extras aside from a trailer gallery. The HD master scan is good enough- nicely enhancing the 80’s coloring, though of course on the down side it highlights the films cheapie edges like sets, long male wigs & stuck on facial hair. At points, there are moments of print damage, but there’s nothing too glaring or really bad.
Ator, The Fighting Eagle is campy & very low budget sword & sorcery- which certainly has it’s own charm & amusement, just don’t expect a classic of the genre. One for fans of cheap ‘n’ cheesy euro cinema, and 80’s camp.    Roger Batty
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