The Throne of Fire

This cheapjack Conan rip-off is so mightily inept that the villain actually comes off appearing more sympathetic, interesting and intelligent, not to mention handsomer, than the hero. Surely this was an unintended consequence of the poor script and bad acting, the seemingly lumbering stupidity of the wooden muscle-bound hero and the obligatory trotting around cardboard sets in g-strings by these supposedly heroic do-gooders. This makes the Conan and Beastmaster films look like Ben-Hur and El Cid in comparison. The only (accidental)redeeming feature is the striking presence of Harrison Muller, Jr. as Morak a surprisingly appealing "bad guy." Both his person and his character stand out, perhaps largely due to the colossally boring nature of those around him. It's hardly his fault that he was warped by destiny as the plot would have it...the viewer can't help but root for him to succeed since he's the only one of any interest or appeal on scene.

Peter McCoy (Pietro Torrisi) who also starred in the similarly themed Sword Of The Barbarians and The Invincible Barbarian appears here in this tale of swords, sorcery and ominous prognostication.

In it he plays Siegfried, a mightily muscled hero who is predestined to challenge Satan from attaining mastery over the earth, a feat that the dark one can (luckily for us) only achieve during a solar eclipse and whilst sitting on the magical 'Throne Of Fire' of the films title.

OK so the film isn't going to win any awards for ingenious plot intricacies but in this genre what can one expect?

As it is, the film is actually mildly enjoyable and even has a few decent scenes on offer (the 'Well Of Madness' being a particular stand out), plus there's some rather energetic sword fights on display from our oiled down hero (who looks a fair bit like fellow B movie action star Jeff Wincott!)

Always a plus in my book, this also stars regular Italian sword and sorcery sex symbol, Sabrina Siani who as usual looks absolutely gorgeous!!!

On the downside however, the movie does tend to drag a fair bit throughout, especially during the scenes when our hero is captured....in fact our hero seems to spend the entire film alternating between getting captured and then staging daring escapes! Oh well.....

Overall, if like me, you enjoy these types of films then I'd certainly suggest you give this a try. It's actually not half bad and is certainly infinitely better than most modern takes on the genre.

A woman gives birth to the devils messenger's child abomination, Morak, who is destined to sit on the Thorne of Fire at any cost and marry Princess Valkari, only Siegfried, a mighty barbarian warrior stands in his way.

The late director Francesco Prosperi returns with another a swords and sorcery film. Prosperi and writers Giuseppe Buricchi and Nino Marino move away from the Conan copies of the time, opting for a more generic fantasy. It plods along like some films made 20 years prior. Disappointingly, there's a few jarring exposition voice overs and unnecessary slow motion scenes synonyms with Prosperi's work.

Lead Pietro Torrisi, in perfect He-Man-esque shape, handles the sword fights and action well, as he hacks his way through the flick, he has plenty of presence despite a lack of lines. Harrison Muller's heartless cocky Morak isn't the usual ugly old evil villian which makes a refreshing change. Although lacking screen time Sabrina Siani as Valkari is on form here and gets some sword play action. To Siani's credit she injects some much needed energy into the film, stealing every scene she's in.

The locations, castles, courtyards and sets; corridors, well/cave offer weight. The stuntmen set on fire and the effects are adequate enough (if dated even for 1983), the devils child puppet, burning throne, Moraks true zombie-like face, opticals visuals in 'the well of madness' to name a few.

Prosperi delivers a film that is reminiscent of swords and sandals old films of the 50s and 60s on a smaller B-movie scale. Due to the direction, pacing and cinematography it uncannily feels of that period, Carlo Rustichelli and Paolo Rustichelli biblical epic score (for the most part), the look of the cast only compounds the feeling.

On the whole, it's a vast improvement on Gunan il guerriero (1982). Intentionally or not, it's callback or homage to mythical tales of films gone by. Torrisi, Siani and Muller work wonders with what they are given. Despite its flaws, more importantly Francesco Prosperi goes out on a final movie high.

There is something quite attractive about those Italian rip-offs. Everything seems to be more dramatic but will less talent. Throne of fire sure is one of those. You get everything you paid for, cheesy lines, inept acting, boring sequences after boring sequences and probably the worst villain ever.

If you're into those kind of films, you'll get what you're looking for and much more. The "pit of madness" scene, whatever is it called was hilarious, a classic Z-grade moment. Personally, I got a kick of watching this, just a glimpse of the cover art and I knew I was in for something "memorable".For the rest, quite a crap fest with some weird entertaining scenes but nothing good really.

I'm a big fan sword and sorcery, and Throne of Fire in spite of being an extreme ultra low budget, i give him a reasonable 5 stars. "Throne of Fire", "Il Trono di fuoco" or even "O Trono de Fogo", its a European (special Italian) "Z" sword and sorcery\barbarian flick, like many others ("Sangraal, la spada di fouco", "Gunan il Guerriero", "Sorceress", "Ator 1 and 2", "Deathstalker", "Ironmaster" etc, etc...), full of bad actors, bad script, special effects and soundtrack, but this one, i don't know why, its enjoyable to me see it. I recommend this one for big, big fans of sword and sorcery flicks only..

But one thing i must say, this one is much better then the films i refer before, with the exception of "Sangraal la spada di fuoco". In "Throne of Fire", we have the amazing Siegfreid ( Pietro Torrisi aka Peter McCoy)the hero and the gorgeous Princess Valkiri (Sabrina Siani) the heroine, then we have the fabulous bad guys, the personification of Satan and terrible warlord, Morack, and his general, Tares!!

Well, if you like this movie, i recommend: "Sangraal, la spada di fuoco", "Deathstalker" and "Gunan il Guerriero"(one of the worst)