Ator: The Fighting Eagle

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"Break out the Kleenex!" I said to myself, ready to watch a Joe D'Amato film starring Laura Gesmer and Sabrina Siani, and all set to pass out from exhaustion around the fifteen minute mark, just like when I watched D'Amato's 'Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals'. Then I noticed it was a PG film, but my disappointment was short lived as I discovered that the guy prancing around looking like Ghengis Khan was actually Edmund Purdom, mister Movie Gold himself. I almost needed those Kleenex right there and then! Purdom's never been in a bad film, be it 'Pieces', 'Don't Open Till Christmas' or '2019: After the Fall of New York', and here again he picks a winner, another Italian sword and sorcery film that's low on sense, but high on stupidity. Miles O'Keefe (with a great hair-metal do) is Ator, son of some guy who tried to bring down the Spider King, brought up by step parents, with a bear for a sidekick and a sister he wants to marry. The high priest of the Spider or something, Dakkar (from Zombie Flesh Eaters), kidnaps Ator's sister and it's up to Ator and his mentor Ghengis Purdom to do...things! Ator, his bear and newly acquired, violent sidekick Sabrina Siani, set off on many adventures to get Ator's sister back, be it meeting enchantress Laura Gesmer (with clothes!), or enduring the least eventful zombie attack in history, or robbing a whorehouse and killing the customers for no reason at all, or for stealing from blind people and killing them too, on and on and on until Ator faces off with the bad guys, one of which has had the stupidest plan I've ever heard in a long time and that's saying something. Top it all of with a battle involving an extra from The Giant Spider Invasion and you've got yet another IQ dissolving serving of Italian madness. It doesn't top Fulci's Conquest (whereupon viewing Conquest does result in a feeling that Sabrina Siani has sucked all you brains from the top of your head), but Ator's daft enough to make the grade! Love that end credits tune too!

While watching this movie I was having a strange feeling, that if I save breakfast money for about a week, I could make a movie that will look like "Ben-Hur" or "Titanic" compared to this "Ator l'invincibile". I don't what was the box office of the "movie", but I'm sure: 10 VHS copies sold can make it twice profitable. You can make your own conclusion, how cheap the "movie" looks. There's no stars to look at. There's no even actors, who can "act". And when I say "act" I mean "not to look like mannequins". Miles O'Keeffe... I wonder, if he knows the word "charisma". Maybe he knows the word, but doesn't just get the sense of. Main chick of the "movie" is sexy... but only if you've spent last 25 years on the lost island, where the coconut was the closest thing to a female being. F/X? None existed! I can't remember anything good to say about this waste of time... Well except one - it wastes only 82 minutes of your time.

And lo, trash director Joe D'amato did witness the success of mighty warrior Schwarzeneggar as Conan and did cash in on the great Austrian's success, fashioning a film in its image. And that film was called Ator, and it's star went by the name of Miles O'Keeffe. It was written that O'Keeffe, as Ator, would defeat the evil Spider King and his ten loyal henchmen whilst on a quest to save the woman of his dreams—his sister! Travelling through lawless, cursed lands, accompanied by a blonde tribeswoman and a fearless bear cub, Ator doth battle with slow zombies and blind warriors, explore the Volcano of Shadows to find the Shield of Mordor, and finally defy the wrath of Dakkar, defeat his evil minions, and battle a giant, ancient arachnid. A predictably dumb barbarian flick from Italian trash director D'amato, Ator, The Fighting Eagle is complete cobblers from start to finish, but oh so entertaining: a welcome appearance from sleaze goddess Laura Gemser, some unbelievably funny fight scenes, and plenty of crappy dialogue make this cheapo fantasy crap difficult to dislike. I've not seen the MST3K version of this film, but it's hard to believe that anything could be much funnier than Ator, The Fighting Eagle in its original incarnation.

"Ator, The Fighting Eagle" is an early Conan ripoff from the prolific and usually enjoyable Italian schlock director Joe D'Amato. While the basics are in place here (swords, sorcery, and that's about it), the execution entirely misses the mark. It's hard to describe what exactly it is that is so off-putting about this film, probably because there is not a whole lot going on IN the film. The titular character is portrayed as weak, and not in the sense that it is part of his personality or backstory. He avoids most combat by simply running away, which is absurd (no D'Amato pun intended) considering what makes these types of flicks so enjoyable are the battles. The villain is about as threatening as the stupid skunk-striped bear cub that runs and grunts it's way through the movie by Ator's side, dying almost immediately upon being confronted and showing almost none of the tyrannical traits his cult is supposed to exhibit. Sabrina Siani is hot as Roon, if that's any consolation, but it only brings me to my next point: This film is basically FAMILY FRIENDLY. There is no gore, no nudity, and basically nothing else that makes films of this caliber a treat. The dialog, weapons, scenery and characters are cookie cutter and mostly formulaic, which is the biggest shame. Even the giant spider is a disappointment and is disposed of with little effort in one of the only actual battles of the whole movie. There is no tension, no dramatic build toward the climax and no real reason to care about any of the characters. Foremost, don't even get me started on the awkward and blatant incest sub-plot. I want to like this movie. I really do. But, unfortunately, I just don't.

I just want to state for the record the the character portrayed by Sabrina Siani is not MOON, but ROON. I submit this as a potential "spoiler" because her name is not reveled until several minutes after her introduction. I think this is ridiculous that we have to write ten lines in order to submit a comment or modification to what has been written about the movie. If you want my opinion, it was not the best sword and sandal flick, but it was better than some of the Hercules movies that came out in the sixties. It has Miles O'Keefe in it who was a star in the eighties with his Tarzan the Apeman movie and Emmanuel of soft-core * fame. So what does anyone have to complain about.

I too saw this when it first came out at the theatre. Ten minutes into the film, a Friday night packed house was beginning its exodus towards the door. Those of us that stayed did so for the same reasons people stare at car wrecks. What I found surprising is that however little you think you know about filmmaking, watching something this bad reveals reminds you what you do know. The effects were non-existent (how many times can you slash and gash as someone with a sword without any blood being spilt?), the acting was embarassing (particulary the love interest), and the finale was the most anti-climactic conflict I've ever seen (Trust me: the first time you see this, you will be hysterical with laughter). I'm curious: does anyone know if this was ever "reviewed" by the MST3K regulars?

Ator!!! NO !! NO !! NO !! .. .not Miles O'Keefe. Unfortunately yes. This seems to be an Italian rip off of Conan (which is funny cause an Italian produced that movie - and was filmed in nearby Spain). This is the origin of Ator (which sounds funny since this is technically the first movie, however, most of us know Miles O'Keefe from the Mystery Science 3000 episode of Cave Dwellers, a.k.a Ator 2). Most of us will remember this movie from the various flashbacks in Ator 2, a.k.a Cave Dwellers. In the first five minutes of the movie we are assaulted with a long, boring narrative that doesn't make a heap of sense. This is followed up by dialog like : (Minion) Lord, the sign is in the sky. (Dakkar) What are you saying foooooollll ?? (Minion) The animals cry out and the wind, the trees, the mountain. The earth trembles like a virgin being drawn to the nuptial bed, and the sky is the color of flame, my Lord. (Dakkar) hmmmmmmmm.... (Dakkar) ..... .... (LINE !!!!) This is followed up by some more pointless plot points, dialog and fights scenes that look like the Bionic Man was choreographing. One of my favorite scenes is invention of ballet during the wedding scene. It was a modern dance interpretation gone completely wrong. The other scene is a look at our hero, who is a peeping tom pervert. This is definitely for fans of Deathstalker, Red Sonya and the Barbarian Brothers. If you like your sword and sorcery lite, crunchy with a side of Jack Daniels, then this is the movie for you. And what was up with that bear ? It was in more scenes than Miles O'Keefe. I guess they were trying to rip off of the Beastmaster as well. -Celluloid Rehab

I accidentally saw this film. I thought it was the same Ator movie that was currently ranked #40 on IMDb's Bottom 100 list--only to discover that was ATOR 2, not this first film. You see, I've got a crazy quest to try to see as many of IMDb's Bottom 100 as possible! However, after seeing ATOR I wonder how the sequel can possibly be any worse?! However, while ATOR has overall score of 2.3 (which is terrible), ATOR 2 is significantly lower at 1.8!!! Yikes...that's bad. But how is this possible as ATOR was 100% craptastic?! The 1980s were an odd time and I remember lots of enjoyable but silly films of the day, such as BEASTMASTER, the Conan films and KRULL. However, there really isn't much about ATOR that is enjoyable. The film begins with a prologue read by someone with a deadly serious voice. In fact, the incredibly serious nature of this film was one of the worst things about it--it was so oppressively somber and there wasn't a second of mirth or fun about it. According to the narrator, the land has long been ruled and oppressed by the Spider King--for 1000 years to be exact. But, now there is a child who will one day destroy the Spider King and his minions. Oddly, however, you never see more than about 20 men working for this king and controlling this vast kingdom! It's obvious the film had a minuscule budget, as there are only a few baddies and Ator and his army to battle the king consist of him and a woman....oh, and a baby bear. Talk about lame! The star of the film, Miles O'Keefe is an odd sort of hero. Compared to the man other mythical heroes of the 1980s (and there were many), he looked awfully pretty--with Farrah-like hair and a rather effeminate outfit. Personality-wise, he's also a pretty dull guy. Perhaps this is because the crew and many of the actors were speaking Italian (much of the film is dubbed) or maybe he's just got the charisma of balsa wood....I'm not sure which. I'd talk more about the plot and the many adventures, but they were all so forgettable. The only really memorable thing was the finale. First, killing the Spider King and his pals turned out to be incredibly easy--so easy, I had to laugh. But the biggest laugh came when I saw the giant spider that was apparently the arachnid behind the throne. It was hilarious to see--with the most obvious wired making it's legs dart up and down--making the spider DUMBER than the octopus in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (an Ed Wood crap-fest). Overall, you have a very dull story, a dull leading man, a very dull villain, little adventure and a giant spider on wires. So how, then, can the next film be any worse?! And, if it is, how is it legal to show this to anyone in any country?! I thought they had laws to prevent this sort of travesty.

This movie was a somehow successful rip-off of "Conan, the barbarian"because it was released a very short time after but it has nothing of the value of the film starred by Schwarzenneger. It is cheesy, non-spectacular, special effects are not good and the acting is horrid, although the blonde actress Sabrina Siani is really nice to look (She was seen in other turkeys such as "2020: The rangers of Texas" and I don´t know what happened to her later but in any case, she is the best of this movie which resembles a revision of those antique Italian peplums about Hercules, Ursus or Maciste. It´s equally bad. From director Joe D'amato I prefer his film "Absurd" which was at least gory and much funnier than this.